It’s efficient, it’s dynamic, it’s the BMW 320d EfficientDynamics and it provides class, luxury and economic benefits too.
I’m writing this from the spacious, leather-covered back seat of a brand new 3 series BMW. Tapping away on my laptop in the back of a BMW 320d EfficientDynamics to be precise, trying to think of ways to persuade the good people at the German motoring giant to let me keep the car.
I’ve been the key holder of this car (well, electronic keyfob, to be precise – modern BMWs are far too cool for conventional stick-it-in-the-hole-and-turn keys) for almost a week and once the week is up I have to give the car back. And I really don’t want to.
It wasn’t love at first sight. With BMWs you don’t always get the attachment that comes with, say, a gorgeous Alfa Romeo Giullieta or a funky Citroen DS3.
Sure, from the outside this car looks sleek, smart and refined, as is the case with all of the latest crop of Beemers, but it’s far too grown up a vehicle to make you feel any sense of instant attachment. And once inside, the dashboard is a little staid and chunky. The leather and woodgrain trim says quality, but it doesn’t say ‘Wow’.
It does win you over, however, when you start doing the important stuff, when you start actually driving the thing.
Functional not funky
Press the start/stop button to turn on the engine, put the car into gear, press down on the accelerator pedal, then turn the steering wheel a few times. That’s when you get it; that’s when you understand why the interior is functional rather than funky.
This is a car that wants to be driven, that wants you to enjoy the drive, that wants to work with you to ensure that your drive is quick and responsive and, importantly, that doesn’t want to distract you with frippery. How very BMW.
Purchase the latest iteration of the 320d and you’re making a statement. Through the car that you drive you are saying that you mean business but you know how to enjoy yourself too.
You are saying that you want quality, and that you’re willing to spend a few extra quid getting it. But to those in the know you’re also saying that you don’t want to spend all your money on keeping the car on the road (and all your time at the petrol station).
This is a five star saloon with a budget brand drinking habit.
The reason for this is the EfficientDynamics engine under the bonnet. In addition to producing a car that looks smart and drives well, those clever engineers over in Munich have produced an engine that drives on thin air (almost) with an impressively low rate of emission (109g/km, to be precise).
What’s great is that despite producing significantly better fuel economy when compared to the previous 320d, you can’t tell the difference in the performance. Lowered suspension, longer gear ratios and reduced engine friction all helps. The new 16″ alloys improve the aerodynamics, while Michelin EnergySaver tyres stick to the road without too much energy-sapping resistance.
Subtle
This is a five star saloon with a budget brand drinking habit. The reworking of the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel has been subtle, but it manages to persuade the driver to use lower revs. Extra torque is just one of the tricks employed to ensure that the car doesn’t start to vibrate as the rev level drops to the point where you’d normally want (and need) to change gear.
So with the new 320d EfficientDynamics, not only are you driving an ultra-efficient piece of machinery you’re driving a car that’s surprisingly economically friendly, that’s cheap to run and that comes with the benefits of being in one of the lower VRT and tax brackets. Tellingly, at €39,110 on the road it comes in at just under the price of the good-but-not-quite-as-economical 320d SE (which cost €39,920).
It handles like a dream. It works brilliantly on a long straight road, of course, but it also responds well on the most winding of journeys, behaving like a small sports car when faced with some of Connemara’s more challenging bends.
BMW have a reputation for charging you a fair bit extra for the extras, but even the base model of the 320d comes with cruise control, lots of airbags and a rear parking sensor, a very decent audio system with a USB interface, Bluetooth compatibility, dual-zone climate control and an onboard computer that’s easy to work.
The BMW 3 series is cheekier than the 5 series and less grand than the 7 series. Both the new 5 and the new 7 series contain cars within their range that are superb, but if I were in the market right now to buy a new BMW then the car that I’d be going for would be the 320d.
The lowdown
Model tested: BMW 320d EfficientDynamics
Cost: €39,110 (on the road)
Top speed: 220km/h
0-100km/h: 8.2 sec
Fuel economy (Combined): 68.9mpg
CO2 emissions: 109g/km
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