BMW 320i vs 320D: your choice?

[satanboy]

*rolls the drums* More BMW consumer advice

I successfully completed my BMW battery expedition this morning.

Turns out that for the battery that BMW would have charged me R175 to replace in one remote, I could purchase two for both my remotes and still have R55 change left over. Best of all, I found the exact Sony model within the BMW remotes (at R60 each), so it's not like there's anything dodgy:
.........

Battery replaced and low battery error cleared automatically in the car

I've never replaced batteries in my keys, had the car since 2010.

 

[Foxhound5366]

I've never replaced batteries in my keys, had the car since 2010.

Funny story is that soon after I replaced the batteries I got the low battery error again, just once. That day my wife was with me and she had her spare key on her, so I have a suspicion that our two keys' signals disrupted each other. The error hasn't returned since.

 

[Foxhound5366]

Aha lovely recap of Week 1.

Next time 1 month on

Just give me a reminder lol. FiestaST, do you mind sharing what your relationship is to the automotive industry? Are you just a fan, or a motoring journalist, or in the aftermarket?

 

[FiestaST]

Lol. Will give a reminder...

Just a fan with some journalist contacts. That's pretty much it.

If you expected more hope that's not a letdown...Haha

 

[Foxhound5366]

Lol. Will give a reminder...

Just a fan with some journalist contacts. That's pretty much it.

If you expected more hope that's not a letdown...Haha

Damn, there I was hoping you were at the very least the MD of one of the OEMs. Another hero toppled.

 

[Pitbull]

Ok, two bonus points I have to add now.

Likes:
- Space: The 3 Series has ample space front, back and boot. It's really great for travelling with a few people long distances.

Dislikes:
Fuel consumption: This is where I wish I had the 320D rather. In pure stop/start driving in city at low speeds over short distances, the 320i gargles fuel (even in EcoPro mode). I've gotten 15l/100km quite easily like this, without even driving aggressively. On the highways it is much better: I've averaged 6.5l/100km, which is much better. I still need a proper road trip to Durban to test.

Yea stop go traffic is heavy on fuel in my 320i too. Reason I want a diesel now. Not 15L/100 though jirre. Mine averages around 10/11L/100 in stop go traffic every morning. On highway though goes to about 6.9/7.5L/100km

 

[Gtx Gaming]

Yea stop go traffic is heavy on fuel in my 320i too. Reason I want a diesel now. Not 15L/100 though jirre. Mine averages around 10/11L/100 in stop go traffic every morning. On highway though goes to about 6.9/7.5L/100km

Getting 3.3L/100km on highway at 120km/h, diesel for life!!

Used half a tank to knysna from cpt, really been enjoying it driving it around here.

 

[Foxhound5366]

Getting 3.3L/100km on highway at 120km/h, diesel for life!!

Used half a tank to knysna from cpt, really been enjoying it driving it around here.

Nice one GTX Just bear in mind that the 320D is normally a good bit more expensive than the 320i, so spending more on a car to achieve better fuel consumption on highway cruising (let's say) is something that needs to be carefully considered.

After writing that line I decided to just do some rough calculations, does anybody else agree with this?

April 2017 pricelist from BMW:
- Base 320i Auto: R547 500
- Base 320D Auto: R580 300
Difference: R32 800

ULP95 Petrol is R13.54/litre on the reef
50ppm Diesel is R11.23/litre on the reef (wholesale price)

Now let's say a 320D gets 4 litres/100km, and a 320i gets 7 litres/100km consistently.
320D: 100km costs R44.92
320i: 100km costs R94.78
Difference = R49.86

If the price difference of the car is R32 800 extra, that means you'd need to travel 657.84 [R32 800/R49.86] x 100km = 65 784km just to break even from a cost perspective.

Now there are a lot of factors in that calculation, so real-world differences might be even greater (e.g. chances are people aren't getting their diesel at wholesale prices and the 320D owners might struggle to return 4l/100km consistently over 65 000km).

 

[Gtx Gaming]

I personally don't think it is worth the price difference. Btw diesel pretty expensive here in knysna, paying around 12.70.

 

[Foxhound5366]

I personally don't think it is worth the price difference. Btw diesel pretty expensive here in knysna, paying around 12.70.

Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily do it new, but buying a preowned one makes a lot more sense because the former owner has absorbed a lot of that pain (although 320D are generally still more expensive than 320i even when preowned).

 

[SauRoNZA]

Ok, two bonus points I have to add now.

Likes:
- Space: The 3 Series has ample space front, back and boot. It's really great for travelling with a few people long distances.

Dislikes:
Fuel consumption: This is where I wish I had the 320D rather. In pure stop/start driving in city at low speeds over short distances, the 320i gargles fuel (even in EcoPro mode). I've gotten 15l/100km quite easily like this, without even driving aggressively. On the highways it is much better: I've averaged 6.5l/100km, which is much better. I still need a proper road trip to Durban to test.

Are you looking at the “live” economy?

What is the overall average so far?

Because if that’s an average it’s actually quite shocking.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Yea stop go traffic is heavy on fuel in my 320i too. Reason I want a diesel now. Not 15L/100 though jirre. Mine averages around 10/11L/100 in stop go traffic every morning. On highway though goes to about 6.9/7.5L/100km

That seems more reasonable.

My lifetime average in the GTI is 10.4 which is a much older and also higher powered car.

So I really would expect the newer tech 320 to be much lighter on juice overall.

The one I test drove a few months ago seemed very light but that was of course just a very short drive.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Nice one GTX Just bear in mind that the 320D is normally a good bit more expensive than the 320i, so spending more on a car to achieve better fuel consumption on highway cruising (let's say) is something that needs to be carefully considered.

After writing that line I decided to just do some rough calculations, does anybody else agree with this?

April 2017 pricelist from BMW:
- Base 320i Auto: R547 500
- Base 320D Auto: R580 300
Difference: R32 800

ULP95 Petrol is R13.54/litre on the reef
50ppm Diesel is R11.23/litre on the reef (wholesale price)

Now let's say a 320D gets 4 litres/100km, and a 320i gets 7 litres/100km consistently.
320D: 100km costs R44.92
320i: 100km costs R94.78
Difference = R49.86

If the price difference of the car is R32 800 extra, that means you'd need to travel 657.84 [R32 800/R49.86] x 100km = 65 784km just to break even from a cost perspective.

Now there are a lot of factors in that calculation, so real-world differences might be even greater (e.g. chances are people aren't getting their diesel at wholesale prices and the 320D owners might struggle to return 4l/100km consistently over 65 000km).

Well considering I’ve done 85000km in my car and still plan to drive it for a while that means it would be significantly cheaper in the longer term.

Excluding maintenance costs and such.

But your first paragraph rings the most true and is the primary reason why I’ve not bought a new car even though mine is relatively heavy compared to most these days.

Buying a new car, even at half the economy of the current one simply doesn’t save me any money. It just loses me tens of thousands.

 

[Foxhound5366]

Are you looking at the “live” economy?

What is the overall average so far?

Because if that’s an average it’s actually quite shocking.

It's what I get if I press the button on the left stalk to access the onboard computer, and I cycle through until I get to the fuel average (which I reset from time to time by holding it in). That's the right way of doing it? It's just that high on short trips (like <2km) between home and work, which involves a hill and a cold engine. Like I said it comes down nicely on longer drives, which I hardly get any chance to do. That will all change next week when I start my new job, which is like a 30km drive away from home, so for a month (before I move closer) I'll be able to do some in-depth highway testing. Will report back

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Ok, two bonus points I have to add now.

Likes:
- Space: The 3 Series has ample space front, back and boot. It's really great for travelling with a few people long distances.

Dislikes:
Fuel consumption: This is where I wish I had the 320D rather. In pure stop/start driving in city at low speeds over short distances, the 320i gargles fuel (even in EcoPro mode). I've gotten 15l/100km quite easily like this, without even driving aggressively. On the highways it is much better: I've averaged 6.5l/100km, which is much better. I still need a proper road trip to Durban to test.

That is some crazy fuel consumption!

Are your tyres pumped up and we'll aligned? 15/100km seems pretty crazy for such motor especially when being driven moderately.

 

[SauRoNZA]

It's what I get if I press the button on the left stalk to access the onboard computer, and I cycle through until I get to the fuel average (which I reset from time to time by holding it in). That's the right way of doing it? It's just that high on short trips (like <2km) between home and work, which involves a hill and a cold engine. Like I said it comes down nicely on longer drives, which I hardly get any chance to do. That will all change next week when I start my new job, which is like a 30km drive away from home, so for a month (before I move closer) I'll be able to do some in-depth highway testing. Will report back

You should have two.

One for longer term and one for shorter term.

Reset the one when you fill up tank but don’t reset the other.

But my data comes from Fuelly as it’s more accurate.

 

[SauRoNZA]

That is some crazy fuel consumption!

Are your tyres pumped up and we'll aligned? 15/100km seems pretty crazy for such motor especially when being driven moderately.

As he explained he is looking at the more live data on a Short trip.

Cars only warm up and settle after 15-20min so it makes sense.

Mine starts at like 30 and counts down.

Not very accurate data at all and shouldn’t be used in any way to represent real world economy.

Even if you only had a 15 min drive every day it would average out well below that.

 

[ChrisThomas]

It's what I get if I press the button on the left stalk to access the onboard computer, and I cycle through until I get to the fuel average (which I reset from time to time by holding it in). That's the right way of doing it? It's just that high on short trips (like <2km) between home and work, which involves a hill and a cold engine. Like I said it comes down nicely on longer drives, which I hardly get any chance to do. That will all change next week when I start my new job, which is like a 30km drive away from home, so for a month (before I move closer) I'll be able to do some in-depth highway testing. Will report back

The loan 320i I've been driving for a week now averages 8l / 100km - my drive to work and back has mixed highway and heavy traffic and I travel 92km per day. It's much better than the 116i that I had for a week which averaged 10l/100km

 

[Foxhound5366]

The loan 320i I've been driving for a week now averages 8l / 100km - my drive to work and back has mixed highway and heavy traffic and I travel 92km per day. It's much better than the 116i that I had for a week which averaged 10l/100km

Yup, I'm happy to report that mine was averaging 7l/100km this morning, mostly highway and free-flowing traffic in town Phew! Much better.

 

[FiestaST]