With my car having it's first service today I'm currently in a courtesy car.
This is now the second courtesy/hire car I've had since I took delivery of my 335d last december.
The first was a 320d Luxury Saloon manual. The second is a 116d sport 3dr Auto.
It is quite clear that not all BMWs are created equal, the engine/gearbox combo and the options taken really do make the car.
Let's start with the engine and gearbox. While neither courtesy car was going to compare performance wise to mine the stand out between the two is the 116d. While it is severely lacking in the horsepower department the gearbox allows you to extract everything it has to offer - at all times (except in Eco Pro which allows only slightly better progress than walking).
The 320d on the other hand always felt much slower by comparison, the longer gears of the 6 speed manual being just that bit too far apart to keep the engine in the meat of it's torque curve. I'm certain had it had the auto fitted it would have been a much better proposition.
Infotainment:
The 320d had the business sat nav. I saw very little difference in the performance or operation compared to the pro nav in my car with one major exception. RTTI. This feature makes a huge difference to me driving in the south east of England and without it the nav serves little purpose, TMC traffic is so wildly inaccurate as to the anticipated delay it is pointless. The extent of this is for anyone looking to get a new BMW I'd advise either get Pro Nav or don't get nav at all.
Speakers - both the 116d and the 320d were fitted with the base system. This is appalling - avoid! BMW really ought to get rid of it, or at least put the HK system into more 'packs' in the similar way that Audi put the Bose/B&O system into higher trim specifications.
Enhanced Bluetooth - the 320d had this fitted and while I don't think I'd ever use the cradle, it was quite handy being able to stream from the phone without having to worry about cables. Definitely think a coding session is in order on my car.
Seats:
My car has leather sport seats with adjustable lumbar. The 320d had SE seats. These were astonishingly uncomfortable. the lower back support they offered actually created a pressure point on my spine which after even short journeys was unbearable. The 116d had cloth sport seats without adjustable lumbar - these were much better, however in this day and age I really can't understand any car which doesn't have adjustable lumbar. I for one would never buy a car without it.
Headlights:
Both the 320d and 116d had regular halogen lights. These are not good at all. If you intend to drive even a fairly modest number of miles at night - especially in poor weather then the Xenons are for you. In fact in order to get Xenons on a car I'd actually sacrifice the engine specification to ensure I could afford them. These also really ought to be standard on higher spec cars.
Other general things:
The 320d was Glacier Silver - this was really smart and looked very good on the Saloon. The 320d didn't have folding rear seats - this was exceptionally annoying as I was in the process of doing a DIY project at the time and needed to pick some stuff up while my 335d was off the road. I'm not convinced by the sliding armrest - I suppose if you were very short it would be more useful. The 116d didn't have climate control - only regular aircon. It was almost impossible to achieve a stable temperature in the car as a result. A quick look seems to suggest that this is only available on the lowest spec cars.
Next time I won't get big wheels on the car. The tradeoff in ride comfort and especially in road noise isn't worth the visual appeal in my view.
The main thing that struck me here is how important it is to have a decent test drive before you buy. This is particularly important when it comes down to engine/gearbox combos and seats. For most other things the experience of those on forums like this can be and indeed is invaluable.
This is now the second courtesy/hire car I've had since I took delivery of my 335d last december.
The first was a 320d Luxury Saloon manual. The second is a 116d sport 3dr Auto.
It is quite clear that not all BMWs are created equal, the engine/gearbox combo and the options taken really do make the car.
Let's start with the engine and gearbox. While neither courtesy car was going to compare performance wise to mine the stand out between the two is the 116d. While it is severely lacking in the horsepower department the gearbox allows you to extract everything it has to offer - at all times (except in Eco Pro which allows only slightly better progress than walking).
The 320d on the other hand always felt much slower by comparison, the longer gears of the 6 speed manual being just that bit too far apart to keep the engine in the meat of it's torque curve. I'm certain had it had the auto fitted it would have been a much better proposition.
Infotainment:
The 320d had the business sat nav. I saw very little difference in the performance or operation compared to the pro nav in my car with one major exception. RTTI. This feature makes a huge difference to me driving in the south east of England and without it the nav serves little purpose, TMC traffic is so wildly inaccurate as to the anticipated delay it is pointless. The extent of this is for anyone looking to get a new BMW I'd advise either get Pro Nav or don't get nav at all.
Speakers - both the 116d and the 320d were fitted with the base system. This is appalling - avoid! BMW really ought to get rid of it, or at least put the HK system into more 'packs' in the similar way that Audi put the Bose/B&O system into higher trim specifications.
Enhanced Bluetooth - the 320d had this fitted and while I don't think I'd ever use the cradle, it was quite handy being able to stream from the phone without having to worry about cables. Definitely think a coding session is in order on my car.
Seats:
My car has leather sport seats with adjustable lumbar. The 320d had SE seats. These were astonishingly uncomfortable. the lower back support they offered actually created a pressure point on my spine which after even short journeys was unbearable. The 116d had cloth sport seats without adjustable lumbar - these were much better, however in this day and age I really can't understand any car which doesn't have adjustable lumbar. I for one would never buy a car without it.
Headlights:
Both the 320d and 116d had regular halogen lights. These are not good at all. If you intend to drive even a fairly modest number of miles at night - especially in poor weather then the Xenons are for you. In fact in order to get Xenons on a car I'd actually sacrifice the engine specification to ensure I could afford them. These also really ought to be standard on higher spec cars.
Other general things:
The 320d was Glacier Silver - this was really smart and looked very good on the Saloon. The 320d didn't have folding rear seats - this was exceptionally annoying as I was in the process of doing a DIY project at the time and needed to pick some stuff up while my 335d was off the road. I'm not convinced by the sliding armrest - I suppose if you were very short it would be more useful. The 116d didn't have climate control - only regular aircon. It was almost impossible to achieve a stable temperature in the car as a result. A quick look seems to suggest that this is only available on the lowest spec cars.
Next time I won't get big wheels on the car. The tradeoff in ride comfort and especially in road noise isn't worth the visual appeal in my view.
The main thing that struck me here is how important it is to have a decent test drive before you buy. This is particularly important when it comes down to engine/gearbox combos and seats. For most other things the experience of those on forums like this can be and indeed is invaluable.
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