318d 2.0 M Sport 5dr Estate

Lovely, but expensive to run

I bought this to replace an E46 touring that had been brilliant, and it’s a good car. I really like how it looks both inside and out. It handles well, is comfortable and soaks up the miles on longer journeys. Mine has the M-sport trim, so there’s a bit more flair in the interior fittings, and the outside looks a bit sportier too (even though it’s really just a dad-wagon).
I don’t think that the handling is quite as good as the e46 that it replaced, but it’s not every day that I drive it down a wiggly B road.
Downsides are the trim in the cabin is a bit creaky and rattly. The extra flair that’s been added means that there are a lot of little slivers of plastic that are all clipped together. On rougher roads ones near where I live, these creak and clatter. Tyres are expensive (large, low-profile, run flats) and can’t be puncture repaired so it’s £250 if you run over a screw.
My car has now covered 115,000 miles, and hasn’t really had long runs over the past year as my lifestyle has changed (15 mile commute on an A road). The DPF has become clogged and the car can’t regenerate it by itself which means a £1600 at the main dealer to replace it.

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