Chris Harris is one of those automotive journalists that usually takes multi million cars out for road trips and takes part in endurance races, invited by various manufacturers. He is what you could call a celebrity in this world of ours.
This way of life will attract criticism though, just like it did for the Top Gear crew back in the day. When the dynamic trio used to have a show on the BBC people used to criticize them too for trying out only the best of the automotive world and to some extent they were right. However, if they just looked at ‘normal’ cars, they would’ve lost on the entertainment front.
That being said, the same applies to Chris here. But he doesn’t depend on a TV station to get his money because he uses YouTube to promote himself and that means he can review whatever he wants. At the public’s request, he took an ordinary BMW 320d out for a longer trip to see how it would fare. Care to guess?
Well, you probably guessed it alright, he claims this is one of those cars that will easily cater to all your needs while without asking too much in return.
The 320d he used was the pre-facelift version of the F30 platform and that means it had a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine under the bonnet good for 184 HP and 280 lb-ft (380 Nm) of torque. Those numbers allow it to return over 40 mpg (5.8 l/100 km) with ease and that’s even on the highway at higher speeds.
The ride is good too, the interior seems more than ok, with the steering wheel (especially the M Sport version) being one of the best in the business so how is this not good enough for most people? Take it from someone that drove more than his fair share of cars during his lifetime: you rarely need more! And it gets better!
The facelift model that will come out this year has an upgraded 2-liter 4-cylinder turbo diesel mill under the bonnet making 190 HP and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. It will also be a lot more refined and fitted with more standard kit. In the meantime, let’s see what Chris has to say.
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