2001 BMW 3 Series 330Ci from UK and Ireland - Comments

Absolutely faultless.

I took the decision early this year to opt out of our company car scheme being offered the choice of a Ford Focus TD or a Peugeot 307 HDi. Both decent cars, but doing 30k a year, I wanted something I would enjoy driving rather than tolerate. Looking around, I was amazed to find a choice of decent 2000/2001 E46 330's for around £15k and decided to take a test drive. I fell in love instantly.

It's hard to say what it is about the car that had such a dramatic effect, but suffice to say that the whole air of precision engineering and quality about the car is truly magnificent.

The interior is an object lesson in quality and attention to detail, with a first class driving position and seats that never get uncomfortable or induce pain. The interior plastics are high quality, the ergonomics faultless and there is a general "feel good" factor when driving the car.

RWD handling takes some getting used to after years of FWD, but boy is it fun when you turn the traction control off. Wet roundabouts and opposite lock took me instantly back to my misspent youth driving a beaten up Ford Sierra, and ten years on, and these hooligan antics are as much fun as ever. The car rides firmly, but not harshly, and throttle response is instantaneous. My only real complaint is the steering which in my opinion lacks weight and feel. Odd when the rest of the car feels so precise and accomplished, but I would say the Focus steers more positively.

Running costs are astonishing for a 200 and something bhp car. It returns an average of 32 mpg with a mixture of 80-85 motorway cruising and reasonable progress A-road driving, and the worst I've achieved is 24 mpg from a tankful after looning around some Welsh mountain roads with a few like minded mates. BMW dealer servicing is high quality, but seriously overpriced. I'm considering using an independent from now on, especially as one has set up recently in my area run by the same BMW technician who actually did the last main dealer service on my car. He's left and set up on his own.

Reliability has been faultless in the 9,000 miles I've done, and the car still sounds, goes, feels and looks like a low mileage 04 plater. This is the other joy I'm discovering about BMW ownership. Providing the cars are serviced correctly and looked after reasonably well, they age superbly.

Here's to 60,000 miles over the next two years! I can't wait.

A really nice review. Nice to see that BMWs are not only bought as status symbols, but also as driving tools.

Thanks for the positive comment. Still enjoying the car and no faults to report.

I did indeed buy the car mostly because it was good to drive, although styling and perceived quality and durability also helped! Basically I am going to hammer this car over the next few years and I can't afford for it to let me down, so a BMW seemed like a good choice.

A lot of people, including myself, don't really consider BMW's as status symbols any more, as there are so many of them around. However, if they all drive like this, their success is pretty self explanatory, and I completely understand why people strive to get behind the wheel of them. It's just nice that such a driver focused car still exists.

Thanks again for the positive comment! All the best.

Many people complained about the handling of the 2001 330ci, saying the steering was too light. BMWUSA offered to retrofit the steering under warranty to give it that tight "BMW feel". I called BMW recently and they have stated they no longer offer the retrofit. However it can be done for around $1000US. Incidentally in 2002 they returned to the steering with more driver effort.