The Thinking Man s Barge: My BMW 740d xDrive
Discussion
It seems appropriate to make a thread on my fairly recent purchase. So back in November I recently accepted a new job which meant me relocating to the south of England. I had at the time a 7-month-old Renault 5 EV which I loved. However, after much thought I decided to go back to combustion power as I really didn't want the hassle of having to charge and the overall challenges that comes with owning an EV. Charging at home is painless however using public chargers can and have been frustrating in the past! This is something I didn't want to even think about.
I've owned many cars throughout the years including a couple of barges in the past and given I would be doing a few trips back up North, I wanted something comfortable that would do the miles and be economical as well as have a bit of power on tap when needed. I've always been a big BMW fan as my Dad's owned a fair few
. I started looking at the G30 5 series and did find a nice example with sensible mileage. I also viewed a couple of G11 7 Series. After a test drive in one completely sold it to me, the search began. I've always liked the pre-facelift which still looks like a traditional BMW without the radiator style grill. After a bit of searching, I found a very nice example up in York and arranged a viewing. As soon as I saw this car, I knew it was the one and after an extensive test drive a deal was done.
So, its a 2018 BMW 740d XDrive M sport finished in Magillian grey with the full cognac interior (massive fan). It's covered 80k miles and has a full BMW main dealer service history and the dealer who I bought it from were fantastic and they very kindly carried out a major service before I bought it knowing what I d be using it for. The car wanted for nothing after having 4 matching Pirelli's fitted very recently as well as new front discs and pads. I also decided to have the gearbox and diff serviced given the mileage. The spec isn't massive, but given its the flagship model, it comes with a lot of kit as standard. I also like the fact it comes on the 19" wheels rather than the bigger 20's as the ride is just sublime paired with the adaptive air suspension with the magical 'comfort plus mode' .
So after nearly 4,000 miles I am over the moon with it! The engine is certainly worth mentioning as it has the legendary B57 and with this being the 40d it has loads of performance and it really is a quick car! It just does everything from the mundane commute to the 200 mile trips back up north all while returning nearly 50MPG. With a 78L fuel tank I m regularly getting 600 650 miles from a single tank. I wouldn't be getting that with my EV!
I've owned many cars throughout the years including a couple of barges in the past and given I would be doing a few trips back up North, I wanted something comfortable that would do the miles and be economical as well as have a bit of power on tap when needed. I've always been a big BMW fan as my Dad's owned a fair few
. I started looking at the G30 5 series and did find a nice example with sensible mileage. I also viewed a couple of G11 7 Series. After a test drive in one completely sold it to me, the search began. I've always liked the pre-facelift which still looks like a traditional BMW without the radiator style grill. After a bit of searching, I found a very nice example up in York and arranged a viewing. As soon as I saw this car, I knew it was the one and after an extensive test drive a deal was done. So, its a 2018 BMW 740d XDrive M sport finished in Magillian grey with the full cognac interior (massive fan). It's covered 80k miles and has a full BMW main dealer service history and the dealer who I bought it from were fantastic and they very kindly carried out a major service before I bought it knowing what I d be using it for. The car wanted for nothing after having 4 matching Pirelli's fitted very recently as well as new front discs and pads. I also decided to have the gearbox and diff serviced given the mileage. The spec isn't massive, but given its the flagship model, it comes with a lot of kit as standard. I also like the fact it comes on the 19" wheels rather than the bigger 20's as the ride is just sublime paired with the adaptive air suspension with the magical 'comfort plus mode' .
So after nearly 4,000 miles I am over the moon with it! The engine is certainly worth mentioning as it has the legendary B57 and with this being the 40d it has loads of performance and it really is a quick car! It just does everything from the mundane commute to the 200 mile trips back up north all while returning nearly 50MPG. With a 78L fuel tank I m regularly getting 600 650 miles from a single tank. I wouldn't be getting that with my EV!
Edited by DJC on Wednesday 18th February 09:52
Edited by DJC on Wednesday 18th February 09:55
Edited by DJC on Wednesday 18th February 09:57
Edited by DJC on Wednesday 18th February 10:28
Watchthis said:
danb79 said:
That's a stunning colour! Get a Readers Cars thread going 
Ha! Thanks for the very kind words. The colour was one of the main reasons I went for this car (san marino blue). I've never thought on doing a readers car post but maybe I shouldI had an LMB E65 730D M Sport; that was a superb colour; and my F01 730D SE Luxury was Azurite Black (looks blue in the sunlight) and again, a lovely colour but an absolute sod to keep clean!
Excellent choice!
We got a 740e of the G11 generation when SWMBO needed a new daily driver, that doubles as our continent crusher (have a thread about it somewhere on here), also with a cognac interior.
These are insane value for money, and I don't see us getting rid of it any time soon at all.
Also, big sidewalls + air suspension for the win!
We got a 740e of the G11 generation when SWMBO needed a new daily driver, that doubles as our continent crusher (have a thread about it somewhere on here), also with a cognac interior.
These are insane value for money, and I don't see us getting rid of it any time soon at all.
Also, big sidewalls + air suspension for the win!
Lovely car, that cognac interior is always my go when I am wasting time spec'ing up on websites! I have been toying with a 7 Series for the next car as a polar opposite choice to my current FL5 Type R.
Those G11 are a lot of car for the money, and on a whole with the right engine choice don't seem to throw up too many big bills.
Those G11 are a lot of car for the money, and on a whole with the right engine choice don't seem to throw up too many big bills.
premixer said:
Lovely car, that cognac interior is always my go when I am wasting time spec'ing up on websites! I have been toying with a 7 Series for the next car as a polar opposite choice to my current FL5 Type R.
Those G11 are a lot of car for the money, and on a whole with the right engine choice don't seem to throw up too many big bills.
I went from an immaculate JDM EK9 to an E38 728i back in 2010 Those G11 are a lot of car for the money, and on a whole with the right engine choice don't seem to throw up too many big bills.
It's very doable hahaAnd agree; the G11 is hell of a lot of car now and IMO the last of the decent looking 7'ers before the hug grilles took over
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