you mean we agree on something?

It's fraud.

 

i am sure we would agree on many things :-)

 

Balanced? Really? Not so much.

I'm in a 328i Modern loaner at the moment and it is extremely disappointing. Handling is floaty and not engaging at all. Our 750 feels like a track car compared to this...lol. Seats suck badly, even if I were to ignore the creaking noise. No support and uncomfortable. Materials are average at best. Car only has 7000 km and the seats look very worn out. Engine is the only thing about this car that is appealing. Can't comprehend how people pay $60K for this car up here.

Yay...at least it has one thing going for it...lol.

 

I meant balanced because it's lighter on its feet. Between the 328i and 335i I'd take the former to an AutoX. I work at an automall with Lexus Acura Infiniti BMW and Mini, and I've pretty much sampled everything save for the LFA we just sold.

Handling is not what it was like on the E90 for sure. And I agree on the materials but thats never been a strong suit of the 3 Series which I found extremely bland - hence my decision on the IS350.

 

2014 BMW 328d ready to burn oil in just four cylinders

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2014-...photo-5768697/

Despite showing off the new 328d sedan in New Jersey yesterday, BMW though it only fair to bring the first four-cylinder diesel it will ever sell in the US to the New York Auto Show today as well. Unfortunately, the company remains vague about pertinent details like fuel economy and price, but we did hear again that the oil-burner will be capable of getting 45 miles per gallon on the highway. BMW's Oliver Ganser told AutoblogGreen, "We do not want to give out" the city or combined mpg ratings quite yet, but The New York Times got someone to estimate a fuel economy of mid-30s in the city.

The two-liter TwinPower turbocharged and direct injected engine and eight-speed automatic transmission (sorry, no manual will be available) put out 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque and should get the 328d up to 60 miles per hour in just over seven seconds. As we noted earlier, the 328d will be available with every option and trim level – like all-wheel drive – that other 3 Series models have in the US (transmission excepted) and should start at under $40,000 when it goes on sale this fall.

Officially, the 328d will be able to accept biodiesel blends up to B5 (or, just maybe B7), which is standard diesel with five (seven) percent biofuel.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/03/28/2...new-york-2013/

 

I welcome the choice but am I missing something? Diesels cost more, the diesel gas I always see is a bit more and gas stations are not abundant as you would think and they perform worse than gas in many cases.

How come people work overtime to bust out calculators and explain why hybrids are not worth it but that doesn't happen with diesels? lol

 

I'll take a 328d over an efficient 320i

torque!!

 

for $4k extra? :-).

328d will have faster mid-range acceleration and 320i will be more responsive at low speed/rpm.

But $4k is a lot...

in Europe people get 320d because of resale value and good fuel economy, after all our fuel is 2x expensive... you also almost cant sell used petrol car in anything larger than Corolla, nobody wants to buy them... so decision is very simple, which diesel? 316d, 318d, 320d, 320 ED.

 

Yeah I'd do it. I'm weird like that.

 

Because they think they're Europeans, driving around in their diesel automobiles through roundabouts, on their fancy tyres while sneering at petrol burners.

Seriosusly, the argument for diesel is driven by differential taxation of gasoline in Europe. In North america, a diesel car needs to sell on it's intrinsic merits.

 

Having recently made this decision myself, I'll see if I can cover this for you. In my area, diesel is typically less than Premium, but is occasionally more. The difference is that prices are more stable. Over the past 6 months, the price of Diesel has varied between $3.89 and $4.19, while the price of Premium has varied between $3.49 and $4.89. Right now it's $4.09 for Diesel, $4.35 for Premium. Over my 16 fill-ups, I'd guess for 11 or 12 Diesel was cheaper, and for the other 4-5 Premium was cheaper. So I'd be saving money even if the mileage was the same. Probably one out of four stations in this area sells Diesel, so a bit more planning is required, but I have to stop a lot less often (and it fills much faster to boot!), so that's not burdensome at all. I have to drive past 3 Diesel-equipped stations on my 12-15 minute commute to work, and we do most of our grocery shopping at Meijer, all of which sell Diesel.

In my specific case, I went for the 335d over the 335i for two reasons: torque and mileage. Bone stock, most d's put just over 400lbft to the wheels. This is tractable power that you can use in normal driving conditions, yet is still a ton of fun if you want to get on it. Since they run lean from the factory, all you have to do is dump in a bit more fuel to make even more power, which I did last week by adding a JBD tuner.

Then there's economy. Before winter came, I was getting 26 city/42 highway. That's fallen a bit in the cold weather, but is still pretty amazing for a car with this much power. My driving is 70-80% city, and I'm still averaging just over 28mpg, though it was 30 until the frigid temps hit. Contrast this against the 335i, where owners with heavy city mix are reporting 16-19mpg on average (some as bad as 12!), while those who do mostly highway seem to average 22-24. So we're talking a 50-70% improvement in economy, on fuel that (for me) averages out to be cheaper, in a car that's every bit as quick (both run mid/high 13s stock). That's win/win/win in my book.

If you look at it from that perspective, I suspect my choice of a 335d is very similar to your choice of the GSh. The unusual combination of performance and economy, with the added bonus of driving around something that's just a little bit different than what you see every day. It puts a smile on my face, which I think is the most important facet of owning a car.

No 328d for me, but I'm fairly certain that my wife's RX350 will be replaced with a 535d .

 

If you had an extra $4,000 you'd buy a 328i instead. That's the issue.

 

It's the European allure of driving a manual diesel estate which goes 0 to 100 km/h in 15 seconds. "Those colonists in their $25,000 SUVs with double to triple my horsepower! The fools! For only 35,000€ (~$45,000) they could have had this slick European economy car." I don't get it either.

 

initially started as price of diesel was subsidized by 10%.... now price of any fuel is so high that diesel makes financial sense, is faster (vs 4cly) and has great resale value. 4-5 yr old V8 Porsche and Audi's you can get for peanuts these days... same diesels? Nope.

 

I thought diesels were considered sub optimal for city driving because they don't heat up and reach full operating temperature in short trips?