[Bill S]

Arrived on Friday so only a few miles on so far - looking forward to the time I can open the throttle up and feel the performance. I gather from BMW insurance there were only 16 30Ds in their first ship to the UK.

She has many of the extras and very similar engine to my 535d so will be an interesting comparison. At least I should now be able to travel in the snow rather better than the 123D M that she replaces - certainly much more capable of negotiating Northumberland's potholes!

Been a long wait from my January order.

[BIMMER UK 76]

I want to drive it, you will suprise a few boy racers and sales reps when you pull away from the lights and leave them in you trail

Congrats

[Bimar]

cannot wait to hear your review of the engine, like noise and power and consumption etc etc.

[Bustofa]

Looks fantastic! And what a backdrop! Beautiful.

[AJWilson]

Cracking looking motor.

[Bill S]

A few more pictures.
I get to choose the mechanicals - my XYL the interior & trim. I actually approve - the Havanna Brown goes well with the Siena & Red.
Having experienced options on the 535, I chose Performance Control, VDC & Variable sport steering - All I highly recommend.
Not really given them all a really good test yet but I did escape my XYL and had a brief trip around the local MoD firing range (the backdrop in first post). Last winter left some of the roads in a bit of a state but the X3 coped extremely well - both in Sport (chassis only selected) & Normal modes. Did not dare go through the mud (not time to get her washed!) but certainly performs well on rough gravel.

Engine is certainly quiet - most cabin noise is road - but I will not be building the revs. up for some time. The torque is certainly noticeable - even below 2000rpm and with engine still tight she is very lively.

Engine is nicely packed away under the bonnet - and one nice innovation I've found - the USB socket allows a memory stick with all your MP3/4 music to be loaded into the car.

Consumption is pretty meaningless with a new engine - average only 32mpg so far but if we get anywhere near the 47mpg claimed I will be well pleased. I drive quite a lot in the US so appreciate the difference in fuel prices but with the consumption we can get with our diesels it makes up for the difference.
The biggest advantage I find when I come back to the diesel in UK is the low rpm torque - with twin turbo you get almost instant response, pulling away so easily even at low revs and quiet!
Eat your hearts out USA

[coiken]

Hhaha, glad to hear so much positive about this 30d engine, got one ordered myself so I'm very eager to hear your experience so far with this beauty!
1st positve compaired to 20d seems to be the sound production of the engine, this was to be expected but i'm glad it is confirmed now!

Kind sir, could I ask you to make us a little movie clip showing the acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h? I'm curisous to see how fast this goes and to hear what sound the engine produces ;-)

[SomeRandomer123]

It's likely we will get an X3 30d next year, replacing our superb 330d!
Do tell us about any issues or any 8spd transmission probs!

I guarantee you will have the issue of condensation in the headlamps so please keep us posted on how that goes!
And please tell us now, does your gearstick have a leather surround or is it in a plastic one? (See thread above/below)

Beautiful car! Hope you enjoy it!

[clivem2]

Their appears to be no leather gaiter....at least that's the way the photo looks, could be wrong though.

Spill all about the engine please! I have a 3.0D on order.

[Bimar]

Originally Posted by Bill S

Engine is certainly quiet - most cabin noise is road

I am curious, is the engine also quiet from the outside?

[CRW]

Congratulations on the car, a very striking colour combo.

I like others am eager to hear how the 30d pulls, sounds etc. I have a carbon black 30d MSport on order but it won't be here until December

[WAY]

Yes, more about the engine please?

[CdnE90]

Originally Posted by clivem2

Their appears to be no leather gaiter....at least that's the way the photo looks, could be wrong though.

I see he doesn't have paddles either, so that means no Sport Auto Transmission. No SAT, no leather gaiter.

[Upgrade15]

Love the Vermillion Red....swoon!

[Dantroy]

is the 30d single or twin turbo ?

[coiken]

Originally Posted by Dantroy

is the 30d single or twin turbo ?

single

[Dantroy]

Originally Posted by coiken

single

they quote it above as twin turbo so was just curious

[509trooper]

The car is beautiful, congrats!

[Bill S]

Sorry for any confusion - I was comparing with my 535 which is has the twin turbo.
On the leather gear gaitor, I much prefer the X3 system. Side by side with the 535 below you can see why - the X3 is much cleaner imho.

Unfortunately I cannot give any real comparisons yet - I tend to be rigorous in keeping the engine workload light until I get the mileage up and being away a lot, I will not be building that mileage quickly.

On external engine noise - not noticeably different from the 535 but with the engine still tight the tick-over revs are still high so cannot really say - more in a few thou. miles

I can say that it compares well with the 535 even though the hp is down, the torque is the same. I do miss having paddles (from the 123dM) but the 8 speed box seems to work well so far - as I say though - yet to fully test! It will be a while before I get it into sport mode. What I do not miss are the low profile tyres - not on the roads in my area! So far, I'm finding the 17" wheels work well with the chassis in sports mode and I'm expecting them to be a lot easier to keep clean! I deliberately avoided the M Sport I'm afraid. I cannot get the sports steering wheel adjusted in the right position and still read the instruments - but that's influenced by the 535. Also we simply do not find the Sports seats as comfortable on a long trip and frankly the 3.0 with VDC would seem to provide lots of performance.

But it's very much down to personal choice.

[sfax]

Congratulations! Looks fantastic. Big fan of VR. How long did you have to wait for the sun to come out in Northumberland to take that one?!

Interested to hear your feedback on VDC in Normal mode. Ought to be super smooth with those rims but does it suffer from feeling a little floaty?

Enjoy!

[smarm]

This is just making the wait for my 30d now even harder!

[SomeRandomer123]

30d Review
The 245hp 30d in our E90 3 Series is epic! The acceleration it provides is brutal! Really pushes you into your seat! Power delivery is smooth when you want it to be and savage when your in the mood!
The noise - Oh my god!! When we picked it up new in 2009 I thought they had given us a 330i not a d!! Under normal driving it's a smooth petrol like hum with a quiet turbo whistle to remind you it's ready to pounce! It needs no revs or clutch slip to start from stationary - that much torque!! Foot to the floor with the revs to the red-line, the normal soundtrack of a contented Lion changes into that of a furious bear! The noise in or out of the car is simply fabulous.
Economy - WTF? WTF in a good way... How can an engine that provides this much performance and excitement be so efficient?! 0-60 in 5.9s yet it averages 45MPG easy! Expect 36-42MPG under laborious city driving. On the motorway at 60-75MPH, you will likely get more than 50MPG!! When cruising at 85-110MPH it will still turn over 46-48MPG. Again, simply fabulous!
Top speed - arrgghhhhh!!!!! You will see 155* easy. Velocity = big! It just pulls and pulls, what else can I say?!

WARNING
Once you own one of BMW's 6 cylinder turbo diesels, THERE IS NO GOING BACK! You will absolutely love it.

With DTC off, it will shred the rear tires and is partial to a good amount of oversteer!

Joy=MASSIVE!!

Those of you who have ordered a 30d, enjoy! I know you will - especially as it now has more horses in the stable and a good handful more torques! (258hp 560NM)