BMW 730D Sport
Discussion
Thought I would post some details up about my winter weapon !
Now, I've always been one for lightweight performance cars and fast stuff but I have to say that the 7 Series has been a revelation in motoring terms for me.
First of all I think it looks suitably 'mean' in black with it's 20" alloys. It won't break any speed records with 230 bhp but it gets down the road at a respectable rate of speed once in sport mode with the toe down. All this is achieved in a plush high quality cabin with lots of gadgets to make your driving experience and journey as painless as possible.
Another surprise is the fuel consumption - 45mpg at a constant 70mph on the motorway and 38mpg round town. Result !
However, the best thing about this car comes as a complete surprise - It's the actual driving experience itself !
The steering is electrically assisted but this feature is always in the background and never diminishes the steering feel, YES ! In this 2 tonne barge you can feel the road and how well you are connected to it. It's not going to challenge the driving greats (DC2 Integra Type R, previously owned) but it is a complete surprise that something this size can handle as good as it does.
Highlights include
Freeview TV/Satnav
16 position Electric Heated seats
Electric rake/reach steering wheel
Voice recognition (This even works despite the fact I'm Irish!)
Aux Diesel Heater (Runs when temp is low outside to heat the car quickly and can provide heat independantly when the engine is off)
Some pics
Now, I've always been one for lightweight performance cars and fast stuff but I have to say that the 7 Series has been a revelation in motoring terms for me.
First of all I think it looks suitably 'mean' in black with it's 20" alloys. It won't break any speed records with 230 bhp but it gets down the road at a respectable rate of speed once in sport mode with the toe down. All this is achieved in a plush high quality cabin with lots of gadgets to make your driving experience and journey as painless as possible.
Another surprise is the fuel consumption - 45mpg at a constant 70mph on the motorway and 38mpg round town. Result !
However, the best thing about this car comes as a complete surprise - It's the actual driving experience itself !
The steering is electrically assisted but this feature is always in the background and never diminishes the steering feel, YES ! In this 2 tonne barge you can feel the road and how well you are connected to it. It's not going to challenge the driving greats (DC2 Integra Type R, previously owned) but it is a complete surprise that something this size can handle as good as it does.
Highlights include
Freeview TV/Satnav
16 position Electric Heated seats
Electric rake/reach steering wheel
Voice recognition (This even works despite the fact I'm Irish!)
Aux Diesel Heater (Runs when temp is low outside to heat the car quickly and can provide heat independantly when the engine is off)
Some pics
Edited by jmcc42uk on Sunday 18th November 15:29
Thanks for the kind words guys.
Regarding mpg, as bennyboy says you will still get 40mpg at an 80mph constant cruise.
What sets it apart from a petrol is the fact that you almost can't get the consumption to go below 30mpg.
I drove around Brighton all day yesterday with loads of stop/start stuff and it still says 33.6mpg on the OBC.
Has anyone fitted a remote control for the Webasto heater and got it to work sucessfully? This would be an absolute god send although the heated seats are warm 30 seconds after starting the engine.
The car has undergone a major change last week - stand by for an update !!!
Regarding mpg, as bennyboy says you will still get 40mpg at an 80mph constant cruise.
What sets it apart from a petrol is the fact that you almost can't get the consumption to go below 30mpg.
I drove around Brighton all day yesterday with loads of stop/start stuff and it still says 33.6mpg on the OBC.
Has anyone fitted a remote control for the Webasto heater and got it to work sucessfully? This would be an absolute god send although the heated seats are warm 30 seconds after starting the engine.
The car has undergone a major change last week - stand by for an update !!!
yellowbentines: Don't know too much about the history but it has had a few private plates and the sf plate was put back on about a year ago. It has a 'Lamborghini London' tax disc holder, so must have had some priviledged company at one stage
I got the car for a steal from a Romanian businessman in Worthing who had to sell everything and get back to Romania asap. Very strange but I didn't ask questions ! Or complain !
I got the car for a steal from a Romanian businessman in Worthing who had to sell everything and get back to Romania asap. Very strange but I didn't ask questions ! Or complain !
chrisnic0 said:
No way that's Llanber isn't it? I work in Ruthin, drive past there everyday.
Wrap looks good
Yes, you are correct, the pic was taken at Ultimate Tinting in Ruthin.Wrap looks good
The car was wrapped by myself and a friend who are running Ultimate Tinting on the south coast.
The reason matte white was chosen is because of the contrast with the gloss black. We felt that white on black was the best at showing the quality of the workmanship as any imperfections are hard to hide.
Yeah, totally understand it's not everyone's cup of tea but it really needs to be seen in the flesh to be appreciated. You can't appreciate the matte effect in the pics yet the gloss black looks nice. I don't think there has been a day that has passed when someone hasn't asked about it and wanted to touch it!
Anyway, back to the car.
Does anyone know anything about these? http://www.electronic-freaks.de/index.php?z0=5&...
Would it be quite simple for an auto electrics place to fit?
Dying to get this working as it would be great to phone the car from bed and have it heated up and de-frosted in the morning.
Does anyone know anything about these? http://www.electronic-freaks.de/index.php?z0=5&...
Would it be quite simple for an auto electrics place to fit?
Dying to get this working as it would be great to phone the car from bed and have it heated up and de-frosted in the morning.
To be honest, the car is not finished yet as it was a big car and we were running out of days on the course and did not have time to do everything. I will be doing some more bits in the coming weeks.
Myself and a mate wrapped the car on a wrapping course by ultimatetinting.co.uk which was superb. Big thanks to Tim and John our instructors who were excellent.
Wrapping a car takes time and a good amount of skill. We opted to get what we could done to the highest standard.
Some pics of the process -
Basic cut laid and stretched across the bonnet
Bonnet done - Contrast between matte white and gloss black
Rear quarter stretches up to the front and has to be done in one piece
Basic shape cut out - then the real work begins !
Rear door almost done
We were going to leave it like this
Rear done
All done (for now)
Myself and a mate wrapped the car on a wrapping course by ultimatetinting.co.uk which was superb. Big thanks to Tim and John our instructors who were excellent.
Wrapping a car takes time and a good amount of skill. We opted to get what we could done to the highest standard.
Some pics of the process -
Basic cut laid and stretched across the bonnet
Bonnet done - Contrast between matte white and gloss black
Rear quarter stretches up to the front and has to be done in one piece
Basic shape cut out - then the real work begins !
Rear door almost done
We were going to leave it like this
Rear done
All done (for now)
Edited by jmcc42uk on Wednesday 21st November 12:54
For anyone interested the GSM control for the aux heater is 399 euro from germany, quite expensive but if you have the Webasto heater you can actually 'phone' your car from the house and get it to defrost and warm up while you have a cup of tea!
No more driving down the road iced up looking through a postage stamp sized hole with the missus shouting "Why didn't you clear it completely before we left!"
No more driving down the road iced up looking through a postage stamp sized hole with the missus shouting "Why didn't you clear it completely before we left!"
Yeah they are a great motor. For the tyres I got in touch with blackcricles.com for some Michelin Pilot Sports. Quite expensive but on a car this size and weight it would be silly to cut corners on the tyres. I got a set delivered to a local blackcircles garage and fitted for £1100.
The wrap can be taken off at any time. I actually applied it myself as I run a window tinting and vehicle wrapping company in Brighton. The car is being used as a demo car for the business and the wrap will be removed when I need to sell the car - it's just a matter of carefully peeling the film off. The car was fully cleaned and claybarred before installation so the paint should be perfect when the wrap comes off.
The heated seats and Webasto heater have been great in the cold weather.
Has yours got the 'comfort' or 'sport' seats?
The wrap can be taken off at any time. I actually applied it myself as I run a window tinting and vehicle wrapping company in Brighton. The car is being used as a demo car for the business and the wrap will be removed when I need to sell the car - it's just a matter of carefully peeling the film off. The car was fully cleaned and claybarred before installation so the paint should be perfect when the wrap comes off.
The heated seats and Webasto heater have been great in the cold weather.
Has yours got the 'comfort' or 'sport' seats?
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