Test Drive: BMW 330d xDrive Sedan (E90) - 2009 - "New Cars Collection"

About four months after we drove our first example of the facelifted BMW 3-Series, in a four-cylinder, all-wheel-drive and Touring trim, the time has now come to experiment another member of the BMW 3 family. Don't get your hopes up, we haven't (yet) gotten our hands on an M3, but from some points of view we kind of got the third best thing.

Comparing an oil-burner with pretty much the epitome of track-ready sedans could be considered a blasphemy by some, and it probably is, but the 330d sedan in xDrive guise is a special kind of diesel. Sure, it poops all over the BMW "rear-wheel drive, howling straight sixes that run on gasoline" legacy, but as far as performance specs go, this is still a tough cookie.

Apart from a mild revamping of the exterior design, the 3-Series facelift also brought some changes in the engine department. The 330d is one of those changes, and that is exactly the model which we got to drive, equipped with the oh-so-intelligent xDrive all-wheel-drive system. Keeping with the BMW way of building six-cylinder engines, the new mill is also using the "inline" architecture, known to have the best natural balance of all engines, along with the V12 and its derivates.

With a maximum torque figure of an Earth-moving 520 Nm (383.5 lb ft), available from 1750 all the way to 3000 rpm and in manual transmission guise, the 330d xDrive can make the back of your head really put those headrests to the test everytime you stomp on the throttle with too much optimism. All that and it can comfortably cruise at highly illegal speeds while using only a pint of diesel fuel.

We must excuse ourselves if we sound a bit too ecstatic, considering we're still talking about an engine which uses the same fuel as a tractor, but if that's the case then this is one potent piece of farming equipment. The xDrive all-wheel-system takes care of pretty much everything that the electronic stability control doesn't, while keeping much of the car's handling capabilities even in low-grip conditions. All in all, this is almost an all-rounder in the premium sedan segment, but some pretty evident shortcomings still keep it from being an absolute no-brainer.

As pretty much everyone knows by now, Mr. Chris Bangle has left the BMW ship. Good or bad, you decide. What's more important than that is that a certain Adrian van Hooydonk has taken over the helm of the BMW Group design department. Something even more important than that should be the fact that Mr. van Hooydonk is the guy who penned both the 6-Series beauty AND the 7-Series vomit-inducing sedan of 2001.

That being said, the current 3-Series has been already put through a mild-facelift and we have to tell you, it doesn't look half bad. The front hood has received two extra creases which, together with the Angel Eyes, can make a neophyte mistake this for a product created by the Motorsport Technik department.

Although Bangle would say this is a prime example of "flame surfacing", the overall creases and lines everywhere on the car look actually fluid to us. Especially the exterior rear view mirrors, which are finally looking aerodynamic and not as Bauhaus as the older ones. Other than this, the kidney grill, Hoffmeister kink and the double round headlights (which can now swivel around a corner) are there to inform anyone this comes from the Bayerische Motoren Werke company.

We mostly liked the car's overall stance and its almost perfect proportions, especially the nice wheel arch filling 18-inch alloys, While looked upon from the side, the current 3-Series perpetuates the "land shark" attitude of past Bimmers, especially with the shark fin-like GPS and radio antenna on the hood.

Especially in the last decade, BMW interiors have become less and less sumptuous, no matter how big is the paycheck requested to own one. The latest 3-Series is no exception to this "rule", with the center console following the general idea of plastic-fantastic, which can now be found from the 1-Series to the 5-Series.

Sir May B. Bach's Opinion

OK, this car almost, and I emphasize the word "almost"... ahem... changed my perception about automobiles which use that unnameable fuel that is also used by farming equipment and people with too few brain cells. No, I'm not taking that back, it's been... ahem... scientifically proven that diesel fuel's main victim when burned is the brain. Because... ahem... you know, CO2 emissions aren't everything that comes up a car's exhaust. Read more >>

We couldn't say this is the best car for strolling around in the city, for a number of reasons. First of all, the overall visibility is OK, but you do get to sit lower than in other cars, in true BMW fashion. Some people may like this, while the ones who rely on their 360 degree visibility may not. Most of us fell in the second category.

Lou Cheeka's Opinion

Some would say that I take after my father, who was also a lover of all things that are German, especially since he used to own quite a handful of Nazi memorabilia. When I was little I remember that he also used to own a Sachsenring Trabant 601 S. Fun little car, too bad I totaled it right after I took it for a test drive following a forced convertible-transformation with my grandfather's chainsaw. Oh well, I was only fifteen and my dad understood... right after he opened a huge can of ass-whooping.
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Obviously, the 330d, even in xDrive form, lacks some of the spirit of the 330i, and we're talking mainly about the gas-powered model's ability to rev through the roof to give its occupants a glimpse of the real driving pleasure, as the BMW purists might say. The three-liter diesel on the other hand totally makes up for that with its gargantuan torque which is felt at almost any speed, in any gear.

Mary's Opinion

Honestly, this is probably the first car which took its time until I really started to like it. I mean, before jumping inside and even some time after that, this looked just like any other BMW to me. Nothing special, just your average grey sedan. After I got closer I started noticing those bigger than usual alloy rims, but then I climbed in and boom! Dark as a cinema theater in there.
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Compared to the last BMW we tested, which by coincidence was also an xDrive version powered by a diesel, the 330d xDrive was a totally different experience. For one thing, the ride appeared to be more comfortable on mirror-like roads at high speeds thanks mainly to the sportier suspension setup and the 18-inch alloy wheels equipped with low-profile tires.

Strangely , that very same suspension setup and those skinny-profile tires are also responsible for the back problems the occupants might have after countless excursions on badly-paved roads. In other words, as long as the road you're traveling on is pothole and tram track free, the car's ride is just fine. Otherwise, you should maybe switch for the 17-inch wheels, which provide a slightly higher profile for the tires.

As for the pleasure inducing features, apart form the right-pedal of course, our 330d was pretty much equipped with everything you'd expect an entry-level premium sedan to have, and a bit more. An automatic dual-zone climate control which can either heat or cool off the interior in a matter of seconds after you've pressed the engine start button, leather upholstery which appeared much softer than what BMW usually offers in its "lesser" series, electrically adjustable front passenger seats (including the width of the side bolsters) with two memory settings and a three-stage heating system.

We should also add the dreadful BMW iDrive system with an integrated 80 GB hard drive - from which only 8 GB are used to store music - and a satellite navigation system with 3d-view support. Did we say dreadful? Well, this is actually the revised iDrive system, but more of it in our Useful Toys area. On the whole, this is a pretty comfortable car, but it's all very much road-surface dependent.

As expected, the 330d xDrive is using an electronically controlled all-wheel drive system based on the "xDrive" multi-clutch system. In case some of you didn't know it until now, the system is proactive, which technically means it can transfer torque between the two axles even before the driver knows that something's up. Working in close connection with the Dynamic Stability Control system, xDrive can pretty much get you out of a lot of trouble and is especially useful sending this much torque to the wheels (520 Nm, or 383.5 lb ft).

Just like on the 320d xDrive Touring we tested earlier, the system shouldn't be trusted blindly when all the electronic assistance programs are switched off, since it's been set up to offer a sportier, more BMW-like feel compared to your regular all-wheel drive system. The real piece of resistance in this package on the other hand is the mighty three-liter diesel sitting under that "flaming" hood.

With six cylinders that are inline-disposed in true BMW fashion, which are fed by a single turbocharger and a high-pressure direct injection system with Common Rail, this is not exactly your father's diesel. We were expecting some lag and a slight "short of breath" after 2500-3000 rpm from it, but we were half wrong. Yes, there is some lack of response when trying to "kick it" from under 1600-1700 rpm, but everything above this rpm threshold is nothing but sheer manic power.

Apart from the torque surge available on an unexpected wide rpm curve, another great attribute of the three-liter mill is the more than adequate fuel economy, with figures ranging from 13.5 liters per 100 km (US 17.4 mpg) in a busy city with stop/go/stop traffic to an extremely low 5.5-6 liters per 100 km (US 42.8-39.2 mpg) at highway speeds.

As we mentioned earlier in the "Feed me lies" section of our test drive, the 330d xDrive we tested wasn't missing a lot of gadgets that can be found on the 3-Series option list. Sure, the front and rear parking sensors were missing from our regular "useful toys" list, but other than that the car was pretty well equipped.

The biggest surprise probably came from the much-improved iDrive system, which first appeared on the 7-Series. There are a number of helpful buttons around the iDrive controller now but you still have to take some time to get used to the system in order to fully use it while on the go. After all, there's still a lot of information that can be read/configured while using a single knob and watching the center console screen. On the whole, however, it's much more user-friendly.

Apart from the automatic windscreen wipers and the automatic feature of the headlights, another point of interest was the highly responsive cruise control system which we found to be helpful even while cruising at a rather low 60 km/h (37 mph). The Hill Descent Control system is only helpful if you live in a mountain cabin and the only point of access is a steep road. Usually, when you need a similar system you also need some adequate ground clearance, which the 330d doesn't quite have. Still, it's better to have an almost pointless feature than not having it at all.

The bi-xenon headlights were not only equipped with washers but with a cornering function, which is as high-tech as it gets and most useful when negotiating low visibility corners at night. At first glance, the benefits aren't THAT obvious, but trust us, they are. The reason for saying this is that in normal traffic you can't actually see the light beams tilting unless you're equipped with eagle eyes, but it becomes rather obvious outside the city.

Whether tested by EuroNCAP, NHTSA or IIHS, the latest 3-Series generation received either five stars or good ratings all over, so we should only assume that the 330d xDrive is also as safe as it can be. Although technically the cars crash-tested so far were part of the non-facelifted version of the E90 3-Series, we should base our opinion on the fact that cars usually get better with each facelift or new generation, not the other way around.

Speaking of crash-tests, the guys at EuroNCAP said that the passenger cell of the (non-facelift) E90 3-Series remained completely stable and together with the standard battery of six airbags (two frontal dual-stage, two side and two head airbags) provided a pretty safe place for its passengers, especially for the frontal impact. Apart from the somewhat normal number of standard airbags, the facelifted 3-Series has other safety benefits for its occupants.

There are also two intelligent belt reminders for both front passengers, the lower side of the dashboard is padded to protect the feet in the case of a more severe frontal impact while the pedals are automatically set free in the case of such an unfortunate event.

Of course, when talking about a premium car, stuff like standard anti-lock braking system and electronic stability control on all fours seem like an understatement, so our test car upgraded that list with cornering brake control and electronic brake distribution. All these systems, together with the xDrive all-wheel drive system are there to prevent any unexperienced driver getting too excited about the 5.9 seconds required to go from naught to 100 km/h (62 mph).

We didn't expect it at first, but it's very hard to choose just one good thing about the 330d xDrive sedan. There's the extremely quick-acting all-wheel drive system, which doesn't quite make the car corner on rails but makes it much more controllable than an "oldschool" BMW, especially on roads with insufficient grip. The feeling you get by gripping the thick three-spoke sports steering wheel and changing from fourth to third on the twisties is immeasurable. Still, if we had to choose (and we do, actually) just one single truly great thing about this car is its engine. Since it's an inline-six, there's a natural balance and the vibrations expected from a diesel are pretty much history compared to others, while the sound it makes is nothing like any other oil-burner, sounding more like a mix between a gas turbine and a gasoline internal combustion engine. The fuel consumption is also not much higher than its four-cylinder little brothers, but its main feature has to be the extent of the rev range on which the maximum torque is felt. Unlike any other diesel we've experienced, the engine's momentum keeps pushing at max until 3000 rpm, which is stratospheric for an oil burner with a single turbocharger.

At least from the driver's point of view, there shouldn't be any downsides from a car with all-wheel drive, blistering acceleration figures, effortless torque numbers, low lag and a precise gearbox. Sadly, there are a few things which could get on someone's nerves. First, there's the amount of muscle power one has to have in order to operate the manual gearbox, especially when shifting into reverse, which is like a BMW trademark for hard work when driving. Then there's was the rather poor comfort when traveling on not-so-good roads, since the 18-inch alloy wheel with low-profile tires aren't very good partners with wafting over potholes or paved roads. Also, the low ground clearance is doing great things for the car's dynamic behavior but it sure doesn't help when trying to park the car over an optimistic kerb. Still, these are only two minor setbacks, since the worst thing about owning a model identical to our test car would be the complete absence of cup-holders. Sure, that might sound like a minor glitch for a BMW driver, but not all of us are driving against the clock all the time.

The ugly thing about our BMW 330d xDrive test car is probably its lack of user-friendliness. Not in the regular sense, but in the "driving with your family to the country side" sense. As we mentioned before, there are absolutely no interior spaces where to put your drink when cruising for a longer distance, the luggage compartment is a bit on the lower half of its class in terms of volume (only 460 liters, or 16.2 cu ft), while the passengers don't even have door storage spaces. All in all, if you can live without these not-so-terrible ergonomic downsides, the 330d xDrive is pretty close to being an all-rounder.