[Rich9600]

Hey folks,

First post after much lurking.

I'm ideally looking for anybody who has made this change and wondering what their relative change in MPG was? However, all thoughts welcomed.

After much reading about I'm very much confused about if a new 330d will give me decent enough fuel economy on my daily slog to justify the fun. I live in Cumbria UK, so plenty of fun roads to play with, but my commute is only 13 miles each way. 40-60 mph limits. This is mostly 'follow the leader' with only a couple of safe overtaking locations. So, probably in Eco pro. Not too much congestion, 15-35 minutes dependant on the day/shift.

My concern is mostly related to the extra warm up time for the bigger a engine. I'm sure my present engine is nice and quick to warm, heat from the vents in 2-3 miles. Sadly no temperature gauge. This surely benefits from the radiator grille shut off system, which seems to have gone on all F30's.

I have no DPF issues and do at least bi-monthly motorway runs. However, most social journeys are more than 15 miles each way anyway, mostly on National Speed Limit roads.

The 330d F30 claims 57.6 mpg vs 58.9 for my 320d E90, so not much difference here. My E90 long term average mpg is 48.8mph and 36.4 mph. About 11,000 - 12,000 miles annually.

From this ratio, Honest Johns Real MPG and Fuelly I estimate an overall average of 46.3 MPG for a F30 330d. Does this sound realistic?

I've driven a F30 330D and absolutely loved it! Then took it out again from cold on a cool wet day, and drove a little more carefully and achieved 46mpg on a 35 mile ish mixed run of traffic and some overtakes. I'm going to try and get a couple of days with it so I can try it for work...

I'm a private buyer and cost wise, not so great a difference to a similar specced new 320d. Due to the options we want, the 330D and it's pack of included options match up nicely. By my sums over 5 years and my estimate of residuals the all in cost should be £30-40 a month more. So about £2,000. However, this is dependant on achieving fuel economy in the region I expect.

Any thoughts and similar experiences very much welcomed.

Cheers

Richard

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Rich9600

...My concern is mostly related to the extra warm up time for the bigger a engine. I'm sure my present engine is nice and quick to warm, heat from the vents in 2-3 miles. Sadly no temperature gauge. This surely benefits from the radiator grille shut off system, which seems to have gone on all F30's.

I have no DPF issues and do at least bi-monthly motorway runs. However, most social journeys are more than 15 miles each way anyway, mostly on National Speed Limit roads.

I agree that warm up in winter will be an issue. I ran the E91 330d and even after 12 miles on a light but 50 - 60mph run, the ECT would not be up to temperature (hidden menu).

Don't be too influenced by your cabin heating even in the 320d, you have an electric PTC auxiliary heating element in the HVAC system, so that masks true engine temperature in winter. Big diesels running cold eat up more fuel than we may think, steady cruising is really where you score good mpg.

What about another 320d if you want a diesel? Will be faster to warm and more efficient in your driving.

BTW, you may want to post this topic in the UK part of the forum... more UK experience.

HighlandPete

[Rich9600]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

What about another 320d if you want a diesel? Will be faster to warm and more efficient in your driving.

BTW, you may want to post this topic in the UK part of the forum... more UK experience.

HighlandPete

Cheers, I'll re-post in the UK section.

I was originally looking at the 320d, but accidentally drove the 330d to test out the auto box. It just put such a huge smile on my face.