Had a flirt with an '04 BMW 330D the other day after I let it draw level. I won in the 70 to 110 squirt, but only just. Boy, do those things shift! And 39 to the gallon @ 1500 kgs. Only thing I wasn't impressed with was the cloud of soot coming out the back of the thing! Think Scoob performance suffers from poor aerodynamics in this speed range.

Private road, of course.

Any similar experiences with fast TDs?

 

What car were you driving?

 

Doh! Sorry, MY99 turbo.

 

I had a play with one of these over the mountain section of the TT circuit (Isle of Man) when i was there last week. I was 3 up (MY99) and he was 4 up. It was easy to stay with him (indicated speeds up to 130mph), but pretty tricky to pass him untill i got a long enough bit of straight road (didn't want to hit any bikers).

He started off in front of me as we got to the mountain section, i got past eventually and left him for dead - although i think he gave up once i was past!

Good fun anyway.

PS Mods, there's no speed limit there - so it wasn't illegal or dangerous

 

Think they have around 200bhp + a huge amount of torque, it going to hard to beat one of these with anything (lol).

Not my cup of tea though

Chris

 

My old man has one of these (the "wagon" version) which he bought new in August 2000.

I think the new one has more power?? Versus his, which is the original with 184bhp.

The 5-speed auto/steptronic box is the WORST I have ever experienced. The one you "played" with the other day must have been a manual
And it only gets about 34mpg, despite my old boy being nearly 70, & driving like a nancy.

When the stupid auto box does pick the right gear (or you can be bothered waiting for the steptronic to select the right "ratio" ), the wave of torque is quite staggering, and quite addictive.

All a very cold, clinical experience though..... apart from the addictive torque, you'd have more fun in ANY turbo scooby (Forester included!)....

I often dream about things like this, as I have fond memories of my old Golf TDI PD which did 50mpg at any speed.... ... I think the ideal soultion would be to get a new Skoda Fabia vRS (£11,995) which is only slightly less quick in the gears that matter (overtaking) than the 330D and will do 50mpg+...... with the money saved, you could buy a new WRX for the weekends

 

Thinking of doing exactly that myself ie remapped Fabia VRS or Ibiza TDi Sport
should be good for 190bhp and god knows how much torque.

Had a run in with a 330D in my import scoob- left it for dead as you would expect, although we were doing about 30mph when we decided to go for it, thought the 330 would have done better. The new car with 200+bhp and more torque might be a different matter all together though.

 

Technical specs

330 d Sport
Weight 1540 kg
Max output (kW/bhp/rpm) 150/204/4,000
0-62mph 7.2
50-75mph 6.1
Max torque (Nm/rpm) 410/1,500

WRX
Weight 1395kg
Max output (bhp/rpm) 225/5600
0-62mph 5.9
Max torque (Nm/rpm) 300/4000

STI Type UK
Weight 1470 kg
Max output (bhp/rpm) 265/6000
0-62mph 5.5
Max torque (Nm/rpm) 343/4000

 

Came back from Le Mans with one. Torque works wonders.

Beat him away from the toll booth (UK WRX) just (I treat my clutch with respect )

They do 30MPG @ 140 Mph aswell. Allegedly.

Deano

 

and are easily chipable. lots of adverts in BMW monthly or whatever it is called. They all say that the 530d is a much much better car though.

rd

 

I have a BMW X5 3.0d sport and that thing flies......really surprising how quick it is considering the sheer size of the thing......so was playing with the idea of getting a 330d but went for a sti type uk instead.......but the economy on the x5 is crap...it does about 21mpg.......rubbish for a diesel!!!

 

But not so bad for a 4x4......

 

i test drove 530d....only felt slower than my 540 at 80 plus...and it got 35mpg (540 was 17mpg)

 

The power and torque on these diesels seems to go up 10% every couple of years. I guess they will stop short of M3 performance, but I can't help thinking someone will shoehorn a 300+ lb/ft diesel engine into a 1300 Kg hatch / saloon soon. They would find an irresistible niche in the market.

Wonder what insurance group it'll be?!!

 

dito its not far off. many HDI and TDI are modded to fantastic torque readings

Im sure if the Bimmer had been modded it would rather ... well i dont like to say to be honest..

 

3.0TD Golf 4motion perhaps?

I'd have to take the golf clubs out of the boot, and empty the ashtray to keep up!

 

JESUS mate a 3.0 TD 4 motion would rather clear up. with the low down torque,

Im sure VW has a master plan...

they just keep us short of it though