[Gmoney El Nene]

Originally Posted by JD2005

It is a damn good spec. What made you go for the 540i? Was it the brute engine force or something else.

Originally Posted by JD2005

It is a damn good spec. What made you go for the 540i? Was it the brute engine force or something else.

it was the smoothness and power of the engine. I also felt like the ride was also smoother than the 530. The extra weight makes the car more substantial. Ok I'm a power whore. The 550 felt too murderous. My wife often drives my car and yeah, she would kill herself or come home with a million tickets as opposed to the tens of thousands she brings now. :

Keep in mind that I had to have AWD. I drove the Lexus GS350 fsport (great handling. Not enough power or transmission-6 speed), Audi A6 competition very nimble but slower and felt old), Benz E300 (don't like boat interior not enough engine) Infiniti q50s redsport (felt fast as hell but too small). The 540 was just right.

[JD2005]

Originally Posted by Gmoney El Nene

it was the smoothness and power of the engine. I also felt like the ride was also smoother than the 530. The extra weight makes the car more substantial. Ok I'm a power whore. The 550 felt too murderous. My wife often drives my car and yeah, she would kill herself or come home with a million tickets as opposed to the tens of thousands she brings now. :

Keep in mind that I had to have AWD. I drove the Lexus GS350 fsport (great handling. Not enough power or transmission-6 speed), Audi A6 competition very nimble but slower and felt old), Benz E300 (don't like boat interior not enough engine) Infiniti q50s redsport (felt fast as hell but too small). The 540 was just right.

"Extra weight"? Is the 530d that nuch heavier then?

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by JD2005

"Extra weight"? Is the 530d that nuch heavier then?

He's in the States so he must mean 530i, not 530d. The 540 will be heavier upfront due to the extra cylinders. By how much I can't say.

I'm guessing that he likes the more substantial feeling of the heavier engine

[JD2005]

Ah i See. You got a 540 Jo? What made your mind up on the engine?

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by JD2005

Ah i See. You got a 540 Jo? What made your mind up on the engine?

I had an F10 535d, and although the G30 530d is brilliant (I test drove one and it sold me on the G30), I couldn't take the step back from 313bhp to 260bhp. The 540i was basically the only engine that was more powerful than what I currently had. If they did a 540d over here, I might have gone straight for it without even looking at the petrol. But there was no such choice so it was the 540i by default really.

Besides that, I only do about 8-10k miles a year and a lot of short journeys, so a petrol kind of suits my profile anyway. "

[JD2005]

Ah ok. Maybe i should change and get the petrol then. Will have to find out what the impact on the schedule will be in the morning....

[Gmoney El Nene]

Originally Posted by mobilejo

He's in the States so he must mean 530i, not 530d. The 540 will be heavier upfront due to the extra cylinders. By how much I can't say.

I'm guessing that he likes the more substantial feeling of the heavier engine

Yes I did mean the 530i and not the D. Diesels are still not as popular in the states.

[Gmoney El Nene]

Originally Posted by JD2005

Ah i See. You got a 540 Jo? What made your mind up on the engine?

The effortless power. The inline six almost sounds electric. It's more of whirl than a growl. The extra acceleration was also effortless. There was also less NHV. Different enough to notice to me at least. I am a bit of a speed freak.

[morellomax]

Originally Posted by JD2005

Ah ok. Maybe i should change and get the petrol then. Will have to find out what the impact on the schedule will be in the morning....

Did you switch ? Will be interesting to see what happens to road tax in the Budget and what the implementation date is...

[JD2005]

Originally Posted by morellomax

Did you switch ? Will be interesting to see what happens to road tax in the Budget and what the implementation date is...

No. Called the dealer and they said it was too late as it was scheduled for production...i thought it changes were possible until prod actually started but hey ho im happy with the diesel. I think with the extra power the missus might kill someone/herself!