One of the key things we wanted to find out with this all-wheel-drive 3 Series was how well it could play the role of everyday winter hack.
The best way to describe the car is sure-footed; BMW has subtly altered the 3 Series formula to take the edge off the handling in favour of a more rounded package. With a smooth, torquey diesel, an automatic gearbox, all-wheel drive,leather seats and a thick-rimmed steering wheel, BMW has created a near-peerless all-round cruiser that's hard to fault as an everyday proposition – even if the top level of dynamic sparkle is lacking.
Reader Gavin Hall, a serial 3 Series owner who is currently driving a 320d xDrive Touring, contacted me to describe his car as "safe, efficient and reliable", but admitted he wouldn't get out of bed on a Sunday morning just to drive it for pleasure.
He's right: this isn't the 3 Series for a Sunday driver, rather one you're happy to use from Monday to Friday, once the de-icer has done its work.
BMW 320D XDRIVE M SPORT
Price £32,910 Price as tested £42,270 Economy 43.1mpg Faults None Expenses None
PREVIOUS REPORTS:
A flaw in the xDrive's otherwise impressive everyday usability: the turning circle is dire. And it's something I have to deal with three times a day: twice negotiating our oh-so-tight multi-storey car parkin Twickenham and the other at the end of the cul-de-sac I live down. It's not just me, either. Reader and 320d xDrive driver Gavin Hall has got in touch with the same observation.
PREVIOUS REPORTS:
A run from London to West Sussex and back via lanes liberally sprinkled with leaves, mud and other low-friction substances provided a timely reminder that there are more benefits to having four-wheel drive on a car like the 3 Series than just extra traction under acceleration.
Our 320d xDrive felt rock-solid and surefooted, but whether it was more rock-solid and surefooted than a rear-drive 320d would have been is hard to say without a back-to-back comparison. It certainly inspired confidence, which can only be good. The 320d's xDrive system divides drive 40/60% front to rear under normal conditions but can send 100% of drive to either axle if needed.
Hard acceleration on a slippery surface is interesting; there's a tiny bit of slip (unlike that of my Land Rover Discovery Sport, for example) before drive is shuffled around and full traction is found, and the driver can feel what's going on through the steering, just a little. The steering is slightly sticky at times, but that could be to do with the way the electric assistance is calibrated rather than the fact that the car is all-wheel drive.
The BMW may have the traction of an all-paw SUV, but it doesn't have their ability to soak up potholes. In Sussex, the 320d – on 19in alloys and low-profile tyres – slammed into two unseen craters with a level of violence that I haven't experienced with the Discovery Sport. No obvious damage was done to alloys or tyres, but the impacts were painful enough that we'll keep an eye on them.
Clearly there are more suitable cars for coping with British roads than a low-slung, big-wheeled saloon, four-wheel-drive or not.
BMW 320D XDRIVE M SPORT
Price £32,910 Price as tested £42,270 Economy 43.1mpg Faults None Expenses None
Read our previous reports here
First report
Four-wheel drive issues
