BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving?

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Sat 24 Dec 2016 17:45
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - BMW_Fan

What do you guys think of BMW F30 316i? is the engine powerful enough? bearing in mind that I'm not the kind of driver that tends to push the car towards its limits really. Just for normal town driving and on motorways, do you feel that your car is crippled when overtaking with the heat or AC on for example?

Should I consider 316i or completely avoid it?

I've had that particular problem with Chevrolet cruze 1.6 engine and 115 hp. It was awful. I've not tried BMWs before and I am not willing to drive a car with a crippled engine again. At the same time, I'm looking for the most economical version of 3 series with a decent price so the ED version is slightly higher in price.

Thank you

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Sat 24 Dec 2016 17:49
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - skidpan

The 316i uses a 138 PS turbo engine and its performance will be in a different league to the 115 PS Chevvy Cruze.

Why not test drive one and make a decision based on that.

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Sat 24 Dec 2016 17:52
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - BMW_Fan

yes I'm in the process of doing that. But just wanted to get more information if someone has actually tried it.

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Sat 24 Dec 2016 17:58
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - skidpan

Looking at it from my personal experience I have owned a 1.4 TSi Seat Leon for over 3 years now. Its about the same power as the BMW but has more torques and is probably a bit lighter but it goes like a rocket.

Its so good I am replacing it with a Skoda Superb with the same engine (but in 150 PS spec - same torques though). The Superb is a lot bigger than a 3 series and possibly heavier but it still went very well, not quite as quick as the Leon but still faster than any other car I have owned.

So I would expect the BMW to be somewhere between the 2 in driving experience, if it is you will be impressed.

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Sat 24 Dec 2016 18:01
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - RT

Looking in HJ's Car-by-Car reviews the 316i 0-62 acceleration is 8.9 seconds - the Cruze 1.6 is 12.8 seconds - that's a big difference so a test drive will confirm it.

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Sat 24 Dec 2016 18:17
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - RobJP

You'd probably not see any real difference in economy between the 316i, 318i or 320i. You'll have to thrash the 316i to get any decent performance, whereas the 320i would be doing the same for a lot lighter foot on the throttle.

Do note that the 316i was not sold for very long, and (I believe) sold in very small numbers. The market for a moderately large and heavy car with such a small engine will be very limited when you come to sell it.

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Sun 25 Dec 2016 11:54
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - BMW_Fan

thats the main reason of me asking. Fuel economy is not that different between them all but the price is different.

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Sun 25 Dec 2016 11:53
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - BMW_Fan

Yes I'll be doing that.

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Sun 25 Dec 2016 12:32
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - skidpan

The 316i was replaced by the 318i last year. They both use the same 138PS 1500 engine. Guess its BMW marketing and you have to remember that its many years since the BMW model name actually reflects the engine capacity.

Interesting thing was when I was looking to replace the Leon I looked at the 3 series tourer. The 318i was my initial first choice until i went on the brokers sites. Despite being a couple of thousands more on the price list I could get a 320i for less money and the mpg was so close (according to the figures) it was not worth worrying about. But the extra 50 bhp and 50 torques would have been worth spending a bit more on fuel.

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Mon 26 Dec 2016 09:12
BMW 3 Series - F30 316i engine powerful enough for daily driving? - RobJP

Out of interest, BMW_fan, what sort of budget are you looking at, and roughly where are you in the country ?

I know of a car for sale through a owner's forum - it's a 2012/62 328i F31 but loaded with spec, and (I think) pretty decently priced.

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