[zeebmw]

Hi all,

This is my first posting, i am in a bit uncertainty wether to buy a bmw 330ci e46 coupe.

the reason is i want to know what the true fuel economy is as i am going to buy this with the car allowance i get from work to use for work, as i am field based, i have currently a company car which is a Ford mondeo brand new 2.0 Ghia manual, which gives me 400 miles to a full tank around 32.mpg with a 63l tank.

Is the Bmw better or worse then this most driving is motorway with some city driving. what do you guys recomend .. Help is kindly appreciated.

regards

Zee

 

[LiLoCollinsy]

Have a look at this thread mate :thumbsup

http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f18/2002-e46-330ci-convertible-mpg-question-t7524/

 

[Zigourney]

Hi I have a 2003 (non facelift) E46 330Ci I bought it about a month ago.

I fill £30 of fuel each week and for the last 3 weeks I have been keeping an eye on the miles I get and here are the results

week 1) £30 = 134 miles (All local driving/ No motorway)
week 2) £30 = 137 miles (Local driving/ 1 quick 13 mile trip on the motorway)
week 3) £30 = 142 miles (All local driving / No motorway)


bearing in mind I have only had the car for about a month and I am very heavy footed at the moment enjoying the pulling power of the car!

I reckon once I start to drive it "normally" then I should get about 145-150 local miles on £30!

I think thats pretty good! my previous car was a 2.0L and I was spending £20 a week on petrol.

 

[zeebmw]

Guys thanks for answering the question.. so bit on the confused side as to what to do, and i am guessing the even if i went for the 325ci wouldnt make a huge difference on fuel for example to the full tank? as i do do more motorway driving

 

[Deano16v]

no difference at all. when i had my 330 most of my driving was motorway and i'd regularly see 400 miles from a tank.
the MPG does really suffer in stop start driving though. at 70-80 you'll see 35mpg easy.

 

[DomestosUK]

Have a 2000 330ci Convertible.

I do approx 370 motorway miles per week and can usually do it on one tank of fuel (about £50). I dont have to be especially careful with my foot. I do have some fun. I average about 29.6 MPG and that's cruising about 80mph with a few squirts here and there. Usually to get rid of Mondeo drivers

I'd agree with an earlier poster, its stop/start town driving that would hammer your MPG.

Just don't hit the cruise control button - else your MPG will plummet.

 

[Bonse]

330d or cd all the way WOO!!!

£5000 will get you a nice condition 2001 E46 330d with all the trimmings, hitting 36-40mpg driving in pure luxury with the added bonus of brilliant ride quality and sexy torque

I'm not trying to sell you one but damn they're good to drive.

 

[sdp]

Can I ask why the cruise control would hurt the MPG so much? I can appreciate up and down hill may not be as efficient as using the clutch, but surely on the flat it's going to be better than driving manually?

 

[gap141070]

:thumbsuphey m8..my 330ci can get between 350-400 miles on around £50..tho stop and start am lookn at 23.2mpg....sumtimes wonder if my readouts evn workn...seen it hit 26.4..and its an auto so it should be bettr!!no matter wot...ad take the 330 over the mondy evn if a was get the mondys fuel for free!!:hihi

 

[zeebmw]

Thanks guys for your information, I think that kind of help me decide that yes its better to go for the 330ci M Sport, i am happy with 380-400 miles on a full tank, I mean it is a 3.0L after all, and the mondy gives me around 390 on full tank motorway miles, i drive more motorway then local althought there is an element of local driving on my days off so all in all i think it has to be the car for thanks to all who contributed with info

 

[DomestosUK]

Welcome to the club - you;; never look back and wonder why u waited so long! I did!

 

[Zigourney]

If your mostly doing motorway driving then there's nothing to worry about, you should get those miles easy.

The way I see it, if your seriously contemplating a 3 litre car then you must be able to afford to run the damn thing! Otherwise buy a 2 litre diesel ! Besides its not purely financial, just think about all that pulling power and fun your going to have at the weekends, its a beast trust me I got one :cool

 

[zeebmw]

Your right mate, i want the pulling power had enough of these little gti' and small cars over taking its time to take control, i do howeve prefer the revised shape with the upgraded sound system. harmon/kardon

 

[LiLoCollinsy]

Can I ask why the cruise control would hurt the MPG so much? I can appreciate up and down hill may not be as efficient as using the clutch, but surely on the flat it's going to be better than driving manually?

Id like to ask the same question :confused

 

[SlowTech]

Id like to ask the same question :confused

I'd just like the answer :hihi
seriously though I thought cruise control was fuel efficient :eek

thanks in advance :thumbsup

 

[Diablo944]

if the cars computer is to be believed, the cars cruise control on my car does better than me for the most part when it comes to saving money on fuel. Show it a few hills and it can be dubious, but the computer tells me that I use more fuel than the cruise does. So add me to the list of people wondering why the cruise button is supposed to suck more fuel.

 

[Jonathan]

I've got a 2001 E46 330i manual saloon and since starting a new job recently my mileage is about 65 a day, mostly on dual carriageways and good A roads.

I've had 460 miles from one tank and reckon 500 is possible although if you're going to chase fuel economy to that extent there's no point in having a 3 litre petrol car!

I now vary my route to work so I can enjoy the car more, and even at licence losing speeds still get 400 miles per tank.

I don't think you can argue with that, especially when you consider it's probably only worth £4-5k now and a brand new Audi TT "S" couldn't get away from me today in a straight line. His was a manual too so maybe he had two left feet but I know which driver had the bigger grin.........