Andy M3

And don't forget in a lot of cases you need one hell of a petrol to out perform a 330d, namely an M3. A 330i has the ability to out perform, but the power is not as accessible as it is with the diesel. But if you run a 320i, I would keep it for a suitable amount of time before considering a diesel.

logiclee

Be careful as the early 320D's came with the engine BMW shared with the Rover 75 diesel. It doesn't have a variable geometry turbo and came with 115-130bhp. They do suffer lag and a lack of really low down pull with the standard wastegate setup.

It's also not as tunable as the later 2.0 BMW diesel.

I have a workmate who has a later 320D 150bhp and no matter how easy he is on the pedal he can't manage much more than 40mpg, do the same in a VAG 1.9 and you will be in the mid to high 50's.

If driving pleasure has the edge then go for the BMW, if you want excellent economy and 190bhp+ 300lbft+ for the price of a remap then go for a PD130 or PD150 VAG.

Cheers
Lee

logiclee

My second car back in 1986

You could get the back end out in the wet and it was only a 1.3

A few years later I was rallying a 2.3HS

Cheers
Lee

chiark

I still keep looking for a 2.3HS. I'd love one for nostalgia purposes . If you know of any, ping me

Andy_1271

take a look on findit.co.uk in the rally section, a chap in scotland usually has one or two knocking around