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Motoring Discussion > BMW - F30 320d ED first impressions
Thread Author: DP	Replies: 82

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New Tue 13 Mar 12 10:35

BMW - F30 320d ED first impressions - DP

First 100 miles in the F30, so I thought I'd post some initial impressions.

I chose Mineral Grey, which you might call gunmetal grey. I think the car is very handsome, with an almost shark-like nose reminiscent of the 70s and early 80's BMWs. The bonnet line looks very low for a modern car, and the overall impression is of a car that actually looks smaller than it is. It's a shame the bonnet shutline doesn't extend down to the lights and grille like on the E90, but otherwise, I think the styling update works well.

Inside there is more space than before. The kids have more legroom, and the child booster seats don't foul the seatbelt buckles like they did in the E90. The driving position is excellent, with a huge range of seat adjustment, and the wheel, pedals and gear lever falling nicely to hand.

The interior itself is a quantum leap over the E90. There's the same driver focused layout, but the materials are softer, the design much more modern, and the now standard i-Drive keeps the dash layout relatively simple. Fit and finish is impeccable, and the equipment levels are also generous. Mine is bog standard, save for metallic paint, and still comes with 4 electric windows, electric heated mirrors, dual zone climate, parking sensors, cruise control, Radio/CD with USB and auxiliary inputs, Bluetooth, auto lights, and auto wipers.

Another new (to me) feature is the ability to set the car into different driving "modes", activated by a button next to the gear lever. The default mode is "ECO PRO" which softens throttle response, turns the air conditioning down, and winds all the Efficient Dynamics gubbins up to maximum settings. There's also "COMFORT", and "SPORT".

In SPORT mode, the throttle response becomes very satisfying, with a deep surge on tap whenever you need it. Although trying to treat the still tight engine with a bit of respect, I can feel this is going to be a fairly quick car. The thump in the back is way beyond anything the 318d could deliver, and the 8 second 0-62 time is entirely believable.

It's not all good news though. Even allowing for new tyres and lack of familiarity, it's clear this is not of the same standard dynamically as the E90. It's softer, the steering is lighter (even in SPORT mode), and it's generally lazier in its responses. It feels like it's probably going to understeer before it does anything else, but maybe a few more miles on the tyres will help. Until I get it run in and do some hard driving, I can't comment any further, and it's still a good handling car by general standards, but there just isn't that sense of "connection" with the road that the old car had. I thought it telling that the latter was SWMBO's exact comment after driving it for the first time, with no prompting from me.

Although I haven't put fuel in yet, and can't comment on the real economy, the figures from the computer are staggering. For a 163 bhp engine with 100 miles on the clock to be sticking >60 mpg figures on the trip averages is very impressive. I never got the 318d to 50 mpg. It remains to be seen how accurate this is, and I will be checking it carefully.

So, all in a very pleasant car so far. Love the interior, the engine, the equipment levels, the immaculate build quality, and the styling. I think it will be a very easy car to live with for 3 years, even if the jury is still out on the dynamics. Will keep you posted.