BMW and M Power Owners

Guys, as much as I'm loving my Mini I need to get something else to compliment. I want to get back into a 5 estate, as I loved my F11 and it was the perfect family car.

I'm thinking of the G31. Petrol this time, diesel just doesn't suit me.

I'm looking at a 540i, but have a couple queries.
- Are they only xDrive?
- Did they provide the 4 wheel steering option?
- Any new gadgets I should look out for, or are a must have?
- Does the LCI offer anything worth the extra cash?

Cheers :)
 
Le Clandestin Brun said:
Guys, as much as I'm loving my Mini I need to get something else to compliment. I want to get back into a 5 estate, as I loved my F11 and it was the perfect family car.

I'm thinking of the G31. Petrol this time, diesel just doesn't suit me.

I'm looking at a 540i, but have a couple queries.
- Are they only xDrive?
Click to expand...

Yes. The most powerful RWD G30 5 Series in the UK is the 530d pre LCI (The LCI is basically 300bhp but xDrive only now).

- Did they provide the 4 wheel steering option?
Click to expand...

Yes, but good luck.

- Any new gadgets I should look out for, or are a must have?
Click to expand...

on the pre LCI car, Icon Adaptive LED are a must - the stock headlights look crap and have halogen indicator bulbs, like a Mk3 Ford Fiesta.

- Does the LCI offer anything worth the extra cash?
Click to expand...

LCI guarantees iDrive 7 and Live Cockpit Professional but in reality the last 9 months or so of pre LCI also have this. Personally, I think the sweet spot for a G30 is a 2020 pre LCI with Icon Adaptive LED and iDrive 7 but you'll soon discover that you don't get much choice in the market so can't be fussy. The Driving Assistant Pro function on the LCI is marginally better than that on the pre LCI but you'll likely not find it fitted anyway so hardly relevant. The iDrive screen is a bit bigger, the styling has changed but I'd struggle to say its changed for the better. You also now can't get an M Sport with anything other than black wheels. Great.

The 540i is an interesting car - I've driven several including on long road trips. It's quick and smooth and refined and in theory absolutely wonderful - everything you'd want in a 5 Series. But it's thirsty - really thirsty. Around town it was way under 20mpg and only on a long and steady journey did it start to deliver sensible efficiency. But once on that journey it was indistinguishable from the 530d in most respects - except for how often I needed to fill it up. If you don't do many miles the 540i is the clear choice, if you do I'd question its value. Having done various trips in every model of G30 except the V8's I'd say that overall I've found that the 6 cylinder diesels are as much as 50% more efficient. Perhaps if the 540i was an M540i which brought with it more of a sense of occasion, more noise, etc, then it might be worth it, but..

..here is the controversial statement. They both drive basically the same. The autobox/engine combination is such that you don't really spend any time revving out the 540i, it isn't really that sort of car, so they both end up being cars that simply propel you smoothly and quickly to your chosen speed without any real fuss or much noise (The 540i is very muted and does not sound like a 440i!). If you don't like the way a big diesel BMW drives then its unlikely you'll be that much of a fan of the 540i either, they are incredibly similar. It is not a sports car.


So, actually, what I'd do is either:

a) Buy the diesel*
b) Buy an M340i.

* This isn't as straightforward as it seems. I'd share your nervousness over the future of diesel and it's difficult to decide whether its still a prudent purchase. This has stopped me a number of times replacing my F10 530d with a G30 530d which really basically my ideal car...

The M340i is different enough to be worth the compromise in terms of efficiency - it sounds better, it drives better, its more 'sporting', etc. It's more special and therefore worth the fuel penalty.
 
Yes basically a 5 series is a barge so petrol doesn't make as much sense as on a 3 series. but hey if you can afford a 540i you can probably a fford a few hundred quid a year on the extra fuel :D
 
So having seen the posts talking about the 640d I thought having had my 840i Cabro for over 6 months I’d share some of my thoughts.


My car is Mineral White with Black Individual Merino leather seats which are ventilated. It has just about every option except for the crafted clarity controls and the B&W sound system. It has technology pack, m sport pro pack, comfort pack, visibility pack and was fitted with the M Performance carbon fibre grills, side skirts and front wing inserts by the dealer before I bought it. It has the B58 3.0 s6 turbo engine and ZF gearbox and is the only rear wheel drive car in the 8 series range which makes it also the lightest. Its running on the optional 20” black wheels and MPS3 ZP run flats.


It came with 1000 miles on the clock when I picked it up in March this year and I’ve covered about 6000 miles since. Fuel economy has been very good and has averaged well over 40 on long journeys. It has more than enough performance and traction and handling are very very good. As it has the M Sport Pro pack installed it comes with the M Sport Diff which is fitted to the M cars, so I’ve never found the car short on grip being only rear wheel drive.


There is no scuttle shake that you can feel, and the roof is exceptional when up insulating you well form the outside world. The roof can be raised or lowered up to about 30 mph so is very usable and with the wind deflector in place the interior stays quiet, and calls can be made at motorway speeds without a problem. The 8 has heated wheel, seats, neck scarf and arm rests for both driver and passenger which makes having the roof down much more comfortable and usable and has meant I’ve used it much more than I expected. The rear seats are comfortable but there isn’t a huge amount of leg room if you have tall people in the front.


All the technology installed tends to work very well, CarPlay is superbly integrated into the dash and HUD and the touch screen makes that easily usable. Drive assist pro is superb and makes long journeys on the motorway more relaxing, particularly in queues. The laser lights are superb and enhance the standard LED lights significantly with much enhanced range on dual carriageways/motorways and the standard adaptive is very effective once you get up to the speeds where they activate. Comfort access works well automatically unlocking and locking the car and the gesture boot control is really useful when carrying bags etc. Speaking of the boot, with the roof compartment cover up it’s a decent size and has folding seats so I’ve managed to get some things much larger than expected in there (11 rolls of turf in the boot was a bit of a surprise). With the cover down there is still plenty of space for bags and shopping so it’s a pretty practical car from that perspective.


Running costs have been reasonable give the type of car it is, servicing isn’t cheap but then it’s a BMW and isn’t into the M car realms, tyres are doing well wear wise and other than washer fluid I’ve not needed to open the bonnet and its only been to the dealer to get a software update and the release for a folding seat sorted.


Overall, I’m very happy with it, it suits my needs at the moment and is a very nice car to drive and be in. My wife having an electric car means it tends to get used less as hers is used for running round town etc and given the size of the 8 it's easier not to take it to some places.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Yes. The most powerful RWD G30 5 Series in the UK is the 530d pre LCI (The LCI is basically 300bhp but xDrive only now).



Yes, but good luck.



on the pre LCI car, Icon Adaptive LED are a must - the stock headlights look crap and have halogen indicator bulbs, like a Mk3 Ford Fiesta.



LCI guarantees iDrive 7 and Live Cockpit Professional but in reality the last 9 months or so of pre LCI also have this. Personally, I think the sweet spot for a G30 is a 2020 pre LCI with Icon Adaptive LED and iDrive 7 but you'll soon discover that you don't get much choice in the market so can't be fussy. The Driving Assistant Pro function on the LCI is marginally better than that on the pre LCI but you'll likely not find it fitted anyway so hardly relevant. The iDrive screen is a bit bigger, the styling has changed but I'd struggle to say its changed for the better. You also now can't get an M Sport with anything other than black wheels. Great.

The 540i is an interesting car - I've driven several including on long road trips. It's quick and smooth and refined and in theory absolutely wonderful - everything you'd want in a 5 Series. But it's thirsty - really thirsty. Around town it was way under 20mpg and only on a long and steady journey did it start to deliver sensible efficiency. But once on that journey it was indistinguishable from the 530d in most respects - except for how often I needed to fill it up. If you don't do many miles the 540i is the clear choice, if you do I'd question its value. Having done various trips in every model of G30 except the V8's I'd say that overall I've found that the 6 cylinder diesels are as much as 50% more efficient. Perhaps if the 540i was an M540i which brought with it more of a sense of occasion, more noise, etc, then it might be worth it, but..

..here is the controversial statement. They both drive basically the same. The autobox/engine combination is such that you don't really spend any time revving out the 540i, it isn't really that sort of car, so they both end up being cars that simply propel you smoothly and quickly to your chosen speed without any real fuss or much noise (The 540i is very muted and does not sound like a 440i!). If you don't like the way a big diesel BMW drives then its unlikely you'll be that much of a fan of the 540i either, they are incredibly similar. It is not a sports car.


So, actually, what I'd do is either:

a) Buy the diesel*
b) Buy an M340i.

* This isn't as straightforward as it seems. I'd share your nervousness over the future of diesel and it's difficult to decide whether its still a prudent purchase. This has stopped me a number of times replacing my F10 530d with a G30 530d which really basically my ideal car...

The M340i is different enough to be worth the compromise in terms of efficiency - it sounds better, it drives better, its more 'sporting', etc. It's more special and therefore worth the fuel penalty.
Click to expand...

Thanks Fox, your in-depth reply is really appreciated as always.

I see your point regarding the cruising similarity between a diesel and petrol 5. I didn't have an issue with the way my 535d drove, in fact I mostly loved driving it, especially with the 4 wheel steering and then again after it was remapped, although it did bore me at times when I wanted to rag something - but now with the R53 I think the rag box is already ticked.

My issue with the diesel was the amount of things that went wrong, and I know you've said previously I would have had the same issues with a petrol but none of my previous petrol BMWs threw up any issues yet my 730d and 535d both gave me real headaches. So thats the main reason I'm after a petrol, and the 40i appears to be the obvious choice in that regard - unless there is a hybrid option I've overlooked?

Going sporty with the 340i instead of the 540i I think negates the main functionality of a family estate - room and comfort. Although I understand your perspective, and perhaps before having kids I would have definitely swayed to the sportier option or waited for the estate M3, but after having the usability of the F11 I doubt I could shrink to a 3 series. Also 5's are so much better overall, ignoring the sporty aspect.

Since I stopped working a few years back I don't cover the nearly 200miles a day as before so I'm fine with the larger petrol. It's mainly going to be used as a school run car and family holiday bus (both domestic and europe).


Spec wise, thanks for the options :) Does the iDrive 7 offer much over the previous gen? I only ask as there doesn't seem to be many 540is about so might have to compromise certain aspects. I think I may get any I find with 4 wheel steering (for me) and a panoroof (for the kids) - hopefully then it'll have Icon LED and comfort access etc. too.

I guess not having RWD isn't that big a deal really, xDrive seems fine in the wife's I suppose so should be fine for a family barge. Oh man, I think I'm growing up... :(
 
Le Clandestin Brun said:
My issue with the diesel was the amount of things that went wrong, and I know you've said previously I would have had the same issues with a petrol but none of my previous petrol BMWs threw up any issues yet my 730d and 535d both gave me real headaches. So thats the main reason I'm after a petrol, and the 40i appears to be the obvious choice in that regard
Click to expand...

I think you were partly unlucky with that 535d - thought it was a fairly old/high mileage example. The 3 litre diesel is probably the most reliable engine in the F10 range - that isn't to say they don't go wrong, more that none of the other engines are inherently more reliable. Both petrol and diesel six cylinder engines are turbocharged 3 litre direct injection engines. There is no real reliability difference here at all. I think if you it's down to chance which will be more or less reliable not down to engine choice.

Back in the old days this wasn't the case - the petrol engines were less complex and therefore there was less to go wrong. My 530i had no turbo, no high pressure injection system, no high pressure fuel pump. Despite this it is the most unreliable BMW I've ever owned but it was also the oldest and highest mileage one too and it's this that was the issue not its fuel type.

If anything the 540i adds more failure points because it has xDrive which not every 530d does.

That said you really do want a 5 Series and really don't care at all about fuel usage then the 540i is a wonderful thing. But so to is the 530d - a real shame we don't get the 540d here, because the 540i is also a bit quicker than the 530d too. But if you like touring, especially Europe, you'll find the massive fuel tank range of the diesel combined with generally lower diesel prices in Europe will be very useful. I have never driven a better grand tourer than a diesel G30. Absolutely amazing at the job.
 
F90 M5 vs Competition model query.

I get that the competition has had a nip, tuck and general firming up, but are there any LCI changes that should put me off the humbler version?

Im starting to enjoy a more relaxed approach these days, so I think the softer version appeals more (and its cheaper). Anyone driven both and care to comment?
 
naefeart said:
True, I’m a bit out of touch with those now. I was looking for a more balanced view perhaps. Still the meaningful LCI changes question should be valid here, I know Fox knows these off by heart :D
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The LCI is only available as the Competition but from what I know from friends who have them the LCI has a better suspension setup which carried over from the M8 Comp.
 
ChrisD. said:
When I did briefly look at the F90 I preferred the non LCI dials and other bits about it. Never got around to driving either though.
Click to expand...

The dials didn't change with the LCI, they are the same as the pre LCI MY20 ones. I agree the older ones look better but functionally I think the new ones are more usable.
 
First long drive in the M3 on Monday, cruise control mostly set to 75 and I managed 30 mpg which considering the car is not too bad. Had a few full throttle parts when joining motorways or to frustrate the Golf R driver so I think I can get more if I wanted.
 
ChrisD. said:
First long drive in the M3 on Monday, cruise control mostly set to 75 and I managed 30 mpg which considering the car is not too bad. Had a few full throttle parts when joining motorways or to frustrate the Golf R driver so I think I can get more if I wanted.
Click to expand...
:cry: 'just getting up to motorway speed dear', obviously preceded by slowing as much as possible before you hit the slip road?
 
dLockers said:
:cry: 'just getting up to motorway speed dear', obviously preceded by slowing as much as possible before you hit the slip road?
Click to expand...
Obviously. :cry:

The MPSS really do need a lot of temperature in them to start working. Looking forward to changing them but BMW fitted new tyres all round before I bought it as part of the AUC check so they’ll be on for some time.
 
J1nxy said:
It would have been cars built after July 2019 as thats when they tick over to to MY20 cars
Click to expand...

Ok, that’s useful to know. The one I’ve a deposit on was registered Aug 2019, but I don’t know when it was built.

I think I’m ok with the non comp suspension, it sounds less pointy but also less harsh.
 
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