Following on from our short test of the BMW 330
last year, the opportunity presented itself to have the car for
another week. This gave me the chance of seeing what this vehicle
could really do, with a trip to Kanchanaburi, as well as local
running. And in answer to my own question as to whether the BMW 330 is
the perfect motor car, the simple answer is, No, it is not the perfect
motor car - but it goes damn close!
At the outset, let me set some ground rules. This
is certainly not the cheapest motor car on the block, or even in the
BMW showrooms, with eight others cheaper than the 3.55 million price
tag on the 330. This is even more expensive than the 5 series vehicles
for sale here, though much less than the 7 series. You can also get
the smaller engined Z3 for under that price, so the 330 has certainly
got some prime cars to prove itself against.
It has the largest engine in the smallest body and
with its 219 bhp (detuned to get under the Thai 220 bhp tax bracket)
it still has more ponies than all the other BMW cars, bar the 7 series
(or the M3, not readily available here). So with the most powerful
engine in the smallest body, on paper it is very much a performance
vehicle.
On the road, the theory is well proven, effortless
power and spirited acceleration make this a very safe car. If you have
the requisite driving skills, the BMW can power you out of many
potentially threatening circumstances. Others who put much stock on
the 0-100 kays times report the BMW 330 achieving the metric ton (or
is that tonne?) in 6.5 seconds. Me? I put much more stock on passing
ability from 80-120 kays, the range you are generally driving in for
everyday motoring. Traffic light Grands Prix I leave to the 18 year
olds.
The transmission on the 330 is a dual unit - fully
automatic, or move the lever to the left and you have a sequential 5
speed clutchless Steptronic. The impression when you leave the
transmission in the ‘auto’ mode was one of seamless changes, and
the only time I moved over into the sequential manual mode was when I
wanted to make sure the car stayed in one gear for big sweeping bends.
Like so much of the BMW electronics, the ‘brain’ controlling the
transmissions even pre-empts your driving style and when in the
‘press-on’ mood, will hold the engine revs higher up towards red
line before changing.
Steering is pin-point with enough ‘feel’ to
keep you alert to what is happening on the road beneath you. Again on
the big sweeping motorway curves you could place the car securely, no
matter what speed, it seemed, though the handbook does remind the
driver that despite all the super-trick suspension and electronic
fiddles, the laws of physics do have to be obeyed. There is a finite
limit to physical laws. However, in one week of some fairly quick A to
B trips I could not find those limits. The impression that we all came
away with was the ‘solidarity’ of this car. It felt taught and
rigid and reassuring.
With a motor car that is capable of prodigious
speeds, you need a motor car that has brakes to match. The BMW 330 has
them, with ABS naturally. Huge disc brakes filling the wheels. Again,
there was only one time during the week that I had to apply the picks
so hard that the ABS came into play - and when it did, steering was
still under my control.
So what about the appointments in the 330? Quoting
from my own report of last year, “The interior of the car reeks
quality, but then at three point five five million baht, it damn well
should. Herds of slaughtered cows cover the seats and door trims, with
acres of swish pile carpets under foot. The dash is understated too,
and hallelujah, a rotary knob to control the volume from the
radio/cassette/CD player. The usual niceties were there as well, with
an on-board computer to work out how many clicks before the next pit
stop and half degree increments in the air-conditioning. There are
many tricky stowage spaces with sliding shutters as well. There were
two electrical power outlets for the rear seat passengers to drive
lap-tops or in car faxes or phones. Turn the sun visors down and the
vanity mirror has a sliding shutter too - move it aside and the light
comes on so Madame can apply her make-up and step out perfectly
groomed at the end! There’s not much that BMW has forgotten.
“Passive safety-wise BMW have not been behind the
8 ball either, with 8 airbags for driver and passengers, and side bags
too. If you must try and derail the Orient Express, then the Beemer
would be the way to go - and step out of it afterwards.”
Here then is a motor car that goes like stink,
stops on the proverbial dime and steers like a race car. It has all
the appointments that you should expect, it has an air of authority
about it that makes people clear a parking spot for you, and it is
probably one of the safest cars you will ever sit in. So why is it not
‘perfect’?
The only ‘flawed’ area where it was not 100%
for me was in the driver’s seat. Sure it moved every way, you could
change the lumbar support, you could program the settings so that you
could always find the correct position again after any other driver
had altered it, so what was wrong? Remember that I come from many
years of professional motor sport. On the road the BMW 330 could
handle everything I wanted it to do, so well, in fact, that the
lateral support of the seats could be exceeded. The car was capable of
generating more lateral G forces than the seats could provide lateral
support. A small gripe really, but for me it was the only design item
that I could fault. For a person who enjoys driving as an art form,
the BMW 330 represents the perfect motor car - almost! I would
certainly buy one and if you have the necessary 3.55 big ones then it
is certainly worth looking at.
I finished my test last year by writing, “How do
you sum up a car that costs around the same price as a two bedroom
house? For my money, it is worth it if you are a real driver, because
this is a real driver’s car. For my money, I would get more
enjoyment from this financial investment in a BMW than I would ever do
from a house in the suburbs, but then, I never was all that practical
about such things.” I see no reason to change that summation.
The test vehicle was supplied by BMW Thailand.
