Review of the new BMW 330d

One of the occupational hazards of being a motoring journalist is answering the tricky question of what's the best car in the world. Of course there are fantasy cars like the Rolls Royce Phantom and the Bugatti Veyron to consider but most people want to know what the best car that normal people can afford. I used to have a fall back option in the Ford Focus but times have changed and the Focus is now no longer head and shoulders above the competition. My marker today is the latest BMW 330d.

The original previous generation E46-series 330d was a fine car and one which rewrote the rulebook for diesel sports saloons. Here was a machine with no appreciable Achilles heel. It looked good, went well, consumed very little fuel in the process and was a desirable ownership proposition. It's still one of the best used purchases around. The current, facelifted E90 generation 3 Series improves on it in a number of ways but certain touchstones remain. It still has that wonderful ability to offer bags of performance without that curiously Catholic feeling of guilt every time you mash the throttle pedal.

Whereas the original 330d wowed the crowds with first a 192bhp and then a 204bhp diesel unit, this time round BMW have got really serious. Packing no less than 245bhp from its 2,993cc turbocharged six-cylinder engine, here is a car that would force the Luddites who still harp on about 'diseasels' to eat hefty portions of humble pie. Packing comfortably more power than the original M3, this car also churns out a huge torque figure of 500Nm. That's more than most supercars can manage - say a Porsche 911, a TVR T350 or a Ferrari F430. Wind the 330d up as you merge into fast flowing traffic and you'll appreciate that this is one rapid car.

As with all turbodiesel cars, the sprint from rest to 60mph gives very little indication as to how rapid the 330d feels in 'real world' scenarios. Yes, 6.1 seconds is respectable but the BMW's in-gear times where it can take advantage of that mid-range muscle can demolish figures put up by so-called supercars. None of which will seat five and return a combined fuel figure of 49.6mpg. The last time I looked, none of them could be put in your garage for around £31,000 either. The 330d will appeal to favoured corporate types, its Euro4 emissions compliance and modest 152g/km carbon dioxide figure offering one of the best trade-offs between big horsepower and small benefit in kind taxation. Of course, BMW have gone one better with the 335d but the 330d will be plenty for most and comes in over £3,000 cheaper.

"The 330d is a car without significant caveat"

A six-speed manual gearbox is fitted as standard but customers are also be able to specify their car with a six-speed automatic. Unfortunately there's no option for the paddle-shifting Sequential Manual Gearbox, but the standard manual box is a delight to use, offering a good compromise between light wristiness and a reassuring detent when the gear drops into position. The top speed of 155mph is reached in sixth, making this more than a mere economy gear.

The 3 Series range has been revised of late with the introduction of BMW's groundbreaking EfficientDynamics technology and the 330d is available in either SE or M Sport guises. Add a premium of around £1,200 for the Touring estate. Unusually for a 3 Series, it could be that what's on the bonnet gains as much attention as what's under it where this revised model is concerned. The styling of today's car has been updated in a number of small ways but the raised lines that fall down the middle of the bonnet are most noticeable. Elsewhere, the BMW trademark ringed side lights are standard and the grille has been tweaked while the entire rear light clusters are now entirely ruby red in colour and the side skirts have a more pronounced crease line. The interior looks largely similar to the previous model but BMW has again updated its iDrive control interface with scrolling menu displays designed to enhance usability. There's 8 gigabytes of music storage capacity in the system too, enough for 100 albums, while the quality of the trim materials around the cabin has also been enhanced.

The practical advantages of the Touring version over the saloon only really make themselves felt when there are less than four people in the car. You get a 460-litre void back there to fill with the paraphernalia of your choice and that doesn't compare at all favourably with the 460-litres you get in the saloon for £1,180 less. Fold the rear seats down, however, and the available space mushrooms up to 1,385 litres. Forget about taking garden rubbish to the council tip or shifting that chest of draws home from the furniture store, you could hold a wedding reception back there or have it converted into a squash court. All right, I exaggerate but you get the point: it's usefully big.

The 3 Series Touring's 60:40 split-folding seats open up the possibility of seating a passenger in the back while still maximising the available loadspace and there are other practical features included in the package as well. Most notable is the split tailgate which opens up two different cargo access options by opening up in two sections.

Even amongst those of us with long memories who can remember when a BMW 3 Series was only marginally more expensive than your run of the mill medium range car, the 330d stands out as something special. You are paying a lot of money for the privilege of ownership, but the return is possibly the best all-rounder it's possible to buy. The best car in the world? Think about what the 330d can do, what it competes against and 335d notwithstanding, try to think of something better.

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