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US BMW 328d vs EU 320d Spec Comparison

BMW might have that "Ultimate Driving Machine" going for it, but it's usually a very serious, very sober carmaker. Its cars are called 550i, not Mustang, or Fantom or Stingray. They don't claim to have summoned elemental spirits to design their cars or possess automotive witchcraft.
BMW 3 Series 1 photo
Photo: BMW
But they've recently done something a little silly. Rather than bring the European 320d over to America and call it a 320d, they called it a 328d. The probable logic is that if the 328i has a 2-liter turbo engine and this has one that burns diesel, they should be called the same. It's sort of like creating the "28" brand, which might prove useful once the same engine makes it into the 5 Series.

But it also creates a bit of confusion if you're a BMW fan. The US 328d is rated at 180-hp, while everybody in Europe knows the 320d has 184 horsepower. That's because they've used different hp standards.

But that's a trivial matter compared to the fuel economy figures. Same car, same engine, same 8 speed gearbox… different numbers. According to the EPA, a 328d does 45 mpg highway and 32 mpg city, which equates to 5.22 l/100km respectively and 7.35 l/100 km respectively. But the NEDC (new European driving cycle) figures say the 320d does 3.9 l/100km in the city and 5.4 l/100km in the city, equivalent to 60.3 mpg US and 43.6 mpg US.

We see these sorts of differences every day, but there are others as well, small but obvious.

320d does 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4s, the 328d takes 7.6s to reach 60 mph. So… the same car takes longer to reach a slower speed? The top speed is different as well.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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