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Road Test

BMW 320d SE

Test Date 22 March 2005  Price When New £25,285

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Verdict

To fully appreciate the completeness of this car, perhaps it would be easier to imagine ourselves in the role of opposition salesperson trying to explain the new 320d’s obvious deficiencies to a customer. Not an easy task.
Okay, it could look a bit sharper inside and out, and the ride is never what you’d call cosseting, but it still matches the current class best. Time was when any 3-series could be dismissed on grounds of diminished practicality and space. Not any more. Perhaps the cabin was too bare and the equipment levels unbearably mean. Not now. And there was always the chance that BMW’s perceived sportiness would dissuade people from taking a test drive because long distance journeys would be less comfortable than in the equivalent Audi or Mercedes. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The 320d’s competence does much more than swing a wrecking ball through its own class: it questions the need to own more expensive saloon cars for anything other than reasons of vanity and possibly space. This is a brilliantly conceived product, and it is fitting that so many drivers will doubtless have the chance to own and enjoy it.

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