BMW Auto Questions

triggerthat

triggerthat

triggerthat

Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2005
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Location
London
Hi guys,

Dad is looking for a facelift 330D E46 sport manual and wanted to know how good are the auto boxes?

Finding a sport manual is quite tough and was wondering any BMW communities you recommend I should check out?

Thanks :)
 
i guess it will completely depend on his driving style and how much it will be driven.
if its going to be a motorway mile muncher then and auto will feel great, if its going to be an about town with some country roads thrown in sort of car, it will feel crap.

the auto's are actually really good :]
 
Manual it is, then! It seems a sport manual is hard to find!

What changes did they make after 2003? What changes did they make to the engine and is it noticable?
 
Morba said:
i guess it will completely depend on his driving style and how much it will be driven.
if its going to be a motorway mile muncher then and auto will feel great, if its going to be an about town with some country roads thrown in sort of car, it will feel crap.

the auto's are actually really good :]
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Around town i always think autos are really nice? stop start traffic is far more pleasant than in a manual because its less faff?

I'd agree about country roads though, manual for the win.
 
bobert50 said:
Around town i always think autos are really nice? stop start traffic is far more pleasant than in a manual because its less faff?

I'd agree about country roads though, manual for the win.
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if you are talking driving through london during peak hours (or any busy city for that matter) i would agree, its a god send, if we are just talking driving around towns at normal hours in normal traffic, a manual is more than fine :]

also, autos are proper fuel drinkers!!
 
Morba said:
i guess it will completely depend on his driving style and how much it will be driven.
if its going to be a motorway mile muncher then and auto will feel great, if its going to be an about town with some country roads thrown in sort of car, it will feel crap.

the auto's are actually really good :]
Click to expand...

Does not compute. On the motorway, stick it in top and don't touch the gear until you get off again. In town, constantly faffing with the gears and rapidly gets irritating after about 30 seconds or so.

On a slightly unrelated topic, why don't the German makers use CVT boxes now?
 
Clarkey said:
Does not compute. On the motorway, stick it in top and don't touch the gear until you get off again. In town, constantly faffing with the gears and rapidly gets irritating after about 30 seconds or so.
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I have to agree (Theres a first!), his reasoning seems a bit back to front. Town is exactly where an automatic is at home, whereas on the Motorway unless you are sitting on the M25 at rush hour it really is a case of engage 5th until you get off the Motorway again, perhaps the ODD change down through the box at congested bits, but not enough to make you think you wish you had an Auto.

I'm quite looking forward to living with an auto for a month next month - my previous auto experiences have been test drives and 1-2 day loan car affairs. I wonder if my opinion on them will change.
 
the bmw auto 'boxes are very good, especially when mated to the 6 pot diesels.

my dad had to get one on his latest 5 due to a knee issue and we were sceptical at first, but it really suits the engine well.

bung it in D and cruise along, or use the manual shifts to accelerate away while the car holds the revs at peak torque. that kind of acts like a CVT i guess :p
 
Found the manual shifting on my 525D SE a bit notchy at times? never failed to engage gears but sometimes second gear was a bit of a PITA when cold.
 
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