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12 November 2012 by Paul Clarke
Eco FactsModel/Engine size: 330d Touring Luxury
Fuel: Diesel
Fuel economy combined: 55.4mpg
After two weeks of living with a BMW 330d Touring , is it still shaping up to be the best all-round car on sale, and, crucially, what sort of economy is it capable of?
Following our drive of a BMW 116d ED in the RAC Future Car Challenge, when we achieved 103mpg , we thought we’d apply some eco-driving principles to the 330d and see what happened. Driving from Manchester to Blackpool, at speeds between 60-70mph, we achieved 60mpg according to the car’s read-out (although it had dropped to 59.9mpg by the time we’d photographed the display). On our drive in the Future Car Challenge it appeared that the BMW computer didn’t log any economy in excess of 99.9mpg, so in reality we may have bettered 60mpg.
We wanted to check this figure with another
motorway economy driving test
, this time from Manchester to Chester, at speeds between 65 to 70mph. This time we achieved anindicated 55.8mpg. This shows, somewhat unscientifically, that increasing your speed by a few mph results in a drop in economy of around 4mpg.
However the main thing it shows is that if you drive the 330d carefully you can achieve up to 60mpg (its official combined economy figure is 55.4mpg and extra-urban figure is 62.8mpg ). This is a key outcome that we were hoping for if we were to support any claim of the 330d Touring being the best car on sale for combining performance, economy, a great driving experience, and practicality.
One other theory that our two weeks with the car has proven is that using cruise control is not the most economical way to drive. In the first week with the car we drove from Manchester to North Wales and used cruise control wherever possible. This only resulted in average fuel economy of 46mpg. Whereas we achieved 56mpg over a similar route using a light right foot and no cruise control.
One very welcome finding is that the interior controls are very well positioned and they work well. This even applies to the steering wheel; the rim feels sufficiently chunky, and the steering is well-weighted.
We also like the fact that many of the controls of the 330d are ‘conventional’ – such as the ability to turn a real dial to quickly reduce or increase the temperature; there are real, clear buttons for radio stations; and it has a good old-fashioned handbrake. Call us Luddites, but a real handbrake still seems preferable to electronic handbrakes, which invariably seem to lead to frustration – either they don’t release when you want them to, and/or they’re too fiddly to engage.
The drive mode toggle switch is also in the perfect place to quickly switch between drive modes, and even the cupholder is in the ideal position to put your mobile phone
We knew from previous drives of the new 3 Series that the head-up display is excellent , providing a useful image of speed and satnav instructions. We’ve now found that it also provides clear information when scrolling through iPhone music tracks.
Unlike systems in many other cars, it’s easy to display a map and to enter a new destination using the iDrive – two of the things that we often want to do quickly.
It really feels that when the new 3 Series was designed, a real person – and a driving enthusiast at that – actually sat in the development car’s driving seat and checked that all controls were in the right place and were easy to use. Sounds an obvious thing to do? Maybe, but many other cars feel like they’ve been put together without such input.
Yes, we’re delighted to report that we have found a problem; after two weeks with the car we still can’t seem to find a way to adjust the clock, which still shows British Summer Time, in other words, the car is one hour ahead of us. This may well be user-error/incompetence, but we may have to resort to asking BMW how to fix this.
There’s another thing. We like the way that the iDrive controller allows quick zooming in and zooming out of the map, but we think it would be more intuitive to turn clockwise, not anti-clockwise, to make the map larger.
Admittedly, not being able to find a way to change the time of the clock, and a very subjective view about the direction to turn a control, are hardly deal-breakers if you’re looking to buy a 330d, but it’s a surprise to find even these minor issues, as most other controls and adjustments seem very intuitive.
Overall the BMW 330d Touring continues to provide refined and enjoyable transport, and it can be fast or economical depending on what you want. Next week a family trip to the Lake District is on the cards, so that will be a proper test of how practical it really is – read our report.
Read our initial impressions of the BMW 330d Touring – see our report after week 1
Fuel economy extra urban: 62.8mpg
Fuel economy urban: 44.8mpg
Real-life economy: TBC
CO2 emissions: 135 g/km
Green rating: VED band E – first year £120
Weight: 1680kg
Company car tax liability (2012/13): 21%
Price: £36,300
Insurance group: TBC
Power: 258 bhp
Max speed: 155 mph
0-62mph: 5.6 seconds
Paul Clarke
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