[TouringPleb]

So thought I'd add my tuppence worth on my first impressions and 3000 miles in my F31 320d. I have come from a Volvo V50 T5 R Design auto so most of my points of reference will come from that.

First my dislikes and niggles.. As many have said some of the plastic quality leaves a lot to be desired. The rear upholder feels particularly cheap and flimsy and if I had kids I couldn't see it lasting long! The plastic on the centre console I'd only describe as adequate. A particular dislike is the sun visor. It feels so cheap and nasty. I can't believe something which I am going to potentially be touching several times on sunny days could feel so cheap. The plastics are certainly no better than my Volvo.

I hate the start-stop and really wish I could permanently switch it off. Also I find the position of the button awkward.

Niggles are the position of the interior button to open the boot. Seems to be strangely placed. The fact that I have to adjust both sides of the climate control separately bugs me, my OCD can't cope with different temperatures and I can't understand why there can't be a way to change this.

I can't see the point of Eco mode. Do I really get 9 extra miles per tank if I use it? Seems to be too compromised. I bought my car for 'the ultimate driving machine' and want to drive it like a BMW, not the ultimate economy machine.

I know I've got a 320d but the performance disappoints me, having read write ups where it's described a 'hot hatch' fast I thought it would have been a bit more punchy. Maybe I was spoilt by the T5 which was surprisingly fast! Economy doesn't seem great either. I know the engine is still tight but I'm getting about 44mpg on a 17 mile commute which is 15 miles of dual carriageways doing 65-75mph. However compared to the 22mpg I got in the Volvo I guess I shouldn't complain! Wish it was a bit smoother as well..

When I've got cruise control on my right knee rests against the door pull which I find uncomfortable.

Last niggle.. The xenons to me don't seem very good. The ones in my Volvo were brilliant and flooded a dark road with light. The BMW ones just aren't as good and I expected better.

Now the positives.. I just love how it looks. I love the Estoril blue and with the M Sport + pack it just looks brilliant. In my opinion one of the best looking cars currently in production. I find myself looking out of my bedroom window when I brush my teeth just looking at it. I always try to park away from other cars in car parks and always love walking back to it and unlocking it so the lights come on and thinking that's MY car!

The gearbox is so smooth. The 5 speed in the Volvo was so clunky in comparison. The BMW box is light years ahead.

I just love how it drives. The other day I was driving on the B660 on an empty road and it was just brilliant, to the point I thought I was doing about 55-60 and saw I was actually doing 85! Oops! Everything just felt so right. I know people knock the steering 'feel' but I love it.Even on the 19"s and standard M sport suspension so much better than the Volvo on its 'sporty' R Design.

Finally I love the driving position and sitting there with the M Sport steering wheel in my hands. It feels so good. I love the feel of the leather, and looking down and seeing the BMW emblem to me feels very special. Growing up I would never have believed I would own a BMW and I know there's 20 something's on here with BMWs but I feel a sense of pride in where I've come from to where I've got to.

Well this has turned out longer than I thought. If you got to the bottom well done! And if there's any typos or grammatical errors I apologise!

[Rich9600]

Great review, thanks for sharing.

I think you're right about the interior difference. I had an early S40 2.4i on an 04 and the interior quality was absolutely fantastic and significantly better than the E90 I replaced it with. My farther has a late model V50 1.6d and that is a really nice place to be. I'd say that it's 'different' to my F30 and it suits him more.

Glad to hear your enjoying driving your car. Have fun.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Very good review, I have the E91 320d and it's a lovely car.

I was torn between a specced up 320 or a pauper 330d.

I decided on the 330 mainly as I could.

The 320 is not exactly hot hatch, however it is fast enough off lights, junctions etc.
I believe the tourer is the sexiest of the 3 series range and for me more practical solution.
Oh and it's the best colour
I don't know why they did that with the climate control the E91 has dual setting and is set by driver in one press.

[M4dski11z]

Enjoyed your thoughts. I know what you mean about looking out the window... Very guilty of this on many occasion

Yeah some plastics inside aren't great. A main one for me being the numbered radio buttons not being perfectly aligned. Poor really. But on the whole is a cracking cabin to sit in. I've had mine 4 months now and still can't wait to hop in it for a drive.

[FSE23]

Originally Posted by Ray335d

I've had mine 4 months now and still can't wait to hop in it for a drive.

I had mine E92 for 7 long years and I felt exactly the same everyday until its last day. Now I feel happy every time getting into my lovely new one

[TouringPleb]

Thought I'd add some pics as I've gone on about it for so long! And the reason why I had to get the Touring!

[....,,,,..,,..]

Looks great, lovely clue and it's a touring

Some dog in photo as well.

[mgwest76]

Originally Posted by Brigand

Looks great, lovely clue and it's a touring

Some dog in photo as well.

A small horse more like, it fills the whole boot!

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by mgwest76

A small horse more like, it fills the whole boot!

Lol he was only about 6 mths then! He's considerably bigger now! I think the angle of the pic makes him look bigger...

[Alkidrew]

I like the position of the boot button, you don't want it to be too easy to knock so it's out of the way down there.

I know what you mean about the two temp gauges and I leave them the same but every now and again my son or girlfriend will be in the front and say they are too cold and I can turn their one up by a degree then back down once they've left. You always feel warmer driving the car as you are moving your arms etc so happy with the design.

Personally I'm very happy with the quality but my expectations were low after the first generation 1 series I had beforehand but it seems on par with the audi s3 I had before that.

[Tengocity]

Can understand most of those comments, especially regarding the centre console plastics... they sound like a drum when you tap them and that can never be a good thing!

The door handle catching the knee is something I moaned about back in January and got little sympathy for at the time, so glad that at last someone else has noticed this. I was going to buy something to stick over door handle for padding but I think I've just got used to it or something.

[JustChris]

Good lord the dog makes the photo look like a 1 series boot!

[PrinceBarin]

Nice write up. Agree with all your comments.

B660 is a cracking drive. Know it well

[mgarvey]

Good write up, thanks. Your fuel economy may improve over time - my 318d Sport does 50+mpg all day long even if I drive it like I stole it.

[rocketretro]

OK, I'm really coming round to the Estoril blue now, some posts say that the blue is common but we just don't see too many in these parts. The pics confirm to me that the F31 just looks totally right compared to the saloon back end! My MPG improved significantly at 5K.

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

Lol he was only about 6 mths then! He's considerably bigger now! I think the angle of the pic makes him look bigger...

I don't know if he sheds much, however you can get custom boot liner.
I have one for my E91, it's ideal and has a flap to protect rear bumper paint.

http://www.ukcustomcovers.com/collec...ing-boot-liner

Recommend these ones. Not too pricey but gives ample internal protection.

Handy for muddy mountain bikes, muddy boots etc.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Brigand

I don't know if he sheds much, however you can get custom boot liner.
I have one for my E91, it's ideal and has a flap to protect rear bumper paint.

http://www.ukcustomcovers.com/collec...ing-boot-liner

Recommend these ones. Not too pricey but gives ample internal protection.

Handy for muddy mountain bikes, muddy boots etc.

That looks good value. How easy is it to move it sufficiently to get access to the underfloor storage?

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

That looks good value. How easy is it to move it sufficiently to get access to the underfloor storage?

It's pretty good, it attaches to floor and read head restraints, admittedly I use a carabiner to make dropping rear seats easier.

It goes up the sides and you have Velcro sticky patches to apply to car, liner attaches to these. Had mine on since June 12.

Even handled dog being icky, wipe clean.

[TouringPleb]

Originally Posted by Brigand

I don't know if he sheds much, however you can get custom boot liner.
I have one for my E91, it's ideal and has a flap to protect rear bumper paint.

http://www.ukcustomcovers.com/collec...ing-boot-liner

Recommend these ones. Not too pricey but gives ample internal protection.

Handy for muddy mountain bikes, muddy boots etc.

Cheers. Looks good. It's not so much his hair but he's normally wet after being in a river or lake somewhere!

[edz_f06]

Good write up, seems pretty similar to my experience of my F31 320d.

I found I was catching the door handle with my knee so spent a bit of time with all the seat adjustment, and finally discovered moving the wheel nearer to me meant I could sit further back and that solved it.

I drive mine in eco pro when going to work in the week so when I drive in sport at weekends it gives a noticeable difference!

Economy is ~50mpg, OBC says 55-60mpg each day for my similar commute to yours. Car has covered 23k so guess this is the economy I'll be getting.

I agree about the xenons alone but with adaptive I find that balances the position out compared to my last car.

[DrSteve]

Originally Posted by TouringPleb

The fact that I have to adjust both sides of the climate control separately bugs me, my OCD can't cope with different temperatures and I can't understand why there can't be a way to change this.

Have to agree with you on this. In the Audi the dual climate controls could either operate independently or you could sync them and control both sides from the driver's side. I just assumed there was an option somewhere to do this that I had overlooked.

[dopper99]

With regards hot hatch performance - well maybe akin to 1990's hot hatch cars! Its more of "warm hatch" performance by todays standards (0-62 I noticed is 7.7s). Virtually all hot hatches these days are in the 6 seconds.

Having said that, I drove a 320d some time ago and thought is was a cracking engine. Very rapid off the mark and in fact seemed as quick to 30mph as my old E90 330d that I had at the time. After that it loses a bit of puff - but its no slouch really!