BMW and M Power Owners

[TW]Fox said:
The BMW X3 M40d and M40i are the direct competitors to the Audi SQ5. The X3M Competition is a level above this to which there was no equivalent Audi. It is considerably more expensive to buy and run, but offers significantly greater performance. Personally, my view is that the X3 M40d or M40i offer more than enough performance and reasonable ownership costs. If you could benefit from the extra the X3M Competition offers then you'd probably already know and wouldn't be asking.

The SQ5 is a diesel so the X3 M40d is the obvious alternative.

The facelift for the X3 was 2021 which offered a redesigned interior to make the dashboard look a bit more like the 3 Series - previous versions had a slightly older design of dashboard. Another important (or not, depending on what matters to you) change was late 2019 when the X3 gained iDrive 7 with the much better fully digital dashboard.
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Many thanks for your detailed reply, it reassures me that my novice interpretation of the comparisons with the SQ5 were reasonable.

I do not think the X3M Competition model offers me any benefit that I could take advantage of.
My driving style is not fast or reckless and I have no desire to burn rubber at traffic lights, I simply like the feel of a reasonably powerful SUV that has a quality build about it.
I think the X3M Competition model might also be a few bands higher up in insurance compared to an X3 M40 or SQ5 (quoted £1050 fully comp for SQ5).

My understanding from reading a little on it is that the M40i and M40d have firmer suspension and heavier steering than the SQ5?
This is not a bad thing for me as I found the SQ5 steering to be very light on a few test drives so the plan will be to test drive a couple of M40's to see how they feel.

The 2021 or 2022 models of the M40 would seem to be within budget which allows me to look at post facelift models.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Don't forget it has a 40 litre fuel tank as well. I find the 60 litre one on mine annoying enough.
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Coming from a Fiesta I don’t think it’d bother me that much :p

I also rinse through fuel in my Boxster


But you’re right in that it is another appealing aspect of the 320d. Trip to Edinburgh and back on a single tank is doable.



I’m in discussion with BMW about one which is well specced for £21,500.


Wish it had a sunroof but they’re seemingly very rare.


Main thing is that it has to have a 69 plate :cool:
 
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Cristian said:
I know it used to be Castrol back in the day (as written on my E46 cap) and then switched to Shell for a good few years but the brief googling I've done said that at least for Europe it's recently back to Castrol as of 2024?
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This is what I mean, its hard to keep track... Accountants are dictating everything now.
 
Bint Box said:
Many thanks for your detailed reply, it reassures me that my novice interpretation of the comparisons with the SQ5 were reasonable.

I do not think the X3M Competition model offers me any benefit that I could take advantage of.
My driving style is not fast or reckless and I have no desire to burn rubber at traffic lights, I simply like the feel of a reasonably powerful SUV that has a quality build about it.
I think the X3M Competition model might also be a few bands higher up in insurance compared to an X3 M40 or SQ5 (quoted £1050 fully comp for SQ5).

My understanding from reading a little on it is that the M40i and M40d have firmer suspension and heavier steering than the SQ5?
This is not a bad thing for me as I found the SQ5 steering to be very light on a few test drives so the plan will be to test drive a couple of M40's to see how they feel.

The 2021 or 2022 models of the M40 would seem to be within budget which allows me to look at post facelift models.
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From my experience (have had a 2021 M40i for nearly a year) - with adaptive suspension, in comfort mode it is pretty relaxed (even with 21" wheels). The same goes for steering, it's very natural and easy in comfort mode but if you dial everything into sport then it all firms up as you'd expect.

I can't really fault the car to be honest, I said goodbye to a 2seater sports car as we were expecting our first child and this has made for a fun-when-needed but practical family car that's got all the tech you'd expect from a premium SUV.

For what it's worth, we also test drove a SQ5 and the cabin felt a lot more cramped than the X3
 
hartgeh3 said:
Has anybody bought aftermarket TPMS sensors? Looking for some for F13 LCI 640D, messaged 3 on ebay who list them then say they haven't got any for the car!
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Check what brand makes them and see if you can get some on AutoDoc. I would also check BMW, sometimes they're cheaper than other places for little bits, not sure about sensors tho.
 
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Right its almost time to order the replacement for my BMW X5 45e (company car) and the obvious choice is the new X5 50e with more power and more range.

However my broker emailed me yesterday with an offer on an XM which i can get on lease for less than the 50e will cost.

I know its a marmite car and clearly BMW haven't been selling them but its a £160k car vs a £90k for less money per month. And I am A Yorkshireman and I love bargains and getting more for my money. I could even put the £4k Bowers & Wilkins stereo upgrade on and it would still be less money per month than the X5 50e.

It basically has all the options that an x5 could have, fitted as standard plus a few more like the textured illuminated headliner and the aged leather on the dash and doors and seems a lovely place to be sat inside but could I live with the outside looks? The inside does seem to be a step up in luxury over the x5.

I mean the 480 bhp 4.4l V8 S68 engine and overall combined with the 197bhp electric motors giving a total of 653bhp and 800nm torque is very appealing as well. 0-60 of 3.8s with a lovely v8 soundtrack.

So it would be nice to have a V8 hybrid, maybe the last chance before they are ditched but would/could you live with a car which looks like this? If so what colour option and wheels would you go for please?

I have removed the gold outside trim already. No cost option!

With gold as standard!




Configure your perfect BMW

Configure your perfect BMW
configure.bmw.co.uk




 
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Surely the company car tax on that is going to be significantly expensive?

Or perhaps not, I've just seen the hilariously low quoted co2 figure for it!
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Surely the company car tax on that is going to be significantly expensive?

Or perhaps not, I've just seen the hilariously low quoted co2 figure for it!
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Yeah it has a great co2 and a 50+ mile EV range but to a degree you are correct in the fact since the list price is double that of the X5 50e, the car tax, although low, will be double the X5. That is a bit of a negative against it.
 
Greebo said:
Yeah it has a great co2 and a 50+ mile EV range but to a degree you are correct in the fact since the list price is double that of the X5 50e, the car tax, although low, will be double the X5. That is a bit of a negative against it.
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I think it's absolutely repulsive to look at, but if it will really cost you less than an X5 50e then it's a no brainer?
 
mjt said:
I think it's absolutely repulsive to look at, but if it will really cost you less than an X5 50e then it's a no brainer?
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Yes, the quoted lease price is £100 per mth less than the x5 50 which is mental. So like you say, its a no brainer. BUT its also absolutely repulsive which is why it isnt a no brainer anymore lol.

But trying to decide if I could live with its looks for 3 years. Afterall I will only see it when walking up to it.

But atm there are some really stupid deals around atm. Its like the Merc EQC 400 80kWh. Mercedes are knocking £40k off the lsit price so its available on a 2 year lease with 20,000 miles per annum for £477 plus VAT per month instead on the normal £1529 + vat per month.

Okay its only a 245 mile range but that will be fine for a lot of people.
 
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Greebo said:
Yes, the quoted lease price is £100 per mth less than the x5 50 which is mental. So like you say, its a now brainer. BUT its also absolutely repulsive which is why it isnt a no brainer anymore lol.

But trying to decide if I could live with its looks for 3 years. Afterall I will only see it when walking up to it.

But atm there are some really stupid deals around atm. Its like the Merc EQC 400 80kWh. Mercedes are knocking £40k off the lsit price so its available on a 2 year lease with 20,000 miles per annum for £477 plus VAT per month instead on the normal £1529 + vat per month.

Okay its only a 245 mile range but that will be fine for a lot of people.
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Drive one. If it's better to drive and more comfortable to be in than the X5, do it.
It's bigger than an X5, so that could be something to consider.
 
On this page, if you go to purchase, does it work? I get a big white box (tried different browsers/devices/5G data etc).


In the Connected Drive app it says to speak to my local dealer (it used to say the car is inllegable), I spoke to them and they said they aren't getting access to the system until the end of May. I was just curious what it would say on the website above but it's not working for me.
 
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It quotes a price for me, didn't need to log in.

I thought it would be worth a quick look as in the past, I've never found these plans to offer any value to me. I'm still not sure it does.

The pack seems to offer me a saving of around £50 over the services it covers when compared against the cost of buying each service separately. I accept that it also fixes the price at todays rate rather than whatever it may change to in the future, but I'd still want a bigger discount than that in return for paying for it all in advance.
 
It's working now. It's showing as £42.99 per month over 3 years (£1547.64 total) and would include an oil service (~£250) the spark plug service (currently ~£1000). Although it thinks I have an E90. :confused: But on those numbers it's not worth it.
 
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