markymark34

No they arent important but he was talking about features and missed the auto lights so i added them in!

Winding windows up and down isnt a major chore either but its nice not to have to.

MPG question 330d - mostly urban driving 34mpg remapped 36 standard (I drive too quickly remapped is about 38 when i have a sensible right foot)

LG John

Tbh, yeah...they are kind of important cumulatively. I had my first trip away in the ST220 this weekend when I drove from Edinburgh to Oban. There's actually something of a strange tale to tell as we passed my old STI-5 (S9**TDP if it's on here) just outside Callander and that was the first time I'd seen it since selling it to a couple from Oban. For a few miles I was aware off the desire to be sitting in my old beast with 310bhp rather than a 223bhp Mondeo but within 10 miles the toys and smooth comfort sold me. Don't get me wrong, I love fast cars and especially light ones, however, I also love my creature comforts. If money permits I fully intend to get something like a VX220 turbo or elise/exige as a second car, but driving around day in day out in a classic Impreza and cars of that era just p*sses me off tbh.

The amusing side of the story is that on the way home, 5 miles from Callander we passed my old Impreza again coming in the opposite direction. Lol. Weird.

Fantom

I love the creature comforts too. My clio might be a rattly tin box but it comes with some great luxuries like auto lights and wipers, digital climate control etc. The sort of things that weren't important to me but now I have them I think they are great. This is why my next car must have full leather and cruise control cos I've never had them before. I want easy relaxed driving with a nice bit of power in case I need it.
Definitely gonna look at the ST220 but firs tI have a couple of months saving to do. Will probably still check out an E46 330 cos I love the look of them.

Also Saxo Boy, on the subject of poker, here is a guy I work with winning his first live event which was actually his first live event! His son bought him the ｣1k entry for his birthday and he only went and won it!
YouTube - all over

cairns101

An interesting thing about the 330i is the performance characteristics. Compared to say an ST220, the 330 has loads more torque low down, and combining that with the RWD grip, it pulls away from a standstill much more sharply and feels punchier at low speeds.

However, higher up, the ST220 gradually makes up lost ground and even gains a slight upper hand. It's really punchy at the top end, more revvy and the fact it weighs less must help too. Try the two against each other from 60-100mph and you'll see the 220 pull an advantage.

It was interesting. My friend and I did a lot of comparisons with his ST220. Both have great steering. There's surprisingly little between them in terms of handling which is amazing when they have the driven wheels at opposite ends. I wouldn't swap my 330i now which I've had for a long time and has been great, although if I had been buying knowing what I know now and also how much cheaper the ST is 2nd hand, I might have gone the other way. I just wasn't aware of them at the time.

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

To the OP - There are major issues with E46d. PM me for more info
Steve

LG John

As an ST220 owner I can confirm that you do have to work them to get the power. The delivery is very much like the M3 and not like the traditional view of a 6-cylinder car with good grunt low down. Not had a chance to compare mines to a 330i yet but I can't imagine there would be much either way. My gut instinct is that a 330i would be factionally faster as I remember how much my VTS got spanked by a 330i when they first came out and also another time where I struggled to make significant headway past one in the S2000.

Times have changed though....I want a 335i next. With a remap of course

Brun

Now you've had it a while SB, what sort of mpg are you getting?

LG John

22.5mpg, lmao!

In fairness, a lot of my driving is just short journeys in and around town with the occasional (once a month) long run from say Edinburgh to Aberdeen. In keeping with nearly every other car I've ever owned I always max it off roundabouts, etc so I'm defo heavy footed. 27mpg on a run is about my average with roundabout silliness and the cruise control set at 85. A more reserved driver would certainly get 30mpg. However, overall it's not frugal!! I fear to think what I'd have been getting from a Legacy Spec-B which have worse fuel economy and was my second choice.

I would expect that an average driver with a more rounded driving requirement (i.e. less town driving) would probably average 26mpg or thereabouts.

Brun

You sound like a similar driver to me - think i had better stick to my ST TDCi aspirations

StickyMicky

Damn that's crap

I am averaging around 27mpg in the zs180 and managed an easy 33mpg on a run down south
Although i suspect that yours is faster i might get one

Going back to "auto toys" i find that the more auto bits and bobs that are added to a car, the thicker the driver seams to become?
I have read in the paper about people getting points (might have been a fine tbh) for not using lights when required, using the defence line of "they are auto, i can not control them!"

To be honest it is probably the salesmens fault, but they do seam to give the owner even less reason to engage the brain before driving the car.

We have countless problems with auto wipers and handbrakes at the carwash (6 wipers this morning in fact) owners do not know how to switch them off?!?

One chap came in, the youngun went to brush the windscreen, the brush got snagged on the wipers that started moving at high speed and the brush slipped from his hands, flapping about at high speed on the blokes bonnet he was not a very happy customer!

After that incident i started telling them to make sure they were gripping the brush quite hard, and be ready to lift it if the spaz-wipe system was starting up, 2 days later i was on the wash myself, and i started washing a windscreen, when the wipers instantly kicked in on high speed, gripping the brush handle with all my might just ended up with the wiper blade snapping off completely as the brush head still got stuck


As you can imagine the auto handbrakes also seam to cause quite a lot of confusion, personally i don't trust them at all, horrible things IMO

StickyMicky

7 wipers

cairns101

Yeah I certainly relate to that, having driven a couple of M3s. To me, the M3's power delivery is more interesting than a 335i but of course less relaxing.