199 – Diesel Dream

The day has finally come. My level of irritation with our long-serving Sentra at last reached the tipping point recently, and we started looking for a new car. I’ve been shelling out money to fix the car every few months ever since we had it, and I really just don’t have time for it any more. Between the cost of repairs, the time I spend doing them, the less than stellar fuel economy, and the feeling of impending doom as it rolled over 150,000 miles, the time was right to start thinking about getting out of it.

And so the search began. I wanted to get out of the world of front wheel drive, because I hate how they handle. Our first instinct, bearing in mind the snow-fest that was last winter, was to go all-wheel-drive. Another requirement was excellent fuel economy, because Katie and I routinely put 25,000 miles a year on our vehicles, and take intermediate-distance trips several times a year. The Sentra had become so unpleasant to drive that we were, most often, taking the Tacoma, which punishes you at the pump with its 19 MPG. Not bad for a truck of its size, but still painful if you’re driving 1000 miles in a weekend.

Our requirements list began to fill out. We wanted AWD, great fuel economy, something safe and comfortable, that was fun to drive, had less than 45,000 miles on the clock, and would result in a payment that was manageable for us. Bonus points for cargo capacity. I wanted a manual transmission as well, but Katie made it clear that, unless it also came with a chauffeur, she was not interested in driving a manual in traffic up and down I-75 every day. Fair enough.

I burned up the interwebs looking for a car that would fit our needs. My first instinct was to look to Subaru, the undisputed AWD champions. But unfortunately, with Subie, you can choose performance OR fuel economy, and never both. They have models that get respectable MPG, but they tend to drive like sleepy cows, and they aren’t terribly cheap, either. As it turns out, that rule holds true across all current manufacturers in the US, and at the end of the day, we decided that AWD and fuel economy were mutually exclusive attributes, so long as we also wanted a car that wouldn’t bore us to sleep on our daily commutes.

And so I shifted our search to rear-wheel drive sedans and wagons. I initially was eyeing BMW’s 3 series sport wagon, but was still underwhelmed with the fuel economy, even as I loved the looks and utility. I perused offerings from Volvo, Ford and Audi as well, but nothing caught my eye. Finally, looking at ratings on Fuelly and FuelEconomy.gov, I found out that, for three years (2009-2011), BMW imported their vaunted 3 series diesel into the US. It didn’t come in AWD, and it didn’t come in a manual, but it did advertise 36 MPG on the highway.

Wait, what?

Surely that was just manufacturer hyperbole! But no, as I looked through the user reports on Fuelly, drivers were routinely averaging 31-32 MPG, even with somewhat spirited driving habits. Okay, but it can’t be any fun to drive, right? Well, that depends. Do you like more torque than a Hemi-powered Ram pickup, with handling a smidge better than an E46 M3? YES PLEASE!

The numbers on this car defy imagination. The 265 horses and grin-inducing 425 lb-ft of torque press your eyeballs back in your head as the motor growls its way through its moderate rev range. The sound of the inline six is distinctly BMW, but it just doesn’t work so hard as its gas-sucking brother, the 335i. The result is a motor that is equal parts civilized and rowdy, and with diesel noise so subtle you have to concentrate to hear it. And the handling. Oh, dear sweet baby Wilhelm, the handling! The electronic steering is light and precise, the front suspension sure-footed, the cornering balanced and solid. In short, it handles like a 3 series, and like they always have since time immemorial.

And since we bought it pre-owned, all of that came to us, with a factory warranty out to 100,000 miles, wrapped in a $35,000 bow. That’s about the same price we would’ve paid for a similarly equipped, CPO, Subaru WRX STi. SOLD! Our credit union sealed the deal by locking us in at an outrageously good interest rate, and almost before we knew it, we were signing papers and taking delivery.

Those of you who have known me for a long time will know that I am a big car guy, and an unabashed BMW fanboy. I’ve been one ever since I worked for a couple years as a driver for a dealership who sold them, and fell in love with the sound, the feel, the handling, and the driver-centric ergonomics. But never did I imagine that I’d own one, and certainly not so relatively early in life! Since we picked it up, I’ve been alternating between pinching myself and counting my blessings. This car is several dreams come true, all at once.