Touring: BMW 340i, Alpina D3S or Alpina B3 - which and why?
Discussion
I looked at a 340i (21 plate) and an Alpina D3S (brand new) yesterday.
On leaving the dealership (Sytner) I remembered a mate has very good contacts at Sytner group so I am hoping to get a bit of a deal on price.
Oct 2018 - 2020 I leased a Merc AMG E63s Wagon (the monthlies on that were fun). I loved it. Right up to the point someone broke into the house, took to keys and stole it.
Oct 2023 I let the lease go back and got a 67 plate (Jan 2018) Porsche Cayenne Turbo from OPC Newcastle. It was on 25k miles (55k now). One of the last of the 2nd gen Cayennes. Still ugly as sin - but not as bad as gen 1. Thank god for the extended porsche warranty (transfer box went twice) but other than a couple of other minor things it has been rock solid and I have enjoyed owning it. It's a well specc'd car as standard and has a few nice options.
Some reasonable sized Cayenne bills are coming up (new discs and pads all round, warranty renewal, and an intermediate service oil change in about 5k miles).
So man maths dictates a change.
I have always wanted some variant of BMW 3 series touring.
I am not considering an M3 variant - visually it is too shouty for me. And I am sure it'll be stolen within 10 minutes of me driving one home from the dealership.
A 340i would be perfect and I'd be very happy with the best spec one I could find.
But in the dealership yesterday there was a stunning (to me) Alpina D3S.
The only things making it not leading the running is, it is diesel - and I figure the govt will hammer diesel cars more in future. And it's 2 wheel drive.
So should I consider the B3 petrol 4 wheel drive variant?
I'd be really interested in people experience with any of the above, and any advice/opinions.
On leaving the dealership (Sytner) I remembered a mate has very good contacts at Sytner group so I am hoping to get a bit of a deal on price.
Oct 2018 - 2020 I leased a Merc AMG E63s Wagon (the monthlies on that were fun). I loved it. Right up to the point someone broke into the house, took to keys and stole it.
Oct 2023 I let the lease go back and got a 67 plate (Jan 2018) Porsche Cayenne Turbo from OPC Newcastle. It was on 25k miles (55k now). One of the last of the 2nd gen Cayennes. Still ugly as sin - but not as bad as gen 1. Thank god for the extended porsche warranty (transfer box went twice) but other than a couple of other minor things it has been rock solid and I have enjoyed owning it. It's a well specc'd car as standard and has a few nice options.
Some reasonable sized Cayenne bills are coming up (new discs and pads all round, warranty renewal, and an intermediate service oil change in about 5k miles).
So man maths dictates a change.
I have always wanted some variant of BMW 3 series touring.
I am not considering an M3 variant - visually it is too shouty for me. And I am sure it'll be stolen within 10 minutes of me driving one home from the dealership.
A 340i would be perfect and I'd be very happy with the best spec one I could find.
But in the dealership yesterday there was a stunning (to me) Alpina D3S.
The only things making it not leading the running is, it is diesel - and I figure the govt will hammer diesel cars more in future. And it's 2 wheel drive.
So should I consider the B3 petrol 4 wheel drive variant?
I'd be really interested in people experience with any of the above, and any advice/opinions.
tomw2000 said:
I looked at a 340i (21 plate) and an Alpina D3S (brand new) yesterday.
On leaving the dealership (Sytner) I remembered a mate has very good contacts at Sytner group so I am hoping to get a bit of a deal on price.
Oct 2018 - 2020 I leased a Merc AMG E63s Wagon (the monthlies on that were fun). I loved it. Right up to the point someone broke into the house, took to keys and stole it.
Oct 2023 I let the lease go back and got a 67 plate (Jan 2018) Porsche Cayenne Turbo from OPC Newcastle. It was on 25k miles (55k now). One of the last of the 2nd gen Cayennes. Still ugly as sin - but not as bad as gen 1. Thank god for the extended porsche warranty (transfer box went twice) but other than a couple of other minor things it has been rock solid and I have enjoyed owning it. It's a well specc'd car as standard and has a few nice options.
Some reasonable sized Cayenne bills are coming up (new discs and pads all round, warranty renewal, and an intermediate service oil change in about 5k miles).
So man maths dictates a change.
I have always wanted some variant of BMW 3 series touring.
I am not considering an M3 variant - visually it is too shouty for me. And I am sure it'll be stolen within 10 minutes of me driving one home from the dealership.
A 340i would be perfect and I'd be very happy with the best spec one I could find.
But in the dealership yesterday there was a stunning (to me) Alpina D3S.
The only things making it not leading the running is, it is diesel - and I figure the govt will hammer diesel cars more in future. And it's 2 wheel drive.
So should I consider the B3 petrol 4 wheel drive variant?
I'd be really interested in people experience with any of the above, and any advice/opinions.
You say it is a new D3s you were looking at, you sure it is 2 wheel drive, thought these were 4 wheel drive same as the B4.On leaving the dealership (Sytner) I remembered a mate has very good contacts at Sytner group so I am hoping to get a bit of a deal on price.
Oct 2018 - 2020 I leased a Merc AMG E63s Wagon (the monthlies on that were fun). I loved it. Right up to the point someone broke into the house, took to keys and stole it.
Oct 2023 I let the lease go back and got a 67 plate (Jan 2018) Porsche Cayenne Turbo from OPC Newcastle. It was on 25k miles (55k now). One of the last of the 2nd gen Cayennes. Still ugly as sin - but not as bad as gen 1. Thank god for the extended porsche warranty (transfer box went twice) but other than a couple of other minor things it has been rock solid and I have enjoyed owning it. It's a well specc'd car as standard and has a few nice options.
Some reasonable sized Cayenne bills are coming up (new discs and pads all round, warranty renewal, and an intermediate service oil change in about 5k miles).
So man maths dictates a change.
I have always wanted some variant of BMW 3 series touring.
I am not considering an M3 variant - visually it is too shouty for me. And I am sure it'll be stolen within 10 minutes of me driving one home from the dealership.
A 340i would be perfect and I'd be very happy with the best spec one I could find.
But in the dealership yesterday there was a stunning (to me) Alpina D3S.
The only things making it not leading the running is, it is diesel - and I figure the govt will hammer diesel cars more in future. And it's 2 wheel drive.
So should I consider the B3 petrol 4 wheel drive variant?
I'd be really interested in people experience with any of the above, and any advice/opinions.
I collected my 72 plate M340i Tourer 2 weeks ago and it really is as much car as you can reasonably use on today’s roads. I’ve owned some nice cars - a GT3 and a Vantage V8, but the performance in the 340 is excellent and on a 200 mile run this week, it managed to return 39.6mpg, so after my Range Rover Sport, it also seemed quite frugal. Having said that, I’ve always fancied an Alpina, but the anti diesel campaign may be an issue in the future.
My early view is that you won’t be disappointed with the BMW.
My early view is that you won’t be disappointed with the BMW.
I think of the three, styling aside, it comes down to how much you want to spend, both in purchase price and running costs.
I've had my M340i touring for a year now. Cant fault it and absolutely love it, but I'd have a G81 in a heartbeat if I could afford it!
Never driven a G81, but have driven both a G80 and an X3M (which I nearly bought). The S58 is a stonking engine no question, but it really needs revs to get the best out of it, which obliterates mpg.
The B58 OTOH is best of both worlds to some extent (minus the savage top end of the S58), as the low down torque makes it almost diesel like to drive at legal speeds and because of that can return some pretty impressive mpg figures for a 3L petrol.
The Alpina would be lovely to own I'm sure, and maybe the detuned S58 is a great halfway house between the M340i and M3, both in terms of performance and economy?
Alpina has the rarity factor too, plus they look awesome (those wheels😍) and as you say a lot more subtle than a G81 if that's your preference.
G81 prices are softening (used now start around 75k) and rumours are there will be discounts quite soon if buying new.
No such discounts on Alpinas (AFAIK).
I really don't think there is a wrong answer here as they're all great cars, and if able to have a 'money no object' choice it would be the M3 for me as I love the styling. I totally get why others would choose the Alpina though.
If you've not seen it, here's an interesting comparison vid from a few weeks back -
https://youtu.be/j49ldhANVqQ?si=w5hnhxHWz7ueh6YK
I've had my M340i touring for a year now. Cant fault it and absolutely love it, but I'd have a G81 in a heartbeat if I could afford it!
Never driven a G81, but have driven both a G80 and an X3M (which I nearly bought). The S58 is a stonking engine no question, but it really needs revs to get the best out of it, which obliterates mpg.
The B58 OTOH is best of both worlds to some extent (minus the savage top end of the S58), as the low down torque makes it almost diesel like to drive at legal speeds and because of that can return some pretty impressive mpg figures for a 3L petrol.
The Alpina would be lovely to own I'm sure, and maybe the detuned S58 is a great halfway house between the M340i and M3, both in terms of performance and economy?
Alpina has the rarity factor too, plus they look awesome (those wheels😍) and as you say a lot more subtle than a G81 if that's your preference.
G81 prices are softening (used now start around 75k) and rumours are there will be discounts quite soon if buying new.
No such discounts on Alpinas (AFAIK).
I really don't think there is a wrong answer here as they're all great cars, and if able to have a 'money no object' choice it would be the M3 for me as I love the styling. I totally get why others would choose the Alpina though.
If you've not seen it, here's an interesting comparison vid from a few weeks back -
https://youtu.be/j49ldhANVqQ?si=w5hnhxHWz7ueh6YK
If these were the two tourers in Sytner Notts, then they’re beautiful cars.
The D3S XDrive at £83k and a B3S XDrive for £98k.
The black wheels spoil the D3 slightly though.
Bought a new D3 biturbo back in 2011 and it wasn’t short of its problems…but I’d have one of these newer ones without a doubt.
The D3S XDrive at £83k and a B3S XDrive for £98k.
The black wheels spoil the D3 slightly though.
Bought a new D3 biturbo back in 2011 and it wasn’t short of its problems…but I’d have one of these newer ones without a doubt.
Edited by Square Leg on Sunday 24th December 20:36
As many have said any of these cars would be a great choice. To me the Alpina looks absolutely stunning and has that rarity factor.
I faced a similar dilemma last year when choosing between an under 6 month old M440d or M440i Coupe. In the end the diesel nudged it because I do mainly motorway miles.
However, in hindsight with the growing anti diesel thing, the petrol might have been a better long term ownership proposition.
I faced a similar dilemma last year when choosing between an under 6 month old M440d or M440i Coupe. In the end the diesel nudged it because I do mainly motorway miles.
However, in hindsight with the growing anti diesel thing, the petrol might have been a better long term ownership proposition.
Summit_Detailing said:
D3 would be my preference given the choice.
Although black wheels have no place on a car, especially not an Alpina!
I'm pretty sure there will be a buoyant market for second hand diesels in the future, short and long term.
Happy Christmas!
Agree on the wheels. makes it look chavvy like a normal 1/2/3/4 series.Although black wheels have no place on a car, especially not an Alpina!
I'm pretty sure there will be a buoyant market for second hand diesels in the future, short and long term.
Happy Christmas!
jason61c said:
Nice. But the dash is just awful in the G21 LCI. Summit_Detailing said:
D3 would be my preference given the choice.
Although black wheels have no place on a car, especially not an Alpina!
I'm pretty sure there will be a buoyant market for second hand diesels in the future, short and long term.
Happy Christmas!
I certainly hope there will be a market for diesels in the future. Until the mid 00’s I was very anti diesel because up until that point most of them were fairly rubbish. Although black wheels have no place on a car, especially not an Alpina!
I'm pretty sure there will be a buoyant market for second hand diesels in the future, short and long term.
Happy Christmas!
As regards 440 prices in the past 12 months, the petrols have maintained there price better than the diesels to quite a margin.
That Red ALPINA Touring looks absolutely stunning and if your got the means to afford it then why not.
Having previously owned a 340i and S205 C63 in estate form I’m looking to get back into fast wagon. Most of these are on my list, with the B3 leading the way.
I’ve flirted with the idea of a Taycan but EVs just don’t stir the soul, it’s also stupidly wide and I do plan on visiting car parks, driving on U.K. roads, etc…
Although the B3 is what I want, they’re still around 65k for a 2 year old example (when they come up). It’s a lot of money, and whilst I appreciate it’s a lot of car, I can’t help think the M340i will do 95% of the job for 60% of the cost. My old 340i really lacked in the dynamics department but I understand the G20 massively improved things.
Spotted this RS4 Competition to further confuse things.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023101128...
I’ve flirted with the idea of a Taycan but EVs just don’t stir the soul, it’s also stupidly wide and I do plan on visiting car parks, driving on U.K. roads, etc…
Although the B3 is what I want, they’re still around 65k for a 2 year old example (when they come up). It’s a lot of money, and whilst I appreciate it’s a lot of car, I can’t help think the M340i will do 95% of the job for 60% of the cost. My old 340i really lacked in the dynamics department but I understand the G20 massively improved things.
Spotted this RS4 Competition to further confuse things.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2023101128...
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