Auto Express – August 20, 2019

72 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS TeslaModel3vsBMW320d

MODELTESTED:BMW320d MSport Sport Auto

PRICE:£38,325 ENGINE:2.0-litre4cyl, 187bhp

FORdecadesthedieselcompactexecutive
saloonhasbeenthego-tochoiceforthose
wantingtobalanceluxury,decentperformance
andhandling,cruisingrefinement,technology,
pluspracticality–butisthatstillthecasetoday?
Wetestthe£38,325320dMSporttofindout.

Design &

engineering

THISseventh-generation3Series
isnowcompetingwithelectriccars,
highlightingjusthowfartechhasmovedon.
TheBMWhaskeptpace,though,withanall-new
platformunderneathhere,thelatestinfotainment,
enginerevisionsandsomecleversuspensiontech.
ThatarchitectureisbasedonBMW’sCLARplatform.
AsintheTesla,four-wheeldriveisavailable,butyou
don’thavetooptforaperformanceversiontogetit.
Enginetweaksoveritspredecessorimprove
the3Series’refinementandresponse.Theset-up
includesasmallturbochargerforbetterresponse
andalargeronetoboostpowerathigherrevs.
The2.0-litrefour-cylinderturbodieselproduces
187bhpand400Nmoftorque,andislinkedtoan
eight-speedautomaticgearbox,sotherecipeis
relativelyconventionalcomparedwiththeTesla’s.
Itsnewdampersemploy‘liftdependent
technology,’whichmeanswhenthecarisunloaded,
lightandthereforedoesn’tsittoofarthroughthe
suspension’sstroke,thedampingforcesarelighter.
WhentheBMWisloadedandheavier,sittinglower,
thedampingistautertoimprovebodycontrol.
MSporttrimcomeswithparkingsensors,a
reversingcamera,autonomousbraking,climate,
cruise,heatedleatherseatsandadigitaldash,soit
matchestheModel3’skit.ItaddsAppleCarPlay,too.
BMW’ssemi-autonomousdrivingsystemisextra,
butitexceedstheTeslaforquality.Thematerialsare
superior,andthe3Series’cabinfeelsbetterbuilt.Yet
thesecarsmustcoversomanybasesthatthisisn’t
thefullstory,andoneofthoseishowtheydrive.

Driving

HEREthe3Seriesdelivers.It’snot
quiteasquickastheTeslato60mph,
becauseittook6.6seconds,butgiven
it’sdownonpowerandtorque,andhasgearchanges
thatpunctuateacceleration,that’sagoodresult.
Ourflexibilitytestsaren’tdirectlycomparabledue
tothedifferenceintransmissions.IntheTeslayou
simplyplantyourfootandgo,makingitextremely
easytodrive,butintheBMWit’snotsoswift.
TheGermancar’sboxisoneofthebestautomatic
transmissionsonsale,though,andrespondswellto
inputsfromtheaccelerator,kickingdownswiftlyand
shiftingupsmoothly.Pickmanualmode,leaveitin
gearandthe3Seriesdeliversasmuchflexibilityand
easypullingpowerasyou’dneedfromanICEcar.
TheBMW’sengineisrefined,too,onlygrumbling
loudlyathigherrevs.Butitsnoiseisever-present,
unlikeintheTesla,withitsnear-silente-motor.
IthandlesbetterthantheModel3,though,feeling
grippierandlessartificialwhenitcomestoitsagility.
Thesteeringhasamuchnicerweight,hasmorefeel
thantheTesla’s(you’dthinkithadnoneifyouhadn’t
drivenaModel3before)andthechassisfeedsback
clearermessagesofwhat’sgoingonattheinterface

Testers’ notes

“BMWhasrefineditsinfotainmenttothepointwhere

it’soneofthebest.We’ddowithoutthegesture

controlonourcar,butit’seasilyamatchfortheTesla

andbetterinsomecases.TurntoPage74toseewhy.”

JamesBatchelorEditor-at-large

betweentheroadsurfaceandthetyres.Therideis

good,butisn’twithoutitsissues.It’smoreforgiving,

butnotbytoomuchcomparedwiththeTesla’s.Still,the

rideisjustthatlittlebitmoreabruptthanwe’dlike.

Withsomeextraweightitsettlesdown,butthe

qualityofthedampingfeelsplushwheretheModel3

isalittlemorestaccatoinitssuspensionmovement.

There’senoughcomfort,refinement,handlingability

andperformance,it’sjustdeliveredinadifferentway

totheTesla–subtlyinsomeareas,markedlyinothers.

Practicality

THE3Seriesisboundbypackaging

constraintsthattheModel3isn’t,suchas

itsengineandtransmissiontunnel,butthe

BMWactuallyoffersslightlymorerearlegroomand

evenmoreheadroom.It’snotquiteasroomyinthe

front,though.The320d’sarchitecturemeansthedash

andcentreconsolearebiggerandbulkier,withmore

buttonstocontroltheclimateandinfotainment.

Whileitdoesn’thavealoadareainthefrontlike

theTesla,its480-litrebootmeansthere’smore

luggagevolumethanintheModel3,whichoffers

425litres,whiletheBMW’sbootopeningislarger

andthereforemorepracticalaswell.

Ownership

BMWfinished21stinourDriverPower

2019satisfactionsurvey,whichwasa

fairlylowresultforthepremiumbrand.

However,theprevious3Serieswasvotedthe38th

bestcartolivewithbyAutoExpressreaders,andmuch

ofthetechinthenewcarisevolutionaryandhas

alreadyprovedreliableelsewhereintheBMWrange.

Safetyisstrong,withAEB,collisionwarningand

lane-departurealertstandardinMSporttrim.Our

caralsohadthe£1,250DrivingAssistantProfessional

pack,whichaddsadaptivecruise,cross-trafficwarning,

lane-keepassistwithsidecollisionprevention,anda

semi-autonomousdrivefunctionthat’llkeepyouin

alaneliketheTesla.ItworksaswellasintheModel3.

Running costs

OURfleet320dtestcarfeaturedinthis

headtohead,andit’scurrentlyreturning

53.3mpg.Thisisimpressivelyefficient,but

willstillcost£1,322ayeartofuel,whichequatesto

11ppermile,nearlyfourtimesthecostoftheTesla.

Italsowon’tholditsmoneyquiteaswell,withour

expertspredictingtheBMWwillretain44.8percent,

or£17,173,alossof£21,152.EVsarebecomingmore

popular,andpredictedresidualvaluesreflectthis;the

Model3isexpectedtoholdontoaveryimpressive

68.7percentafterthreeyearsor36,000miles.It’llbe

worth£25,645afterthisperiod,losingjust£11,695.

ȗȗ 4 L 4 L

score

4.1

ȎȎ 4 L 4 L

score

4.0

ȎȎ 4 L 4 L

score

4.0

ȱȱ 4 L 4 L

score

4.5

ȎȎ 4 L 4 L

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4.0

Legroom justedgesTesla’s,and 3Serieshas moreheadroom

BMWprovides55litres moreluggage spacethan the Model 3

BMW3Series

We discoveriflatest version of long-running

Running costs

53.3mpg (ontest)

£76fill-up/£165 or 30% tax

Practicality

Boot

480 litres

!

Braking

70-0/60-0/30-0mph

44.5/32.2/9.6m

Performance

0-60mph/top speed

6.6 seconds/149mph

Ja

Performance

3Seriesis0.8

secondsslower

from 0-60mph

than Model 3,

because it isn’t

as powerful and

is hampered by

gearchanges