Search

2010 BMW 3-Series Saloon reviews

BMW 3-Series Saloon reviews by year of make:     2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2010  2011  Read all reviews

John Carmichael, Scotland

BMW 3-Series Saloon 320d 2010

3 star review

A good car on most fronts but not quite fantastic. Drives well with good balance and road holding and just enough power and torque to make it fun if not exhilarating. I’m happy with it but there is no doubt that the run-flat tires make for a choppy ride and the interior is a bit dreary. I’m happy with it and will keep it for a while but every time I see a Jaguar XF I wonder if I made the right choice...

Submitted: 25/03/2011 09:13:24

Respond to this review | Have your say

Richard Maher, Ireland

BMW 3-Series Saloon 316d es 2010

5 star review

40k miles in my first year with this car and I can honestly say that the car is excellent, lovely to drive, economical and reliable. Certainly will buy another one.

Submitted: 25/01/2011 18:27:50

Respond to this review | Have your say

Sandy Clarke, England

BMW 3-Series Saloon 318d 2010

1 star review

I had a new 318 on order. My Mondeo and Vectra had lots of standard items which I was a little irritated to have to pay extra for on the BMW; cruise control, lumbar support, 12v socket, decent radio. I waited patiently for a couple of months, then I received a confirmation that the car would be built and delivered in a few weeks time. I checked the confirmation and some of the ""extras" I had been forced to order were not on the confirmation. I had previous confirmation in writing twith the extras on. BMW dealer said any change to the spec. would mean deleting the whole order and placing a brand new order, oh and by the way the price has now gone up almost £1,000, and you will start again at the back of the queue!!! I told them to stuff it. BMW experience = very poor.

Submitted: 08/01/2011 21:09:55

Respond to this review | Have your say

Syd Taylor, Staffordshire

BMW 3-Series Saloon 320d Efficient Dynamics saloon 2010

4 star review

Fleet of foot and frugal with the fuel, the new dynamic diesel from BMW is a package to please. A Beemer to have the fuel conscious beaming - and with more than ample punch to pacify the ’go-getters’. So much so, that Swift Steve, the superannuated boy racer from Shrewsbury was agog at the 142mph performance coupled with the frugality at the fuel pump. "Blow me down with a feather." He said. "In all my years of hot pedal motoring, I took it as gospel that performance came - quite naturally - with a hefty fuel premium. "I can’t believe this car motors as it does, with consumption levels I used to equate with an old 2CV that my French granny used to drive in Dordogne Street, Telford.". This 3 Series possesses blistering pace but won’t blister your fingers in reaching for the wallet. In fact you might find Incy Wincy Spider has been busy with the cobwebs between fill-ups - and the purchase price is sensible too, starting at £27,245. Continuing to draw comment, my friend and neighbour, Thomas Ratcliffe - well known as the inventor of the scowl - said "I see you’ve got one of those poseurs cars again." In reply I put it to him that such words from his lips were, indeed, a compliment. After all, how many people do you know Reader, who have a shrine to Albert Pierrepoint? I have to say that the only time he ever praised a vehicle I was testing was when I was putting a vintage Parisian tumbril through its paces. "Anyway Thomas" I said, shutting the door. "I’m not hanging about. I’ve got lots of miles to cover." The beauty of this BMW is the very reassuring sense that it’s a car made to be operated by real people in today’s world. You open the door and slip into an interior that’s as welcoming as a comfortable old pair of slippers - leather slippers, that is - for this is nothing if not a finely appointed car. The publicity boast about BMWs being ’drivers machines’ is not - as Horace Bachelor used to say (Younger readers should consult Uncle Bert for reference) - an ’idle boast’. The seat is comfortable, supportive and immediately familiar: in short, ’the business’. It’s only a matter of seconds before all the little adjustments are made and you’re sitting in perfect comfort: one is, so to speak, ’well mounted’. And while this particular model is not a fire-breathing charger, neither is it a plodder. It’s as swift as an arrow, as poised as a pyramid and just ’made’ for the road (even roads such as our shockingly maintained ones). It gets you from A to B and back again with such aplomb as to make you wish to start the journey all over again. And If ’drivers car’ means anything at all, it surely means the sort of car you don’t like getting out of. A word or two here about the technicalities: Efficient Dynamics includes ’start stop’, brake energy regeneration, lightweight engineering, low rolling resistance tyres, low friction fluids and active aerodynamics, plus six perfectly chosen gear ratios to give low rev. long leggedness. The 163bhp 2.0 litre 4 cylinder diesel, with its wizard flywheel to damp vibration, is a gem. Astonishingly frugal it may be (I averaged just under 61mpg but couldn’t reach the dizzy heights of 68.9mpg overall, which BMW claim) but it’s the amazingly low emission figures that will save the planet - almost a million times a mile! A mild exaggeration? Well I’ll leave that to future generations to answer - but the exhaust is so pure that road tax is just £35. An indicator of the splendid dynamic qualities is the ease with which twisty roads are accommodated with the poise and flair of a ballerina. Answering to the helm instantaneously, it has that balance that only rear-wheel drive can provide: after all, who wouldn’t prefer being pushed in the back rather than being yanked by the bib in the direction of the horizon. Even in today’s all too prevalent nose-to-tail crawling along so called ’tailbacks’ (slow torture is, perhaps, a preferable term) one is so pleasantly ensconced in the assiduously thought through cabin that it’s tempting to stretch out, reach for the Horlicks and watch an episode of ’Way Out West’ on the sat-nav screen. It’s a brilliant motor, this. It has dimensions aplenty to afford all the space necessary for true comfort and yet has the nimbleness of a compact sporting vehicle. There’s plenty of power for all but the most hot headed and plenty of glory for all but the megalomaniacs amongst us.

Submitted: 30/10/2010 21:42:30

Respond to this review | Have your say

Chris Lee, Oxfordshire

BMW 3-Series Saloon M3 sport 2010

1 star review

Like many here I was fooled by the advertising and the dream "the ultimate driving machine". Nothing could be further from the truth. I’d agree with many of the comments on here. And like others it’s my first and last BMW. I have never driven such a poorly speced over priced car. I’ve had the car a month, but am already talking to the dealer to get my old car back. That was an ’03 SAAB Aero, the two cars are incomparable in terms of comfort, quality and overall safety. I was really happy with my old car, So how can a premier manufacturer like BMW get so many things wrong, by not listening to the people its selling to? It’s a car with lots of bling and no show. It’s a car for guys who like to be seen in a car with an "image" Shame the car doesn’t deliver anything else, but the nice looks, The engine is gutless and lacking power. The interior is very disappointing, no driver comforts, No spilt rears seats, Passenger comfort is totally lacking. Nowhere to put anything, like maps or things. The seats are really uncomfortable even on short journeys, Thin, not really easily adjustable. I’m not very tall but end up nearly banging my head on the roof. No driver lumbar support. The Idrive totally does my head in. Catches your hands when you change gear, the Parking assist stays on even when you’ve finished reversing Should I go on? Am I impressed? No. Would I buy another? Definitely not. Would I recommend it to a friend? Never in a million years.

Submitted: 27/09/2010 22:22:10

Respond to this review | Have your say

Other people need your help

Your review will help others decide which vehicle to buy. By spending just a little bit of time filling out a review you can share your experiences with other drivers, giving information only owners will talk about, no marketing spiel, just the real thing. We publish all reviews, whether you rate the vehicle high or low. We are impartial. We are independent. We are committed to 100% real reviews. Please give others the benefit of your advice: give them your review.

Your review will be checked for offensive language within the next few days and then put on RoadTestReports.co.uk and all of our partners websites.

Have your say!

Submit your own review

Lease Buy

* Required

^ Back to Top