[Apples12]

Hi everyone

I'm currently in an f10 520d which I've had for the last 6years+ and absolutely love.

However, having bought it at 33k, it is now touching 200k. Had we not had lockdown I would have hit 240k by now but fortunately, more working from home meant it wasn't used much at all the last 2 years compared to previous (35-40k Vs 10-15k)
.
Considering replacing it soon as I just fancy a change and with the rising costs of fuel, to be getting 38mpg with my inner city driving and commute simply isn't sustainable any more.

I'm torn between the 530e touring or the 330e touring.

The only negative with the 3 I can foresee is some of the reviews around road noise?

Has anyone used both and have any opinions?

The 3 would be less cumbersome on inner city roads, at times my f10 does feel very barge like and not ideal for navigating the inner city streets of Birmingham!

[waxz225]

Originally Posted by Apples12

Hi everyone

I'm currently in an f10 520d which I've had for the last 6years+ and absolutely love.

However, having bought it at 33k, it is now touching 200k. Had we not had lockdown I would have hit 240k by now but fortunately, more working from home meant it wasn't used much at all the last 2 years compared to previous (35-40k Vs 10-15k)
.
Considering replacing it soon as I just fancy a change and with the rising costs of fuel, to be getting 38mpg with my inner city driving and commute simply isn't sustainable any more.

I'm torn between the 530e touring or the 330e touring.

The only negative with the 3 I can foresee is some of the reviews around road noise?

Has anyone used both and have any opinions?

The 3 would be less cumbersome on inner city roads, at times my f10 does feel very barge like and not ideal for navigating the inner city streets of Birmingham!

Just my opinion….. having had two long term hires X5 45e and 330e these cars are absolutely pointless if your covering the mileage you have stated. It will most definitely be cheaper in a diesel. Both these cars do not have a rapid charge port so of a normal 13pin plug your waiting over 7 hours for a full charge and this only give you 30 miles ( everything off. Heated seats. Air con etc) then it switches to petrol. IMO they only worthwhile if your journey is around 30 miles round trip and maybe you can charge the car for a couple of hours somewhere…. Then it will save you money. I was considering the exact same but after having the two long term hires I have switched to the M340d. Hopefully should be arriving soon.

[Apples12]

Originally Posted by waxz225

Just my opinion….. having had two long term hires X5 45e and 330e these cars are absolutely pointless if your covering the mileage you have stated. It will most definitely be cheaper in a diesel. Both these cars do not have a rapid charge port so of a normal 13pin plug your waiting over 7 hours for a full charge and this only give you 30 miles ( everything off. Heated seats. Air con etc) then it switches to petrol. IMO they only worthwhile if your journey is around 30 miles round trip and maybe you can charge the car for a couple of hours somewhere…. Then it will save you money. I was considering the exact same but after having the two long term hires I have switched to the M340d. Hopefully should be arriving soon.

Ah
I should clarify that my commute has gone from doing 7-800 miles mon-fri (140ish miles round trip) to a grand total of 7 miles round trip 4 days a week and 140 one day a week.

The x5 looks phenomenal but the risk of having it lifted off our drive in Birmingham is too high for me personally.

The current contenders are a 530e, 330e touring or I go all electric in which case I wait for the new generation of BMW's EVs to hit the market

There's nowt else out there which seems like it fits the bill: comfortable, great build, reliable, road presence

[paulockenden]

I have a 330e tourer. Don’t understand the complaint about road noise. It’s very quiet.

[tyranniux]

I'd sa it depends what your after.

I have an m340i touring and a 520i saloon so can comment as to the driving characteristics of both

If you really don't need the extra space I'd take the 3 personally. The 5 is wonderfully relaxed and quiet and really does make you want to take it easy, which can of course be a good thing. The interior quality is definitely a class ahead also. The rear seat space is also very much bigger in the 5, especially if you need to use child seats. I have been on the hunt for the replacement to the 5 series for the family car and there is literally only one car out of about 20 that we have demoed which exceeds the rear seat space with two child seats fitted and that's a volvo xc90. It's wider than any audi, merc, vw, volvo (xc90 notwithstanding) and even wider than many of the 7 seater suvs from the likes of kia or hyundai. 46cm between isofix points if you're interested, the 3 is only 34...

That being said the 3 is a lovely place to be and is much more driver oriented, it makes you feel like you are the focus of the interior. As far as road noise and wind noise id say the 5 is marginally quieter but the 3 is not far behind at all and it's certainly quiet enough to be very relaxing, no doubt the acoustic glass makes the difference here. Also with adaptive suspension the 3, when in adaptive mode especially, actually rides better. Considering the m340i has very low profiles on 19s and my 5 has the 18s with much bigger tyres its amazing. Id imagine the 5 series with adaptive is about the peak of comfort and refinement.

So it depends what your after. Wafting away the miles in a world class cabin and you actually need the extra space, 5 series. More driver focused and sporty when you want it but still very comfy and refined, 3 series. Can't comment in the drive train but id imagine it will feel more responsive in the 3 chassis.

Nice choice to have to make for sure, get some test drives done. Enjoy

[barian]

With your revised journey pattern you will, I think, not be considering a diesel and clearly a hybrid or battery car would be suitable. But have you considered a conventional petrol (or mild hybrid)? Just as an example, compare a 330e and a 320i. Your total mileage will be about 9k a year. Let us say the 330e costs about 3p per mile when running on its battery and both it and the 320i would get 40 mpg when running on petrol. With your journeys you might manage a third of the total distance on the battery with the 330e (possibly less). At today's petrol cost of about £7.50 a gallon, the 320i would cost about £1700 a year. The 330e would save you a third of that, less the cost of electricity, so maybe £450 a year net saving. But the list price of the 330e is £5.6k more, so over 12 years to break even. You can make your own assumptions about where petrol and electricity prices are going but I think this rough calculation suggests that there are other options worth considering.

[xenon]

I’ve had both and the G21 is every bit as refined as the F11. I’ve never heard complaints about refinement/noise in the G-series cars, unlike the F3x which were simply horrible. I had a F31 320d which was horrendously noisy and I ended up hating it but I have no issues with my G21 330i

[marksandygill]

Regards fuel consumption in the 330e, I once did Southampton to Devon and back again having forgotten to charge, managed around 43mpg, so not just a 'short journey car'

And you're never on just petrol, the battery almost always has charge and is recharging through regen etc

The only downside I found was the boot space, which the Touring solves...

[ramparts]

I got 39 mpg in an m340i London TO Manchester when new pre run in, and I wasn't coasting either !

[Apples12]

Thank you all

I'm now leaning toward the 5, 2 car seats (and they're both chunky) will mean the 3 will likely be too small in the rear.

Petrol, petrol hybrid, plugin, ev are all on the cards

My days of needing to munch miles on a daily basis are long gone.

The only question that remains is if I can wait until the next gen hits or not!

[tyranniux]

Originally Posted by Apples12

Thank you all

I'm now leaning toward the 5, 2 car seats (and they're both chunky) will mean the 3 will likely be too small in the rear.

Petrol, petrol hybrid, plugin, ev are all on the cards

My days of needing to munch miles on a daily basis are long gone.

The only question that remains is if I can wait until the next gen hits or not!

Hopefully my post didn't confuse things, the 3 will gladly take 2 car seats no matter how chunky, it will however leave the middle seat unusable for the most part, the 5 is much wider and in some situations may mean you can squeeze someone in the middle on occasion.

[Charlie (Wessex)]

I've had two 5 Tourers and now my first 3 Tourer. However, the 5s were e39 and e61. I had vowed never to buy another 3 as it was too small, but the G2x is a very different proposition to the last 3 I had, which was the e36. The G21 is probably bigger than my old e39 tourer, and not too far different to my e61. And I've downsized as kids getting older, and other cars available, so the g21 suite me.

You say you have 2 seats to put in, which I guess might be your decider. Also boot space, but I always think that one's boot isn't used fully all the time, and when need be, you could put a roof box on.

Then to me, the other thing to consider is how tall you are, specifically how much space there is in the back. I quite liked my Golf Estate, but the pay off for a big boot was an unusable rear seats. I'm 6'3" and it was useless. In the G21, I can drive long distances in admittedly not 100% ideal position, and have my 6' kids behind me. We have had 5 up for journeys of about 90 mins, but to me, given the size of my family, the g21 really is more of a 4 seater.

So I'd go for the 5 if you don't have another larger car.