GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
Well, I drove a BMW 320d yesterday. It belongs to a friend's company, and since I was interested to drive it, and since he let me drive his Audi TT the day my driving ban ended, I figured I'd ask for a go, and he was up for it.
So, it's a 2002 car, imported from Belgium. 4 door, silver, with 17" 7-spoke alloys (very nice), all kerbed by the car's previous custodian.
Externally, well, what can you say. It's a 3-series BMW, there's lots of them about. But they still look classy, especially with a decent set of wheels on them, which this car surely had. Silver doesn't suit it as well as, say, a Mercedes C-Class, but I do think that silver is perhaps the most practical colour you can have a car in. I love the rings around the headlamps, which is meant to ape a piston, but I'm not too keen on the ridges atop the wing mirrors, which were put in place to cure a curious wind noise at speed. Unfortunately they look a little fussy, and it's odd that not all 3-series have them.
Internally, everything's reasonably well laid out, but the interior was a little spartan. There were lots of cubby holes, but no cup holders, and nowhere that would 'do' as a cup holder. The switchgear is all nice, and works well, as we've come to expect from BMW. The climate control was effective, and featured an automatic pollution filter. However, the 6 speaker CD stereo (Business RDS specification) was woeful, with the sound completely lacking any sort of body at all. No real bass, and a lack of treble definition, it sounded like a cheap portable stereo playing in the next room. The overall trimming of the car looked and felt cheap, a bit base-model-Fiat, rather than the prestige exec that BMW would have you believe. Nonetheless, the seats were comfortable and supportive, and it was easy to find a comfortable seating position.
To drive, the car is very good indeed. The 2 litre turbodiesel engine pulls hard, sounding and feeling quite like a petrol of equivalent capacity, only with more torque. For overtaking, it's best to work the gearbox, but the engine is flexible enough to allow throttle to work with steering in most cornering manoevres. However, with the redline at 4,500rpm, one needs to keep a careful eye on the rev counter, as one is apt to run out of revs, which can be a bit dramatic mid-pass. It also engenders a feeling that one is constantly changing gear, which the car's current keeper mentioned to me when talking about the car previously.
The steering is nicely weighted, and feels precise, although somewhat lacking in feedback. However, the benefits of rear wheel drive become apparent the minute you first take a corner, as both ends of the car act together to form a natural balance that feels simply great. This, coupled with the flexibility of the engine, makes for a car that is deceptively fast, although in its current spec, with basic suspension and seats, the speed sensation is damped out - I did once find myself at 90mph without really experiencing any sense of real acceleration. The brakes are strong, although you need to get into the midsection of pedal travel before their real stopping power becomes apparent.
Overall, it's a competent car, and I would imagine that it's actually a better car to drive than the 320i, due to the huge torque of the TD engine. However, that engine could really do with another 1,000 revs. The main issue is the bargain basement interior, which makes the car feel cheap. Obviously, if one specced-up the interior, the price would steeply rise. So it's a good car, you'd keep it if someone gave it to you. But you probably wouldn't pay your own money for it.
So, it's a 2002 car, imported from Belgium. 4 door, silver, with 17" 7-spoke alloys (very nice), all kerbed by the car's previous custodian.
Externally, well, what can you say. It's a 3-series BMW, there's lots of them about. But they still look classy, especially with a decent set of wheels on them, which this car surely had. Silver doesn't suit it as well as, say, a Mercedes C-Class, but I do think that silver is perhaps the most practical colour you can have a car in. I love the rings around the headlamps, which is meant to ape a piston, but I'm not too keen on the ridges atop the wing mirrors, which were put in place to cure a curious wind noise at speed. Unfortunately they look a little fussy, and it's odd that not all 3-series have them.
Internally, everything's reasonably well laid out, but the interior was a little spartan. There were lots of cubby holes, but no cup holders, and nowhere that would 'do' as a cup holder. The switchgear is all nice, and works well, as we've come to expect from BMW. The climate control was effective, and featured an automatic pollution filter. However, the 6 speaker CD stereo (Business RDS specification) was woeful, with the sound completely lacking any sort of body at all. No real bass, and a lack of treble definition, it sounded like a cheap portable stereo playing in the next room. The overall trimming of the car looked and felt cheap, a bit base-model-Fiat, rather than the prestige exec that BMW would have you believe. Nonetheless, the seats were comfortable and supportive, and it was easy to find a comfortable seating position.
To drive, the car is very good indeed. The 2 litre turbodiesel engine pulls hard, sounding and feeling quite like a petrol of equivalent capacity, only with more torque. For overtaking, it's best to work the gearbox, but the engine is flexible enough to allow throttle to work with steering in most cornering manoevres. However, with the redline at 4,500rpm, one needs to keep a careful eye on the rev counter, as one is apt to run out of revs, which can be a bit dramatic mid-pass. It also engenders a feeling that one is constantly changing gear, which the car's current keeper mentioned to me when talking about the car previously.
The steering is nicely weighted, and feels precise, although somewhat lacking in feedback. However, the benefits of rear wheel drive become apparent the minute you first take a corner, as both ends of the car act together to form a natural balance that feels simply great. This, coupled with the flexibility of the engine, makes for a car that is deceptively fast, although in its current spec, with basic suspension and seats, the speed sensation is damped out - I did once find myself at 90mph without really experiencing any sense of real acceleration. The brakes are strong, although you need to get into the midsection of pedal travel before their real stopping power becomes apparent.
Overall, it's a competent car, and I would imagine that it's actually a better car to drive than the 320i, due to the huge torque of the TD engine. However, that engine could really do with another 1,000 revs. The main issue is the bargain basement interior, which makes the car feel cheap. Obviously, if one specced-up the interior, the price would steeply rise. So it's a good car, you'd keep it if someone gave it to you. But you probably wouldn't pay your own money for it.
