[AP]

Here is my 1300 mile follow on review of my G30 540ix msport.
Original review here:-
http://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1410290


With 1300 miles under my belt I feel I can give another review and have had time to get to know some of the features in more detail.

Current mileage 1302
Best fuel consumption seen 40.4 mpg (imperial) (motorway trip)
Worst fuel consumption seen 21.2 mpg (short around town trip)
Average fuel consumption 33.1 mpg


Having passed 1200 miles, I’m starting to push the car more and the engine is a real beauty.

Overall impression.
My overall impression remains in that this is a big improvement on the whole over the F10.
The overall impression is how quiet and refined the car is. The engine is so smooth and when driven accordingly, is quite frugal (for such a heavy and powerful car)
I am impressed with the VDC / EDC even with 20 inch wheels. I’m not going to describe it as floating on a cushion of air because it certainly isn’t. It is however smoother than the msport suspension with 19 inch wheels on my previous F10. All but the worst bumps are absorbed. I don’t know whether the tyres are a later generation or not that is adding to this improvement.

I’ve listed some features below in more detail that are worth commenting on.

Steering.
I’ve got used to this but where I feel it’s not good is at lower speeds where there is too much assistance in my opinion. Whilst I can see it might make sense for parking, it is apparent when say slowing down from a fast road to say a roundabout where your speed drops and as you turn, the steering wheel can feel light , particularly in comfort mode when it (steering) is not in sport mode.
It does weight up nicely at speed though. I’ve set ECO PRO individual to have the sport steering (ie the heavier steering) and also for the sport individual mode as well but comfort mode cannot have this option set.(Why not BMW?)
I prefer the heavier steering in general although there is something artificial about it that I can’t put my fingers on. Would Xdrive be in the equation here, having not driven a car with any power going to the front wheels for a long time, is this what I’m detecting?
Despite these comments, It is still enjoyable to drive and I really am being fussy as I still think the steering on the E39 I had was really good. A tough act to follow.


Lane assist
Having now used this quite a bit, the conclusion I’ve come to is that there is room for improvement.
If used as it is intended, i.e. with your hands on the steering wheel, it can act as an aid to dull monotonous motorway driving. In those scenarios, it is fine.
If in the inside lane it has on a few occasions tried to follow the slip road off the motorway requiring a gentle correction. It also tends to track more to the left of the lane rather than in the centre which is what I’d prefer.
I tend to use it more for the fun factor although it’s of more use if say selecting some music on the I-drive and browsing folder on my USB drive. Having it engaged just gives you that piece of mind that the car is still in the lane and won’t wander off. I’m not saying take your eyes off the road, but you get my point!


Traffic jam assist
This I think is really where the system excels. As well as working on the motorway, it works on road where there are no lane markings. So on a 30 mph road where there was stop start traffic, I had ACC and lane assist on. The HUD was displaying the lanes markings as grey, i.e. it has not detected any.
The car would then stop and start and move but more importantly, simply follow the car in front. (I assume the stereo cameras are responsible for this). You not prompted to put your hands on the wheel for quite some time, so in this scenario, you really can just sit back and let the car take the strain in arguably the most boring type of driving there is. I really like this feature and I think this is much better than the lane assist on the motorway.
If you spend a lot of time in heavy traffic, specifying this may well make a difference.
I think the lane assist gets all the attention but this feature I’d argue it does better and I coule possibly argue is of more benefit.

Emergency braking.
I have had only to date had one occasion when the car applied the brakes as it thought a crash was about to occur. It wasn’t but I do see how it came to that conclusion. It gave me a bit of a fight, I got a beep and then the car braked heavily. I put my foot on the brake as well and as soon as I had done that, control was back to me and that was it.
I was leaving Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge along a long road. On the side of the road were cars parked on the grass advertising a forthcoming event. As I entered the curve ahead, there was a car parked on the grass facing me and I can only assume the car assumed that this car was heading straight for me so the car applied the brakes.


Satnav update position in bad coverage area.
With remote services, as long as you have GPS tracking ticked in the idrive, it will update your position so it can be seen on your phone. I park my car in a garage where there is bad reception so occasionally , it will not update the position when the car is switched off.
I’ve also found that if via remote services you send the car a destination, if the car is in a bad reception area, it does not receive this message and nor does it appear to pick it up later once you are in a good reception area. It works well if the car is and have used this a few times now and see this a s a good feature. As remote services is just £60, I personally think this is a no brainer and is probably the cheapest option you can buy for the car! It is better value than the display key which is still sitting in a draw at home!(It loses it’s charge over about a month so a reminder to myself to just put it in the car every month or so to keep the battery charged – leaving it with a flat battery won’t be good for the battery)


Tyre pressure displays

I do like this feature but I particularly like the way that it accounts for temperature so if the recommended tyre pressure displayed when the car has just started is say 2.7bar, after the tyres have warmed up it will state that the recommended is 2.8bar. So if you have to top up the tyres whilst the tyres are warm, it gives you the adjusted figure catering for that fact.

Speed limit assist
I’ve tried this briefly but don’t expect to use this going forward. This reads the road signs and if the speed limit changes it allows you via the toggle switch on the steering wheel with one press to set that new speed limit without having to manually set it. In the I-drive you can also add an increment to it of up to 9mph as well. The speed limit symbol in the HUD is also displayed with a green circle around it as well when this feature is enabled in the I-drive. I prefer to set it manually at present.

Road sign detection
Car reads the posted speed signs ok. It even reads stop / give way signs as well. It seems to alert you to these if you speed is deemed too high. If you approach slowly, it does not alert. (At least in my experience)
It has however not picked up on the no overtaking sign which I thought it would do. Can anyone in the UK comment on that? Have you seen any warning for this on the instrument cluster / HUD?

Gear selector
Only recently tried this and found the tactile feel of this and step backwards from that in the F10 (and E39 for that matter). In the F10 it was smooth but in the G30 it feels more like a sprung switch. Just doesn’t feel as nice in my opinion, not as tactile in it’s movement.

Boot
Just a minor criticism, but do miss the small underfloor storage that the F10 provided. For small objects it means they don’t roll around in the enormous boot.

Comfort seats
It took me a few weeks to get these where I was happy. But once there, they are superb. In terms of value, I think they are easy to justify if you were thinking of adding full electric and lumbar support to the other seats, for that price, you might as well have comfort.
I didn’t specify Nappa leather and have “just” Dakota but am perfectly happy with these.

I-Drive



Very pleased with this. Haven’t felt the need to touch the display to use it, just use the control wheel / buttons or shortcut buttons as per F10.
I like the rainfall radar application.

Adaptive LED lights.
I have yet to try these, but with Winter approaching, I look forward to trying these out.

Verdict
Get one! This really is such a good car and any criticisms I’ve listed are really minor. No car is perfect (well perhaps the legendary E39….) and this really is such an improvement over the F10 in my opinion. I find it hard to see how they can improve on this.

It really feels like a premium product, I think the colours I’ve chosen add to this to produce what looks like a classy quality product.

In summary the features I’m impressed with

Engine
VDC/EDC
Comfort seats
Remote Services – in particular sending destinations to the car.(Get this instead of the display key)
Tyre pressure display
Traffic Jam assist

[Nivarox]

Thanks for your sharing your experiences with the car
It's great to see you're a very ha customer
Happy Driving

[mobilejo]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. User reviews count for much more than press IMHO.

Great to hear you are enjoying the car!

[nsa100]

I also feel the gear selector is not as good in the F10/11. It feels cheap in the hand.

Also having the G31, the load area is not finished with same quality of materials as in the F11. (same story as the cubby hole storage near the steering wheel) it has a Ford/Vauxhall build quality feel to it, unfortunately.

Time will tell how it holds up.

Overall the car has certainly moved on from the F platform in terms of technology and refinement in the engine and chassis, but I feel some of the plastics used are letting it down. I know this is probably due to cost and weight saving.

I originally ordered the Driving Assistant Plus package then decided to just chose the ACC which I had before and found it very useful in contra flows on the motorway and whilst queuing in traffic. I like the new feature where it offers you the new speed limit.

I also find the steering a little light, but I have not had chance to push it through some twisty roads yet to see how the feel is at higher speeds.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Hi AP, what's the performance like?, I have the M3 CP but it's very "road noisey" down to tyres, it does go well though.
How will this 540i hold up?. thanks

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by JOHNBMWM5

Hi AP, what's the performance like?, I have the M3 CP but it's very "road noisey" down to tyres, it does go well though.
How will this 540i hold up?. thanks

I'm keen to hear AP's opinion on this too, but I would add that I'm guessing you already know it won't be as fast as the M3

But you had a 535d also didn't you as I remember the pics - it was a lovely light blueish colour? I also had a 535d and the 540i is noticeably quicker, feels lighter and drives much more like a smaller car than the F10.

An M3 CP it is not (obviously) but people who done the BMW track experiences found very little difference in the handling of a G30 540i on regular M sport suspension when driven back to back with a 440i with adaptive M suspension in sport mode.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by mobilejo

I'm keen to hear AP's opinion on this too, but I would add that I'm guessing you already know it won't be as fast as the M3

But you had a 535d also didn't you as I remember the pics - it was a lovely light blueish colour? I also had a 535d and the 540i is noticeably quicker, feels lighter and drives much more like a smaller car than the F10.

An M3 CP it is not (obviously) but people who done the BMW track experiences found very little difference in the handling of a G30 540i on regular M sport suspension when driven back to back with a 440i with adaptive M suspension in sport mode.

I need a test drive, Listers have one on Demo, so will try and get there as soon as possible.
Yea no M3 but can't really use all the grunt in it.

[AP]

As I've been running in it's not been pushed. It have recently passed 1300 miles so am starting to see what it can offer.
As mentioned in another thread I am no racing driving so perhaps not the best source of info like this although I will mention that when I took out a 540i out for a test driveO was impressed with the Way it took off from a standstill. Dry road foot right down and no wheel slip at all. If I did that in my rwd 530d f10 it would just wheel spin , the traction control kick in and end up looking like a complete muppet!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by nsa100

Overall the car has certainly moved on from the F platform in terms of technology and refinement in the engine and chassis, but I feel some of the plastics used are letting it down. I know this is probably due to cost and weight saving.

I'm not doubting the G30/31 has moved the game on, particularly the diesel installations. I haven't driven a G30 540i yet, to see how much more refined than the F10 535i. Some have moved across from F10/11 diesels, to the 540i, will be more refined anyway. An F10 535i is more refined than the F10 530d. It is a key reason I opted for a 535i.

You mention some plastics, I also had mixed feelings with the examples I've looked at. Even with the improvements, I do question if the quality is also moving on, or are we still seeing cost cutting, which 'under the gloss' will cost us long term.

What do others observe?

[nsa100]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

I'm not doubting the G30/31 has moved the game on, particularly the diesel installations. I haven't driven a G30 540i yet, to see how much more refined than the F10 535i. Some have moved across from F10/11 diesels, to the 540i, will be more refined anyway. An F10 535i is more refined than the F10 530d. It is a key reason I opted for a 535i.

You mention some plastics, I also had mixed feelings with the examples I've looked at. Even with the improvements, I do question if the quality is also moving on, or are we still seeing cost cutting, which 'under the gloss' will cost us long term.

What do others observe?

It is the little things, that add up to an overall impression. I think the problem is the F platform was so good in terms of quality. I will give you another example....I use the paddle shifters quite a bit and in the my F11 they were nicely crafted aluminium paddles that had a mechanical action when you pulled them. Now in the G31 they have metal facing but the back of them are plastic/rubber and when you pull them feel like a playstation controller.

At least they will not be as cold to touch come winter mornings

Again the button that opens the centre console is plastic that you can rock about, the F11 had a nice silver metal like button.

There are sharp edges to the plastic of the leading edge of the trim around the gear selector where it frames the sliding door cover for the cup holders. The cup holder draw does not latch open and unlatch to close everytime easily.

Even the Park button on the gear selector has a sharp corner in the lower left that I feel in my hand.

At least I have found a use for the god awful cubby hole near the steering wheel........It is a great place to store a microfiber cloth so I can give the shiny black plastic trim a polish whilst waiting in traffic

Makes me wonder why I bought the car ?????? But overall I do like it just feel like they have saved COSTS as well as weight

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by nsa100

It is the little things, that add up to an overall impression. I think the problem is the F platform was so good in terms of quality. I will give you another example....I use the paddle shifters quite a bit and in the my F11 they were nicely crafted aluminium paddles that had a mechanical action when you pulled them. Now in the G31 they have metal facing but the back of them are plastic/rubber and when you pull them feel like a playstation controller.

At least they will not be as cold to touch come winter mornings

Again the button that opens the centre console is plastic that you can rock about, the F11 had a nice silver metal like button.

There are sharp edges to the plastic of the leading edge of the trim around the gear selector where it frames the sliding door cover for the cup holders. The cup holder draw does not latch open and unlatch to close everytime easily.

Even the Park button on the gear selector has a sharp corner in the lower left that I feel in my hand.

At least I have found a use for the god awful cubby hole near the steering wheel........It is a great place to store a microfiber cloth so I can give the shiny black plastic trim a polish whilst waiting in traffic

Makes me wonder why I bought the car ?????? But overall I do like it just feel like they have saved COSTS as well as weight

How do you find the performance and economy?, thanks.

[morellomax]

Having taken the car doors and dash apart to install speakers, I think that actual build quality of the interior is about the same as in the F10, maybe slightly better. Perceived quality is a tough one - some textures and surfaces and design details are better, some are worse, but none would be decisive factors for me either way. Yes there's a bit too much glossy black plastic now, but it's not Merc levels of gaudiness.

Now I've lived with the G30 for a bit, I don't miss anything on my F10. Maybe I would like the analogue dials back, but the digital version is very well done, with very little excess light bleed at night (which was my main worry).

If we ignore all the fancy new tech (which seems mostly pointless and bores me to tears !) then the only areas in which the G30 is definitely better are (i) handling/ride quality compromise (ii) NVH. Fortunately those are the only 2 areas that niggled me on the F10. That's based on running exactly the same tyres on the new car as on the old, with almost identical weight rims.

[nsa100]

Originally Posted by JOHNBMWM5

How do you find the performance and economy?, thanks.

So far I have done around 500 miles on mixed driving mainly motorway and seeing around 28.5 mpg average.

When I filled up the tank last time it showed around 400 miles to empty.

I have started opening her up a bit now.

The initial get away is good but of course it has x drive which helps, then it's a bit mediocre in the mid range compared with the F11 535D I had. Once it gets into it's stride it does fly........but I suppose because you have more rev range compared with a diesel. I am hoping once the engine loosens up a bit more it will be better. I think I need the MPPSK when it comes out for the G31 for a bit more power and noise.

Does anybody know if they do actually install a new Torque Converter on the MPPSK, and why?

Again my dealer is dragging his heels on this, he tells me it will be out December.

The drive line feels like a little 'squishy/rubbery' on the up shift, but then I have been driving my F10 M5 with DCT

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by nsa100

So far I have done around 500 miles on mixed driving mainly motorway and seeing around 28.5 mpg average.

When I filled up the tank last time it showed around 400 miles to empty.

I have started opening her up a bit now.

The initial get away is good but of course it has x drive which helps, then it's a bit mediocre in the mid range compared with the F11 535D I had. Once it gets into it's stride it does fly........but I suppose because you have more rev range compared with a diesel. I am hoping once the engine loosens up a bit more it will be better. I think I need the MPPSK when it comes out for the G31 for a bit more power and noise.

Does anybody know if they do actually install a new Torque Converter on the MPPSK, and why?

Again my dealer is dragging his heels on this, he tells me it will be out December.

The drive line feels like a little 'squishy/rubbery' on the up shift, but then I have been driving my F10 M5 with DCT

Many thanks.

[emre]

Originally Posted by nsa100

Does anybody know if they do actually install a new Torque Converter on the MPPSK, and why?

Again my dealer is dragging his heels on this, he tells me it will be out December.

Yes, they do change/upgrade the torque converter.
Apparently original torque converter cannot handle the increased torque.
At least, that is what BMW say.

I had the MPPSK installed in August by the way, why are they telling you it will be out in December.
It should be same for both G30 and G31

[nsa100]

Originally Posted by emre

Yes, they do change/upgrade the torque converter.
Apparently original torque converter cannot handle the increased torque.
At least, that is what BMW say.

I had the MPPSK installed in August by the way, why are they telling you it will be out in December.
It should be same for both G30 and G31

I would have thought so too. To be fair my dealer also said it should be the same as the G30 but they were waiting confirmation of part numbers. Maybe more Bulls**t from them.

Did they give you back the original exhaust, torque converter and bumper trim?

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by nsa100

I would have thought so too. To be fair my dealer also said it should be the same as the G30 but they were waiting confirmation of part numbers. Maybe more Bulls**t from them.

Did they give you back the original exhaust, torque converter and bumper trim?

Just what extra power are you going get?, is it worth it?.
I would want the car up at 400+ BHP.

[emre]

Originally Posted by nsa100

I would have thought so too. To be fair my dealer also said it should be the same as the G30 but they were waiting confirmation of part numbers. Maybe more Bulls**t from them.

Did they give you back the original exhaust, torque converter and bumper trim?

Yes, they gave back all three parts. I did not take them though

I asked them to keep the parts for a while, I wanted to see how I like the exhaust sound in this period (highway, city, long trips, stop&go traffic etc)

After a week, I decided I would never want to go back to stock exhaust and called the dealer to say I am not taking the original exhaust and bumper trim back. Same for the torque converter.

[nsa100]

Originally Posted by JOHNBMWM5

Just what extra power are you going get?, is it worth it?.
I would want the car up at 400+ BHP.

I agree just worried about warranty if I went JB4 or Racechip.

I think around 460 BHP is the sweet spot, but were not allowed the M550i or M550d

[nsa100]

Originally Posted by emre

Yes, they gave back all three parts. I did not take them though

I asked them to keep the parts for a while, I wanted to see how I like the exhaust sound in this period (highway, city, long trips, stop&go traffic etc)

After a week, I decided I would never want to go back to stock exhaust and called the dealer to say I am not taking the original exhaust and bumper trim back. Same for the torque converter.

Thanks emre, at least it is true that they change the torque converter. Do you notice any difference in the drive train with the new torque converter?

[emre]

Originally Posted by nsa100

Thanks emre, at least it is true that they change the torque converter. Do you notice any difference in the drive train with the new torque converter?

No, not really.
I am no expert though