Alpina D3

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Current page

173

Current page

174

Current page

175

Current page

176

Current page

177

Current page

178

Current page

179

Current page

180

The bad news? It’s a £50,000 3-series. The good? It’s amazingly versatile

Two years into its life, Alpina’s least expensive product has received the same mild facelift as the rest of BMW’s 3-series range. That was all the excuse I required to reacquaint myself with what I’d rank as not only Alpina’s best car, but the best based on any BMW, save perhaps the pure-electric i3 and i8.

The changes are largely cosmetic, but do a surprising amount to add a sense of purpose and presence to the D3. There’s a new and more pronounced front spoiler and, above, BMW’s latest, sharpest LED headlights. Do not underestimate their importance: I’ve never liked the headlights used in the 3-series and, in a car as fast as the D3, their limitations are all the more starkly apparent. You might think that being able to see properly when you’re going fast would come within the basic provision of such a car and I’m delighted to report that at last it does.

What hasn’t changed is the way this small diesel estate gets down the road. I’ve driven a few fast BMWs of late, but none has managed to offer as compelling a blend of entertainment and security. Its damping is as good as you’d ever imagine it might be in such a car, yet its ride quality on liquorice-strip side walls is implausibly good. Even the only issue that irritated me with its predecessor has been resolved: the car I drove has binned the silly steering wheel gearchange buttons in favour of a set of good old paddles.

But it is the engine that lingers longest in the mind. So long as you’re inside with doors closed, it might never occur to you that it’s fired by diesel, until of course you find yourself being batted up the road by the simply immense torque it is able to conjure at barely more than idling revs. Keep at it and the car won’t stop until it’s doing 173mph or, put another way, a single mile per hour short of the top speed of a Ferrari Daytona. Then again, it has just six fewer horsepower than a Daytona so perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised.

Yes, 50 grand is a lot to ask for a 3-series (though still less than you’d pay for an M3 or M4, neither of which is available as an estate), but when you consider the firepower, the civility and chassis sophistication it puts at your disposal, to me it represents value for money. And to cap it all it’s both rare and beautiful. Put it this way. If I lived my life another way and needed one car to do everything I required, for the money I can’t think of another that would do the job so well.

Factfile

Price £49,950

Engine 3.0 litres, 6 cylinders, turbocharged

Power [email protected]

Torque 516lb [email protected]

Transmission eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Weight 1830kg  

Power to Weight 143bhp per tonne

0-62mph 4.6sec

Top speed 173mph  

Economy 52.3mpg

CO2 143g/km