BMW 3 SERIES COUPE 330Cd
Coupe drivers are, by and large, a selfish bunch. They dont particular care if you have to clamber into the back of a car with your knees around your earholes. They prize panache over practicality and usually crave a car with serious power and couldnt care less about emissions, fuel consumption or anything boring like that. There are, however, a growing breed of rather more mature coupe customers who want the elegance of a sleek shape but dont want the downsides.
If you want a coupe that makes life easy for you but still serves up the thrills, it would be tough coming up with a better car than BMWs 330Cd.
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The on-paper statistics arent too shabby either. With two passengers on board and a full tank of fuel, youll notch off the sprint to 60mph in 7 seconds flat and youll likely dip into the sixes on your commute to work. The engine is the full-strength 204bhp second generation common-rail powerplant, not the 184bhp 2.9-litre unit that early BMW 330d models campaigned with.
As such, itll thrust the 330Cd to a top speed of 151mph yet with a more measured right foot it will return an average of 42.8mpg. Fully Euro4 compliant, this engine sidesteps the three per cent surcharge the Government slaps on benefit-in-kind taxation for dirty diesels and makes an attractive bet for those whove got an understanding fleet manager who will overlook its lack of doors. The 177g/km of carbon dioxide the 330Cd emits is in fact less than a 1.
8-litre Nissan Almera. All of this from a car with more torque than a Porsche 911 Carrera!
"With more torque than a Porsche 911 Carerra yet lower emissions than a 1.8-litre Nissan Almera, the 330Cd is a piece of work"
Prices kick off at £31,000 for the SE version, but those looking for the ultimate oil-burning 3 Series will doubtless be tempted by the £32,950 M Sport version. The M Sport version adds a shortened gear lever, sports seats, an M Leather steering wheel, upgraded upholstery and door sills with M badges. The exterior has come in for some attention too, to the tune of an M aerodynamics kit, 18-inch alloy wheels, sports suspension, a rear lip spoiler and high gloss exterior trim. The 330Cd flatters your driving without overtly doing so thanks to two clever features - Automatic Stability Control + Traction (ASC+T) and Cornering Brake Control (CBC).
No matter how heavy your right foot, the ASC+T system will only give the rear wheels as much power as they can take without spinning, so every time that little light flashes, you're avoiding a lurid tail-happy slide. If despite all that, you still go too fast into a bend and do exactly the wrong thing (slam on the brakes), CBC will help you out, applying firmer braking to the outside front wheel as the car corners and hugely reducing the risk of a spin. Further assistance comes from the advanced DSC III stability control system. This is just what you need in difficult conditions where, should you enter a corner too fast, the wheels are selectively braked and the power reduced to bring you back into line.
Don't run away with the idea however, that all these electronics take from the driving experience on offer: this is still a great car to hustle along, though the sports suspension may make the ride a little too hard for some. The same goes for the steering, which keeps you perfectly in touch with the road surface - rather too in touch perhaps for those used to less responsive set-ups. The engine uses electronically-controlled common rail technology of course as do most of the best current diesels. This denotes a system where fuel is precisely bled off from a highly-pressurised reservoir 'commonly' shared by every injector along the feed pipe or 'rail'. Exactly the correct amount of diesel is injected when required: not too much (hence the lack of the usual puff of black smoke of acceleration) but just enough to enable the car to respond to your slightest pressure on the throttle. Interior accommodation is surprisingly good for a coupe, and its not too much of a chore getting in and out of the back. The cabin features BMWs usual attention to detail with excellent ergonomics and a solid feel to all of the minor controls. The gearshift feels slickly oiled in its execution and all round visibility isnt as bad as youd expect for a car of this ilk.
Handsome in a low key way, the 3 Series Coupe has never been one of the most jaw-dropping designs on the road, despite sharing very little in the way of sheet metal with its four-door sibling. Maybe this is why the 330Cd works so well. This is a car that works well with a diesel engine. One of the more sensible coupe shapes with an engine thats the pick of many well-informed observers as the best in class make this a car that imposes few penalties on your choice of two doors rather than four.
Its an easy sell.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: BMW 330Cd
PRICES: £31,000-£32,950 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 15-16
CO2 EMISSIONS: 177g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 151mph / 0-60mph 7s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 42.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags, twin front side airbags, twin ITS side window airbags / ABS / ASC+T / DSC III
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4488/1947/1369
