BMW 435i Grand Coupe OR 440i Saloon

[bigfish]

All,

I was about to take the plunge and buy a new 435i Grand Coupe until I heard the 340i Saloon is out in July too. If the new 3 litre engine (x40i) was going into the Grand Coupe soon I think Id hold out for this

I prefer the Grand Coupe looks but also concerned about depreciation. Ok there are some good deals out there for new cars (via brokers) but I am now wondering the best option for me - esp in terms of depreciation (which I realise is more art than science)-340i v 435i?

Id also be interested in which options are "must haves" on these - I am thinking MSport pack (19" Alloys/Harmon Hifi etc) with sport auto as a minimum

Any views/comments would be really appreciated

[texasjohn]

Drive a car with 19s and decide if the ride comfort/tyre roar is acceptable to you.

I found that the 3 and 4 series were just too unrefined. The 5 series with 19s is bearable however, although it is very subjective to the individual. I have found comfort on the 19s is ok, but tyre noise is still a little louder than I'd like as I had a W211 on 18s recently which was really quite quiet, so looking to change the wheels on my car.

Much better than the E92 on 19s however.

[SBN]

Comparing 19"s on both f and e series in keen to hear your thoughts in regards to tramlining etc. I too am about to go for a 335i touring with the m sport package and am worried they will follow the road all over the place

Anyone switched from run flats to normal tyres on the 19"s found on the f30?

In regards to going for the 340i I'd personally go with the 335i. It's tried and tested, just look at the issues with the first gen 335i cars in 2007. No one touches them without having a warranty in place.

[JNW1]

SBN said:

Comparing 19"s on both f and e series in keen to hear your thoughts in regards to tramlining etc. I too am about to go for a 335i touring with the m sport package and am worried they will follow the road all over the place

Anyone switched from run flats to normal tyres on the 19"s found on the f30?

In regards to going for the 340i I'd personally go with the 335i. It's tried and tested, just look at the issues with the first gen 335i cars in 2007. No one touches them without having a warranty in place.

I've got a F31 335d and I think the ride quality on run-flats is actually pretty good! My car's on 18's rather than 19's but even with the adaptive suspension in the sport setting the ride's way better than my old E92 335i (that was on 19's but had conventional rather than run-flat tyres). I've driven a 435i on 19's and run-flats and I thought the ride quality on that was fine (better than my E92 335i albeit not as good as my F31).

Good luck with the F31 335i; I agonised between one of those and the 335d (and an S4!) and in the end the fact I was doing around 20k miles a year pushed me towards the diesel. However, the fuel economy is falling a long way short of the claimed figure (25% down as opposed to 10% down in the E92 335i) so on reflection I'm not sure I made the right call; I was really after a longer range but the combination of the shortfall to the claimed mpg figure and the smaller fuel tank in the diesel means the difference between the i and the d probably isn't enough to get excited about. If I was choosing again now I think I'd go petrol albeit probably the 340i; I think a lot of the issues with the N54 were a bit overstated and the N55 (which I had in my car) was relatively problem free. Therefore, I'd go for the later engine which will no doubt be both more powerful and more economical than the N55 - even if you're unlucky and it develops a problem it will be fixed under warranty so not really much of a risk?!

[SBN]

Im actually torn between the 330d and 335i for two reasons

1. i prefer rear wheel drive and whilst that 335d is supposed to be bonkers that xdrive can wallow a bit with and without adapative drive. So id prefer a better handling car even though that 335d is very tempting

2. I only do 12-15k miles a year.

Point 2 is my main concern because alot of my man maths is built on the mpg. My journey to work is 4 miles in town and then 8 miles on the motorway, occaissionaly i have 30-50 mile journey once a week. My fears are that a diesel just wouldnt get anywhere near the claimed figure where as the 335i would. I base this on that fact that I have a 2.0T petrol at the moment and that hits 32mpg every day on the way to work regardless of how i drive it. So because of this im moving towards the petrol rather than diesel...

[JNW1]

SBN said:

Im actually torn between the 330d and 335i for two reasons

1. i prefer rear wheel drive and whilst that 335d is supposed to be bonkers that xdrive can wallow a bit with and without adapative drive. So id prefer a better handling car even though that 335d is very tempting

2. I only do 12-15k miles a year.

Point 2 is my main concern because alot of my man maths is built on the mpg. My journey to work is 4 miles in town and then 8 miles on the motorway, occaissionaly i have 30-50 mile journey once a week. My fears are that a diesel just wouldnt get anywhere near the claimed figure where as the 335i would. I base this on that fact that I have a 2.0T petrol at the moment and that hits 32mpg every day on the way to work regardless of how i drive it. So because of this im moving towards the petrol rather than diesel...

Ah, thought you were torn between a 435i and a 440i - hadn't realised a 330d was in the equation as well! As per my previous post, my experience with diesel is that they're way off their claimed mpg figures unless driven relatively gently on long runs; if you stick to the legal limit on a motorway the fuel economy is quite reasonable (albeit still a bit short of the combined figure) but the second you start using the performance available they miss the claimed figure by a significant margin (25% off in my 335d whereas my E92 335i was only 10% off in the same circumstances). Having said that a 330d will still be more economical in absolute terms than a 335i, it's just the difference won't be anything like the published figures would have you believe (especially given the type of journeys you'll be doing as in winter a big diesel will only just get fully warmed-up in 12 miles!).

I get what you're saying about not wanting AWD and you're right, without adaptive and/or after market suspension mods the X-Drives are too soft for fast A and B road work. However, I drove a couple of 330d's before opting for the 335d and personally I found the 30d to be a less refined engine; much more obviously a diesel and when I got back into my 335i immediately after one of the test drives the 30d became an instant "no" as frankly it was like a bag of spanners at low speed compared to the N55 petrol. Therefore, given your circumstances personally I'd stick with petrol!

[bigfish]

Thanks for your replies all, but
A) I am considering a petrol only
B) the choice is between the face lifted new 340i that's out in July OR the 435i gran coupe

The other thing is the 340i is coming out at c£4k cheaper,

Any advice on these two would be really appreciated

[Chris Hinds]

bigfish said:

Thanks for your replies all, but
A) I am considering a petrol only
B) the choice is between the face lifted new 340i that's out in July OR the 435i gran coupe

The other thing is the 340i is coming out at c£4k cheaper,

Any advice on these two would be really appreciated

If it were me, it would be a 340i partly because it's coming out cheaper, partly because I find the 4 series Gran Coupe a little less practical... it's trying to be something it can't be i.e. a posh large coupe. The 6 Gran Coupe can pull it off because it's luxurious enough to cope, whereas the 4 seems more like a posh hatch, like the A5 Sportback. So yes, in my book 340i all the way.

[The Meister]

I have the 428i Gran Coupe and it is awesome, great blend of refinement, pace, noise when pushed, economy and practicality.

Our golden retriever fits in the boot, you can't do that with the saloon.

I simply love it for so many reasons!

[Osinjak]

The Meister said:

I have the 428i Gran Coupe and it is awesome, great blend of refinement, pace, noise when pushed, economy and practicality.

Our golden retriever fits in the boot, you can't do that with the saloon.

I simply love it for so many reasons!

How does your retriever feel about that? I've got a Springer and I'm really taken with the GC but was put off it because I just didn't think the pooch would fit in it. Be really interested to know how you're getting on.

[JNW1]

bigfish said:

Thanks for your replies all, but
A) I am considering a petrol only
B) the choice is between the face lifted new 340i that's out in July OR the 435i gran coupe

The other thing is the 340i is coming out at c£4k cheaper,

Any advice on these two would be really appreciated

Presumably it won't be too long before the new engine finds its way into the Gran Coupe and if so paying top dollar for a 435i in that body shape might not be a great idea? Unless you want the hatchback versatility and aren't prepared to wait the 340i saloon would seem a better bet to me...

[The Meister]

Osinjak said:

How does your retriever feel about that? I've got a Springer and I'm really taken with the GC but was put off it because I just didn't think the pooch would fit in it. Be really interested to know how you're getting on.

"Holly" was fine, a little unsure on the electric tailgate to start with, lol. She's fine with it now.

The small shelf and window cover come out in seconds, no problem at all. Really easy.

I've always had estates, but this time I wanted a coupe with 5 doors and a hatchback and folding rear seats, hence Gran Coupe!

It wouldn't be ideal for a big dog though.

[bigfish]

JNW1 said:

bigfish said:

Thanks for your replies all, but
A) I am considering a petrol only
B) the choice is between the face lifted new 340i that's out in July OR the 435i gran coupe

The other thing is the 340i is coming out at c£4k cheaper,

Any advice on these two would be really appreciated

Presumably it won't be too long before the new engine finds its way into the Gran Coupe and if so paying top dollar for a 435i in that body shape might not be a great idea? Unless you want the hatchback versatility and aren't prepared to wait the 340i saloon would seem a better bet to me...

I think this is the issue. If the gran coupe had the 440i ie new engine that would sway towards ordereding. I wonder how long the new engine will take to find its ways into the Gran Coupe???

Edited by bigfish on Saturday 30th May 13:45

[Crackie]

SBN said:

just look at the issues with the first gen 335i cars in 2007. No one touches them without having a warranty in place.

There are people, who are slightly less negative / pessimistic, who dare to run early N54 cars without a warranty ?

Edited by Crackie on Saturday 30th May 22:33

[Osinjak]

The Meister said:

"Holly" was fine, a little unsure on the electric tailgate to start with, lol. She's fine with it now.

The small shelf and window cover come out in seconds, no problem at all. Really easy.

I've always had estates, but this time I wanted a coupe with 5 doors and a hatchback and folding rear seats, hence Gran Coupe!

It wouldn't be ideal for a big dog though.

Can Holly stand up in the back? I was talking to my wife about it and that was her first question. The other thing is does it get hot in the back? With the sloping glass I just thought it would get hit with more direct sunlight even with privacy glass. I love dogs, genuinely, but she's a vet and a bit paranoid about rear space so whilst I'm 'it's a dog, it'll be fine' she's a bit more Anal McLooney about the whole thing hence the E91 we've got right now!

[bigfish]

Sounds like boot is pretty useful then, but anyone know when the x40i engine will go into the gran coupe to replace the x35i ???

[JNW1]

Osinjak said:

How does your retriever feel about that? I've got a Springer and I'm really taken with the GC but was put off it because I just didn't think the pooch would fit in it. Be really interested to know how you're getting on.

If a retriever fits I would have thought a springer would be fine; however, I assume getting in and out will be more difficult than with an estate (especially for an older dog) although that said in my limited experience springers bounce around like puppies for most of their life! We've got two labs and, although they're small by labrador standards, it was one of the things that pushed me towards an F31; they seem very content in the back of that although there are times when I think the oyster/black interior wasn't a great choice on my part (looks great when clean but needs more effort than black to keep it that way!).

[ftypical]

Bring back the Touring...

[ArsE92]

Crackie said:

SBN said:

just look at the issues with the first gen 335i cars in 2007. No one touches them without having a warranty in place.

There are people, who are slightly less negative / pessimistic, who dare to run early N54 cars without a warranty ?

Edited by Crackie on Saturday 30th May 22:33

That'll be me!

[VerySideways]

bigfish said:

Sounds like boot is pretty useful then, but anyone know when the x40i engine will go into the gran coupe to replace the x35i ???

340i sept '15
440i sept '16