BMWBLOG takes the new 2014 BMW 328d for an extended exam drive from Dallas to Kansas City and back. How does the four-cylinder diesel fuel banger behave? Let'south observe out.

BMW is bringing the diesels to the U.s.a..

By the finish of 2014 we should have six diesel models for sale in the Us.  BMWBLOG put this 2014 BMW 328d with M Sports Packet to a long altitude test to come across how these new diesels are to live with and more importantly to find out how much fun they are to drive. Over 1500 miles and an unexpected winter storm encountered 100 miles south of Dallas, we found that it's not simply piece of cake to alive with a diesel motorcar but a genuinely fun BMW to drive.

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Engine

Powering the 328d is a 2.0 liter, 16 valve TwinPower Turbo Diesel with 180hp and 280 ft-lbs of torque from 1750-2750 rpm.  The 328d has a fuel economy rating of 32 mpg city and 45 highway.  With a fuel tank chapters of xv gallons, one could take a theoretical highway range of 675 mpg.  Nosotros probably could take gotten better mileage if we could take stayed out of nailing the throttle all the time.  The torque was just too addictive.  0-60 comes in 7.4 seconds.  Stop light drag racing isn't its forte, dipping into its deep torque to pass, only the 328d returns great fuel mileage.

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Really cold weather, so the story goes, can be difficult on diesels.  Stories of diesel fuel fuel jelling, no heat for a long fourth dimension are just a few negatives I have heard. in the past. To put the 328d to the test, we left it out overnight where information technology was just 3 degrees out.  Next morning, I open the door and footstep on the brake and not wanting the car to crook and start warming things upwardly, I immediately push the start button and the 328d fires right up without complaint.  I figured there might be a slight delay as glow plugs heat up or, I don't know, something preheats.  Nope. Fired right upward.

The other myth virtually diesels and cold weather is that they don't warm upwardly for a long time.  I causeless we'd freeze in the cabin but in the short 3 mile trip I noticed the auto kicking heat out fifty-fifty though the temperature gauge didn't move off its coldest range.  The lack of heated seats in this California-plated car were sorely missed though.

Driving Feel

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Overtaking other vehicles is a trivial different in the 328d than a 328i.  With the diesel, most of the acceleration comes much lower in the rev band.  The combination of the 280 ft-lbs of torque available from 1750 rpm and the eight-speed transmission provides quick shifting, without winding out the motor too much.  In the right gear and rapid shifting eight-speed auto, slower traffic was readily dispatched.  When I looked up the respective 0-60 times I was surprised because this car feels faster than the advertised 0-60 time.

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The $3500 G Sports package is money well spent in my volume.  The more than sporty appearance is but part of the deal. The suspension is much tighter and the M Sport Steering Wheel with shifting paddles give yous great command without moving your hands off the wheel. Adding the Dynamic Handling Package for $k sharpened the steering up and added adjustable dampers.  At present you have a much improve steering setup than what comes in the base of operations F30 3 Series. With their adjustable side bolsters, the M Sport seats really hold you in place, something we came to bask from a BMW.  The 1000 Sport Package came with 400 Style 18" wheels and summer performance tires.  These were very grippy until one hits some snow and ice, then not so much.  Time to pull off the highway and wait for the winter storm to pass.

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An interesting side note is that on BMWUSA.com when you build a 328d, the system won't let you add together Dynamic Handling Parcel to the 1000 Sport Package so we're not sure if it's a configuration error or the option was simply made available to our exam machine. Regardless, I idea the $v,000 worth of options really made a throughly 328d sporty chassis.

Within The Cabin

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I am a huge fan of iDrive and BMW Apps. All the BMW machine I have endemic were equipped with the full iDrive organisation that includes navigation and BMW Apps. Initially I was rather disappointed that the test motorcar didn't have those features but over the course of my test bulldoze I learned the base iDrive actually has a lot of functionality.  The base iDrive comes with Bluetooth and imports your contacts and addresses. However, information technology will not stream music over Bluetooth. I tried plugging in a Lighting cable into the USB port but it only charged the telephone and not stream music.  You need to use the USB/Aux jack dongle which on the Apple connexion has an iPhone 4 30 pin adapter.

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In the next step y'all need to add a Lightning adapter to become your music accessed via the iDrive.  Once hooked upward though, it works just every bit all the other iDrive units.  There is a very detailed trip computer, in addition to oil level, tire force per unit area and intermission settings.  The base iDrive had much more functionality than I expected.  I don't intendance for the clipped screen but otherwise had no complaints.

Is the BMW 328d For Me?

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Over the course of my trip I found that diesel isn't hard to find and given the crazy range of the 328d, you lot don't need to look for it often. The 328d did have a little more diesel clatter at idle than I would have thought merely not intrusively and so. The exhaust doesn't scent or even belch blackness smoke.

Perhaps the biggest revelation with this 2014 BMW 328d is its fun factor.  It made a great route trip car and never once fabricated me think I was sacrificing annihilation to get the fuel economy benefits of a diesel. With a mere $ane,300 separating the petrol-fueled 328i, the BMW 328d makes a strong instance for those that put a lot of miles on cars, particularly with a 45 mpg highway rating.

Hither is a breakdown of the entry-level iii Series in the United States:

  • 328i – MSRP of $37,300 in five.7
  • 320i – MSRP $32,700 0-60 in  7.i
  • 328d – MSRP $38,600 0-sixty in seven.4

As Tested – 2014 BMW 328d Sedan

  • MSRP $38,600
  • One thousand Sport $3,500
  • Dynamic Handling Pk $1000
  • Sport Auto Trans $500
  • Destination Charge $925

TOTAL MSRP $45,075

See the video review:

Exam bulldoze sponsored by Hendrick BMW in Charlotte. Audio provided by Shure FP Wireless.