Instrumented Test
arrow
Diesel with a lazy d.
Of course you are questioning, so we’ll just tell you up front: 39 mpg. That is what we got over 522 miles of driving with the BMW 328d rear-drive sedan, which amounts to one fill-up. It’s also 4-mpg better than the 35 mpg we saw from 2 2014 328ds, an xDrive sedan and our lengthy-term xDrive wagon (by way of 25,000 miles, at least).
That’s all the selections: rear- or all-wheel drive, sedan or wagon. The only 3-series diesel accessible in the U.S. comes with an 8-speed automatic, whether you like it or not, but confers a genuine mileage advantage compared with our extended-term 2012 328i manual (27 mpg over 40,000 miles). Neo-Prius fuel economy in the industry’s benchmark sports sedan? Sign here, please.
Our U.K. correspondent, Mike Duff, does not feel significantly of BMW diesels, specially the little ones. Lately he was overheard calling them “crap,” which is British shorthand for “not fairly as beautiful as the options.” Duff wonders why some Americans get all frothy about a 3-series diesel when they’re typical as cats in Europe, where they’re the preferred mount of widows, vicars, airport taxi drivers, and other people who want BMW prestige and luxury on the slowest, most frugal achievable terms. In Duff’s estimation, a 328d is as close as BMW comes to constructing a Buick Verano.
 |
Nicely, you’re all fairly acquainted with the F30-generation 3-series, thanks to the umpteen million stories we’ve done on this car, calling out its sophisticated handling, its sugary engines, its fine brakes, and its diminished steering, which is absolutely colder than the previous E90’s. None of those observations adjust for the 328d, except the diesel engine and its numbers.
To wit: In the United States, you spend a $ 1500 premium to swap out the 2015-model 328i’s base 2.-liter turbo gasoline 4 for the 328d’s 2.-liter turbo-diesel. It is not a huge hit, thinking about you get better economy, a main torque bump of 25 lb-ft, and a lot of fancy new antipollution gear. Rated horsepower drops from 240 to 181, as horsepower always requires a dive when you install a slower-turning diesel.
When will the $ 1500 pay itself back in fuel savings? If you accept our fuel-economy numbers as your personal and take the U.S. fuel-price tag averages as this is written ($ 3.50 per gallon for premium, $ 3.66 for diesel), you will pay off the 328d’s diesel in about 42,000 miles. Of course, the break-even point can differ depending on your own mileage and the disparity amongst gasoline and diesel rates where you drive.
If you are the leasing variety and program to turn it in at 2 or 3 years, overlook any economic benefit to a 328d. The remaining advantage is the comfort of a 500-plus-mile variety, which you could regard as an extracost option like a sunroof or a fancier stereo. Not getting to cease so typically at fuel pumps—especially greasy diesel pumps—is worth anything to some people.
While a 328d purchaser gains significant economy, he or she is also sacrificing. A cause that blue spinner on the hood commands the huge premium is the company’s extended history of building graceful engines that swing to high revs even though creating only the most dulcet of tones. In the diesel, you chuck a thoroughbred and in its place install a clattering plow mule of an engine that spends most of its life lazing among 1000 and 2000 rpm, with unenthusiastic plods to 4000 rpm when you are really on it. This engine is an industrial issue constructed for a prosaic purpose rather than to satisfy a passion.
 |
Let’s not overstate it. As diesels go, the 328d’s is pleasant adequate, the steel-cut rattling of its 4 jugs noticeable but properly muffled in the cabin. The immediacy of peak torque arriving at 1750 rpm and staying through to 2750 rpm guarantees that the 328d never feels slow. The 60-mph benchmark passes in 6.8 seconds, which is fast sufficient that you will not get flattened although merging but at the muddy bottom of the sports-sedan pond. Our long-term 328i manual could do it in 5.6 seconds, an altogether more BMW-like time the aforementioned diesel xDrive sedan, 161 pounds heavier, took 7.2 seconds. So, at least this rear-driver avoids the ignominy of becoming the slowest 3-series.
BMW pricing can catch you out if you are not cautious. Our 2014 328d totaled out at $ 45,075 with only a couple of options, which includes the $ 3500 M Sport package (wheels, suspension, seats, trim), the $ 1000 Dynamic Handling pack, $ 550 Estoril blue paint, and a $ 500 sport automatic transmission upgrade, which contains steering-wheel paddles and sportier shift maps. Hot M-like looks notwithstanding, this 328d had handful of frills no navigation, no backup camera, no parking sensors, no satellite radio. It’s fundamentally a Munich taxi with nice wheels and paint. Those pining soon after the E90 cars will remember the twin-turbo 6-cylinder 2009 BMW 335d that delivered 5.7-second -to-60-mph efficiency whilst burning diesel at 28 mpg. It was no taxi, but 5 years ago its sticker was $ 10,000 higher than the one on this automobile it didn’t sell nicely.
Some of you truly crave stripped-down Bimmers and Benzes with reputedly indestructible diesel engines. This is what Europeans in this segment buy, mainly, and owning a single stateside brings you specific credibility as a connoisseur of The Actual Thing. If you cannot live in Germany—or do not want to because the winters suck, socialists rule, and a great hamburger is not offered at midnight—then owning a 328d is the next ideal point. Even so, you should don’;t forget that these men and women buy diesels simply because their gasoline is roughly $ 700 per gallon and diesel is not only much more effective, but less costly (about $ 7.20 at press time). Here, if you’re seeking to drink from the complete fire hose of BMW fabulousness, stick with gasoline.
View Photo Gallery
Other Stories You Might Like
2014 BMW 328d Diesel Sedan Tested: Frugality Has Its Price tag
