bmw 325d or 330d

[gti yorks]

sorry, i dont mean to be rude asking questions about BMW's on here, but i am thinking of moving the gti on and have been looking at bmw's, around 2006/2007. would anybody on here have any experience of either of them engines and the car overall, i am looking at getting a saloon.

i was looking at a 320d, but think i would find that underpowered after a gti, a 325d is 207bhp and a 330d is 230bhp i think, so i think these 2 would be the best to choose from

any help appreciated, thanks

[gti yorks]

A 335d is out of my price range, got an 11k max budget. 

Tuning ain't my thing really, although I did get my a4 cabriolet mapped when I had it, made a big difference but don't think I would map again

[tony_danza]

A 325d is a detuned 330d, it's exactly the same engine etc, both map to exactly the same figures. Save money and buy the cheaper 325d.

[jhtrophy]

I could be wrong but the 325 and 330 have same engine and turbo just comes down to mapping, great 6 cylinder engine, you should get a combined of late 30s, the 320 is 4 cylinder and  about 30 bhp down on the 325, but should be getting late 40s. So if I'm right about the 6 cylinders the 325 seems a bit pointless unless its lots cheaper? Tbh the 330 will be as quick as a gti if not quicker but won't be as fun, but I would drive a 320 before you buy especially if you do big miles

[jhtrophy]

A 325d is a detuned 330d, it's exactly the same engine etc, both map to exactly the same figures. Save money and buy the cheaper 325d.

Sorry mate, didn't read your post  what he said unless you don't want to Map then what I said

[andrewparker]

I was once murdered by a 330d. Must have been tweaked because I disn't stand a chance.

[gti yorks]

I could be wrong but the 325 and 330 have same engine and turbo just comes down to mapping, great 6 cylinder engine, you should get a combined of late 30s, the 320 is 4 cylinder and  about 30 bhp down on the 325, but should be getting late 40s. So if I'm right about the 6 cylinders the 325 seems a bit pointless unless its lots cheaper? Tbh the 330 will be as quick as a gti if not quicker but won't be as fun, but I would drive a 320 before you buy especially if you do big miles

Don't do big miles everyday, 10 mile each way commute for work, but that could change to 40 mile commute. But I do a 400 mile round trip twice a month, about 1000-1100 miles a month I do.

I had a Audi 6 cylinder diesel which I liked,  2005 a4 cabriolet.i used to get 35ish mpg out of that, so imagine a newer technology engine should do a bit more. There doesn't seem to be that much of a difference in prices really, main price difference is between the m sport and se spec models, I want an m sport.  

[gti yorks]

I was once murdered by a 330d. Must have been tweaked because I disn't stand a chance.

Thanks, you just made my mind up 

[Edition30]

Just drive both back to back and im sure you will make your mind up from that. I've driven the entire range and the 320d feels underpowered to me. All the others are good though with the 335d being particularly scary fast with that torque 

[gti yorks]

Just drive both back to back and im sure you will make your mind up from that. I've driven the entire range and the 320d feels underpowered to me. All the others are good though with the 335d being particularly scary fast with that torque 

I will take your advice, but I know I will pick a 330d coz if I got a 325d, I know I will only regret it. I followed a 325d home today, they were booting it down a few back roads, was good fun sticking with it, it went well. 

I don't even want to start looking at 335d as its way out of my budget I think, I haven't even looked as I can't see them being cheap enough for me to look at.

[scooba]

Having owned two BMW 325d both from new , I can assure you they are not the same the auto box on the 325d is a different spec so is the engine different injectors and a few other parts , check on real oem part finder you will se there are differences.


The 325d can be mapped up to around 250bhp safely and around 525nm, The 330d  is around 230 stock and 500nm but can be increased to nearly 300bhp and 600nm ,I think from memory evolve and dms   do the maps and have very good reports.  I have a 325d  E92  on my drive with 7k miles on it at present .

Having owned BMWs since 1993 I can say I have never ever had one let me down .

What ever you choose make sure its a six cylinder diesel silky smooth and a very linear power delivery with decent fuel consumption, AVOID 4 cyl diesel it is noisy and little lumpy get a six you wont be dissapointed .

[no golf clubs at all]

I moved from the gti to a 330d at the end of last year.

I think it's bloody fantastic, yes the 335 perhaps would have been better again but I got a good deal and to be honest was a bit of a compromise between performance and economy.

In my gti I could get 275-330 per tank depending on trip length and my mood 

In the 330 I have had 550 miles on a journey and 450 hoofing it.

It's a grown up car though, I tend to drive it thusly.

Miss the interaction I had with my gti dsg, a tweak here a tweak there, the BMW is well in warranty and I'm sh*t scared of dicking with it. For now......

[Pirelli Paul]

My experiance with a 330D was good, fast and good on fuel, no idea the difference to a 335D but power wise the 330 felt like it had more than enougth power for the chassis to handle.

[scooba]

I hav had a lone 335d , it pulls like a train so so strong and mapped it is even more off a animal but the fuel consumption gets worse the harder you push on , All irrelavant as the op wants a 325/330 d

[no golf clubs at all]

Great car, fantastic engine but a word to the wise, Do your research before buying re options and pre lci update models, watch out if you go for a sat nav model that the maps are up to date. Costs £400 ish to get it brought to current, a total rip off by BMW. Careful of the 19" 225 alloys that are prone to cracking.