BMW 320dSE diesel consumption

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Sun 29 Sep 2002 19:55
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - Dude - {P}
I bought a 320dSe(150 b.h.p.) earlier this year on the premise that the fuel consumption would be approx 50 m.p.g. To date I have done 6k miles & it is only averaging 39 m.p.g. I was wondering if this will improve (say after 20k miles) and if any backroomers with this model could pass on their fuel consumption figures??
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Sun 29 Sep 2002 22:47
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - Pugugly {P}
330d - not hammered, in the UK at least, mileage is close to 65k now (starting to loosen a touch ;-) ) reckon on around 40 mpg come hill or high water, 320 should be touching 50 at least.Mine has been pretty consistent from new.
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Mon 30 Sep 2002 00:05
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - robert
Pal of mine has a '02 320 DSE touring. Reckoned it took 8k to run in and the consumption then improved. Same thing from another pal with an E220 D.

Hopefully yours will improve soon!
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Sun 9 Oct 2005 21:43
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - Ian D
Dude

I am thinking about buying one of these - did your fuel consumptiuon improve?
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Sun 9 Oct 2005 23:24
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - 659FBE
Is your diesel automatic? In my experience, most diesels with automatic transmission are hopeless in terms of economy compared with the same car with a manual box.

The high torque of the diesel at low revs causes unacceptable slip and consequently energy loss in the torque converter. This is a device with poor efficiency at low input speeds (and zero efficiency at zero output speed). Definitely better avoided in this application.

659.
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Mon 10 Oct 2005 16:06
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - Dude - {P}
I guess the mpg figures are dependent very much on being able to maximise the high 5th gear. In Cornwall with our A & B roads and abundance of hills, this is not often possible.

My Touring is a manual and it took a good 10k before the engine fully freed itself, but locally I still only manage 39 to 42 mpg, which is mostly short journeys of 15 miles or less, which is not exactly helping to achieve maximum economy.

When I do use the motorways however, and set the cruise to 78 mph, it will regularly return 49 to 52 mpg, which is very close to BMW`s claimed economy figure.

If you are thinking of buying one, I would recommend that you heed H.J`s advice and go for the SE model, as the Sport suspension IMHO on low profile tyres is far too hard a ride.

In case you are interested, I have recently switched from Pirelli P6000 tyres(very noisy) to Michelin Pilot Primacy and cannot believe tyres could make such a difference to road noise suppression. At motorway cruise the car is now almost silent, which makes for very relaxed driving.
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Mon 10 Oct 2005 19:00
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - jc
Switching from Firestone to Goodyear on a Ford made a terrific difference in road noise but only on certain surfaces.
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Mon 10 Oct 2005 19:13
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - David Horn
>>I guess the mpg figures are dependent very much on being able to maximise
>>the high 5th gear. In Cornwall with our A & B roads and abundance of
>>hills, this is not often possible.

This might sound a bit weird, but when I was thrashing my Xsara along 20 miles of A-road every day I got consistently better mileage than motorway driving at 70-80MPH.

My dad reported the same when he borrowed my car for a month.

Bear in mind this is a 1.9TD Xsara and I was getting 55-60MPG out of it when the handbook quoted 45.
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Mon 10 Oct 2005 22:27
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - Ian D
Thanks for the info, if the mpg was low 40s I would go for a Golf PD 130 or 150 which can do over 50 mpg, but my daily run is a steady 70-80 mph on quiet A roads so in a 320d I should be able to get close to 50 mpg.

I have narrowed my choice down to a bog standard 320d SE touring which does everything I want, just need to find a decent one at a sensible price...
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Tue 11 Oct 2005 10:55
BMW 320dSE diesel consumption - colinh
Just sold a 320td Compact (6-speed manual 150 bhp) - over two years plus I averaged 49.3 mpg - I live in a rural, hilly area - no commuting.

PS. I'm currently averaging 49.4 mpg with a 2.0 TDI DSG Golf, but that includes a trip to UK from Spain and return earlier in the month.
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