Looking for something more comfortable - £10k

Skellz · 24 Jul 2016 at 21:38

Currently have an E90 330i M sport (56reg) and it's been fun for 2 years but I'm getting a bit tired of the ride quality and the (IMO) naff manual gearbox.

My journey's consist of mostly town and A road driving, barely any motorways. So fuel economy is at ~24mpg at the moment, which is not great but it's not a massive issue for me. I have been looking at the diesel alternatives but the lack of decent soundtrack always puts me off :rolleyes:

I'm thinking about going with an auto (I know

) and need something that is more comfortable on our poorly maintained roads and doesn't feel like your constantly getting shaken about. Not looking for a barge as i'd still like something sporty.

Is there anything in the £10k category that would give a a step up in comfort without lacking excitement? I'm mostly looking at ~3.0L options both petrol and diesel, German marques.

What are the SE model's like in comparison to M sport for example? I thought about a E63 630i but I'm not convinced.

Rilot · 24 Jul 2016 at 22:02

Jag XF?

acemastr · 24 Jul 2016 at 22:13

You don't have runflats do you?

SE is much softer than the M sport btw

Skellz · 24 Jul 2016 at 22:20

I had not thought of the Jag XF's, what are they like in terms of reliability?

I made sure to take run flats off when i bought it, have Contisport 5's on.

[TW]Fox · 24 Jul 2016 at 22:31

acemastr said:
SE is much softer than the M sport btw

This depends entirely on the car in question. My F10 SE is barely any softer than my Dad's F11 M Sport despite both having the same size wheels. Infact I'm increasingly struggling to see what the SE suspension brings to the table. I would not expect a 630i SE to be noticeably softer than a 630i Sport (There is no E63 M Sport).

Skellz · 24 Jul 2016 at 22:47

[TW]Fox;29824088 said:
This depends entirely on the car in question. My F10 SE is barely any softer than my Dad's F11 M Sport despite both having the same size wheels. Infact I'm increasingly struggling to see what the SE suspension brings to the table. I would not expect a 630i SE to be noticeably softer than a 630i Sport (There is no E63 M Sport).

I guess then that an E92 SE would be barely any different to what I have currently?

Would the E63 be noticeably softer and smoother though than what I've got, or not worth it?

[TW]Fox · 24 Jul 2016 at 23:01

I had an E92 M Sport and it was awful ride quality wise. Never driven anything else as bad bar the original Z4

Skellz · 24 Jul 2016 at 23:05

[TW]Fox;29824204 said:
I had an E92 M Sport and it was awful ride quality wise. Never driven anything else as bad bar the original Z4

I had a Z4 prior to the 330i and i sold it about 5 months later as the ride was unbearable, as was some of the build quality.

Housey · 24 Jul 2016 at 23:07

[TW]Fox;29824088 said:
This depends entirely on the car in question. My F10 SE is barely any softer than my Dad's F11 M Sport despite both having the same size wheels. Infact I'm increasingly struggling to see what the SE suspension brings to the table. I would not expect a 630i SE to be noticeably softer than a 630i Sport (There is no E63 M Sport).

The reviews were right. The car really needs active ride, it transforms the ride, it's much better. I never liked the ride on mine, it was fidgety and frankly on some roads a smash bang wallop experience. Most of the time it was OK, but on occasion it would bang and crash and it always annoyed me. The active car I drove removed all of that and actually felt better to push too. Expensive, but if I was buying again I would insist on it.

Housey · 24 Jul 2016 at 23:08

Skellz said:
I had a Z4 prior to the 330i and i sold it about 5 months later as the ride was unbearable, as was some of the build quality.

Terrible steering too, lifeless.

flinco · 24 Jul 2016 at 23:16

I find my 330i SE to have a comfortable ride, even on run flats. It is unpleasant going round a corner at any speed though.

Given that your 330i has likely done quite a few miles at that age and will have tired suspension, one option could be to replace the shocks and springs with up rated components. From what I've read, the M Sport shocks were never brilliant to begin with and have a poor ride compared to higher quality aftermarket parts.

Agreed on the manual gearbox being very poor. A clutch stop is worth trying, a £5 part that reduces the travel of the clutch pedal, along with a shorter gear knob and removing the clutch delay valve. Minor modifications that significantly improve the gear change feel.

Skellz · 24 Jul 2016 at 23:40

It's on 93k at the moment so i'm sure they probably want replacing really but I'd rather look at getting something different ideally.

Rilot · 25 Jul 2016 at 06:06

Skellz said:
I had not thought of the Jag XF's, what are they like in terms of reliability?

I made sure to take run flats off when i bought it, have Contisport 5's on.

XFs are no worse than any other mid-range car from a premium brand (bar Lexus). Reliability Index puts it about the same as the E90/E92.