BMW 320d EfficientDynamics saloon
Expert Rating:
What is it?
A new version of the best-selling BMW 320d that will sit alongside the SE and M Sport models in the line-up. You may wonder why BMW is suddenly badging its cars with the EfficientDynamics tag when it has been banging on about its suite of fuel saving measures since 2007 and they're fitted to practically every model. But this 3 Series goes a little further than the regular 320d in the search for even more efficiency.
The results, in paper in any case, are incredible. Emitting just 109g/km and returning 68.9mpg on the combined cycle, this 3 Series is the most efficient BMW-badged car ever. Yet its performance suffers only marginally in comparison to the conventional car, with 0-62mph taking 8.2 seconds instead of 7.9. However, it'll travel 10 miles more on the same gallon of diesel and put out a significant 19g/km of CO2 less.
Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Yet these hybrid-rivalling figures are achieved through broadly invisible measures. The internal friction of the engine and transmission has been lessened; combustion itself has been made more efficient; there is longer gearing; the obligatory low rolling resistance tyres are fitted to new, more aerodynamic wheels; and the ride height is dropped 15mm to improve aerodynamics.
As important as any of those modifications is the fitment of a new dual-mass flywheel with a fancy sounding centrifugal-force pendulum. In a nutshell, this makes the engine smoother at lower revs, encouraging the driver to use that part of the rev range, which has a positive affect on fuel economy.
Is it any good?
Before we get behind the wheel we can safely say that the EfficientDynamics version of the 320d is a winner. If the numbers claimed by BMW are realistic then it's going to be an instant hit regardless of a compromise in the driving experience.
As it turns out, there is precious little to tell this car apart from a regular 320d. We didn't have the luxury of a back-to-back comparison, but that'd be the only believable way anyone could describe the small differences. We did experiment with driving at low revs and it seemed smooth, but if we didn't know about the pendulum thingy we wouldn't have actually noticed. Saying that, if it does what it was designed to do, the point is that the driver won't notice that they are driving the car using lower engine speeds.
The lower ride height has had no noticeable affect on ride or handling, though there was some noise from the low rolling resistance tyres that we don't remember hearing in the regular car - more extensive testing on more road surfaces is needed before that can be confirmed as a real effect.
Should I call the bank manager?
That depends on how much time you think he needs to arrange the finance, as the 320d EfficientDynamics saloon won't actually go on sale until March 2010. The good news is that BMW intends to sell the new model at the same price as the identically equipped SE model in the UK and possibly for less in Ireland due to the vagaries of its tax system. Further tax and running costs savings will apply regardless of where you live.
If you're sensing a 'but', it's coming, though it's not of Jennifer Lopez proportions. About 35 percent of 320d buyers currently upgrade to the M Sport specification and that will not be possible with the EfficientDynamics model, nor will an automatic gearbox be available. For those reasons the SE and M Sport variants will remain on the price lists.
Summary
Surprisingly, BMW expects the EfficientDynamics to appeal to a minority of its 320d customers, but we think it's being too pessimistic, certainly when the fleet market is taken into consideration. The CO2 figure guarantees low taxation, while the combined consumption of 68.9mpg ensures that fuel bills will be low. Yet there are precious few compromises in the pursuit of those numbers and this is essentially a conventional BMW 3 Series as far as most people will be concerned.
