[gadgetfreak]

So I've decided to get a used 330 m sport manual, but I can't decide if I should get a diesel or petrol.

I do around 8 - 10k miles a year, so I'm inclinded to go for a petrol. Only problem is that most of the manuals seem to be diesel and I'm having a hard time finding a petrol with a decent spec.

I know the diesel engines are great and are well suited to auto boxes, but in manual form would you go for a petrol or diesel??

[rup]

I have a e92 330d and have driven the 330i. The D is much better, especially the acceleration due to the amazing torque, and a real world 44 mpg. But given your mileage, price of diesel and the fact that the i will be cheaper to buy, i'd go for the i. Still a great car.

[squeezebm]

Petrol V Diesel its been a while (petrol Btw)

[E92-Mark]

I drive the 330d manual. It's incredible when you're already moving, but the auto will get you off the line slightly quicker. I've also driven the new 330d in the facelift E90, and that is much improved from a standing start.

Ultimately its whatever works for you. (The Diesel & Petrol fans are pretty firmly routed in their own camps). So get a Diesel ;-)

[mjh93sa]

The low mileage would tend to say petrol given the current econimics. But... the best advice I can give is to find one of each and test drive them. The power delivery and the manner of that delivery will be completely different for each and so you may find that (economics aside) you prefer one over the other.

As for my vote... see my sig.

[dxb335d]

If you want a faster car, and tuning potential, diesel is a must.

The petrol obviously sounds nicer though.

[gadgetfreak]

Thanks for the advice. Tbh, I've always been a petrol fan coming from honda integra's, but I do like the idea of diesel perfomance and economy. I just always thought that the limited rev range and power delivery was more suited to an auto box.

I guess the only real way of finding out is to drive them both, the main problem is finding dealers with the right cars to test drive.

I'm not in a rush and I'm sure one will turn up sooner or later. In the meantime, these cars can only get cheaper!

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by gadgetfreak

Thanks for the advice. Tbh, I've always been a petrol fan coming from honda integra's, but I do like the idea of diesel perfomance and economy. I just always thought that the limited rev range and power delivery was more suited to an auto box.

I guess the only real way of finding out is to drive them both, the main problem is finding dealers with the right cars to test drive.

I'm not in a rush and I'm sure one will turn up sooner or later. In the meantime, these cars can only get cheaper!

Think you've hit the nail on the head in saying drive them both. Without a doubt they are two different 'animals' as far as driving techniques go to get the optimum performance out of the respective engines. I had an E90 330i M sport with auto box and would say that the engine needs to be revved quite hard to get the most out of it and in auto guise didn't always kick down enough to place you in the ideal rev range. Obviously there is DS mode and 'M' modes. Sounds very sweet though. Fair enough, I haven't owned or driven a 330d but have owned an E92 335d which is obviously auto. I would agree with you entirely that the torque of the diesel suits the auto box better. Both good cars and good engines although I never managed better than 28 mpg out of the 330i as an overall average. The 335d was re-mapped and returned 34 mpg on the same roads etc. sometimes reaching 38 mpg.

Now if you do a forum search, there's some info. on a re-mapped 330d. From what I can remember, it's impressive stuff.

Will - isn't yours re-mapped?

[encee]

Just my two penneth-worth, but I`ve owned both a 330d manual (E90), and now a 330d auto (E92), and I can honestly say that my manual never felt as quick as my auto does (and that`s before I had it remapped )

As has been said, the auto is VERY well suited to the diesel engine due to the amount of torque, and pick up off the line is simply outstanding in the auto !

The diesel also gives more of a buzz, IMHO, than the petrol, purely because of the low-down acceleration. Don`t get me wrong, I love petrol engines too, (the best one I had being an E46 M3), but I find them much more rev-happy, and I think that you will find that you have to be going seriously quick to really enjoy a large-engined petrol (non-turbo of course), because most of the fun is at the top of the rev-range.

Have you thought about the 335 petrol at all ? By the sounds of it, that would suit you perfectly, as it is blisteringly quick, and has lots of low-down shove (where you can enjoy it) due to the turbo...............

Anyway, good luck with your choice, and happy hunting !


PS: If you do go for a 330d, you MUST get it remapped; it`s simply bonkers !!

[trixman]

Isn't it lovely to have so many choices! Personally, as you said, you should try all variations and don't be forced into any decisions by the salesman. A colleague has the 330dA and loves it, I've had plenty of manual e90 diesel's but being 320's, you'll definately want the extra shove to take advantage of a manual (still great though, although gearshifts are quite sticky).

Is this going to be your workhorse or fun car? Or both?

[threethirty]

I have the 330i manual. Needs to rev high to get the best out of it, as it is quite sedate at low revs. At high revs the car is thrilling and the engine sound is great! Drawback is that you need an open road to really open her up. I guess the diesel is fun anywhere because it shoves at low revs.

But I didn't even test the diesel as I am a confirmed petrol fan.

Watch the MPG in the petrol ... not possible to achieve anywhere near the published figures in the real world.

[rogerxp]

You've got to drive all variations really to make any sort of opinion. I've currently got an 'un-mapped' 330d manual and it really does move. The low down grunt is amazing and far outweights the need to change gear lower than in a petrol variant. I don't find I do that much gear changing anyway mainly because you don't need to change down much due to the torque. The manual gear change is superb though so you just don't notice it.

I've come from lots of manual petrol cars (never previously owned a diesel or automatic before) and, after a little adjusting your driving style to start off with, I struggle to now say which I prefer; they just act so differently.

I'm not a fan of auto's anyway so wouldn't have considered one. I struggle to see how the auto is any faster than a manual (especially when I'm driving it), and I've driven both; I'm not disagreeing with what others have said but I'm yet to be convinced.

I drive mine like a loon and average around 32-33mpg but can easily hit 40's on a motorway run. I've not done the petrol/diesel comparative figures as I can't see the difference being massive (and I don't do much mileage).

Drive all the variations, take your time, buy what you think will tick the most boxes.

[NFS]

Originally Posted by gadgetfreak

So I've decided to get a used 330 m sport manual, but I can't decide if I should get a diesel or petrol.

I do around 8 - 10k miles a year, so I'm inclinded to go for a petrol. Only problem is that most of the manuals seem to be diesel and I'm having a hard time finding a petrol with a decent spec.

I know the diesel engines are great and are well suited to auto boxes, but in manual form would you go for a petrol or diesel??

I have a 330i with a manual box and for me it's way more fun than a diesel.

We are getting to the point where the deisels are probably as quick or quicker in terms of on road speed in lots of situations, but I love snicking through the gears and redlining my car.

The noise is lovely, but very refined and never intrusive.

Petrol cars are considerably cheaper as well right now, although (strangelY in my opinion) any 6 cylinder BMW with a manual box is seen as less desireable come resale.

Good luck with the choice !

[PhilR]

I have a 330d and it's mapped and IMO fantastic when mated to the auto box. I am now only averaging 35mpg - it's dropped over the past few months from 37ish (service due shortly - bye bye map no doubt). Still it's got ample power and for a D has a surprisingly nice gruff engine note when pushed hard.

I imagine a 330i may be more fun in manual mode, aurally better and more akin to the progressive acceleration of your Honda.

Economy doesn't seem importamt based on 8 to 10K per annum but I would strongly recommend taking a 330d auto for a spin and reflect before taking the plunge

This is my thrid diesel car in a row and I am totally converted - so a little biased but a mapped 330d or 335d is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. In gear acceleration is awesome and puts many a sports car to shame with decent MPG the added bonus.

Then when you've got used to the power, I would suggest a remap and let the real fun begin

[gadgetfreak]

I'd love a 335i, but just trying to keep the budget to a sensible 16k. That said, I did a national search on autotrader for a manual 335i and it returned ONE car, on top of that it didn't even have leather!

The tuning potential of the diesel is interesting and I'm getting more tempted now! Just out of interest do they start sounding like tractors once they get a few miles on them, or are they still quite refined?

Just need to find a local dealer with a car to try, which isn't as easy as you would think!

[NFS]

Originally Posted by gadgetfreak

I'd love a 335i, but just trying to keep the budget to a sensible 16k. That said, I did a national search on autotrader for a manual 335i and it returned ONE car, on top of that it didn't even have leather!

The tuning potential of the diesel is interesting and I'm getting more tempted now! Just out of interest do they start sounding like tractors once they get a few miles on them, or are they still quite refined?

Just need to find a local dealer with a car to try, which isn't as easy as you would think!

Manual 335i's are like hens teeth. There seems to be a view that an auto is necessary to retain value on a 6 cylinder car.

The 6 pot BMW diesels sound nothing like tractors. Not a particularly inspiring noise, but generally powerful sounding and strangely quiet under load.

Noise levels in the cabin are probably lower with diesels than petrols.

Petrol is still the one for me though, but a very personal choice.

[squeezebm]

Petrol cos its cheap !!!

[Porscha!]

Think about how you like to drive the car. Try both and see which suits you better, some prefer a revvy petrol, some prefer the torquey diesel.

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by Porscha!

Think about how you like to drive the car. Try both and see which suits you better, some prefer a revvy petrol, some prefer the torquey diesel.

some prefer the quicker more tunable car.

A escort cosworth is a fun car to drive, in stock and lightly tuned state maximum power is at only 5k.

[NFS]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

some prefer the quicker more tunable car.

A escort cosworth is a fun car to drive, in stock and lightly tuned state maximum power is at only 5k.

To be fair though .. the original poster is looking at a used car for circa 17k.

So it will probably be on a 56 plate.

I'm not personally convinced that the 231hp engined 330d would be 'quicker' than the 258hp 330i even with a remap.

[booforty]

Carl's comments don't make too much sense to me either....

I had a manual E90 330i and it was superb! Highly recommend it and would definitiely go for the petrol

[dxb335d]

A re-mapped 330d would out accelerate a 330i (258).

Without a re-map id say 60mph rolling it would live witht he 330i.

Mapped 330d i would say would eat a 330i from even a standing start.


lets say a mapped 330d has the same power as a stock 335d, but for arguments sake its not as quick due to driveability etc it would still be quicker than a 330i.

a stock 335d, can break into the 13's at over 100mph the standing 1/4mile. so lets say a mapped 330d does similar... a stock 330i is quite a way behind that.

0-100 stock 335d 13's, so a mapped 330d 13's too....

a stock 330i is in the 16's. (0-100)

A 130i can do a high 14 sec passes at 93-95mph.