Can I have it all - probably not. 430d / 640d?

Jonnycoupe said:
XF is now a 5 series competitor
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It could barely compete with the model discontinued a year after it came out let alone the current one. It'll take more than a facelift to fix that.

The last time the XF was a credible 5 series competitor was 2007-2010 when it was a genuine alternative to an E60.
 
In UK no PHEV has pretty much killed it company car wise anyway, meeting RDE2 first for diesels was kinda of not relevant. However I don't know what your view is (if you have looked closer at model details) but the entry price significantly undercuts 5series - plan there is P11d is lower I guess with less shift from the retail price.

The only bit that hasn't significantly changed is the chassis but that didn't really need fixing - i mean it now has integrated Spotify app too!

Regardless, not in the scope of this thread discussion anyway if talking new cars so I'll leave it there.
 
I've got the Skoda due a service on Thursday which is at a Skoda garage in the middle of a few dealers including a Jag dealer, can't hurt to go take a spin whilst I'm waiting. There's a Carshop too so I can have a look around a few different cars to get a feel for what I actually want.
 
Small update - I've taken on board a couple of comments and tried to broaden my horizons. I've started to lean towards a BMW 430D. I quite like the look of the 2 door over the 4 door. It seems to tick a lot of boxes with the additional power and still will do a decent MPG. The specs looks really nice as I'd be looking at more than a basic one. Anything I should be aware of? I'm off to test drive one later, not in the spec I'd have but I thought more to get a feel for how it drives?
 
MR_Punk said:
Small update - I've taken on board a couple of comments and tried to broaden my horizons. I've started to lean towards a BMW 430D. I quite like the look of the 2 door over the 4 door. It seems to tick a lot of boxes with the additional power and still will do a decent MPG. The specs looks really nice as I'd be looking at more than a basic one. Anything I should be aware of? I'm off to test drive one later, not in the spec I'd have but I thought more to get a feel for how it drives?
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From what I read, you definitely want adaptive dampers as the ride can be too harsh otherwise. The BMW adaptive LEDs are excellent too if you do a lot of late night driving :)

The HK system on 3/4 series is significantly improved compared to a 1/2 series and is worth having if you listen to a lot of music.

Make sure you go for the pro nav (widescreen) on a 2015 car or newer, as it allows for retro fitting of Apple CarPlay into the system without any hassle :)
 
MrRockliffe said:
From what I read, you definitely want adaptive dampers as the ride can be too harsh otherwise. The BMW adaptive LEDs are excellent too if you do a lot of late night driving :)

The HK system on 3/4 series is significantly improved compared to a 1/2 series and is worth having if you listen to a lot of music.

Make sure you go for the pro nav (widescreen) on a 2015 car or newer, as it allows for retro fitting of Apple CarPlay into the system without any hassle :)
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Excellent advice - thanks!
 
MR_Punk said:
Excellent advice - thanks!
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No worries - can always be a mind field!

I wouldn’t write off an A5/A4 (Avant) either. It won’t be as fun, but they’re typically better cruising cars, and their Diesel engines are, from what I’ve read and heard, quieter too :-) It’ll still be rapid but perhaps a little more suited to high mileage
 
I would caution against adaptive dampers without a test drive. I don't think they are as good as people say they are unless you also have the full Adaptive Drive system with the active anti rollbars etc, which is not offered on the 4 Series. Adaptive Dampers don't, IMHO, give you M Sport suspension handling when you want it and SE level ride quality when you don't. It's sort of a worst of all worlds approach but your thoughts may differ. I don't think the ride quality on an M Sport 4 Series is particularly bad especially with decent tyres. It's certainly not Audi S-Line level.

Options wise, LED headlights will be a product of whether the car is a facelift or not - pre facelift cars have Xenon lights, post facelift LED. They are non projector LED lights and IMHO do not offer a credible performance increase over Xenon lights. I wouldn't get hung up on this because it's not like driving, say, a new 3 Series with the LED lights which are incredible. What is good though is the High Beam Assistant which on the 4 Series with both Xenon and LED lights have the intelligent beam splitting function. As someone else mentioned do not waste your time with a car without Pro Nav. The regular one makes the interior look crap.

The engine in the 430d is excellent. I am not a diesel fan but I've now had two cars with this engine in and it continues to amaze me just how good it is. It sounds alright, it goes really well and it's efficient. It works so well with the ZF8HP gearbox its difficult to think of a better combination until everyone started to go mad about diesel cars. It's quick, efficient and pleasant to drive. I really like mine.

As for alternatives - if the A4/A5 is the previous generation model then ignore it. It's dated and horrible. The current version of both are good looking cars with decent interiors - the 4 Series interior is unfortunately its weak point, its pretty crap, so if interior asthetics are your thing then the A4/A5 is worth a look especially as the Audi virtual cockpit beats anything BMW offer on the 4 Series by absolutely miles. The downside is that generally the engine/gearbox combination in the A4/A5 is materially worse than the BMW.

A 430d M Sport will be much more interesting to drive than an A4/A5 S-Line. But the A4/A5 will be a nicer place to sit. The infotainment system on the BMW is, though, virtual cockpit aside, better.

So, in summary, buy a 530d instead, which goes as well as a 4 Series, doesn't handle much worse, is nicer built, has a better interior and the same electronics system.

There we go ocuk, first time in about 4 years I've actually told someone to do that despite the fact people go on about me doing it all the time :D
 
MissChief said:
Why not go all the way, 435D?
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Because all it offers is more power - the 430d isn't slow at all and the 435d is only available as an X-Drive, which means its only available without M Sport suspension. This means it doesn't drive as well or handle as well, but is a bit quicker. But when the 430d hits 60 from rest in 5.4 seconds just how much faster do you need?

I'd far rather have an RWD M Sport suspension fitted car than an XDrive.

Most of the benefit of the more powerful diesel BMW's is at illegal speeds in the UK rendering them largely pointless. It's very much a different story in Germany, where they really come into their own, but of course we don't live there, so by the time they start to shine you're looking at being arrested :p
 
The thing is with most cars, including diesels the economy totally goes out of the window at speed.
You you actually have to drive 60-70 mph to get an acceptable figure.
So it sort of defeats the object of having a performance one.
Our petrol civic 1.0 will probably match or beat most diesel cars at 80mph.
 
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SkodaMart said:
The thing is with most cars, including diesels the economy totally goes out of the window at speed.
You you actually have to drive 60-70 mph to get an acceptable figure.
So it sort of defeats the object of having one.
Our petrol civic 1.0 will probably match or beat most diesel cars at 80mph.
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That I’m not sure about. A 1.0 civic will likely be pulling 4K rpm at 80mph. An 8 speed 430d will likely be 3k Max. And getting better mpg too.
 
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