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      06-19-2012, 05:37 PM   #1
Highlander2006
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328i M Sport or 330d M Sport

As a potential new BMW owner I am having difficulty in deciding between the 328i and the 330d.

Any views on which I should go for?

And, anyone know for sure what the upholstery is in the M Sport - from the configurator on the BMW site it seems to be Leather - but I was expecting the Alcantara seats - which would have meant I didnt need to put heated seats in. But with leather I think you need the seat heating for those cold winter mornings..!!??

Thanks for any help you can give.
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      06-20-2012, 05:35 AM   #2
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If you can afford the 330D I would go for that without question. 335i or 330D would be a tougher proposition.

I had the previous generation E91 330D M Sport touring and it was excellent, this latest engine gets TwinPower turbo and looks to be a cracker.

Looking at the configurator it appears M Sport spec gets you leather by default and perhaps we can't get the alcantara here in UK? Someone else may be able to confirm.

And yes I think Seat Heating is a must!
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      06-20-2012, 05:59 AM   #3
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I've ordered an M Sport and leather is standard, not even an option to change to Alcantara either. Heated seats is a must, as coming from a car with leather seats and no seat heating, there is nothing colder on a winters morning!
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      06-20-2012, 04:41 PM   #4
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+1 on the heated seats. Got them on my E90 and use them all the time in the cold winter.
I see the F30 now has the option of heated rear seats too.
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      06-20-2012, 04:45 PM   #5
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Yeah, gutted that the alcantara option was removed. I didn't want leather at all but have no choice now.
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      06-21-2012, 04:37 PM   #6
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Going through the same dilemma myself. I borrowed a 328i for the weekend and got 25 mpg with the eight speed auto. Quite a difference from the late 30s I get from my 330d.

Great engine the 328i and I think it would work well in the MSport car with a manual box.

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      06-29-2012, 06:39 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Msporty View Post
I've ordered an M Sport and leather is standard, not even an option to change to Alcantara either. Heated seats is a must, as coming from a car with leather seats and no seat heating, there is nothing colder on a winters morning!
Where abouts are you in Wilmslow?? My office is on Chapel Lane.
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      06-29-2012, 09:33 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Highlander2006 View Post
As a potential new BMW owner I am having difficulty in deciding between the 328i and the 330d.

Any views on which I should go for?

And, anyone know for sure what the upholstery is in the M Sport - from the configurator on the BMW site it seems to be Leather - but I was expecting the Alcantara seats - which would have meant I didnt need to put heated seats in. But with leather I think you need the seat heating for those cold winter mornings..!!??

Thanks for any help you can give.
Having moved from a 330d E92 to my current 535d F10, I didn't think I'd ever consider anything other than a large 6cyl diesel, until I drove the new 328i.
It's slightly slower on paper, but in reality it feels much quicker and it's a lot more fun to drive, due not only to it being higher and more freely revving, but far more importantly because there's absolutely no turbo lag and that's the aspect which has convinced me to change next year when they launch the coupé.
Take one for a drive; you won't be disappointed.
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      06-30-2012, 10:09 PM   #9
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People often tell you... "buy the diesel, it has better mpg", but when you actually work out the figures it's quite interesting. So...

330d M Sport base price = £36,280.
328i M Sport base price = £32,060 to which you'd have to add £1,660 for the sport auto box that comes as standard on the 330d, making £33,720.

So the 330d M Sport is £2,560 dearer to buy (like for like).

Assuming you do 10,000 miles a year, and using 57.6 mpg (combined) for the 330d vs 44.8 mpg (combined) for the 328i, and the current price of fuel at Tesco of 135.9 p/L for diesel and 131.9 p/L for unleaded (I'm assuming a constant difference in price between the two fuels), then it would cost you an extra £265.85 a year to fill up the 328i.

Divide that into the higher up front cost of the 330d and on fuel costs alone it would take you about 9.5 years to break even.

Of course this is a very basic calculation because I haven't taken into account the differing annual Road Tax, servicing and maintenance costs, insurance, and even things like interest on the money you save on the initial purchase. Still, it's interesting that if you're doing sums just based on mpg then the 330d doesn't start saving you money until nearly ten years after you bought it (if you kept it that long)

What gets me is why diesel in the UK is so much dearer as I assume it's cheaper to refine, transport and store... and does the diesel car really cost BMW about £2,560 more to make?
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      07-01-2012, 03:44 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobUK View Post
... and does the diesel car really cost BMW about £2,560 more to make?
Probably not. But if your making probably the best diesel engine in the world for performance and economy then you can get away with charging a bit more.
But that's BMW all over, does it really cost £1600 for an auto 'box? Around £1500 for sat nav? £500 for bluetooth? (in the E90) etc, etc.....


With regards to diff between 328i and 330d calcs, the guy above only got 25 mpg out of a 328i which sounds a bit disappointing. I get late 30's - 40 mpg out of my current E90 330d so I'd expect the F30 330d to be even better than that based on the manufacturers figures.
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      07-01-2012, 02:45 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dopper99 View Post
With regards to diff between 328i and 330d calcs, the guy above only got 25 mpg out of a 328i which sounds a bit disappointing. I get late 30's - 40 mpg out of my current E90 330d so I'd expect the F30 330d to be even better than that based on the manufacturers figures.
But is that representative? We must use the benchmark figures, even if we knock off a percentage, like we'd experience in our own driving.

I drive a 2006 330d auto touring and that has returned 37mpg long term (over 50k miles). I drove the 328i as I'd drive my car, and it returned 42.4mpg OBC over a 90 mile test drive, so have hopes to get over 40mpg in a 328i touring.

Certainly don't buy on fuel costs alone, particularly if you drive low miles.

HighlandPete
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      07-01-2012, 05:15 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobUK View Post
330d M Sport base price = £36,280.
328i M Sport base price = £32,060 to which you'd have to add £1,660 for the sport auto box that comes as standard on the 330d, making £33,720.

So the 330d M Sport is £2,560 dearer to buy (like for like).
It appears you need to spend £610 on metallic paint for the 328i (unless you want only Alpine White) - but this is in with the price for the 330d.
So if you want paint other than Alpine White in a 328i you are looking at £34330 making it £1950 difference in price. There could be more options differences - I'm not sure.


Quote:
Originally Posted by HighlandPete View Post
But is that representative? We must use the benchmark figures, even if we knock off a percentage, like we'd experience in our own driving.

I drive a 2006 330d auto touring and that has returned 37mpg long term (over 50k miles). I drove the 328i as I'd drive my car, and it returned 42.4mpg OBC over a 90 mile test drive, so have hopes to get over 40mpg in a 328i touring.

Certainly don't buy on fuel costs alone, particularly if you drive low miles.

HighlandPete
Fair point. One persons 25mpg isnt really representative. The 2.0 litre 245 bhp power plant does seem pretty impressive and extremely economical for its power output.
Seems that it's well worth testing both 328i and 330d if anyone is undecided.
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      07-02-2012, 03:21 AM   #13
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Yep, it's all hypothetical really

I've been driving diesel cars since 2006 and when I declared I was going for a petrol this time round, a few of my friends were sucking air through their teeth, rolling their eyes and and saying "but diesels are cheaper". I guess what I was probably trying to convince myself of is that the higher initial cost of a diesel engine plus the higher cost of diesel fuel per litre, actually levels the playing field quite a bit these days.

Interestingly I'm averaging around 45.5 mpg from the 118d Sport according to the OBC. If the 328i gets anywhere near that I'll be chuffed
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      07-02-2012, 10:46 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerxp
Quote:
Originally Posted by Msporty View Post
I've ordered an M Sport and leather is standard, not even an option to change to Alcantara either. Heated seats is a must, as coming from a car with leather seats and no seat heating, there is nothing colder on a winters morning!
Where abouts are you in Wilmslow?? My office is on Chapel Lane.
Just off stanneylands road, office near the airport!
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      07-03-2012, 01:33 PM   #15
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Just ordered a 328i MSport for september deliver. Looked at the 330d msport but couldn't bring myself to have another diesel after two years and 50k miles in my current 330d.

So no sleep until september then.........
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      07-03-2012, 04:50 PM   #16
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Nice one Nick. What spec did you go for?
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      07-04-2012, 08:13 AM   #17
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I have on order the 3.0D M Sport touring in Estoril ii Blue and Beige Leather.
I ordered All the extras which includes front and rear brake kit and 19" sport wheels,HUD, pro-sat/nav,4 heated seats,top spec sound, panoramic roof, etc etc. It will arrive for October 2012 time.
I think this new engine coupled to the 8 speed box will return good MPG in "normal use".
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      07-07-2012, 02:10 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobUK
People often tell you... "buy the diesel, it has better mpg", but when you actually work out the figures it's quite interesting. So...

330d M Sport base price = £36,280.
328i M Sport base price = £32,060 to which you'd have to add £1,660 for the sport auto box that comes as standard on the 330d, making £33,720.

So the 330d M Sport is £2,560 dearer to buy (like for like).

Assuming you do 10,000 miles a year, and using 57.6 mpg (combined) for the 330d vs 44.8 mpg (combined) for the 328i, and the current price of fuel at Tesco of 135.9 p/L for diesel and 131.9 p/L for unleaded (I'm assuming a constant difference in price between the two fuels), then it would cost you an extra £265.85 a year to fill up the 328i.

Divide that into the higher up front cost of the 330d and on fuel costs alone it would take you about 9.5 years to break even.

Of course this is a very basic calculation because I haven't taken into account the differing annual Road Tax, servicing and maintenance costs, insurance, and even things like interest on the money you save on the initial purchase. Still, it's interesting that if you're doing sums just based on mpg then the 330d doesn't start saving you money until nearly ten years after you bought it (if you kept it that long)

What gets me is why diesel in the UK is so much dearer as I assume it's cheaper to refine, transport and store... and does the diesel car really cost BMW about £2,560 more to make?
Unless something changes with the general public the whole difference in price will come back to you at trade in time, maybe more. The dealer will welcome a diesel as a trade in but will run a mile from a petrol. Getting a trade underwrite on a petrol BMW is near impossible.
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      07-07-2012, 03:11 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stupot View Post
Unless something changes with the general public the whole difference in price will come back to you at trade in time, maybe more. The dealer will welcome a diesel as a trade in but will run a mile from a petrol. Getting a trade underwrite on a petrol BMW is near impossible.

Oh blardy ell......

Do you think it might change with the 328i though given that (in the quoted figures at least) it seems to give such great economy for such performance?

Looking at the values of the petrol E9x 325i's and 330i's they did seem to fall off a cliff compared with the diesels.

Hopefully since the 328 seems much more economical, we won't see the same drop off - just looking at say, the VAG line of "semi-eco" petrols (the TSI models), they seem to have held their prices reasonably well.
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      07-08-2012, 04:53 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ikonic
Quote:
Originally Posted by stupot View Post
Unless something changes with the general public the whole difference in price will come back to you at trade in time, maybe more. The dealer will welcome a diesel as a trade in but will run a mile from a petrol. Getting a trade underwrite on a petrol BMW is near impossible.

Oh blardy ell......

Do you think it might change with the 328i though given that (in the quoted figures at least) it seems to give such great economy for such performance?

Looking at the values of the petrol E9x 325i's and 330i's they did seem to fall off a cliff compared with the diesels.

Hopefully since the 328 seems much more economical, we won't see the same drop off - just looking at say, the VAG line of "semi-eco" petrols (the TSI models), they seem to have held their prices reasonably well.

It's possible that new 328 might buck the trend and bring petrol back into favour with the more expensive 3 series buyers. It certainly is much more fuel efficient and drives well, so deserves to be sought after, but buying trends can take a while to catch on as out with those that know the perception of a powerful petrol is big running costs, so they go with the herd and demand diesel.
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      07-08-2012, 07:36 PM   #21
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Chatting to the dealer when I picked up my car I said "you must be selling a shed load of new 3 Series diesels" and he replied that sales of the new petrol models had really taken off and there was huge demand because they are now so efficient.

BTW, I'm currently averaging 36mpg out of the 328i and the figure is still climbing on this tankful. (Was getting 44-45mpg out of my E81 118d).
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      07-09-2012, 02:12 AM   #22
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Quote:
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Chatting to the dealer when I picked up my car I said "you must be selling a shed load of new 3 Series diesels" and he replied that sales of the new petrol models had really taken off and there was huge demand because they are now so efficient.

BTW, I'm currently averaging 36mpg out of the 328i and the figure is still climbing on this tankful. (Was getting 44-45mpg out of my E81 118d).
Nice going Rob, I get 36MPG out of my X3 35D M Sport, no matter what I do to it. I have ordered the 3.0D M Sport 3 series touring with all extras thinking 45MPG would achievable.
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