Alpina D3 S vs BMW M340d - Just an M340d Turned up to 11?
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- Опубликовано: 27 мар 2024
- Hi, and join me on a very interesting road test between two very similar cars. But how similar are they? Too similar for the Alpina to be worth its hefty asking price, over the base car from where it began?
Join me on this twin test, where I try to explain the difference between a great car and a special car! It wasn't easy!
Hope you enjoy.
Stephen 
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Absolutely beautiful - congratulations. Imagine spending £100k on an EV instead of buying one of these.
The amount of cars that are in a similar price bracket, but just don't compare is bonkers! An Alpina is never something that appears as a 'bargain' on the surface of things, but when you see Golfs for 50k and BMW 2-Series for 55k, all of a sudden a lightly used D3S looks like the bargain of all time really.
The dream daily...or a B3, or a B5/D5. I'd take any of their Tourings! The best colour too, bloody lovely. Congrats, Stephen!
Cheers Paul! Always been a bucket list car, and so happy to have finally found such a special car.
Both stunning cars, Alpina is just something else, special and exclusive, enjoy Stephen 👍
I've had my Alpina Blue D3 S Touring for 18months now having bought it from Sytner Nottingham when it was 6months old with 2500 miles on it. Probably the best car I have owned.
Nice, what mpg are you averaging? And how is the ride? How did you decide between B3, M340i, M340d and D3 S?
They feel like a pure indulgence. As nice as the M340d is, it never makes you feel like that! I think we'll have one in the family for the rest of time.
I’ve got to admit that is one gorgeous looking car Stephen. It’s so classy but purposeful at the same time, Alpina through and through. They say you shouldn’t have any regrets in life, I think you’d always regret it if you hadn’t bought this gem.
Thanks Karl! Well, the last D3 I considered we had in stock was back in 2015, so I'm not waiting another 9 years for the next one. Plus this one is the perfect spec. We absolutely love it!
Welcome to sublimeness welcome the Alpina family a decision you will never regret, from a person that has so much knowledge within the motor industry to have an appreciation for this marque says everything welcome to an exclusive club and yes the comment you made regards the petrol station it happens regularly. Now a fully fledged member of the AAS 😍
Thank you for the warm hearted welcome Allan! Nice to be a part of it :) Its been a long time coming. Threatened to buy an Alpina for too long, and as you say, I think we will remain in one for the rest of time now we have made the jump.
I’ve only watched 1 min but I’m suspecting your now the proud owner of a Alpina 👍🏻😂
I love these cars
Absolutely stunning 👍🏻
Might be a plot twist....... but you got me ! lol
😂😂
Love the alpina and the colour mate and great that your so happy
Thanks Scott!
Always liked the Alpina’s! Am sure the M340D is a cracking car but just something more special by having the Alpina equivalent. Great colour and spec!
It took me a week to finally decide (although our M340d was pretty special itself), but now we've made the change, have zero regrets. And thanks! Its a pretty looking machine!
Finally someone makes this video. Thought Joe Achilles would have done this comparison video a long time ago. But didnt. Two cracking cars. Dream dad cars (with family in tow).
I was amazed I couldn't find many D3S videos, (if any!), never mind a head to head with the M340d. A few B3S videos, but sadly no D3S that I could find.
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 yes real shortage of D3S videos. Perhaps you might be able to do an ownership update after 6 months? Cheers
Joe hasn’t had Alpina press cars for a while, they don’t provide insurance for press loaners.
I just drove them back-to-back. What nobody talks about is the difference in road noise. Agreed that the suspension is amazing, but the tire roar just gets really tiring during long trips. I was ready to spend 20K extra, but I decided against it because of this.
I've just driven 200 mile round trip on Sunday for an overnight, and I honestly can't say I hear any true road at all! What tyres were on the car you drove? The Alpina specific items?
Chuffed for you mate and it looks a lovely motor. Hopefully its a little more comfortable than the standard M340d. I bought one but had to sell it after a few weeks as found the ride too harsh and gave me back ache (a sign I'm getting old😂😂). Anyway, ended up in a new G31 530D - not quite as fast but so much comfier but has a decent bit of pace (admittedly nowhere near as fast as the M340D - I miss the engine but not the car itself).
Thanks Colin! Thats a real shame on the M340d! They are fairly stiff when compared to the ride comfort of the 5-Series with its rear air suspension.
The M340d is sadly being taken off sale in the U.K. in June this year. I wonder how much longer the D3 S will be in sale for. Spoiler on the top of the windscreen is to stop wind noise over the sunroof.
But cars without sunroofs still have them ?
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982that’s what another review said - maybe it works well on the non-sunroof cars too!
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982check out the Rory Stewart B3 review for the bit on the spoiler. He could be wrong though.
@andrewhurstcars thanks Andrew, I’ll check that out. Curious to know !
It's to prevent the sunroof from blowing out at 300 kmh (the car is unlimited). I can attest to the fact that it does not reduce wind noise. I was doing 160 kmh and right there and then I decided not to get the sun roof.
just knew what the outcome was going to be , the closer it got to the end!! 🤣
I was trying to remain as objective as possible, but all the while, failing badly at it! lol
May I ask: the Michelin on the M340 - are they run flats or not? Considering switching to non-rft next
Hi Martin, switching from Pzero run flats to non-run flat Michelins on the M340d was a revelation as far as ride comfort was concerned. I'm already itching to put the D3S on MPS4S, but as the Pzero's that are fitted are ALP specific, I'm sure they're spot on for the car in reality.
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 Thanks for replying. I hoped that’s what you’d say. Non run-flats it is then
Ps love the videos 👍
Lovely car. What made you go for the D3 S over the B3?
Price for one, plus the D3S has a lovely torquey engine with phenomenal range which is great for when we drive abroad. From memory, The B3 was around 15-20k more and I was already pushing the boat out on the 15k more than the M340d !
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 good plan. I’ve got the N53 330i, so I average 42mpg on long trips. The M340d or D3 S is only realistic car that is faster and matches or exceeds the mpg. I don’t want to lose much range or mpg.
Those n/a 3.0L 330i are a thing to behold. Beautiful engine and incredibly frugal. Very rare now too! Always wanted an E90 or E92 330i M Sport manual.
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 yes lovely thing, with 272hp it’s plenty fast enough - have done indicated 160 on the autobahn in Germany. Yes very frugal on a run, much more so than a 335i, I can do 500 miles per tank on a motorway run at about 41.5/42mpg. Took me a long time to find a manual in the spec that I wanted. There really aren’t many LCI N53 manuals. LCI is the one to get with direct injection and LED lights. The water pump and the injectors can go, but I factored that in to the (low) price I paid. It’s the last N/A straight-six 3-series really. I wanted manual, straight-six, rwd, and good fuel economy - there’s nothing much else around in that price range that’ll do the same. D3 S fabulous car though! Have you found a mpg drop with the D3 S? The stated mpg seems to be a bit lower than the M340d.
For me, Alpina is the most appealing car brand overall. Their whole brand philosophy and execution of their product is just so spot on. Sadly, Alpina as we know it will shortly cease production of their beautifully re-engineered BMWs and the brand will be in the hands of BMW itself. Mayyyybe they won't completely muck it up? 😬
I really hope they keep the brand values.
We can only keep our fingers cross, because as you say, Alpina have done an incredible job of maintaining a very special place in the market. Hopefully we won't loose that!
Same !
Oops
Hi, I think this might be a comment on the wrong video?
Nobody wants a diesel alpina. You want the B3 not D3
The issue with the B3 is the fuel economy of the S58 is a lot worse than the M340i. Stated average figures are 28mpg for the B3 vs 34mpg of the M340i, and in the real world even less. D3 is a way of getting a taste of Alpina without dropping to 25 mpg.
Have you owned one? It's a fantastic car. The B3 is another level up so competes with the M3.
@@richarddocherty5007 I wouldn't own a diesel alpina. I've driven a D4. Don't get me wrong it was very quick but an alpina should be extremely refined. Diesel are for trucks and tractors
@andrewhurstcars that's not an issue for someone buying an alpina B3. That's like saying the issue with a Bentley is mpg... not a problem for those who buy them. Also the S55 and S58 were actually fairly economical for the power. Also the S58 in the alpina is setup differently with a different turbo setup.
@@DaleSteel for some people lower range is a consideration, regardless of cost. Yes different set up to the S58, but still not as efficient as the M340i.