Finally Saw The Alpina D3...

[Bong Water]

Whats that they say about a bad workman blaming his tools.
Learn some driving skills and you might like RWD.

Where have you hidden the webcam!? Seriously I dont want my privacy invaded, I often talk to myself whilst driving and I dont want you over hearing that ****!

 

[marriedblonde]

IMO, RWD cars have lots of advantages over FWD, but day to day normal driving I think its just a pain in the *** if the driving conditions become a bit wet/icey/anything that isnt warm and dry.

What?

 

[Caesium]

RWD is a right laugh, powerslides and some tail out action is always worth a grin

 

[Amchlolor]

What?

I was thinking the same, MB.
Christ, even some of my 70's/80's RWD cars gripped fine in wet conditions.
That was with live axles and ****** awful tyres too.
Painting a picture of modern RWD as some sort of liability in anything other than perfect conditions is just daft.

 

[Bong Water]

Are people not allowed a preference?

Should everyone like RWD because you do?

If everyone liked the same thing then there would be no choice other than RWD

"If I wanted your opinion I would give it to you"

That is how you come across to me!

I dislike RWD, if that makes me a bad driver then so be it. My preference is actually a normally aspirated high revving FWD hatch. Yet I drive a turbo AWD saloon for reasons I CBA to share at present as thats a whole other kettle of fish. I can say I have tried all types and therefore I am entitled to an opinion on which I prefer, remember, remember, opinions are like **** holes, everybody has one, dont let it upset you to much.

 

[Amchlolor]

Of course people are entitled to opinions.
The point is, someone was saying RWD is a liability in anything other than warm and dry conditions, which is a bit OTT.

 

[emzino]

Emzino, have you made any enquiries about getting a D3?

Yea I called the guy (thanks for the info) and talked about trade in value etc etc.
It's alot of money for a D3 isn't it =/

Think i'll be sticking with the A for a while. Besides, well and truely I do want to move upto an A5.

Thanks though mate. I'll continue to just lush over the D3 instead heh

 

[Amchlolor]

Yea I called the guy (thanks for the info) and talked about trade in value etc etc.
It's alot of money for a D3 isn't it =/

Did they offer you a poor trade-in?
The D3 was £26995, then it went up to £28350.
Has it gone up again?
IMO, £28350 is very fair, compared with a 'normal' 320.
In fact, I think it's a bit of a bargain really.
Anyone who got one for £26995 must be laughing!

 

[marriedblonde]

Are people not allowed a preference?

Yep they most definately are, they are also allowed to express them.

Should everyone like RWD because you do?

If everyone liked the same thing then there would be no choice other than RWD

Well I doubt that would be the case, some people buy cars due to price and I'd guess that there would still be FWD cars out there as they are cheaper to make - generalisation I know but thats how FWD came about.

dont let it upset you to much.

Touche!

 

[Bong Water]

:lol:

Looks like I did get upset in the end huh

Either way, saying someone is crappy driver because they dont like RWD is a bit crazy. Now then, back to Beemers, which means I make my exit

 

[marriedblonde]

LOL...It's all down to the new year blues

 

[Road Razor]

I saw one in Chinatown in Newcastle. It was 335i. Looks very mean. I'm not much of a BMW fan but it looks great!

 

[unkle]

Of course people are entitled to opinions.
The point is, someone was saying RWD is a liability in anything other than warm and dry conditions, which is a bit OTT.

Ok, I'll backtrack...

Couple of years ago I was lent a 335d by my boss who was out of the country (Germany) for 3 months, it was quite a bad winter and I was just shocked at how the car performed in those conditions, so much worse than my Corsa 'Combi' works van or the newly arrived diesel A3 I got a few weeks later.

I'll just say that I think the benefits of being able to take a RWD car to the limit and have more fun than you would with a FWD car are outweighed by the chances of binning it in the wet or icey weather, disliking RWD isnt an indication of poor driving skills IMHO.

 

[emzino]

Making it sound quite scarey driving a RWD... after reading all your (bad) experiences with RWD, I keep picturing the drive as if the cars literally on ice.

Think I should take that skid pan course sooner rather than later!

 

[Amchlolor]

Making it sound quite scarey driving a RWD... after reading all your (bad) experiences with RWD, I keep picturing the drive as if the cars literally on ice.
Think I should take that skid pan course sooner rather than later!

Emzino, I don't think you've got any reason to worry.
Let me put it this way.
One of the ladies in our office has a 1 series.
She's an awful driver.
We live in the North East of Scotland, which probably gets above average snowfall for the UK.
If BMW's were really that bad, I'm 100% positive I'd have heard of it.
As it is, she gets into work even in bad conditions.
Putting it simply, if she can drive a RWD car in bad conditions, anyone can!

As an aside, I'm positively looking forward to some tail sliding.
When I learned to drive, RWD was the norm and I loved it.

 

[treblesykes]

Just drive a pickup truck with no load in the rear bed on a greasy road you soon learn how RWD behaves and how to counter it.. no probs.
My only RWD drive car was a BM 3 series (built on a friday afternoon so I'm off them for a while, but a great car underneath). In real crappy snow conditions I used to drop two 4 stone weights in the boot that helped a lot.
My dad has a Merc E 320 and he has no problems on the snow , probably due to the better traction control etc they fit nowadays. (plus its an auto)

The main reasons for FWD are cost saving and more cabin space

 

[marriedblonde]

Making it sound quite scarey driving a RWD... after reading all your (bad) experiences with RWD, I keep picturing the drive as if the cars literally on ice.

Think I should take that skid pan course sooner rather than later!

I wouldn't worry, my last few, main cars, have been FWD or AWD and I have had no problems coming to terms with a powerful(ish) RWD coupe. The traction control on BMW's now a days provides a very big safety net. One that you can disengage in stages though.

With it on you can get a few degrees of movement from the rear before intervention, press it briefly and the rear becomes a bit more lively, press and hold it and it's off and your on your own!

Even with low rears and icy roads I havn't had a problem making swift progress in the car safely.

J.

 

[benw123]

Alpina have been very clever in targetting the D3 to potential 3-series buyers who want a bit of exclusivity while retaining some reasonable running costs. And just £200 more than an M-Sport, but with vastly better residuals and a dollop of extra performance, it deserves to be a success.

I like the car overall but those 19s are ghastly; totally dated, don't suit the saloon shape and would be an absolute nightmare to clean. I'd replace them immediately upon delivery.