2012 BMW 3 Series 320d SE 2.0 turbo diesel

Summary:

Solid sporty executive saloon

Faults:

Tiny oil leak.

ABS sensor.

General Comments:

My silver 320d is a common sight on the roads, but is a fantastic car to own.

The 3 series still stands out in regards to driving ability. It is powerful yet economical. This car really does blend the best of both worlds.

320d SE. Common engine and spec. Very nicely trimmed, leather and electrics. Interior is very comfortable. Engine is solid if looked after. The car is amazing to drive.

A bit expensive on the market even at this age, but given how overpriced used cars are, you might as well buy quality. Go for a looked after car with full history and reasonable mileage. These are well worth it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th February, 2024

2012 BMW 3 Series 320d Luxury 2.0 turbo diesel

Summary:

Fast, economical, reliable car

Faults:

Nothing other than servicing and consumables in two years and 18K miles. Start stop technology does not always work. No big deal, I just ignore it.

General Comments:

Love my 3 series, bought it used a couple of years ago and it has never missed a beat.

Easily the best interior on this top of range luxury model; beige leather looks nice but is a pain to keep clean. The car has all the electrics you would want in a 2012 car. Comfort is as good as it gets.

180 bhp and feels like it. Very fast, auto-box gives smooth shifts. Over 50 mpg as well.

The car looks the part in silver with big alloy wheels, never lets me down, and performs as it should, what more can I say, no wonder the modern 3 series is so popular. A little expensive to buy used, that is the only problem, so little chance of finding a bargain, but at-least it holds its value very well. Look after these cars and they will return with reliability and strong resale value.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th November, 2022

2012 BMW 3 Series 320d EfficientDynamics F30 2.0 turbo diesel

Summary:

Moves the game on, but reservations over economy and handling

Faults:

Fault free so far (touch wood).

General Comments:

One of the first "customer" F30's in the UK, and still a relatively rare sight on the roads, although for how much longer, I can't help but wonder.

I had a 2009 E90 318d, which I liked a great deal, so the newcomer had quite a lot to live up to. In most ways, the F30 moves the game on. It is in a different league inside, with the same high quality materials, but a much more modern feel. The austere, dated dash of the E90 wasn't the most pleasant thing to behold, but the F30 gives you lots more curves and textures, and now comes with standard iDrive on all bar the base ES models. There is also appreciably more rear legroom and shoulder room than the E90, with the dimensional increases making themselves felt mostly for rear seat passengers. This is no bad thing, as the cramped rear seating was one of the most irritating things about the E90.

This F30 was specced with no options other than metallic paint, but still the standard kit list is generous. Bluetooth, cruise, dual zone climate, four electric windows, electric mirrors, parking sensors, auto lights, auto wipers and keyless operation. The extra kit, and the more modern interior make it a much more "special" place to be than the E90, which always to me felt spartan and slightly dated inside.

An interesting new feature on the F30 is the provision of a choice of driving modes to select depending on your mood. The default "Eco Pro" mode is optimised for economy, and softens the throttle response, brings up a gearshift indicator on the central information panel, with helpful blue text when you're in the optimum gear, as well as turning down the air-conditioning and turning on the regenerative braking system, all accompanied if you choose, by a graphic display in the iDrive screen, to show you what it's up to at a given moment.

The economy figures posted on the computer in this mode can be staggering. I rarely see less than an indicated 65 mpg over a trip, with low 70's possible if I'm careful. The 318d in the same conditions, driven in the same way, used to struggle to get much more than 48 mpg. That said, the indicated figures for the F30 can be taken with a huge pinch of salt, more of which later.

Switch to "Sport" mode, and the throttle response sharpens up, the steering weights up, and the car feels much more like a traditional BMW. The middle setting, "Comfort", is a compromise between the two. I tend to switch between Sport and Eco Pro, bypassing Comfort completely, but everyone will be different.

The engine is incredibly gutsy and responsive in Sport mode. At 161PS, it loses about 20PS to the non-eco 320d, but produces the same torque, so the actual shove off the line and for "on demand" acceleration is identical. 0-60 is quoted at 8 seconds dead, but like most diesels, it feels quicker than it is. Unfortunately, the engine is also surprisingly gruff and vocal, with refinement well off the pace of the common rail units from the likes of VW and the French manufacturers, even down to starting and stopping with quite a shudder through the car. It does go well though.

The gearbox is an improvement over the rather agricultural E90, with a lighter, sweeter action around the gate, and a lovely mechanical feel to the shift. Fifth was a little stiff when the car was brand new, but after the first 800 miles or so, it was fine. The clutch is also lighter and more progressive than the E90's.

One of my concerns was that the economy optimised gearing on this ED model would wreck the driving experience, but it's not the case. 6th is tall (100 mph is 2500 RPM), but there's enough low down grunt from that engine to pull it convincingly from 50 mph upwards, meaning you don't need to change down to overtake or pull up long hills on motorways. The other ratios are sensibly spaced, and there's no issue keeping the engine on the boil between changes. Like most modern diesels though, it won't "lug" from tickover, and doesn't take much provocation to stall. Familiarity overcomes this within a day or two though, and it is not an issue.

So, a quicker, better equipped, classier, better finished, and more spacious car than the one it replaced, without a doubt. But you notice I haven't mentioned the BMW ace yet. How does it go round corners?

The honest answer is, dynamically it's just a little bit disappointing. The E90, even as a humble 318d ES, was a beautiful handling car. It turned in instantly, could be balanced on the throttle, and the steering had near perfect weighting and feel. The F30 is, for want of a better word, duller. It rides better, no question about it, but the steering is your typical modern electrically assisted numbness (Sport just makes it heavy and numb instead of light and numb), and the response to a hard turn in is lazier, and more understeery. It just doesn't flow like the old car did, and generally feels softer and slower in its responses. By the standards of many cars, it's still a good handling car, but it's no longer great in my opinion. I note that many of the test cars in the mags had the expensive adaptive suspension fitted, and the cynic in me can't help but wonder if BMW realised that the standard suspension simply doesn't cut the mustard dynamically.

My final gripe relates to fuel economy, not so much outright, but the incredible disparity between indicated and actual values. Over three tankfuls, the system indicated 57 mpg, 63 mpg and 64 mpg. What I got respectively was 50 mpg, 56 mpg and 57 mpg. These are still impressive figures for a big 161 bhp saloon car, but they are not what the computer says, and they certainly aren't in the same ballpark as BMW's claimed 68 mpg on the combined cycle. The engine is still tight, and the 318d never gave its best economy until about 10,000 miles, so I will monitor it. But anyone test driving one and falling for the computer's lies, is going to be very disappointed by the reality.

On the whole though, despite the negatives, I really like this car. It makes you feel special in a way the E90 never really did, and its engine makes up for any shortcomings in refinement with plenty of grunt, and very impressive throttle response in Sport mode. But the car isn't the unqualified model of perfection that the motoring press would have you believe. It's very, very good, but not perfect. Still, based on performance so far, it will be a pleasure to live with over the next three years, as long it doesn't suffer from early build gremlins.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th March, 2012

2nd Apr 2012, 08:51

What a beautifully written review!

Please keep us updated as and when you can.

Many thanks, Matt (brief BMW owner, now Focus owner!)

11th Apr 2012, 15:14

First fault today. Wipers have decided to stop returning to their rest position when switched off, and the Auto function has stopped working altogether. Not yet done 2000 miles. A bit disappointing.

14th Jun 2012, 04:30

New FEM body control module fitted the other week after a 3 week wait for the part!! It has fixed both problems, thankfully. Disappointed that the dealer wanted to charge me for a courtesy car.

3rd Jul 2012, 09:00

Now have an intermittent "Headlamp vertical beam alignment check error" on the display on start up, and a clonking from the O/S/F suspension. About to make its third dealer visit in as many months. Problem after problem.

5th Oct 2012, 08:10

My 320d ED was delivered in May 2012.

FEM needed replacing after 720 miles.

Air-con blower fan needed replacing after 1500 miles.

26th Jan 2013, 10:36

I run a small fleet of six of these. All six have had blowers replaced, and three have had FEM replacements. None has been completely fault free. The interiors also get rattly with miles.

10th Jun 2022, 08:40

Excellent review, these are nice cars. A friend has a 2013 316i petrol, also fast and economical - regularly gets between 45 - 50 mpg with mixed driving. So if petrol can do that I can believe the diesel figures of 60 mpg plus.

In the UK and worldwide I'm sure we are all aware of the increase in fuel cost, so cars have to perform and do at least 40 mpg minimum to be reasonable for daily use. The 3 series seems the ideal all round car in any spec - all are well equipped, good to drive and economical.