2014 BMW 328d – Review and Road Test
DRIVING THE 2014 BMW 328D
On a somewhat cold, overcast day, my colleague Dan Collins and I headed over to BMW headquarters in New Jersey to pick up our 328d. The Alpine White 328d, outfitted with the Modern Line package, included really good looking 18” Modern turbine-design wheels, matte chrome trim, oyster leather seats with dark oyster trim (the key fob matched the upholstery), and numerous options including the technology package and the driver assistance package.
Soon we were off. To get a feel for the car, we started on local roads before hitting the Palisades Interstate Parkway, one of my favorite highways in the region.
While I had prepared myself for a tempered version of Freude am Fahren, I needn’t have been concerned. After being handed the key and told to have fun, I sat down in the driver’s seat, pressed the start button, and took off. While the official figure of 7.2 seconds may sound somewhat slow, the car nonetheless feels fast and it is certainly no slouch. Other cars capable of greater-than-40-mpg fuel economy can’t even compare.
An eight-speed automatic is standard on the 328d. Granted, it doesn’t engage the driver quite as much but it shifts at the right points and the paddle shifters makes for rapid downshifts, allowing the driver to tap into the 280 pound-feet of torque.
The 328d’s electric power assist steering had a nice on-center feel and decent feedback, although nowhere as good as the previous generation.
In our time with the 328d, we covered a variety of roads, highways, and country lanes. I found the pulling power of the four-cylinder powerplant more than sufficient in every circumstance and didn’t have to think about overtaking slower cars (of which there were many). On the Palisades, I turned on the EcoPro mode and the car immediately exhibited noticeably slower acceleration but made up for it with far better fuel economy (I kept seeing 99 mpg on the dashboard’s information display).
We didn’t have time to drive the 328d as far as I would have liked, but my somewhat limited exposure to curves and winding roads left no question that I was driving a true sports sedan.
The combined fuel economy at the end of the day was 37.3 mpg (6.3 l/100 km). Most of the driving was not at highway speeds and our results weren’t much different from those we saw driving the BMW 320d eight months ago, 39.2 mpg (6.0 l/100 km).
We’ll be spending more time with the new 328d in the coming months so stay tuned for further reports.
Also see our exclusive video test report of the BMW 328d.
(Photos and video: Accura Media Group)