635D - Are they any good as a daily?

[simonas2702]

I am thinking of selling my E46 M3 as I run it as a daily and it did 20k miles last year. Love the car but thinking of something a bit comfier and less thirsty for the daily drive.

I like the look of these but interested to know what real owners of these think of them on a daily basis. Can you get between 30-40mpg with daily driving. Are they an interesting drive at all? Reliability issues?

Also in convertible do they suffer a lot with scuttle shake?

Thanks

Simon

[Stick Legs]

Not exactly the same but my 530d F10 (early car with the same engine but different turbo configuration) did 20k a year at 36-38 mpg. So I'd say that you's be fine with the 635d. Cool commuter choice.

[bmwmike]

Stick Legs said:

Not exactly the same but my 530d F10 (early car with the same engine but different turbo configuration) did 20k a year at 36-38 mpg. So I'd say that you's be fine with the 635d. Cool commuter choice.

Pretty much what I get from an n53 530 "i" petrol version of your 530d. 36mpg easily on a run, without trying. Although low 20's around town.

Not sure what daily driving means exactly because I don't commute but the 6 is physically larger than the 5 I think, so that might affect daily duties etc with tight spaces etc. People say the f10 is overly large but I find it fine, now, but was a bit of a jump from an e46 in the mass department. Nowadays I can chuck it about as much as I ever did in my e46 and I find the f10 with a nasp engine can be just as much fun.

[S8QUATTRO]

Yes great cars as a daily. I had one for 18 months and did 20k miles. Well made, quick, quality cabin, 30 around town 36+ mway.

Not sure on common faults but the one I bought had the turbo actuators replaced, glow plugs and relay changed, and a gearbox oil and filter around 125k.

I only changed as I got a great deal on the newer model, but the new one doesn’t feel as well made as the 635d.

[MrC986]

I've a friend whose run a 635d as a "daily" from new for the last 3.5yrs on a ridiculously cheap PCP deal - he's 6 months off the end of the deal & has said he's buying it at the end of the deal which I think indicates how good a car it is. His car has done about 60k miles & he's no car fan though he's never mentioned it has been anything but reliable.

[rayyan171]

Relative of mine with a 635d, is up and down the country all the time, does probably 20k+ miles. Drives as if it was stolen, still gets 37.7mpg average with his stupid driving. They get 47mpg+ on a sensible run, get around 500 miles from an 80l tank with his bad driving, which is impressive considering our X5 gets 490+ from a 100L with the exact same engine. Wonderful drive, very good performance, sublime engine, very high quality car overall. Looks beautiful too, still gets looks from a lot of people with the modifications he has done (Alpine White with some carbon parts here and there). His is a very high specification Edition Sport model, with the somewhat better looking bonnet, albeit that is a personal preference. Exclusive alloys too, and some modifications to the suspension as well. Think they were meant to be the one below the M6, had quite a few parts pulled from the M6 parts bin.

Top reliability, much more than our X5, would recommend to anyone. I see them as the much better option over a 335d. Seems a bit silly for someone to take a 335d over one now, especially since the E9X 335d's would sometimes have no navigation at all!

[Chestrockwell]

Stick Legs said:

Not exactly the same but my 530d F10 (early car with the same engine but different turbo configuration) did 20k a year at 36-38 mpg. So I'd say that you's be fine with the 635d. Cool commuter choice.

Might have a lot to do with the gearbox. The 635’s have the 6 speed ZF’s. I reckon he’ll get 27-30 in it for normal driving.

My 430d struggles to get 40 unless it’s on the motorway. It probably can get 40mpg if my mum drove it, but that’s beside the point

[Stick Legs]

That's a good point, the ZF 8 speed box probably is a large part of the performance / economy balance on the F10 6 cylinder diesels.

[Gompo]

What's the 6 speed ZF like? I'm guessing more of a tradition torque converter Auto rather than anything like the 8 speed?

I've only driven one Auto, and that was a 4 speed in an Isuzu Rodeo..

[Chestrockwell]

I couldn’t tell you the details but the 6 speed autos hang onto gears a lot longer than the 8 speed ZF.

Example, I drove a E90 330d auto and it’s a pain to make swift progress surfing the torque unless you’re using the tip tronic function which is a pain as you have to time it right with the slow changes. If you slot it into sport, it’s even worse because it acts like a petrol and hangs onto the gears longer.

In my 430d, 8 speed ZF, it just knows instantly, and on the odd occasion that it hangs on, you literally pull the paddle and it changes instantly. If you want to make swift progress without using the paddles, you leave it in D, put it in sport and the car does everything for you.

[mmm-five]

rayyan171 said:

Drives as if it was stolen, still gets 37.7mpg average with his stupid driving. They get 47mpg+ on a sensible run, get around 500 miles from an 80l tank with his bad driving, which is impressive considering our X5 gets 490+ from a 100L with the exact same engine.

If he's getting 37.7mpg and has an 80l tank (17.8 gallons), then he's got a 670 mile range.

If he's only getting 500 mile out of a tank, then he's getting closer to 28mpg (which is worse than my Z4MC).

If he takes it easy and gets the claimed 47mpg on a run, then the range is almost 840 miles.

For comparison, my stbox Alfa 147 1.9 JTD got 52mpg and had a 60 litre tank - and would do 700 miles to a tank

[rayyan171]

mmm-five said:

rayyan171 said:

Drives as if it was stolen, still gets 37.7mpg average with his stupid driving. They get 47mpg+ on a sensible run, get around 500 miles from an 80l tank with his bad driving, which is impressive considering our X5 gets 490+ from a 100L with the exact same engine.

If he's getting 37.7mpg and has an 80l tank (17.8 gallons), then he's got a 670 mile range.

If he's only getting 500 mile out of a tank, then he's getting closer to 28mpg (which is worse than my Z4MC).

If he takes it easy and gets the claimed 47mpg on a run, then the range is almost 840 miles.

For comparison, my stbox Alfa 147 1.9 JTD got 52mpg and had a 60 litre tank - and would do 700 miles to a tank

I stand corrected - the car has a 70 litre tank. This is with very terrible driving, he gets around 500 miles. This means he is getting around 32mpg with an extremely heavy foot. 37.7 is a recent average the car was showing, this is with lots of countryside driving.

[pvogue]

Looking for a 635D myself, is there a guide somewhere on what changes the later one had? 2010 model