Love the torque – an expected opening remark. Some surprisingly don’t love the torque. I took my wife for a ride and the acceleration about did her stomach in.
What BMW enthusiasts will notice about this 3-series diesel is that it’s not a 335d. I think BMW chose to make this a 4-cylinder car to appeal to mileage nazis. And that it does. With an EPA-claimed 45mpg the 328d is about as fuel-efficient as they come without losing a wheel or adding an electric motor. That mpg number bumps up maximum range to 575 miles!
Throttle response is pretty sloshy down low and not much really happens when you put the car into “sport” mode. Might do away with that feature altogether as shift points are varying and low almost all of the time. The closest I ever got to the 5.5k rpm redline was just a hair under 5000.
Some of the niceties are standard with all the new 3 series: 8-speed auto, standard radio is pretty good with dual subwoofers standard, 50-50 weight distribution, comfortable seats, and outstanding brakes. F30 is the name of this chassis and since its debut in 2012 they’ve switched over to electric steering on all these compact sedans. They say it was for the ladies, I say yuck. Yes, it’s effortless to steer, but it’s also feedback-less and kind of feels like you’re behind the wheel of a minivan. I much prefer my 2011 E90’s hydraulic and heavy, albeit full-of-feel maneuvering.