BMW and M Power Owners
- Thread starter panthro
- Start date
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Whereas I wouldn't at all, the E92 is too old to be spending that sort of money on. The additional performance doesn't interest me.
I can't imagine why you'd end up with a 'higher mileage' F10 at £35k though, none of the £35k ones are high mileage. You can get them new for not much more!
I can't imagine why you'd end up with a 'higher mileage' F10 at £35k though, none of the £35k ones are high mileage. You can get them new for not much more!
Soldato
Okay boys - got 20k to spend on a BMW 3 or 5 series. Having never owned one before - what can I get for that? Could goto 25k for the right car.
Primarily family car - trips away, to and from work. I saw a nice 320d M sport in the local garage that they want £23495 with about 20k miles on it. (has parking sensors and automatic, two things i want)
Primarily family car - trips away, to and from work. I saw a nice 320d M sport in the local garage that they want £23495 with about 20k miles on it. (has parking sensors and automatic, two things i want)
What do you want? You could get a virtually brand new 3 Series for that budget - infact you could get an actually brand new 3 Series if your engine and option tastes are modest.
If you just want 4 cylinder diesel, your budget affords you 2011-2013 520d's as well.
If you just want 4 cylinder diesel, your budget affords you 2011-2013 520d's as well.
[TW]Fox;26495966 said:
My double garage has 2 skinny single doors. The folding mirrors help the wife not wreck them. And I find myself occasionally parking in tight spaces / streets. So worth the money to me.
535i surely? But no, as fox said, £35k should buy you a nice low mileage 535i. Probably even a nice low mileage 550i if you could find one. Wouldn't dream of dropping that sort of coin on a e series anything.
That budget should see you in a nice 530d. Perfect car for family duties, at least I find mine is.m I absolutely love it, and is the only car I've ever had where I think I'll be happy with it over the full payment term.
Otherwise, you can't be far off a new 320d M-sport from drive the deal or similar.
My order of preference
- 5 Series Touring
- 5 Series GT
- 3 Series Touring
If you want something fun to drive then get the 3 Series; it's lighter and so doesn't need a mega engine to move it and also doesn't handle like a boat.
The 5 Series Touring fits nicely between the 3 and 5 GT. Higher quality interior, more space but more expensive to run.
Soldato
I dont mind spending a bit extra, im coming from a 2012 Merc SLK 200 so anything is going to feel massive compared to that!
Caporegime
Looking forward (not!) to the drive home in my e46 later, it decided to bake me on the way to work this morning, despite the climate control being set to 16 deg C - the lowest it'll go - and the A/C on, the inside was as hot as hell!
My last e46 did this same thing also (always in summer too!) :/
Out of curiosity, do BMW still use the FSR / "hedgehog" thing on their later models?
I'm yet to have one that's not gone awry over my years of ownership of various BMW's from 3's to 7's. It strikes me it's a poor design that fails across the board, you'd think they would have fixed it by now, surely?
My last e46 did this same thing also (always in summer too!) :/
Out of curiosity, do BMW still use the FSR / "hedgehog" thing on their later models?
I'm yet to have one that's not gone awry over my years of ownership of various BMW's from 3's to 7's. It strikes me it's a poor design that fails across the board, you'd think they would have fixed it by now, surely?
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Soldato
So I collected my M235i, with 2,000 Miles on the clock, last Monday and have finally had a chance to drive it enough to warrant writing something other than "its red!"
Exterior
So lets get the bit that could have bothered me the most over with 1st, the colour, its Melbourne Red, and to be honest I love it. Its only the 2nd red car I've owned and I wouldn't have bought it if it was a fire engine red or as my Mum so nicely put it "tarts lipstick...", where the Melbourne red is very much like the Kyantie blue I had on my XFR where it changes a lot dependent on the light. I like the overall proportions of the coupe a lot, and given its resemblance and size are very similar to the E46 Coupe I'm not really surprised as I liked that car. Not sure about the silver wing mirrors yet, I may swap for a set of either body coloured or carbon at some stage but I'm in no rush. I'm very pleased with the wheels and like the colour of them as it sets the red off very nicely.
Interior & Tech
Coming from the XF I must say its a obvious downgrade, but then its still a very nice place to be. The seats are comfy and I can get a low enough seating position without compromising rear leg room. The overall control surfaces and the pieces your interact with are of a very high quality, and its nice to see BMW have stopped making the wheel so thick with the new design, which is pretty much perfect. My kids can happily sit in the back, and having tested it I'm sure I could transport 4 adults quite happily with enough leg room in the back to not feel too squashed. I'm glad I went for a car with the full electric memory seats as it means that I can have a specific setup and my wife can have her own, as I like to sit very low and flat, where she prefers to be a bit higher.
My car has a very high spec with most options ticked, including the pro nave and EBT. to that end the iDrive system has a bewildering array of options and settings. I've changed from my Android based Sony Xperia Z2 today to a iPhone 5S and have the integration of apps to be significantly better. Being able to use and manage Deezer for streaming, Amazon Music and the native music app straight from the main screen is brilliant and has made the swap worth while in my view. The Nav system works perfectly, and all other functions are there, just need to spend some time sat in it with the manual to make sure I get the most from it. I do like being able to send addresses to the nav before leaving the house and also starting the ventilation system 5 mins before I go out to the car. One thing I have been very impressed by is the voice control, as I've finally used a system that a, works and b, does useful things, like being able to select specific tracks on my iPod just by saying them. So much better than the old stupid system that all it could manage was switching between the phone and the nav...at best. The Harmon Kardon was a must coming from the XF's with their B&W systems, and whilst not quite up to the top spec systems its a very good combination and does a great job with the types of music I listen to, offering plenty of base whilst not drowning out the vocals etc.
The reversing camera was a must have had it on my XF's and it works in pretty much identical fashion, as you'd expect. The active suspension system is great, doing a good job on day to day driving and then in sport stiffening the car up killing most body roll. Ride wise its similar to what the XF did on 20's so more than acceptable.
Drive Train...
Finally the bit that was one of the biggest draws for me to the car, the combination of the sublime s6 turbo 3.0 engine and the massively impressive 8 Speed ZF box. These work in combination to give the car a true day to day feel whilst allowing you to turn into a total hooligan when your in the mood. The throttle response is very good, and the power delivery allows my wife to drive it without feeling intimidated, yet if you really press it hard the thing lights up. The speed and fluidity of the gear change is on par with the Jag implementation and for me suites the engine very well. I drove over to Cambridge today and on the round trip averaged over 36MPG with a number beginning with a 4 before my detour into MK to do the phone swap which didn't help matters, what with all the roundabouts and chances to use the sports mode
I also had a minor detour round some back roads on the way to go karting on Saturday night and it was a blast down those with sport mode and manual gears engaged...
I do love the noise, and so do my 2 girls, who've grown up on an diet of flat 4's, straight/v 6's and supercharged v8s with my youngest telling me to make it loud all the time...It doesn't help the economy but to be perfectly honest tell that to somebody who cares 
Overall Opinion
So the bottom line I guess is that, even though I was very sad to say goodbye to the XF. the M235i has put a smile on my face, is costing me less to own and run and does everything I want from I car, I'm falling in love with it the more I drive it. I've even had a few friends comment on what a great looking car it is which is always nice, particularity when its not the ones who are petrol heads...As it stands today I'll hang on to this for 2-3 years (HA like I've said that before) then look at the M2/M3 as the natural replacements, unless the Jag XE-R has arrived then that might change my prospective...
Exterior
So lets get the bit that could have bothered me the most over with 1st, the colour, its Melbourne Red, and to be honest I love it. Its only the 2nd red car I've owned and I wouldn't have bought it if it was a fire engine red or as my Mum so nicely put it "tarts lipstick...", where the Melbourne red is very much like the Kyantie blue I had on my XFR where it changes a lot dependent on the light. I like the overall proportions of the coupe a lot, and given its resemblance and size are very similar to the E46 Coupe I'm not really surprised as I liked that car. Not sure about the silver wing mirrors yet, I may swap for a set of either body coloured or carbon at some stage but I'm in no rush. I'm very pleased with the wheels and like the colour of them as it sets the red off very nicely.
Interior & Tech
Coming from the XF I must say its a obvious downgrade, but then its still a very nice place to be. The seats are comfy and I can get a low enough seating position without compromising rear leg room. The overall control surfaces and the pieces your interact with are of a very high quality, and its nice to see BMW have stopped making the wheel so thick with the new design, which is pretty much perfect. My kids can happily sit in the back, and having tested it I'm sure I could transport 4 adults quite happily with enough leg room in the back to not feel too squashed. I'm glad I went for a car with the full electric memory seats as it means that I can have a specific setup and my wife can have her own, as I like to sit very low and flat, where she prefers to be a bit higher.
My car has a very high spec with most options ticked, including the pro nave and EBT. to that end the iDrive system has a bewildering array of options and settings. I've changed from my Android based Sony Xperia Z2 today to a iPhone 5S and have the integration of apps to be significantly better. Being able to use and manage Deezer for streaming, Amazon Music and the native music app straight from the main screen is brilliant and has made the swap worth while in my view. The Nav system works perfectly, and all other functions are there, just need to spend some time sat in it with the manual to make sure I get the most from it. I do like being able to send addresses to the nav before leaving the house and also starting the ventilation system 5 mins before I go out to the car. One thing I have been very impressed by is the voice control, as I've finally used a system that a, works and b, does useful things, like being able to select specific tracks on my iPod just by saying them. So much better than the old stupid system that all it could manage was switching between the phone and the nav...at best. The Harmon Kardon was a must coming from the XF's with their B&W systems, and whilst not quite up to the top spec systems its a very good combination and does a great job with the types of music I listen to, offering plenty of base whilst not drowning out the vocals etc.
The reversing camera was a must have had it on my XF's and it works in pretty much identical fashion, as you'd expect. The active suspension system is great, doing a good job on day to day driving and then in sport stiffening the car up killing most body roll. Ride wise its similar to what the XF did on 20's so more than acceptable.
Drive Train...
Finally the bit that was one of the biggest draws for me to the car, the combination of the sublime s6 turbo 3.0 engine and the massively impressive 8 Speed ZF box. These work in combination to give the car a true day to day feel whilst allowing you to turn into a total hooligan when your in the mood. The throttle response is very good, and the power delivery allows my wife to drive it without feeling intimidated, yet if you really press it hard the thing lights up. The speed and fluidity of the gear change is on par with the Jag implementation and for me suites the engine very well. I drove over to Cambridge today and on the round trip averaged over 36MPG with a number beginning with a 4 before my detour into MK to do the phone swap which didn't help matters, what with all the roundabouts and chances to use the sports mode
I also had a minor detour round some back roads on the way to go karting on Saturday night and it was a blast down those with sport mode and manual gears engaged...
I do love the noise, and so do my 2 girls, who've grown up on an diet of flat 4's, straight/v 6's and supercharged v8s
with my youngest telling me to make it loud all the time...It doesn't help the economy but to be perfectly honest tell that to somebody who cares Overall Opinion
So the bottom line I guess is that, even though I was very sad to say goodbye to the XF. the M235i has put a smile on my face, is costing me less to own and run and does everything I want from I car, I'm falling in love with it the more I drive it. I've even had a few friends comment on what a great looking car it is which is always nice, particularity when its not the ones who are petrol heads...As it stands today I'll hang on to this for 2-3 years (HA like I've said that before) then look at the M2/M3 as the natural replacements, unless the Jag XE-R has arrived then that might change my prospective...
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Soldato
Sounds good! I really hope the m135i/m235i don't become massive walletaches when they get older as they will be an epic used buy in 4-5 years for those of us that can't stomach the massive depreciation of buying new/nearly new.
Soldato
Looks amazing, and i'm glad to see BMW are still developing iDrive in a way that makes it more useful.
Only thing that frustrates me is what you said about the Android/iOS integration with the car. I wouldn't want to switch to an iPhone, and shouldn't have to, just to get it to integrate with the car fully. With Android dominating the smartphone market with 80% (which is set to continue increasing), why are BMW still catering for the 20%? I note that Audi, Mercedes, Honda, GM group and Hyundai have all signed with Google for the open alliance, but it's annoying that BMW haven't - because i don't like Audis, Hondas, GM's or Hyundais
Only thing that frustrates me is what you said about the Android/iOS integration with the car. I wouldn't want to switch to an iPhone, and shouldn't have to, just to get it to integrate with the car fully. With Android dominating the smartphone market with 80% (which is set to continue increasing), why are BMW still catering for the 20%? I note that Audi, Mercedes, Honda, GM group and Hyundai have all signed with Google for the open alliance, but it's annoying that BMW haven't - because i don't like Audis, Hondas, GM's or Hyundais
Soldato
Looks amazing, and i'm glad to see BMW are still developing iDrive in a way that makes it more useful.
Only thing that frustrates me is what you said about the Android/iOS integration with the car. I wouldn't want to switch to an iPhone, and shouldn't have to, just to get it to integrate with the car fully. With Android dominating the smartphone market with 80% (which is set to continue increasing), why are BMW still catering for the 20%? I note that Audi, Mercedes, Honda, GM group and Hyundai have all signed with Google for the open alliance, but it's annoying that BMW haven't - because i don't like Audis, Hondas, GM's or Hyundais
I know, I found it hugely frustrating, even to use the basic app need you to jump through a number of hoops just to get connectivity and then to be missing the other apps which I knew were there for IOS just added to the annoyance.
I suspect a lot of it's down to android being an open platform, where IOS is a known factor with the hardware and iOS responding in a known way. This is apparent even with just the connected drive app where the performance is significantly better on the iPhone compared to the Z2, which isn't exactly short of raw power.
I went out in mine yesterday (was hot about 25 C). No problems really. I put the windows down and the sunroof open for 5 mins to clear the hot air inside then went onto air con with it set to 16 deg. Fan was on, but not on full after about 2 mins.
When was the last time you had the air con regassed?