I am looking at 3 Series Touring as a 4 Door Dog Carrier. A couple have caught my eye. The 325 is slightly more pricey than the 328. does any one know the pros and cons of these units?

I had a 528 a few years back and that was a fantastic engine but not sure how the 325 stacks up we are talking around the MY2000 mark.

 

Well we have a 528 (2.8 single vanos) auto and a 325 auto Touring (2.5 double vanos) it's interesting how they compare driven back to back Both weigh almost the same, so outright perfromance is near identical (actually the 528 is 5kg lighter in this case ).

Both very different engines (and gearboxes) to drive, but both have almost the same BHP and roughly the same 0-60 times and outright performance, just the achieve it in different ways.

The 2.8 unit has more torque, especially low down in the rev range, whilst the 2.5 is more free revving and starts to come to life at 3000+rpm. The 2.5 is better on fuel round town too.

The low down torque is very noticeable with the auto box as the 325 spends much more time sifting through various gears when below 50mph and jumps to 3rd gear as soon as you even sniff a slight hill. Whilst the 528 just picks a gear and sticks with it - usually 4th (unless you plant it). Ultimately the 528 is much taller geared than the 325 - the 528 will barely pull 2000rpm at 100mph, whilst the 325 is somewhere in the 3000rpm band). This makes the 528 "feel" slower, but infact it's almost teh same, just the engine isn't revving as hard or using the gears anywhere near as much as the 325 has to.

I would say the 2.5 is the more perky and sporty of the two, whilst the 2.8 has longer legs in each gear and less fussy with what gear your in.

Personally, I prefer the 2.5 unit.

 

So 2.5=fun, 2.8=comfort?

 

Depends how you drive.

325 is better round town and and getting away from the lights. Whilst the 528 is more at home blasting down the country A-roads and motorways.

Actually, thinking about it again, I might change my mind back to the 2.8 LOL

 

Thanks

I can imagine both are pretty peppy. Didnt realise the 325 would be more suited to my nippy driving style.

 

Had a 328 tourer on a V plate. Loved the interior, ride, handling - but most of all the engine. Fantastic power delivery no matter where or when required. I had a PPP Scoob and the BMW did not feel as if it was less powerful. It made me lazy as I would pull away from junctions in 2nd or 3rd, went up steep hills in 5th without it missing a beat. When you dropped it into 3rd to overtake it was excellent. Still got 31mpg on short & medium runs
Can't comment on the 325 I'm afraid as not had one.
Cheers
Alas