Are there any real alternatives to a 3 series touring?

[Alex]

Hi all, just looking for some views.

I bought myself an RX8 3 years ago, having only ever driven relatively boring cars before - and the RX8 was probably one of the best things I have bought. Absolutely fantastic fun, and suprisingly spacious boot and rear passenger space.

Problem is now, there is a baby on the way in the not too distant future and really I need a car with space for a pram as well as the day to day stuff. This means I need a new car, and I quite like the idea of a sporty estate as this will have the room for the pram etc - and I do a reasonable amount of DIY and so would quite like a car with a good amount of rear space.

Thing is, I wouldn't want to buy a car that would be less fun than my RX8, and would prefer if I'm spending an extra £10k on top of selling my RX8 to get something that would be a significant upgrade in terms of how it drives. Better fuel economy wouldn't be a negative either. Looking around, at my budget of around £15-£16k I could easily pick up a 2007-2008 BMW 3 series M Sport Touring 335D - there are even some out there in that price bracket which have been tuned to 350bhp (and 500lb/ft of torque) by DMS auto. This would still do 40+mpg despite a 0-62 of 4.5 seconds.

I'm struggling to think of anything that fits my criteria of being fun, spacious and economical as well as the 335D, but am willing to take other thoughts. I had considered the 320D as it's so much more efficient - 56mpg vs 42mpg - but I just love the idea of a 350bhp car with that good economy. Insurance wouldn't be too bad - I've been quoted £950 for a ECU remapped 335D, vs £650 I'm paying now for the RX8.

Are there any other cars that come close to this? Any other choices I should consider - and am I mad for wanting the 335D rather than the 320D? (I've discounted the 325 and 330D as the economy is similar to the 335D but with less performance, and I'm told the manual 'box in the range won't take the power of the remap that an auto gearbox will cope with easily).

Thoughts?

Alex

[Tumble]

Audi A6 estate? the 2.0 diesel is plenty punchy enough, and the quattro works really well, plus I think it's got a bigger boot than the 3 series as well....

[dave87]

Guy's your man - he's actually had a 335d and done a fair few miles in it too, so he would be able to give you the real world impression of it.

On paper, you are correct - it is streets ahead of most of its rivals. The other option to consider would be the 535d - play the depreciation game and you may be able to get a better level of kit vs the 3.

[KidChameleon]

Audi A6 estate? the 2.0 diesel is plenty punchy enough, and the quattro works really well, plus I think it's got a bigger boot than the 3 series as well....

I was driving a 2.0 diesel A6 for a bit, and while it was a nice car the engine was pretty dull. 0-60 in around 10 seconds felt a bit apathetic. FWD as well, although the suspension was pretty good.

As above, the 535d can be had fairly cheaply now. Last I saw, a 2004 535d was around the £13k mark. Much more boot space than the 3 series. I've only test driven a 525d so I can't remember much about it but I have a feeling the driving position was surprisingly cramped for such a big car. The centre console is quite imposing.

I've driven a couple of 320ds over the last couple of years. The saloon with leather seats, auto box and the sport package was comfortable enough to sit in but a little harsh over bumps. It wasn't too bad, really. The endless supply of cigarette ash from the roof lining was a bit tainting, though. The suspension was definitely tighter than on the standard estate.

The other one was an estate with a manual box and cloth upholstery. The seats weren't the most comfortable (German cars always have hard seats). The sport seats wrap around better. I think the clutch pedal had a fair bit of travel while the gear changes were quite stiff. You have to "click" the stick into place, rather than make a smooth movement between gears. The boot isn't particularly big on the estate. As a base model, that one wasn't much to shout about. The 6 cylinder diesels are supposedly much better, although I could get 60mpg if I set the cruise control to 70mph and stayed there. It was mostly about 40-45mpg around town and 50mpg on the motorway. But that was a 2006 with the 163bhp engine. The 2007 was upgraded to, I think, 177bhp and the current one makes 184bhp.

[GoNz0]

i dream of having a 335D!

[Alex]

Thanks guys - I'm hoping to take the 320D and 335D for a test drive at some point. I think the 3 series in plenty big enough for me, and I'm not really a fan of the looks of the 5 series. I'm kind of hoping the 320D is fast enough for me as it makes so much more sense than the 335D, but then a large part of me just wants the 335D.

It's quite tough as I think I'll be planning on keeping this for 5-8 years as a minimum really. If I was confident that petrol/diesel prices wouldn't be £2+ per litre in five years then I'd definitely get the 335D, but who knows?

[Smudger]

Imprezza STI fastback? Subaru Legacy B6? Other than that, and the equivalent Audi (I think they only go to a 3.0TDI though) your choice is bit limited, if you want a fast estate.

Edit: There are of course the S6 and S4, but these are petrol...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Use the bus??

[kalniel]

Ford CMAX

And I'm being serious.

[ehhhhhhh]

Thanks guys - I'm hoping to take the 320D and 335D for a test drive at some point. I think the 3 series in plenty big enough for me, and I'm not really a fan of the looks of the 5 series. I'm kind of hoping the 320D is fast enough for me as it makes so much more sense than the 335D, but then a large part of me just wants the 335D.

+1 for the 335d

I had the chance to test drive the 320d (F30) and I've found it boring and sluggish compared to my 335i.

[abaxas]

It's impossible to have exciting and practical, there's always going to be a compromise somewhere.

Buy something boring and fit for purpose to do the miles, something mental for the smiles.

Boring as sin A3 2.0 TDI and a S1 elise..... always nice to get into the elise but then also nice to get into the A3 and have padded seats

[Barakka]

If you're drawn between the 335D and the 320D how about an Alpina D3 Touring, you should be able to get about a 2007 plate with less than 60k on the clock, all the refinements of the Alpina brand and based on the 320D but pumped to 200bhp while still returning the mpg of the 320D try this link

[Zak33]

Ford CMAX

And I'm being serious.

I think you're being ignored on that one bud.

[Scainer]

The RX8 is lethargic till about 5500 rpm so its really only quick on a track.
So in all seriousness a 320d will still feel quick due to the turbo delivery, but on the flip side you will miss holding on to them high revs.
I guess your sick of returning your current sub 18 mpg, hence looking at the diesels.

[KidChameleon]

If you're drawn between the 335D and the 320D how about an Alpina D3 Touring, you should be able to get about a 2007 plate with less than 60k on the clock, all the refinements of the Alpina brand and based on the 320D but pumped to 200bhp while still returning the mpg of the 320D try this link

The 320d can be remapped to around 200bhp, but the turbo on the 320d has reliability problems. Alpina replaced the turbo with something that can reliably handle more power. Just thought I'd point that out before someone fobs off the value of the Alpina.

Also, as for abaxas' comment about having to compromise between exciting and practical - M5 Touring. The only thing not practical about it is the fuel consumption. And they're still over about £20,000 (Plus insurance) so over budget.

[dave87]

The 320d can be remapped to around 200bhp, but the turbo on the 320d has reliability problems. Alpina replaced the turbo with something that can reliably handle more power. Just thought I'd point that out before someone fobs off the value of the Alpina.

Also, as for abaxas' comment about having to compromise between exciting and practical - M5 Touring. The only thing not practical about it is the fuel consumption. And they're still over about £20,000 (Plus insurance) so over budget.

The engine in the D3 is derived from the 123d engine and is widely regarded as being a peach of an engine. Sadly Alpina set a spec for the D3 and then if you wanted to deviate from that you had a 1500 special order charge plus the options - as a result very few came with Nav, heated seats, full leather etc - where as the 335d is often comes with it spec'd.