LiamGTR Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Friends picking up his near top-spec '05 E46 330Cd in black tomorrow and it's got me thinking: - Yes there are cars faster - Yes there are cars more economical - Yes there are more stylish cars - Yes there will always be cheap cars But does any other car tick all the boxes like the 330Cd? I can only really think of the Golf TDi range, but f**k me they're all ugly as sin. ...Maybe some Audi's? I'm not up on my Audi's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 335/535d for me. Or the newlt announced triple turbo 150d. That'll be a beast! You don't mention price though. For the low price of an e46, I can't think of anything (I've looked). Merc c320 came close, but lost on looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 You can get a E46 335d? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennno2005 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Just now, LiamGTR said: You can get a E46 335d? No. Yes 330d is a good all-rounder I guess. Reliability & cost of repairs are always the falling grace of common rail diseasals IMO though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
330CDT Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Funny you posted this Liam.. its' something I often think about. There's actually not one thing out there that comes close in terms of performance & economy, combined with overall value for money. 100% made the right choice, took me long enough though haha. I'm quite anal when it comes to figures and money etc, really impressed with my 10k+ miles so far. As above, next up is the 335d but you're talking a chunk more money. Frankly anything else I just see as pure plain boring. Definitely going to have to re-calculate my commute / general lifestyle to accommodate an M3 at some point though! So, in answer to your question, the answer is no, nothing beats the 330cd LiamGTR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) 13 minutes ago, 330CDT said: , in answer to your question, the answer is no, nothing beats the 330cd I'd argue the touring does. Cheaper to buy, more practical, less awkward front headlights, and the coolness of having a fast estate. As an all rounder, it's the best of the e46 bunch imo I fully appreciate the appeal of the coupe though, and get the'old man' image of estate cars. I wonder what a e60/e90 *30d/*35d costs for a goodun at the minute Edited December 2, 2015 by TriggerFish Maverick330d 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjn Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Decent 335d are still £15k plus. Unless you don't starship mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
330CDT Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Yep, absolutely no point in owning a 335d for me, would decrease the value of the thing and lose a chunk in less than 2 years. My e46 I could sell now for the same if not more than I bought it for! (Have spent a small amount on it ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oli8925 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 So what kind of MPG do you get from your 330ds? I have to admit E46 ownership really hasn't grabbed me, but I'm very picky with my cars and I wouldn't pick my 320d Touring, not that it's a bad car. That's just been written off with a £4.5k pay out, there are a number of replacements on my radar and I wouldn't mind to try again with an E46 but it would have to be a very highly spec'd auto 330d M Sport Touring, and I'm not sure it would manage 40mpg minimum on my run (country A-roads, consistent 40-50mph, 35 mile commute one way. Get high 40's in the 320d) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Last two tanks were 34 and 37 mpg. Lifetime average of about38. Low to mid 40d on a motorway. Best ever was 60.1 at 50mph from Glasgow to Aylesbury. That's with a manual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 That's brim to brim too, not the obc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
330CDT Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 I have a 330cd 6 speed manual, I've never had less than 600 miles to a tank (Even with a broken thermostat I got 575 with OBC saying 40-50 miles left) On average a full tank I fill up around 620-650 miles with the diesel light on and OBC saying 50 miles left. I usually squeeze in 57-58 Litres. This works out to an easy 45 MPG. Best tank (Happened once - half term) was over 700 miles to a tank which was literally just over 50MPG from it. Unbelievable IMO! Granted it wasn't being driven in a fun manner. Mix of A and B roads as you suggest I would expect 42 - 45 MPG (Providing you can behave) I regularly get 55.6 MPG displayed on my OBC driving very nicely across 25 miles of motorway in the morning, then as soon as I hit traffic (usually 30 minutes to get 3 miles.... so s**t) it dives to 43-44 by the time I'm at work. More accurate obviously just going on mileage though! dooge 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjn Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 I got an average of 37.5mpg over 80k miles from my manual facelift 330d saloon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oli8925 Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Thanks everyone, that's not as bad as I'd feared. Just not sure on another manual diesel even though it's the more economical option, not keen on the diesel's characteristics with a manual following the 320d. Rather than having to behave myself I rarely get the chance to misbehave, seeing as Hyundai's are apparently not designed to exceed 45mph. It's other drivers inconsistency that means I have to change gear every 10 seconds Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coop Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Yeah that really pisses me off too, you change down to third gear cos they're going so slow, and as soon as you do they decide to speed up again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
330CDT Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 +1. Any Hyundai i10 is effectively an 'overtake me' sign. I generally roal coal over them.. Really pisses me off too how no-one in this country can drive. Every morning I drive down a huge dip, big downhill and big steep uphill, 50mph. The amount of absaloute mongrels holding the brakes all the way down only to then get 1/4 the way up the other side, change down, accelerate slowly.... urrrrghhh!! I just smash down it in 5th, cheeky downshift 1/3 of the way up and your over the hill before you even know it nice and economically! People ! TriggerFish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooge Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 I love the shape of the e46 facelift coupe. Its a handsome car and without sounding shallow, I couldn't drive an ugly car. You know what they say, if you can walk away from the car and not look back at it you've bought the wrong car! I love the sports seats, the way it feels when you really pin it and group some country road curves together. I love the sport steering wheel, I love the power delivery when you floor it and the short shift of the 330d gearstick combined with a weighted shifter like the Storm Motorwerks one. What ruins it for me is how picky and crashy the standard handling is, the notchy gearchanges and the constant maintenance issues. Glowplug relays, injector tolerances, etc. For handling, its a combo or things and luck of the draw if you ever sort them. I get what I class as poor economy out of mine (last tank was 454 miles, about 36 mpg, second to last was 530, about 41mpg, not so bad) especially compared to 330CDT's above! The gearchange is an easy sort once you remove the CDV. There is really nothing else for £5k Id want to be driving in my circumstances. 330CDT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjn Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Every now and again, i think back to my E46 330d saloon. It had lots of plus points; factory xenons, Estoril blue paint, black leather interior, manual box, fully polybushed, lowered, looked awesome.....and then, you think of the negatives...; needed a replacement diff, ate prop donuts for breakfast, naggind thought the subframe floor was gonna fall out..... But you know what, i'd haver another. Pity, there are none for sale :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkfish Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I've been having this conversation with myself over the last few days. I'm not blinkered and I realise there may be 'better' cars out there in certain areas, but as someone who needs an estate, enjoys driving and requires decent fuel economy, I can't think of anything that could do the job better than my facelift 330d manual. Well, not without spending a hell of a lot more money than mine is worth, anyway. Had a 330i SE auto in the past, which I thought was a brilliant car, but as an all-rounder the d is fantastic. Not exactly a useful first post other than to say, erm, 'I agree'! 330CDT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICK 330 Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Im trying to find a sub 100,000 miler. Even with all their faults i cant say i want owt more modern to drive! Drove a 320d thingy on a 15 plate & i was quite happy to hand it back to get back into mine! The new ones look great inside & out but i couldnt put my finger on why it didnt have massive appeal to me. In the showroom was a black 330d sport at £44,000 & it looked gorgeous. The price tag was horrific though lol. As for looking for another i think i may be sometime finding one lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
330CDT Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 9 hours ago, MICK 330 said: Im trying to find a sub 100,000 miler. Even with all their faults i cant say i want owt more modern to drive! Drove a 320d thingy on a 15 plate & i was quite happy to hand it back to get back into mine! The new ones look great inside & out but i couldnt put my finger on why it didnt have massive appeal to me. In the showroom was a black 330d sport at £44,000 & it looked gorgeous. The price tag was horrific though lol. As for looking for another i think i may be sometime finding one lol Haha, one popped up on facebook the other day at 77k I believe. Personally I'm not fussed if the car is over 100k miles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkfish Posted December 15, 2015 Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 Mine's over 200k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 Are the E92's just as good on MPG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melv1958 Posted December 15, 2015 Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 30ish mpg town driving and that's mapped too, long distance 45ish mpg. But for the benefit of everything it's my ideal car even tho I only do 5k per year had 330ci usin £30 a week in fuel and it not be fantasicly quick specially compared to the 330d, 330d mapped makes 330ci look silly but for the sake of a £300 map it's worth it all day long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 30ish mpg town driving and that's mapped too, long distance 45ish mpg. But for the benefit of everything it's my ideal car even tho I only do 5k per year had 330ci usin £30 a week in fuel and it not be fantasicly quick specially compared to the 330d, 330d mapped makes 330ci look silly but for the sake of a £300 map it's worth it all day long I'm assuming you're talking about your E46 330Cd and not my recent question about E92's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
