Alpina D3

[Tim Stuart]

One for Bowfer...

In this week's Autocar, and I quote

"It does no less than 35mpg even on the slowest of urban crawls, and on a 70mph motorway slog it regularly betters 40mpg. Yet is costs a very reasonable £26,995 - about four grand more than the 320d on which it's based. To be honest it's one of those cars you climb out of at the end of a long journey and think: why does anyone need anything more than this?"

 

[Amchlolor]

God,I want one...
Mind you,with the amount of good press it's getting,I've probably got no chance of getting a hold of one !

Cheers for the tip though,I'll go buy Autocar and read the whole thing.

 

[vagman]

BMW Dundee are advertising one at the moment.

I'm going to Dundee Audi to look at their S3 and I'm gonna pop into BMW to have a wee peek.

Sounds interesting.....Alpina body kit, 19" wheels and a 197bhp diesel.

 

[d3fy]

Yep is sounded good until you got to diesel then you lost me

 

[benw123]

EVO gave the D3 a great write-up, too. Just think, the only BMW other than a Mini which will depreciate slowly!

 

[Amchlolor]

I note the good press must be going to Alpina's head,coz the price is creeping up.
It was £26995 OTR a month or so ago.
It's £27500 now.
I'd have been pushing my MD to spend £26995,so it's not good news.
Still,you never know.
We'll see how things are in 12 months,when I get to order my new motor.

Mind you,I had a test drive of an S-max at the weekend.
I like the styling and the write-ups it's getting,so I went to have a look.
Very nice indeed.
Not any noticeably slower than my A3 (as the figures bear out) and,I promise you,better handling !
It had some 'X-pack' fitted,which probably makes all the difference.
We're trying to add to the family at the moment,so this type of 'crossover' vehicle is starting to appeal.
I can get a top of the range S-max (2.0tdci) with all the bells and whistles and the added child friendly benefit of DVD players built into the headrests for less than my A3 cost.

 

[Eeef]

s-max? As in Ford?

It's the way you tell em Bowfer.

I thought you were being serious for a minute then.

 

[TDI-line]

Good one Bowfer.

 

[Amchlolor]

Go drive one,then come back and discuss it with me.
Unless you'd care to explain to me how a Ford could possibly be any worse than the over-priced,badly built,unreliable pile of ***** I currently drive ?

 

[wilko]

I saw an Aplina D3 this morning and I must admit it looked quite nice for a BM! Wasn't keen on the chav Savo alloys it had on it tho... personal preference I guess!

 

[cdb2]

D3 looks nice, though was slightly put off by the large Alpina lettering in the centre of the front bumper, bit Chavvy.

 

[benw123]

Go drive one,then come back and discuss it with me.
Unless you'd care to explain to me how a Ford could possibly be any worse than the over-priced,badly built,unreliable pile of ***** I currently drive ?

Well, it is a brand new model with the usual teething problems, it might be worse than your A3 ...

http://www.whatcar.com/car-review-readers.aspx?MA=1&RT=842&Submit1=GO

 

[Wolfsburger]

D3 looks nice, though was slightly put off by the large Alpina lettering in the centre of the front bumper, bit Chavvy.

This is optional. I`d opt not to have it.

 

[Amchlolor]

Well, it is a brand new model with the usual teething problems, it might be worse than your A3 ...

http://www.whatcar.com/car-review-readers.aspx?MA=1&RT=842&Submit1=GO

I'll see you,and raise you equally mixed reviews for the A3.


http://www.whatcar.com/car-review-readers.aspx?RT=760

 

[Tim Stuart]

Mind you,I had a test drive of an S-max at the weekend.
I like the styling and the write-ups it's getting,so I went to have a look.
Very nice indeed.

Is it me, or do the rear lights on the S-Max remind you of a late 1990s Daewoo?

 

[Amchlolor]

Cor yeah,they're practically identical....
Like Christina Aguilera and Wendy Richards are identical.
'Clutching' and 'straws' springs to mind.

Crap picture of an S-max there.
Try a decent one,with decent wheels.
Car of the year 2007,no less.

 

[Tim Stuart]

I'm not disagreeing with you over the S-Max not being a clever design and a decent take on the tired full-size MPV sector, I'm merely pointing out that in my opinion the rear lights have more than a passing resemblance to a Daewoo and therefore look dated.

I didn't get as far as a test drive in one when I was considering my new company car, but it did make the short(ish) list.

BTW - it only won ECOTY because of its high average ranking, with many other contenders being voted as best by more journalists.

Also, when you take a look at previous ECOTY winners, its not perhaps the best accolade...

Chrysler/Talbot Horizon (1979)
Renault 9 (1982)
Fiat Tipo (1989)
Fiat Bravo / Brava (1996)

 

[Amchlolor]

I agree there have been some ECOTY winners that went on to become terrible sellers,but the basic principal of the thing is sound.

Put it this way,I reckon if Audi won it they would be shouting it from the rooftops as any other manufacturer does.

My wife's car (new Clio) won it this year and is a fantastic sales success,so it's not all 'lemons'.

To be honest,the S-max is the first vehicle of it's type that's interested me.
I think it looks superb,which is the first hurdle cleared.
I wouldn't even consider something like a Picasso/Scenic/Zafira,god no.
The S-max drives superbly too,as the press said it would,which is the biggest hurdle.
They didn't even say it handles well 'for an MPV'.
It just handles well,full stop.
The fact it such a big car makes it even more incredible.

I could see quite a few 'performance' car drivers getting a shock over a twisty road.

 

[wilko]

Are you on commission bowfer??

 

[Wolfsburger]

Are you on commission bowfer??

I doubt Bowfer is on commission. He`s just accepted that other manufacturers do make very good cars these days and that there really is no reason to pay a premium for percieved quality.

I know that this is an Audi board and people gather to worship the four rings but like Jules Winfield said in Pulp Fiction........

I prefer to walk with my eyes wide open.

Go try a Focus, S-Max or even a Ka and discover a sweet handling car.

 

[Tim Stuart]

Update on the S-Max

A colleague has just got a 2.5T Titanium spec with all the bells and whistles and I whilst I found it taughter than most MPVs in the handling stakes, it still does wallow in corners purely because of its higher centre of gravity.

Nice car though, if a little plasticky. Great sounding 5-pot engine too.

PS - I suggest the picture Bowfer supplied was from the 'concept' as the top-of-the-range doesn't have quite such large wheels or coloured brake calipers.

 

[Amchlolor]

Update on the S-Max

A colleague has just got a 2.5T Titanium spec with all the bells and whistles and I whilst I found it taughter than most MPVs in the handling stakes, it still does wallow in corners purely because of its higher centre of gravity.

Nice car though, if a little plasticky. Great sounding 5-pot engine too.

PS - I suggest the picture Bowfer supplied was from the 'concept' as the top-of-the-range doesn't have quite such large wheels or coloured brake calipers.

He should have ordered the sports suspension pack.
£600 upgrade.

 

[wilko]

Yorn Yorn... remember guys this is an Audi forum!

 

[Wolfsburger]

Yorn Yorn... remember guys this is an Audi forum!

Yep,
We should get get back to creaking steering racks, failing coil packs, noisy rear suspension and arrogant dealerships.....................

 

[marriedblonde]

don't you mean yawn yawn....

 

[Amchlolor]

Yorn Yorn... remember guys this is an Audi forum!

Well,I'm discussing what I'll have when I get RID of my Audi....

;-)

 

[cdb2]

Well,I'm discussing what I'll have when I get RID of my Audi....

;-)

When you get rid of your Audi you'll have nothing but a huge SMILE on yer face!

Perhaps a party too!