Diesel do nicely
This is a small, expensive diesel estate. Actually, it’s a small, Alpina estate; a rare-groove manufacturer with quite the following. The last generation of Alpina D3 (the ‘F30/F31’ BMW 3-Series) sold... 373 cars in the UK. What you might affectionately term ‘it’s still moving on my plate’ rare.
This D3 S is based upon the quietly magnificent M340d Touring xDrive, so you might question the logic behind spending more for essentially the same thing, because it’s not exactly spitting out loads more power. Alpina’s tweaks to BMW’s 3.0-litre diesel amount to a ‘high performance’ cooling system, liberating 350bhp (vs 335bhp in the M340d). Torque is up too: 538lb ft in the D3 S, vs 516lb ft in the M340d.
The suspension set-up is carried over wholesale from the faster, harder-charging petrol-powered B3 (a car with 450bhp and a proper M Division engine), and there’s new gearbox software to work with the tweaked diesel sixer, a new Comfort+ mode – said to offer near ‘imperceptible’ gearshifts – and a revised torque split for the 4WD system that’s more rear-biased.
Small but significant changes that add up to make… a wonderful car. It feels reassuringly hefty with a sense of quality oozing through all the touchpoints. There’s a lovely balance to the steering that gives it accuracy without feeling buzzy. The ride is expertly judged, too: Comfort+ allows the D3 to breathe a little easier over tougher surfaces without sacrificing the BMW’s inherent handling traits. You could do thousands of miles in this thing without flinching. You’d probably need a pee at some point, mind.
In Sport+ mode it moves and turns with a surprising amount of grace; surprising when you consider this D3 S weighs 2,010kg. And though you’d have to be a walking algorithm to notice the power hike between this and the ‘regular’ M340d, it’s still a mighty unit. The delivery is seamless, akin to a nat-asp car. Aim at horizon, squirt, arrive, boom.
Yes, Alpina doesn’t sell many – Lambo did more sales in one year than the old D3 did in five. So it’s a small, expensive, cool diesel estate that’s rarer than a Lambo.