Modding has halted... the GTI has a new companion!

[Garth]

I saw in Evo this week that the combined MPG cycle for the E92 330i is 39mpg - Are you hitting that Garth or is that a fantasy figure? 

I know these newer engines are becoming solid at combining performance and economy, but I didn't realise it had spread to the petrol straight 6's 

To be honest, most of the mileage done in it is round towns by my wife so it's about 25-30mpg when she has it. On the motorway you can easily get it to high 30's and if you are prepared to cruise at 70 you can average 40mpg. I have seen over 50mpg on a motorway run with bloody average 50mph cameras on.

When I have it, my average is mid to high 30's so I'm really pleased with that. It gets slightly better economy than my GTI which is very impressive for a heavy 3L car 

[rdfcpete]

I saw in Evo this week that the combined MPG cycle for the E92 330i is 39mpg - Are you hitting that Garth or is that a fantasy figure? 

I know these newer engines are becoming solid at combining performance and economy, but I didn't realise it had spread to the petrol straight 6's 

To be honest, most of the mileage done in it is round towns by my wife so it's about 25-30mpg when she has it. On the motorway you can easily get it to high 30's and if you are prepared to cruise at 70 you can average 40mpg. I have seen over 50mpg on a motorway run with bloody average 50mph cameras on.

When I have it, my average is mid to high 30's so I'm really pleased with that. It gets slightly better economy than my GTI which is very impressive for a heavy 3L car 

I think that in itself is the key really for as you say what is a heavy'ish 6cyl 3.0 coupe.

If I drive to my local Tesco Express, I've had 14mpg cause the engine won't even be warm. Round town I rarely drop below 28mpg. Commute see's 33 ish mpg and I've had 42.5mpg on a 300 mile + round trip. Mines not engine modded barring a blowy exhaust and an ITG panel filter 

Basically, you're more or less matching those figures in the 330i which I think is very respectable, and I don't consider the 2.0T FSI K03 to be an uneconomical engine really

[scooba]

Having owned lots of BMWs i have to disagree about the auto box i think they are very good my only comparison though is a new Mercedes c250 auto that is sh*t!

I love the coral red leather its the same as in my wifes new space grey e92 lovely colour combo , next time get the pro nav this is something i always have avoided but this time we have it very nice with the blue tooth


I love the ED30 but on a run out the BMW is my choice

I have been driving my fathers 330i auto for several weeks and find 30 mpg about as good as it gets with a mix of driving .

[Garth]

Having owned lots of BMWs i have to disagree about the auto box i think they are very good my only comparison though is a new Mercedes c250 auto that is sh*t!

I love the coral red leather its the same as in my wifes new space grey e92 lovely colour combo , next time get the pro nav this is something i always have avoided but this time we have it very nice with the blue tooth


I love the ED30 but on a run out the BMW is my choice

I have been driving my fathers 330i auto for several weeks and find 30 mpg about as good as it gets with a mix of driving .

I guess it depends what you're used to and what you like really. I've never been a big fan of autos and the one in the Beemer is not necessarily worse than other autos, it's just that it's not the best one out there and even the best one out there (probably the dsg in the VW's) I still don't like much. If my knee wasn't on the way out, I'd never normally consider an auto.

I'm surprised you like the nav in the Beemer as it adds the idrive system which I can't stand. I have the bluetooth and it is very good so I'm happy with my interior. Anywhere I go that needs nav is done in the Golf and tomtom is still better at navigating than the OEM solutions I reckon. Sure it doesn't look as good, but whenh I need nav, I need it to be good 

The auto boxes on Beemers really rob you of economy. My old E46 manual 330cd coupe used to get nearly 40mpg average whereas my bosses that was exactly the same but with an auto struggled to get 30mpg

[swf7y]

^^^^^^^
I've had driven both auto and manual E46 BMWs. I had the manual and my brother had the auto, tbh I preferred the auto. I think it's because BMWs are heavy cars and the auto box coped better IMO. Manual was nice though, just not as smooth. And no, it wasn't just my car because I test drove a few before I eventually bought one.

On another note, nothing wrong with them in the wet. Decent tyres always do the trick. 

Love the E92 btw, black looks great.