BMW
330d Coupe... (don't let AL burn my house down!!!)
I had this test drive booked a couple of weeks ago - before I agreed for ARUK to replace my current (replacement) 159 with a red 159TI - and was still curious as how good the current range of 3 Series Coupes actually were.
In the last few months I've been in a modified 330i saloon, (blasting across Germany/Switzerland
) a 320d saloon (boring :yawn: ) and a 120d (pig ugly but swift and refined)
The car of choice for this test was a '56' reg 330d SE Coupe automatic with 9k miles on the odometer.
Specs:-
Current list price £32,900!
3.0d 24v 228Bhp - hehe!
369lb ft torque
Rear wheel drive.
Kerb weight 1600kg.
0-60mph 6.6sec
Top speed 155mph limited.
Piccies attached.
The drive was alone, on mixed roads, mixed speeds and over a good variation of surfaces. I had about 45 mins before I was back at the dealer.
The weather was BLOODY wet!
Good bits:-
It looks better than the saloon, which IMHO is pig ugly. The lines and overall stance of the Coupe are so much better, whilst sharing very similar underpinnings.
Angel eye side lights - I guess a marmite thing. I love em. Others hate em.
Paint finish was excellent overall. Bear in mind this wasn't a new car and although the actual colour isn't to my tastes, the actual quality of finish was first class.
Engine. What a stormer. Seriously. Felt quicker than our derv CLS and I'll think twice about tackling one of these in my 20v 159.
Through ALL the gears it pulled like a train. No serious turbo lag and punched through the gears one by one. A serious performer.
Gearbox. Let's be honest, I don't like autos. Period. I like a mechanical connection with changing gear. I like the feeling of matching revs to gears. I like being 100% in control of what the engine's doing. So it was with reluctance that I took this auto BM out.
Comparing my current loaner Merc with this BM gearbox is chalk and cheese. The BM is simply one of the quickest and smoothest gearboxes Ive driven. In full auto the BM starts off in2nd gear and other than what felt like clutch slip it was smooth.
Switching through the gears on the 'manual' option didn't make much difference TBH.
Sport mode just sharpened the throttle and held the revs for longer.
I can really see why 90% of the coupes are specced with an auto box.
Ride.
Pretty good generally. Firm but not harsh. With ESP off, stepping out the rear on a wet roundabout was decent enough fun and caught it easily.
Not so good bit:-
The physical interaction with the car.
Really wierd to describe but it felt so very competant but just soooooo dull to drive.
I cannot doubt it's performance or ability to handle rough roads or twisty stuff, but I felt a little disconnected. Ok I can feel what the car's doing underneath me, but not really that much.
The seats were ok to sit in, but not a patch on the Merc's or indeed the BMW M-Sports fully adjustable jobbies I had a few months ago in the 330i M-Sport.
The interior wanted to make me slit my wrists. God it was dull. Dull, dull, dull. The same as any 3-series and with zero flair. Ergonomically it was perfect but for a £35k car, you'd want something better. The black leather (optional!
) probably didn't help.
The toys. There weren't any. Nowt. No blue tooth, xenons, sunroof, satnav, decent alloys, folding mirrors. Even the leather and floor mats are an extra.
The stereo was ok. Not great. The Merc loaner is better.
The boot is deep but shalllow. No surprise - it's a coupe folks.
The alloys. Whoever specced this with 17" rims should be shot. They look hideously small and make the car look poor. Even the optional 18" could be bigger.
Overall and interesting drive. Very surprised at the handling, engine and gearbox. Fantastic.
Not surprised on the 'very competant, dull and pricey' conclusion.
In M-sport version, with satnav, bluetooth, xenons, parking sensors f+r, etc it would be a great car and a great alternative, but that all adds up to a whopping £41k!!!
Overall a 8/10 from me.
Last Saturday I Was Mostly Driving A...
