Test drive

[Swiegie]

Howdy Fanatics

So I decided to go and test drive some BMW’s today. First went to SMG at Canal Walk to go and check out a silver/gray 2005 E46 330i manual with 90 000km on the clock. Damn it is a sexy car just a pity that the car had so many chip marks on the body. The sales lady was not to friendly so I did not even bother to take the car for a test drive.

Next stop was Imperial select in Parow. They have a dark gray 2005 E90 330i auto with 71000km on the clock with M/P till May next year. This car was in a good condition inside, but also had a lot of scratches and small dents on the body. Nevertheless I took the car for a test drive, my first test drive in a 6 cylinder BMW since the 90’s when we owned a 323 E36. Man was I impressed, the sound of that 6 was amazing and the power awesome. Found the auto box great and would not mind driving a 330i auto, but this car was to neglected to buy it.

Next stop was at Heritage motors. They have a silver 2007 E90 323i Auto with 69000km on the clock and still under M/P. Now this car is in a very good condition, although the front bumper will have to be re-sprayed as the previous owner scratched the bumper on both sides at the bottom. I also took this car for a drive and was very impressed, by no means does it have the power of the 330i, but the power it offered was still reasonable and off course it have the very nice six cylinder sound.

This was my first weekend of car shopping so I am not ready to buy yet, but think a good condition 323 manual will be perfect for me.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Cheers

 

[herr bmw]

glad too hear you want a 6 cylinder.

have got a 2008 323i and am very impressed,on the way down to the coast was getting an average 15km per litre,at one stage 17,2km per litre.
the ride down was very comfy,and did not feel tired at all.

am really impressed,also chat to jakkals323i

 

[Coisman]

imp:
You must use the "force" and let the car "speak" to you...
I know that sounds crazy, but trust me, when you see the right one, and she knows she is the right one, then you won't even have to testdrive her, you will just know it's ment to be.

 

[herr bmw]

luke i am your father:roflol::roflol:

 

[Swiegie]

What is fuel consumption like in traffic with the 323? I live in the Northern suburbs and work in Cape Town, so my daily commute is about 60km with mostly sitting in traffic.

My only problem I have at the moment is that I bought a brand new small hatch back last year November. The car only have 13 000km on the clock and I stand to loose about R35000 on the car if I have to trade now. I did not buy my current car with my heart but more with my head. This is usually a bad idea for a petrol head!!!!

DAMN!!

 

[herr bmw]

okay i get between 9,6km per litre and 12,5km per litre.
also depends on how i drive,like here around the coast getting 9,2km per litre.

but that is because the car is running great with the air down here

 

[Cole]

if you drive in traffic you can find your consumption up to 14l/km if you are spirited.
if you can find a e90 330i in your price range you will NOT regret it! :fencelook:

 

[Jakkals_F30]

I agree with cole that if you can find a 330i in your price range it will be a great buy.

As for fuel consumption yes it will be more thirsty than a 323i. Look the 323i is by no means a performance machine so you will have to weigh up what you want. Performance all the time or not bad performance and still a very very comfortable drive.

My personal opinion on the 323i... It's a great car and i will never put it down saying it's weak.. It does take it's time to get to top end and below 3500rpm it feels a bit lazy but it's a heavy car.. above 3500rpm it has decent power and yes it gets to it's top end. and i get 214km/h on the gps :rollsmile:

If i can add this, don't do sport suspension as the ride is much harder than stock with the runflats. however if you love cornering like me then get it. lol

all in all if you can't afford a 330i and think that a 323i will fit the bill for your style of driving then by all means go for it. i love my car and it's a awesome time for me whenever i get into her..

Good luck in finding the right baby for you. :thumbs:

 

[P1000]

Are you sure about fuel consumption between the 323i and 330i. I have this feeling that the 330i might be lighter in real life conditions, since it has direct injection and the 323i not. This means that the 330i can run stratified air/fuel ratios...

 

[Jakkals_F30]

Hey P1000,

I hear what you saying there..
From what i've heard it doesn't make that much of a difference and reading alot i saw that when the right foot gets heavy the 330i loves the fuel alot and my 323i is not that heavy... We can always find a e90 330i and we can do some tests, i'm up for that.

 

[AshG108]

buy my 320, buy my 320, its power is muhc better at the cost for sure!!!raise:raise:

 

[Speirie]

i think the big difference in economy is the gearbox, my steptronic which is used almost entirely in urban driving in cpt northern suburbs struggles to get under 12l/100km, taking really steady gets me 11.8l/100km

 

[Cole]

I reckon that if you like fast driving that the 330i probably uses less fuel than a 323i because to get the 323 to really perform you have to push it really hard and for longer, whereas with the 330 it just gets up and goes like a bat out of hell from the start so you push it "less hard" than its capable of and for less long...

maybe i am wrong but thats my thinking...

 

[Jakkals_F30]

We can always find someone with a e90 330 and see what his consumtion is like.