Help my Father In Law choose a BMW :)

Dis86 · 12 Oct 2015 at 20:47

[TW]Fox;28675887 said:
It's not more powerful - the last 330i had 272bhp.

It's also 4 cylinder, which for the sort of person who'd have wanted a 330i may not be enough irrespective of how quick it is.

Ok, correction is that it's quicker. Largely due to the car being a lot lighter. Although on checking even that varies depending on the source!

[TW]Fox · 12 Oct 2015 at 20:55

Dis86 said:
Ok, correction is that it's quicker. Largely due to the car being a lot lighter.

It's the same weight.

The reason why it's quicker is the same as the reason why the 528i is quicker than the 530i - the 4 pots have lower peak power but more torque.

But for the some reason that some people wouldn't want a new 330i, some people still picked the more expensive, slower and thirstier 530i over the faster more efficient 528i - they were sold alongside each other for 2 years - because there is more to a car than performance.

A 4 cylinder simply cannot offer the refinement and inherent smoothness than a 6 cylinder can in this type of car.

Dis86 · 12 Oct 2015 at 21:48

[TW]Fox;28676007 said:
It's the same weight.

The reason why it's quicker is the same as the reason why the 528i is quicker than the 530i - the 4 pots have lower peak power but more torque.

But for the some reason that some people wouldn't want a new 330i, some people still picked the more expensive, slower and thirstier 530i over the faster more efficient 528i - they were sold alongside each other for 2 years - because there is more to a car than performance.

A 4 cylinder simply cannot offer the refinement and inherent smoothness than a 6 cylinder can in this type of car.

You sure? Everything I'm looking at has at least a 50 kilo kerb weight saving between equivalent cars so a four cylinder against six should offer great savings.
I do appreciate the refinement point however.

[TW]Fox · 12 Oct 2015 at 21:51

Dis86 said:
You sure? Everything I'm looking at has at least a 50 kilo kerb weight saving between equivalent cars

There is no equivalent to compare in this way, the last 330i was an E90/92 and it was never offered as an F30.

Dis86 · 12 Oct 2015 at 21:59

[TW]Fox;28676253 said:
There is no equivalent to compare in this way, the last 330i was an E90/92 and it was never offered as an F30.

Compare equivalent 320i's. Look up weight for f30 328i. Look up weight for e90 330i.

[TW]Fox · 12 Oct 2015 at 22:02

Dis86 said:
Compare equivalent 320i's.

The E90 320i and the F30 320i were not the same engine.

Look up weight for f30 328i. Look up weight for e90 330i.

They are different cars...

The only useful comparison will be the comparative weights of otherwise identical cars fitted with both the N53 and the N20. To my knowledge this is purely the 2011-2013 F10 5 Series. This appears to be 1710kg for the N53 engined car and 1685kg for the N20 engined car - in other words, no real difference.

hurfdurf · 12 Oct 2015 at 22:11

[TW]Fox;27925231 said:
You'll get a better car for your money and it's more useful than the Coupe and he's probably grown out of having the flashest car in McDonalds carpark anyway.

Dont be so sure, this is someone who is willing to spend £20k on a car with the only caveat being it be a BMW...

Burned_Alive · 13 Oct 2015 at 13:23

Dis86 said:
Have you heard it? It sounds rather good

The x28, yes. I suspect it would be near impossible to demo a 330i but from reading around it seems people have the same complaints with the newer engine.

Also, I was being slightly facetious anyway. Spending this kind of money, it would have to be a 6cyl car. I would definitely sooner opt for the 330d 6cyl than the 330i 4cyl despite the 2k price difference and at current pricing you might as well get the 340i because while the 330i is £3.5k cheaper, the 330d, 335d and 340i are all around the same price (£29-30.5k).

[TW]Fox · 13 Oct 2015 at 13:26

I never thought I'd agree but I also found myself preferring my 530d to any of the 4 cylinder turbo engines I've driven - annoyingly I can't seem to catch an N20 but I've tried them from other manufacturers and I have to say, its quite an achievement to get a petrol engine to sound more soulless than a diesel but they've all managed.

Which is a real shame because on paper a 528i M Sport sounds like an ideal trade.

Blackhawk47 · 13 Oct 2015 at 13:49

A 3.0 litre diesel has soul then?

[TW]Fox · 13 Oct 2015 at 17:49

Blackhawk47 said:
A 3.0 litre diesel has soul then?

Yes, thats definitely what I said above.

djjuk · 13 Oct 2015 at 20:17

50k in my F30 330D.....My soul has never been so full.

lee1101 · 14 Oct 2015 at 20:33

Been looking at new now through one of the brokers. What would you consider the must have options to spec? The list is endless

looking at 3 or 420i M Sport.

[TW]Fox · 14 Oct 2015 at 20:50

Xenon headlights (Standard on a 4 Series, optional on a 3 Series), Automatic Gearbox and Professional Media Package are the essential options. Everything else is nice to have rather than absolutely essential.

lee1101 · 14 Oct 2015 at 20:54

[TW]Fox;28684111 said:
Xenon headlights (Standard on a 4 Series, optional on a 3 Series), Automatic Gearbox and Professional Media Package are the essential options. Everything else is nice to have rather than absolutely essential.

Excellent thank you

Burned_Alive · 14 Oct 2015 at 22:35

I think the Professional Media Package is standard on the 4 series now.

[TW]Fox · 14 Oct 2015 at 22:40

It seems you are right. Standard even on a 420i M Sport.

Meanwhile it's still a cost option on a £55,000 550i M Sport :rolleyes:

lee1101 · 31 Oct 2015 at 10:40

Well I tried my best to push him into a petrol but failed

He's picking up a 218d today. He seems very happy with it and it's got a good spec, and the right colour (Estoril Blue) so I guess that's all that matters!

Thanks for the help anyway!

muon · 31 Oct 2015 at 11:22

How much?

Dis86 · 31 Oct 2015 at 11:34

All show, even less go