BMW 123d or alternative

Imy · 2 Oct 2012 at 15:37

Howard said:
I don't have to try particularly hard Motorways are boring whether you're doing 70 or 120MPH so I tend to just sit back and relax in stress-free fuel-saving comfort.

That's one way to look at it. Mine is more along the lines of the quicker I go, the shorter the period of boredom

Anyway if all this guy is after is a motorway cruiser with economy in mind, does it really matter if it's not very powerful? Don't people buy diesels to do exactly that type of journey?

sigma · 2 Oct 2012 at 15:39

Imy said:
That's one way to look at it. Mine is more along the lines of the quicker I go, the shorter the period of boredom

So you shouldn't really be surprised that other people can get better economy!

Howard · 2 Oct 2012 at 15:40

Imy said:
That's one way to look at it. Mine is more along the lines of the quicker I go, the shorter the period of boredom

Anyway if all this guy is after is a motorway cruiser with economy in mind, does it really matter if it's not very powerful? Don't people buy diesels to do exactly that type of journey?

You'd only save about 10 minutes doing 100 miles at 70 as opposed to 90mph so you might as well save the money

Yes that's what diesels are designed for, and good at (decent ones, anyway). I'd still rather have a nice petrol though! But as I said earlier, this isn't me suggesting the OP buys an ST220, merely musings

rodenal · 2 Oct 2012 at 15:49

sigma said:
It's for a female driver, she's happy with an Ibiza 1.4 for power, so a 118i will be quite an upgrade. She wants a 'nice car'.

Also considered a Focus but the BMW is 'nicer'.

If it's for a female then you have no chance here, just buy/ tell her to buy it!

sigma · 2 Oct 2012 at 15:55

rodenal said:
If it's for a female then you have no chance here, just buy/ tell her to buy it!

There doesn't seem to be a huge difference (according to the MPG figures that I can find) between the 118 and 120, but then which spec? SE, Sport?

Imy · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:03

Howard said:
You'd only save about 10 minutes doing 100 miles at 70 as opposed to 90mph so you might as well save the money

You'd save 19 minutes

Howard · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:08

Well I'll leave 19 minutes earlier and save about £5 then

naefeart · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:16

rossk26 said:
I highly doubt the 123d will get 55mpg...

I've got essentially the same engine in a 3 series and I've seen high 40s on a run. I haven't tried to squeeze out more and my engine isn't even run in yet.

Imy · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:23

£9.22 to shave 38 minutes off a 200 mile roundtrip.... ummmm

rossk26 · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:23

naefeart said:
I've got essentially the same engine in a 3 series and I've seen high 40s on a run. I haven't tried to squeeze out more and my engine isn't even run in yet.

So you've "seen" high 40's, but have you averaged anywhere above 50mpg yet?

I'm sure you could achieve 55 sitting at 60-70 on the motorway with ease. But on an average cycle 55 will be very hard to attain in a 123 if it's unachievable in my brothers 116d

rossk26 · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:24

Imy said:
£9.22 to shave 38 minutes off a 200 mile roundtrip.... ummmm

What do you achieve in those 38 minutes? Sat on the sofa watching TV?

Howard · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:26

Imy said:
£9.22 to shave 38 minutes off a 200 mile roundtrip.... ummmm

In reality it's not going to be that clear-cut is it? You won't be doing 70 or 90mph constantly unless you drive in the dead of night with no other cars around, and you'll use more fuel speeding back up to 90mph from 70 or 65 because you've had to slow down.

Anyway this is silly

Imy · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:27

rossk26 said:
What do you achieve in those 38 minutes? Sat on the sofa watching TV?

Usually would mean an extra 38 minutes in bed. Even more realistically, I've already overslept and then the choice is mute

Obviously the sensible thing to do is allow plenty of time for a journey and either pocket the £9 or have a nice pub lunch.

naefeart · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:31

rossk26 said:
So you've "seen" high 40's, but have you averaged anywhere above 50mpg yet?

I'm sure you could achieve 55 sitting at 60-70 on the motorway with ease. But on an average cycle 55 will be very hard to attain in a 123 if it's unachievable in my brothers 116d

The problem is people's 'average cycle' will differ greatly. Some D3 BT owners have reported 47-49 mpg average cycle - the BMW combined figure is around 51-52. What I have noticed from driving several 120d and 123d hire cars is that they all seemed to achieve different results. I see your point, but that result is only from your brother's car. I'm just sayin' is all.

rossk26 · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:36

naefeart said:
Some D3 BT owners have reported 47-49 mpg

All that means to me is, they have something to shout about that they achieved 47-49. Which makes the 55 figure even more unattainable..

At the end of the day, the guy shouldn't be doing his working out based on the derv 123 doing 55. Same could be said for the 135 doing near mid 30's. More real world figures would help him decide if dirty diesel is better than the petrol.

Hades · 2 Oct 2012 at 16:41

How about £12k on a Golf mk5 GTI Edition 30 and save the rest? Lots of room in the back compared to a 1 series. Not as good economy as the diesel but better than a large engined petrol.

Ev0 · 2 Oct 2012 at 17:04

Not that it's that relevant as its a different car and engine

but I averaged around 54/55 mpg in a 318d over 5 months usage.