Need a ULEZ 640d-beater - help please

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Yesterday, in an unlikely turn of events that involved PH providing an actual public service, I discovered that my monthly Glasgow trip is going to become very inconvenient from next month, as my 640d is not LEZ compliant, and all the logistical alternatives look really irritating. I can suck up the first 30 quid fine so I've maybe got until the end of June to find an alternative, so what should I be looking to test drive?

Requirements are - comfortable for regular 250+ miles of mostly motorway and A roads for a generously proportioned 6'3" person; not slower on the motorway than a 640d, so ideally 350 bhp/lbft; not horribly inefficient, so 35ish mpg target; less than 20k but 15 would be much better. Smaller cars also better, it's always seemed inelegant to need a 4.8m long 1800kg car to move 100kg of me and 10kg of luggage and there's a lot of tight car parks where I go.

The current shortlist:
Euro 6 640d - obviously ticks all the boxes, but at the more expensive end, target for future diesel restrictions and likely to depreciate as a result, plus it's hard to find one with all the options my current one has and bloody difficult to manage in tight car parks without them.

Merc A45 AMG- the 360 bhp versions are mostly what comes up if you put that spec into Autotrader and they're pretty subtle if you get one without the wing, but I suspect not that refined for a long journey.

VW Scirocco R 280 - hard to objectively justify, so mostly because I just want one. At the higher end of the price range, but will probably hold value better than the alternatives given the rarity and the fact it's not been replaced by a better version. Maybe a bit underpowered but only 1400kg and could look at a map to get it into the 300s.

E400 - bit meh, and just as big as the 640d. Also boring colours.

Ruled out:
TTS - I don't fit
1 series - OH has one, bit too his'n'hers

It may not look like it, but I am open to non-German cars.

Any suggestions for the list, or thoughts about what's on it much appreciated.

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OutInTheShed said:

30 quid a month in ULEZ fees is £360 a year.
That's just a rounding error in depreciation and car buying?

Yeah, if it worked like that I'd just suck it up, but it counts every day as a new infraction (I'm usually there at least one night) and doubles the fine every time it spots you.

It's really brutal as a scheme. I wouldn't mind parking or staying outside the zone and walking in but basically all the car parks and all the hotels are in the zone and I suspect that any smart ways round it will be quickly full of locals.

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ZX10R NIN said:

3.0TT Infiniti Q50 S:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304196...

Or the Hybrid 35h S: & you'll get a good one bang on 15k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304256...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303235...

Thanks, I'd ruled out hybrids on the basis that they're not that helpful for high speed driving and the car will spend 95% of its life at national speed limit speeds, but those adverts suggest the hybrid bit will actually work at 70, so will see if I can find a Q50 to test.

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Gtom said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305067...

Ironically enough, at a dealers in Glasgow.

Thanks, and it's a nice colour, but while I have the horrible feeling I'm exposing myself as a performance snob 8.4s to 60 is fundamentally not going to cut it. On the other weeks, the car needs to be able to cope with overtaking people on the A702 and I don't think 175 lbft is going to cut it.

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arfur said:

E63eeeeee... said:

Thanks, and it's a nice colour, but while I have the horrible feeling I'm exposing myself as a performance snob 8.4s to 60 is fundamentally not going to cut it. On the other weeks, the car needs to be able to cope with overtaking people on the A702 and I don't think 175 lbft is going to cut it.

How about an X3M 35d ? Ulez/Lez compliant from 2015 and there are a few nice lowish mile ones on AT at around 20k (even with pan roofs)

I have one and it does shift - 310/460 and with the dynamic suspension handles pretty well .. oh and it weighs about 30kg less than your 640d ;-)

hth

Ew, an SUV? I'm not quite that desperate yet.

The only time I've been in an X3 I remember it seemed tiny inside, but that might have been an early one. I secretly want an X6 but I don't think this is the right time to go up in the world.

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HelldogBE said:

E63eeeeee... said:

The current shortlist:
Merc A45 AMG- the 360 bhp versions are mostly what comes up if you put that spec into Autotrader and they're pretty subtle if you get one without the wing, but I suspect not that refined for a long journey.
.

Any boosted 2.0 turbo might feel a bit lame when you're used to the diesel torque from a 3-litre TT engine.
I read the A45 is especially dull when not in full attack mode?! A golf R probably provides more comfort but I can see most of the performance being lost on the motorway?

Also the ride comfort of a short wheelbase car might be lacking. Why not go one size smaller and compromise with something like a 330d/340d or 440i?

To be honest, I don't really mind dull. The 640d is dull. I did the Edinburgh run back to back in it and in the E63 just after the Merc had new front tyres and an alignment, and realised just how dull the 6 series is, but dull-with-grunt makes it great on the motorway and perfectly ok on most of the A roads it's used on.

I've driven the 330d, and a 4 series (I think it was either the 418d or 420d). They were OK, but the seating position was a bit awkward from what I remember. The 40i cars are out of budget, but I guess I should have a look at the 435d, although it might be a bit like just buying a slightly worse 640d. If the Euro 6 cutover happened earlier in the 4 that might help price wise, thinking about it. Worth a Google anyway, thanks.

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ChrisH79 said:

If you fancy a Scirocco why not a 3 door Leon?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304055...

I really liked my Seat and I think the Leon is a great looking car, but it basically has all the cons of the Scirocco (that it really shouldn't be on the list at all) without the selling point that I really want one for no very good reason.

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OutInTheShed said:

E63eeeeee... said:

Yeah, if it worked like that I'd just suck it up, but it counts every day as a new infraction (I'm usually there at least one night) and doubles the fine every time it spots you.

It's really brutal as a scheme. I wouldn't mind parking or staying outside the zone and walking in but basically all the car parks and all the hotels are in the zone and I suspect that any smart ways round it will be quickly full of locals.

That's crazy.
But I suspect it's the shape of things to come elsewhere.

Yeah, it's certainly started me thinking that getting out of a Euro 5 diesel before these zones are everywhere might in fact be a good idea just in itself.

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amanu1 said:

Why not borrow the wife's 1 series for your trips to Glasgow once a month?

I really hadn't thought of that. That's not actually the worst idea, although we don't tend to share cars apart from when it's sunny and she wants a convertible. I shall have to ask and see what the response is like.

I'm also a little concerned that I'll discover that it's perfectly possible to happily do a long motorway journey with 136bhp, which will mean I may have wasted a lot of money buying faster cars since about 2007.

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jason61c said:

isn't a 640d euro 6?

Only the facelift ones from 2015ish. Mine's 2011. Trust me, I checked.

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jason61c said:

E63eeeeee... said:

Only the facelift ones from 2015ish. Mine's 2011. Trust me, I checked.

Surely thats the answer then?

It's certainly an option, yes, but they're quite expensive and it's not easy to find examples with the options my current one has. Also it's a lot of car to shift just one of me and a smallish bag. I bought it quite quickly when my TTS plan fell through, and it was just the obvious answer for the money, but at the higher value there should be more alternatives.

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codenamecueball said:

Given how small the area actually is, could you not leave the 640d on the park and ride at shields road or bridge st?

I looked at that but there's no overnight parking, and I'd imagine you'd be fighting for a space from very early in the morning, and short on reliable alternatives if they're full. If I'm going to cities, I do like to stay in the city rather than staying on the outskirts and commuting in with everyone else. It might be something worth trying if I'm not pushed for time in the morning, I'll have to look at the details of my next few planned visits.

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CG2020UK said:

Quick google search.

A Cupra 300 (300bhp) runs a 1/4mile in roughly 13.9.

A 640d (315bhp) 1/4mile is 13.7.

Knock off the advantage launching RWD adds and a bit of drivetrain loss you can certainly see the logic around the Cupra being quicker on the roll.

While engine size is nice unfortunately bigger engine doesn’t always mean faster car.

Regardless of which is actually quicker it’s fair to say that they are basically equally as quick so there shouldn’t be any real performance loss.

Edited by CG2020UK on Monday 15th May 23:11

That's interesting, thanks. I guess that's what losing 400kg gets you. The 640d has slightly more power, way more torque, highly likely better aero, but it's carrying a lot more pies. It's certainly consistent with what I found when I drove the TTS, which is 275ish bhp and about 1300kg, and felt much of a muchness in pulling at motorway speeds. Plus the DSG is such a quick gearbox it probably feels faster because of the response.

Curiously the Scirocco R is apparently 13.5 for the quarter, and that's the 265 bhp version. Less drag than the Cupra and a lot lighter than the 640d, I guess.

The thing I'd like to check out with the VAG DSG bunch is to what extent only having 6 gears hurts the economy at 85mph.

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sandman77 said:

Duke St car park is what you need. Right outside the zone and an easy walk to the centre.

Thanks, that's worth a try. Still a 25 minute walk, although I can probably find a hotel somewhere halfway.

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georgeyboy12345 said:

Get another BMW

335d xDrive
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210261...

435d xDrive
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304216...

440i GranCoupe
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210070...


VW Group hot hatches

Audi S3
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302274...

VW Golf R
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304066...


Finally, something Japanese and hybrid - Lexus GS 450h
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304086...

435d is definitely on the shortlist for a test drive, they're better value than I expected and there's loads of choice, and apart from the diesel concerns they tick all the other boxes very nicely, plus I did like the x-drive system when I tried it. I don't remember my previous 4 series experience being that comfortable but I only had it for a few days so might just need to properly dial in the seat and controls.

The 4GC, Lexus and 3 series are really just more car than I need for me and a couple of nights' luggage, much as I like the Lexus GS for no very rational reason. If I'm going to go VAG I don't think I'd take any of the others over the Scirocco without a decent price difference, and only the Leon/ Cupra option seem to offer that.