Went for a test drive today

[donny1972]

We'll as the title say I went for a test drive today.  The car was a bmw 320d m sport touring. I was really disappointed  in this car and I think the octavia vrs is better on every way. O have learned one thing and that is bmw is only  a badge.

[ahenners]

What disappointed you about it? I've looked at the F30 3 Series a few times and never went ahead because it's expensive and smaller in terms of rear legroom and bootspace, but I can think of a number of ways it's better than the Octavia:

 

Cabin Materials - even Dakota leather is far better than the stuff you see in the Octavia.

 

Infotainment - Professional Navigation with the large widescreen and controller is far better than even the upgraded 9.2" Columbus unit.

 

Engines - 330d and 335d units are some of the best production diesels available in my opinion. Granted the 20d is not as good, but it's no worse than the one in the Octavia.

 

Gearbox - The ZF 8 Speed auto is smoother than DSG and again one of the best auto boxes available.

 

Drive: Handles better, rear wheel driven instead of front wheel driven, which feels "right". Xdrive is true 4wd as opposed to part time like Haldex.

[donny1972]

Didn't feel as quick,cabin had a lot of rattles and felt as plasticy as the octavia. The driving position also felt very strange. Don't think it's worth the 10ķ I need to put to it. Time to test drive something  else.

[ChoonDoode]

Whilst I was looking at buying my new car, I was considering a 320d. The main thing which annoyed me was the amount of kit which the beamer didn't have as standard compared to the octavia. My car's brand new price was just on 35k, the equivalent beamer was in excess of 45k. There were only three main differences I could see; the driven wheels (fwd vs rwd), the space (our octavias have a hell of a lot more) and the badges.

 

The beamer 6 cylinder engines are silky smooth but you pay the price for one of those. Unless you get the 340i, the other 6 cylinders have auto 'boxes.

 

I've had the pleasure of driving an M3 and M4 round Oulton Park and I was impressed not only by the performance, but also the interior comfort. Seats which keep you in place and controls all with in easy access. Whilst our Skodas aren't too shabby, BMWs are that bit more refined. That's a good thing with their screens; it's more in your eye line.

 

 

[donny1972]

Oh and the engine noise was definitely a lot louder in the cabin than my vrs. 

[ChoonDoode]

1 hour ago, donny1972 said:

Oh and the engine noise was definitely a lot louder in the cabin than my vrs. 

 

Do you think so? I felt the engine noise wasn't as rough sounding as the VRS TDi. Possibly due to a little bit more sound insulation.

[ahenners]

OP what was the car you tested age, mileage, spec etc?

[GoneToBeemer]

41 minutes ago, ahenners said:

OP what was the car you tested age, mileage, spec etc?

 

Good point - if it was pre MY15 it would have the older 184ps engine which sounds like its being fuelled with gravel. The later 190ps engine was night and day different in terms of refinement. 

 

Even though the current 3 is getting dated, the quality of the interior far surpasses that of the Octavia. 

 

I must admit though (I only had the 150ps engine in my L&K) but it was quite smooth for a Diesel, but I did find the Octavia suffered from road noise and on anything other than smooth motorway the ride was poor (joys of torture beam).

 

Still though, bang for buck you couldnt argue with the amount of kit you get for the money! Just depends on what you want & need at the time. 

[ChoonDoode]

Runflats are my gripe with beamers. My dad's 3 series doesn't soak up any bumps in the road and it's quite an unsettled ride. I know the VRS has slightly stiffer suspension with it being lowered, but having a bit of give in the sidewall with having standard tyres, I feel my VRS is the more comfortable ride.

[ahenners]

16 minutes ago, GoneToBeemer said:

 

Good point - if it was pre MY15 it would have the older 184ps engine which sounds like its being fuelled with gravel. The later 190ps engine was night and day different in terms of refinement. 

 

Even though the current 3 is getting dated, the quality of the interior far surpasses that of the Octavia. 

 

I must admit though (I only had the 150ps engine in my L&K) but it was quite smooth for a Diesel, but I did find the Octavia suffered from road noise and on anything other than smooth motorway the ride was poor (joys of torture beam).

 

Still though, bang for buck you couldnt argue with the amount of kit you get for the money! Just depends on what you want & need at the time. 

 

Genuinely curious, because I test drove and inspected what is now a good friend's LCI 330D Xdrive M Sport with a lovely spec; Adaptive Suspension, Harmon Kardon, Pro Nav etc. and, whilst I love my Octavia VRS TSI, it was clear to see it was superior to my VRS in almost every way bar cost and practicality. 

 

Only had a passenger ride in a Pre LCI N47 based 320D and it seemed "fine". Not overly noisy from the inside, but not petrol smooth either. I believe the B47 improves things as you'ved mentioned but no personal experience of that engine.

[ChoonDoode]

7 minutes ago, ahenners said:

 

Genuinely curious, because I test drove and inspected what is now a good friend's LCI 330D Xdrive M Sport with a lovely spec; Adaptive Suspension, Harmon Kardon, Pro Nav etc. and, whilst I love my Octavia VRS TSI, it was clear to see it was superior to my VRS in almost every way bar cost and practicality. 

 

Adaptive suspension on any vehicle has the ability to transform the ride. I didn't believe it was going to make much difference on a motorbike, but after a there and back to Ypres, my backside was somewhat thankful of it being there.

 

I'm a bit miffed it was never an option with the pre facelift cars as it does make our cars even more fun to drive.

[ahenners]

10 minutes ago, tunedude said:

 

Adaptive suspension on any vehicle has the ability to transform the ride. I didn't believe it was going to make much difference on a motorbike, but after a there and back to Ypres, my backside was somewhat thankful of it being there.

 

I'm a bit miffed it was never an option with the pre facelift cars as it does make our cars even more fun to drive.

 

DCC became an option towards the end of Pre-facelift MK3 life in 2016. Agree though, makes a huge difference. I'd love to be able to put mine in comfort for the 300 miles a week I do on motorways. Adaptive is essential on an Xdrive 3 series as you get standard suspension (i.e. not sport) even on an M Sport otherwise. 

Edited 12 November, 2018 by ahenners

[ChoonDoode]

9 minutes ago, ahenners said:

 

DCC became an option towards the end of Pre-facelift MK3 life in 2016. Agree though, makes a huge difference. I'd love to be able to put mine in comfort for the 300 miles a week I do on motorways. Adaptive is essential on an Xdrive 3 series as you get standard suspension (i.e. not sport) even on an M Sport otherwise. 

 

Didn't know it came out then. Thought it was a new feature with the FL. If I'd have known it was going to have been an option, I'd have held my order until it was available.

 

I'm still planning on getting coilovers with damper control as I was so impressed when I had a go of VRS with DCC.

[donny1972]

11 hours ago, ahenners said:

OP what was the car you tested age, mileage, spec etc?

2016 320d msport touring with 30k on clock. Maybe I was expecting too much from the premium brand.

Edited 13 November, 2018 by donny1972

[Ootohere]

Maybe falling for the Marketing Hype ' Drivers Cars & BMW so a Premium Brand is the issue.

There are nice cars and there are just Rep / Lease Mobiles that they sell, just like other Premium German brands.  eg Mercedes, Audi, VW.

[Jaco2k]

I test drove a 428 and a 345 (which was a beast), both xDrive.

They were fine cars, but ... worth all that what they ask for them?

Ich don't think so.

[teescom09]

The 3 series is (IMAGE ASIDE) : Far far far  better quality. Same for handling which is at a level beyond compare in every respect, looks a 100 million dollars better  (not difficult, to be fair)   and so much more desirable the gulf is massive. Won't deteriorate and mark as quick as the Skoda. The 3 series is a big and roomy car! Same length as the Octavia within mm and slightly wider also with a big boot, it is a saloon!  Virtually  the same size as the old E39 5 series! The driving position of the 3 series is vastly superior too, im 6-2 and cannot get  comfortable in an Octavia VRS, constantly adjusting things. Knees wrapped around steering wheel or cannot reach it as the peddles are too close to the steering wheel!   The Octavia IS a cheeped down Golf and in estate form, actually no bigger. Given the choice I would have got a Golf GTI estate without question, probably should have got the Leon Cupra in hind site. Gold R estates at the time were impossible to get on a decent deal.   It is what it is, but to say it's anywhere near the level of a 3 series........ you get exactly what you pay for and you might be surprised at the deals you can get on new 3 series, on PCP can be cheaper as they have better interest rates and the right models have better retained value. 

 

But why get a 3 series diesel or diesel anything (apart from vans or 4x4's) for that matter? Get the 320i or better the 330i (4 cylinder). Admittedly the 6 cylinder diesels are good but he 6 cylinder petrols are even better. 

Edited 13 November, 2018 by teescom09

[Gerrycan]

If BMWs are such good cars then why do so many have malfunctioning indicators?

[teescom09]

1 hour ago, Gerrycan said:

If BMWs are such good cars then why do so many have malfunctioning indicators?

Seriously?

 

[Jaco2k]

Never heard anyone call a 3-series "big and roomy"

...ok, the one I drove was a couple of years ago and might that the new generation is bigger than the previous.

[Ootohere]

I am sitting waiting in a 3 year old 335d X-drive waiting on someone getting off a plane.  I wish it had loads of room because I am cramped.   It has had lots of warranty work this year leading up to its first mot.  Major service since.   Just as well it is fun to drive and has a cloak of invisibility among all the other blue ones about.  Cheap as chips used at over 3 years after through the auction at end of lease.

Edited 13 November, 2018 by Offski

[ahenners]

2 hours ago, teescom09 said:

The 3 series is (IMAGE ASIDE) : Far far far  better quality. Same for handling which is at a level beyond compare in every respect, looks a 100 million dollars better  (not difficult, to be fair)   and so much more desirable the gulf is massive. Won't deteriorate and mark as quick as the Skoda. The 3 series is a big and roomy car! Same length as the Octavia within mm and slightly wider also with a big boot, it is a saloon!  Virtually  the same size as the old E39 5 series! The driving position of the 3 series is vastly superior too, im 6-2 and cannot get  comfortable in an Octavia VRS, constantly adjusting things. Knees wrapped around steering wheel or cannot reach it as the peddles are too close to the steering wheel!   The Octavia IS a cheeped down Golf and in estate form, actually no bigger. Given the choice I would have got a Golf GTI estate without question, probably should have got the Leon Cupra in hind site. Gold R estates at the time were impossible to get on a decent deal.   It is what it is, but to say it's anywhere near the level of a 3 series........ you get exactly what you pay for and you might be surprised at the deals you can get on new 3 series, on PCP can be cheaper as they have better interest rates and the right models have better retained value. 

 

But why get a 3 series diesel or diesel anything (apart from vans or 4x4's) for that matter? Get the 320i or better the 330i (4 cylinder). Admittedly the 6 cylinder diesels are good but he 6 cylinder petrols are even better. 

 

Golf Estate still has a shorter wheelbase than the Octavia. The Octavia still has more rear legroom. Given the choice you couldn't buy a GTI estate because they never made one. Compared to the Octavia the 3 series is not big and roomy because it has a longitudinal layout for its engine and the engine bay has to be longer because of needing to accommodate larger 6 cylinder engines - not an issue in an Octavia where all engines are transverse and 4 cylinder max and the dashboard/cabin can be pushed much further forward on the car. Why get diesel? Higher mileages require better fuel economy, until recently lower VED or BIK, and having owned and driven recent 3.0 BMW diesels, you'd really need to be a die-hard petrol head to ignore the 330 or 335d engines. These also have the option of Xdrive in the UK which the 340i does not. The only F30  petrol with Xdrive in the UK is the 320i and it's hardly a firecracker in performance. I think I'd rather have a 320d over a 320i.

Edited 13 November, 2018 by ahenners

[teescom09]

Like I said very minute difference between Golf and Octavia Estate. Interior room of 3 series is also little different, far better in the front as firewall isn’t pushed back to accommodate transverse engine wrapping your legs around the steering wheel. The point was really it is silly to compare any Skoda to a 3 series BMW. The benchmark of how to make a drivers car for the last 40 years.  VAG have just never quite achieved it. Skoda certainly havent in every respect.

 

As for Diesels, 4 or 5 mpg if that at best over a similar powered turbo petrol, 10p a litre more, dirty with lower resale values. My VRS petrol can easily get 40 + if I want to and its got 60 hp more.  The 6 cylinder BM diesels are good we know that, had a couple,  but give me the 3.0 petrol turbo any day. And finally who wants X Drive? I don’t, I wouldn’t  want to spoil the  car for the sake of a couple of days of snow a year, can cope with that! 

 

 

[teescom09]

1 hour ago, Offski said:

I am sitting waiting in a 3 year old 335d X-drive waiting on someone getting off a plane.  I wish it had loads of room because I am cramped.   It has had lots of warranty work this year leading up to its first mot.  Major service since.   Just as well it is fun to drive and has a cloak of invisibility among all the other blue ones about.  Cheap as chips used at over 3 years after through the auction at end of lease.

How tall and heavy  are you ? I can easily stretch out in total comfort in the front of a 3 series at 6-2, cannot do that in my Octavia! Cheap? Have you sern how Octavia’s go for, only one that holds  a decent value is the Petrol VRS and thats not exceptional either. 

[ChoonDoode]

1 hour ago, Jaco2k said:

Never heard anyone call a 3-series "big and roomy"

...ok, the one I drove was a couple of years ago and might that the new generation is bigger than the previous.

 

My dad's had a 3 series since 1996. He's had an e36, e46 and now has an e90. As I've grown up, I've been ever increasingly cramped sitting in the back, to the point where I can't sit behind him (he's 6ft 1) and if I'm relegated to the back, I'd have to sit behind my mum with the seat pulled forward.

 

I've had a full car load in my VRS and I've happily had over 6 footers sat behind me and I'm 6ft 3.

 

The only other car I've known good comfort in the back is an E class Merc. A lot of London private hires are those and I've been happy sitting in the back with my oppos.