9 February 2011
New car report; Slick oil burner
Forget about the past, when 2 door coupes with startling high performance and sporty handling needed to be powered by big thirsty petrol engines in order to impress the enthusiastic driver. And diesel was a dirty word; a fuel confined to feeding farm machinery and smelly trucks that belched out plumes of black smoke.
We should be over these stereotypical perceptions from the Industrial Revolution by now, but while most people now accept diesel fuel as an efficient means of fuelling an SUV or even a four door sedan, mention diesel in relation to a sporty coupe and it’s clear that the old perceptions of a bygone-era still hold true for many people.
So welcome to the here and now, to the BMW 330d Coupe, which visually, isn’t all that different to BMW’s race-bred 3 Series, the M3.
More torque than an M3
At 520Nm of torque, the straight six TwinPower turbo-charged diesel engine has a 120Nm advantage over the latest M3’s 400Nm, but it burns diesel fuel at the rate of just 6.2L/100km; exactly half the 12.4./L/100km of premium juice that BMW says the V8 M3 gulps.
And with a CO2 emission level of just 164g/km, the 330d pollutes the atmosphere at a considerably lower level than the M3’s 290g/km.
BMW admits that the coupe sector is still petrol dominated, but anyone getting behind the wheel of the new 330d Coupe for a few minutes couldn’t help but be converted. With the 180kW 2,993cc powerplant, capable of propelling the 1540kg Coupe to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds, performance is impressive, to say the least.
Fitted with the M Sport package, with a full M Sport body kit and 19 inch double spoke alloys our test car looked every bit the aggressive sports car it is.
In the past, BMW Motorsport cars have been criticised for their harsh ride, particularly on New Zealand’s uneven road surfaces, so it was a really pleasant surprise to learn that the folk at BMW New Zealand had ticked the “Sport Suspension Delete” option box on this car.
Don’t get us wrong, we like a well set-up, flat handling car as much as anyone, but like many European competitors, BMW’s sport suspension is usually way too hard for our roads and this car rides and handles superbly without the harsh jarring.
Standard features include Dakota Leather, Comfort Access keyless entry, Sat-Nav, Electric Seats with Lumbar Support for both front occupants, Bluetooth, USB interface, Park Distance Control (PDC) and High Beam Assistant, a nifty feature which automatically dips the headlights for on-coming traffic.
There’s also a leather M Sport steering wheel with gearshift paddles for manually selecting ratios in the six speed automatic ‘box if you’re in the mood for a bit of DIY.
Upgrades contribute to less fuel usage
Bi-Xenon headlights are standard fitment, but our test car was fitted with LED lighting elements, a $750 option which offers snow white illumination with minimal current draw. Like the many EfficientDynamics features incorporated into BMW’s latest range, this is another contributor to fuel efficiency as it reduces the power required to drive the alternator.
A convenient feature making the 3 Series Coupe more user-friendly than many 2 door coupes is an automatic seatbelt assistant which magically offers the seatbelt to the driver and front seat passenger, eliminating the need to contort yourself around to reach back for the belt, which on a coupe with long doors can be a distant reach.
With a standard retail sticker price of $115,900, the M Sport package adds $5,300, and by the time you’ve optioned it up with the 19 inch alloys, LED lights and auto-anti-dazzle interior and exterior mirrors as fitted to our test car, the RRP becomes a tad over $125,000.
The 330d Coupe offers a sublime drive on short or long trips. It’s quick, comfortable, sporty, well put together and appealing to the eye. And if you still hold those old fashioned views of clunky old diesels, it’s a fairly safe bet that you (or your passengers) won’t even realise it’s a diesel. But you’ll appreciate the big whack of torque that is the diesel’s forte.