G31 540i or 530D?

[mast3r]

Morning lads and lasses,


All the best for 2021!

I am here again looking for some advice if i may, i have now narrowed the new car down to the G31; ruling out the XC90, Q7 and another A6 Avant (cant stand the E class or XF)

So with this in mind i am looking for a 17/18 plate G31 but really cant choose between these two engines.

I really do miss the 5pot Petrol of my old Focus ST BUT my 3ltr Quattro A6 has been totally fine - Fast, decent economy (easy 45s on a run and 30/32 round town with a 36.6MPG over 23,500 miles)

I have done a fair few business miles over the previous few years but that is about to change with a role change this year which will see me more office bound with a commute of about 4 miles with a 1/2 mile dual carriageway blast.(each way)
We have two dogs and two kids so need the touring, also, i do a lot of fishing so every other week im out on a decent run on a sunday and finally we go camping a few times a yeart with our trailer tent so needs to be a tower.

MOT Miles -
2016 - 2017 = 7,422Miles
2017 - 2018 = 8,700Miles
2018 - 2019 = 9,291 Miles
2019 - 2020 = 11,121Miles (this is based on 18 Months with the 6month MOT extension)

I do fancy the sound of the Petrol engine and i fancy the economy of the Diesel engine.

The 540i Touring are few and far between - 9 listed on autotrader! some decent 530d's on there.

I suspect that most will say go for the 540i but i do remain curious.

Hit me!

Cheers

 

[mast3r]

How important is the performance and economy to you? Have you considered the plugin hybrid?

I need the Touring mate and not prepared to spend that much

 

[mast3r]

I am fortunate enough to have driven significant mileage in G30/G31/G32 with every engine option except the V8 petrols and the plugin-hybrid. I am a big fan of them.

The bottom line is that all of them are absolutely excellent and won't disappoint you.

540i: Smooth and refined. Doesn't sound as amazing as you may have expected (The sound is quite muted), but very quiet at idle and around town. It's quick, obviously. It is also quite thirsty - around town I was getting as low as 16mpg and on a very long Motorway run it settled down to an average of about 35mpg. Part of this will be because it is only available as an XDrive over here.

530d: Not quite as smooth or refined of the 540i but it's amazingly not that far off. The engine is quiet and unobtrusive for a diesel. It's also quick, it isn't a million miles off the 540i really. It is however exceptionally efficient - I've averaged 50mpg on long trips under the same usage conditions as the 540i above, so it really is materially more efficient. This makes it a fantastic very long distance car as it has tremendous range, is efficient and yet is still quick and refined.

It's actually a difficult decision. In my opinion, the 530d is the better car. The engine suits the purpose of the G30 absolutely perfectly - a crushingly competent, refined long distance cruiser. However the market in the UK is turning increasingly anti diesel and your annual mileage doesn't look significant. These two factors would lead me to consider a 540i over a 530d, although when you're on a run its difficult to shake the feeling that the 540i is just doing exactly what the 530d does but chewing a lot more fuel in the process. But that is where we are now - diesel is becoming unacceptable and there is risk involved in purchasing. But with your usage most of the benefits of the 530d will be lost on you, so I think a 540i is probably a better choice.

A shame, as I think the latest 6 cylinder BMW diesels are the finest ever made. But for you, I'd probably go 540i - in theory.

Why in theory?

Because in practice, buying a 5 Series is a complete pain. The majority of the used ones you will find will have one or more glaring specification omissions. Eventually you'll get so fed up of trying to find one that has actually useful equipment like ICON LED lights and not stupid black 20 inch wheels that you may find it is the level of equipment that dictates which one you get, rather than the model. So, I'd seek out a 540i but potentially be prepared to compromise with a 530d if you need to.

I've toyed with the idea of replacing my F10 530d with a G30 540i now my mileage is much reduced but every time I look I find a whole pile of cars that are either missing important options I'd want or are crazy priced. You need about 30k for a good one (or a good 530d!) and yet this seems to buy you a 3 year old car? This seems like too much really for a 3 year old 5 Series - I appreciate it was 5 years ago now but my 11 month old 530d was rather less than that.

Which brings me to another point - have a look at the 6 Series GT. It is essentially a G31 with an even bigger boot and loads of things fitted as standard. They all have proper lights as standard, for example. Plus because the styling is a bit challenging for some, they are an absolute bargain. They are generally much cheaper than the equivalent 5 Series despite being basically a 5 Series plus. My Dad picked up a 630d GT at a year old from a main dealer for the price of a 2-3 year old 530d Touring. Bargain. They do a 630d and a 640i, so again both engine options are available to you.

For myself, I have concluded that an M340i is probably the more sensible way to go. I don't know if this would work for you given the smaller size, but they are generally better optioned and feel like better value than the G30 540i. Disappointing really as I have had 5 Series for what feels like for ever, but there we go.

Had a quick look on AT and this one stands out as being reasonable spec and a main dealer car but... it's over 3 years old, 50k miles and still the wrong side of £30k. Seems like excessive money for a 3 year old car to me?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008202721105?postcode=pl11aa&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&model=5 SERIES&year-from=2017&sort=price-asc&include-delivery-option=on&body-type=Estate&make=BMW&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&aggregatedTrim=540i&page=1

Thanks for the detailed response fox. Ill have a look at the 6 but not a massive fan