Thursday, January 24, 2008
Running report on the BMW 320
Having had the BMW 320d almost a month now, in which I've racked up the first 1500km, it's time for a running report.
In general, so far, so good, although there are a few niggles. I've been paying attention to the running-in instructions - no more than 3500rpm for the first 2000km, and don't go over 150km/h. No problems. 150km/h in sixth gear is only about 2400rpm anyway and I've been taking it steady.
My commute mixes largely-unrestricted autobahn with congested urban and lots of traffic lights (German lights take longer to phase shift than in the UK or the US, so the red seemingly stays on forever) - and this combi is hardly ideal for maximizing fuel economy. So far the average is 7 litres per 100km, or 40mpg, which isn't THAT BAD, but it's not great either for a standard saloon car.
Behind the wheel, I'm loving the heated seats and all the switchgear is where I expect, except the buttons to raise/lower the front windows are a couple of cm too far forward - so I keep opening the driver's side rear window by mistake. At first, after my old 5 Series, I felt that the driving position was too close to the windscreen but I've dropped the seat and tilted the wheel and it's fine. My more basic spec model doesn't have the iDrive so there's a convenient drop tray for my mobile.
There's an AV input neatly stowed inside the centre armrest, next to one of the four 9v electrical sockets inside the car. Unfortunately, the armrest lid won't shut when this socket is in use, which is a small design flaw. The stereo system is absolutely fine, and plays MP3 CDs as well as anything plugged into the AUX input, while radio reception is better than the old car: the Munich stations fade out about 10km further down the autobahn.
The engine's a bit lumpy at start-up when temperatures are below zero. At first I wondered if this was because the factory hadn't used diesel with a freezing inhibitor but after two tankfuls it must be something else. Although there's hardly been any snow, when we did have some, the lack of plastic trims on the steel winter wheels led to ice build-up in the rims and consequently an enormous amount of judder through the steering until I stopped and chipped out the ice. It's a bit cheap of BMW not to throw in the covers.
The steering is very direct - you just think and twitch your way around corners, and as for the much complained-of tramlining - yes there's a bit and I'm not a fan of the run-flat tyres as they add to the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) on top of the M&S profile rubber. The handling is super-sharp and this car enjoys being pushed around corners. It's also testament to BMW's focus on handling that the car really doesn't crash into potholes: the structure is super-solid.
Wind noise from the sunroof is a bit obtrusive at autobahn speeds but almost obliterated when the sunscreen is closed. Wind noise from open windows is louder.
As my old car was a low-spec '99 model, I'm adjusting to some fairly standard features for the first time - such as cruise control. I'd always said I'd prefer not to use this on the autobahn but it's been in daily use. One gripe is that there's no instrument cluster illumination to show when cruise control is engaged. The 320 also has automatic lights, which work a treat in the Munich middle ring-road tunnels and automatic wipers with variable speed, which work well unless the screen is excessively dirty, when the wipers stay on full speed. The automatic climate control returns to the option to vary temperatures between driver and front-seat passenger, and works well, but the fan is too noisy.
All-in-all, I'm impressed. No doubt the fuel economy will start to drop as I open up on the autobahns, conditions permitting. I'm also almost even looking forward to that long drive up to Hanover for CeBIT this year.
In general, so far, so good, although there are a few niggles. I've been paying attention to the running-in instructions - no more than 3500rpm for the first 2000km, and don't go over 150km/h. No problems. 150km/h in sixth gear is only about 2400rpm anyway and I've been taking it steady.
My commute mixes largely-unrestricted autobahn with congested urban and lots of traffic lights (German lights take longer to phase shift than in the UK or the US, so the red seemingly stays on forever) - and this combi is hardly ideal for maximizing fuel economy. So far the average is 7 litres per 100km, or 40mpg, which isn't THAT BAD, but it's not great either for a standard saloon car.
Behind the wheel, I'm loving the heated seats and all the switchgear is where I expect, except the buttons to raise/lower the front windows are a couple of cm too far forward - so I keep opening the driver's side rear window by mistake. At first, after my old 5 Series, I felt that the driving position was too close to the windscreen but I've dropped the seat and tilted the wheel and it's fine. My more basic spec model doesn't have the iDrive so there's a convenient drop tray for my mobile.
There's an AV input neatly stowed inside the centre armrest, next to one of the four 9v electrical sockets inside the car. Unfortunately, the armrest lid won't shut when this socket is in use, which is a small design flaw. The stereo system is absolutely fine, and plays MP3 CDs as well as anything plugged into the AUX input, while radio reception is better than the old car: the Munich stations fade out about 10km further down the autobahn.
The engine's a bit lumpy at start-up when temperatures are below zero. At first I wondered if this was because the factory hadn't used diesel with a freezing inhibitor but after two tankfuls it must be something else. Although there's hardly been any snow, when we did have some, the lack of plastic trims on the steel winter wheels led to ice build-up in the rims and consequently an enormous amount of judder through the steering until I stopped and chipped out the ice. It's a bit cheap of BMW not to throw in the covers.
The steering is very direct - you just think and twitch your way around corners, and as for the much complained-of tramlining - yes there's a bit and I'm not a fan of the run-flat tyres as they add to the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) on top of the M&S profile rubber. The handling is super-sharp and this car enjoys being pushed around corners. It's also testament to BMW's focus on handling that the car really doesn't crash into potholes: the structure is super-solid.
Wind noise from the sunroof is a bit obtrusive at autobahn speeds but almost obliterated when the sunscreen is closed. Wind noise from open windows is louder.
As my old car was a low-spec '99 model, I'm adjusting to some fairly standard features for the first time - such as cruise control. I'd always said I'd prefer not to use this on the autobahn but it's been in daily use. One gripe is that there's no instrument cluster illumination to show when cruise control is engaged. The 320 also has automatic lights, which work a treat in the Munich middle ring-road tunnels and automatic wipers with variable speed, which work well unless the screen is excessively dirty, when the wipers stay on full speed. The automatic climate control returns to the option to vary temperatures between driver and front-seat passenger, and works well, but the fan is too noisy.
All-in-all, I'm impressed. No doubt the fuel economy will start to drop as I open up on the autobahns, conditions permitting. I'm also almost even looking forward to that long drive up to Hanover for CeBIT this year.
Labels: petrolhead
# posted by Nesjo : 15:25
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