Hi guys
I was wondering if someone could help me please, I currently have a VW bora and the rear cabin space is tight for my wife and for my 2 year old who sits in his chair when you recline his chais when sleeping his feet touch the passenger seat infront unless you realy pull that seat forward which makes it uncomfortble for the passenger in front.
I wanted to change the car ASAP but realy like the bmw 330d m sport ( as i owned a m3 evo 4 door previously) the drive and smoothness of these cars and engines.
what i am struggling with is that the rear cabin size of the e46 330d and e60 530d seem similar?
i baisically measured the bench width the 530d was 1" wider than the 330d and if i set the driver seats up the same and measured from the back seat back rest to the driver seat ( where your knees would touch ) there was no diffrence both were near as damn it 30" my bora is 27".
where the 530d is bigger from what i could gather is the boot which is about 10" deeper when measured from the inside and nose is longer the car is abouit 16" longer than the 330d and 4" wider.
I realy prefer a smaller nibbler car to drive and park so i would realy want to go for the 330d but if the cabin is bigger on 530d for comfort sake i would go with it,
was hoping somebody either has owned both or has experiance with both or maybe more conclusive test results.
appreciate any input or advice
thank you in advance
mudd
|
|
How about putting your 2-year old on the centre rear seat (assuming it has a 3-point seat belt) then his feet can be between the two front seats, if you see what I mean, and problem solved?
|
the bora and the 330d only have 2 proper rear seat belts the middle one is just a belt type. the 530d has 3 3 point belts in the rear
I must admit the bora and golf are known for tight rear legroom i have had to sit there once or twice n getting in and out can be a pain and long jorneys you cant realy easily move around because your knees are near enough touching the front seat its abit claustrophobic.
thanks
|
|
I used to own a 320i E46 saloon. I think your two year old will still kick the back of the passenger seat, without it being pushed forward.Mine does in any car even our MPV, which has far more leg room than the BMW. As stated above, my car did not have a centre 3 point belt. Only a lap strap.
|
|
|
|
Maybe the answer is two cars. One for family duties and one for driver enjoyment.
I think you will find any 3 series size car will result in a toddler being able to kick the front seat. Solution ? We have an MPV for family duties which the children sit in the back and chose not to thrash around in as they have a good view, option of DVD player for really long journeys, space.
I have a saloon car, Volvo S60, which is like the black hole of Calcutta in the back similar to an E46 of which I have had saloon and touring variants. Children are OK in the back for short journies but any distance and the MPV is the weapon of choice.
|
Thanks guys,
would a 530d be the same then?
would love to be able to have two cars, but budget is tight cant realy afford too run two vehicles so kinda trying to get the right balance.
your right with the dvds i have the headrests screens with dvd built in so he is entertained!
regards
mudd
|
|
|
|
Get an E39 Touring. The E46 suffers (at least in the case of my parents' 318i Touring) from poor rearward visibility, excessive road noise transmission and a harsh ride - the E39 sorts both of those and has loads of interior space. You can get 'em damn cheap, too - parents got 2001/Y 520i Touring (the later 2.2 I6, 170bhp), 5-speed manual, 54,000 miles, £3990 from a small dealer near Hemel Hempstead. They're very well-built, so even one with 250,000+ miles shouldn't be problematic (I know of one that's run faultlessly up to 450k and counting). A good, late, low-mileage one can still be had for well inside 10k. They're better cars than the E60/61 (roomier, more refined, better visibility).
EDIT - I can't speak for any BMW saloons, but all Tourings got five 3-point belts as standard
Edited by Rover P6B on 09/08/2009 at 16:47
|
|
I've owned both E46s and E60s. I've never taken a tape measure to the back seat of either. The E46 though, with the front seats set up for me (6'2") effectively became a 2 seater. The E60 still had a comfortable amount of space for rear passengers.
|
|
The problem is that little kids are too small to fold their legs down into the footwell> instead their legs tend to go across the main seaot base and stick into the back of the front seats. So what you need (as much as leg rom) is a short rear seat base so that the kids can drop their legs into the footwell
|
|
|
|
