G31 540i or 530D?

[Martin-6xomo]

Morning lads and lasses,


All the best for 2021!

I am here again looking for some advice if i may, i have now narrowed the new car down to the G31; ruling out the XC90, Q7 and another A6 Avant (cant stand the E class or XF)

So with this in mind i am looking for a 17/18 plate G31 but really cant choose between these two engines.

I really do miss the 5pot Petrol of my old Focus ST BUT my 3ltr Quattro A6 has been totally fine - Fast, decent economy (easy 45s on a run and 30/32 round town with a 36.6MPG over 23,500 miles)

I have done a fair few business miles over the previous few years but that is about to change with a role change this year which will see me more office bound with a commute of about 4 miles with a 1/2 mile dual carriageway blast.(each way)
We have two dogs and two kids so need the touring, also, i do a lot of fishing so every other week im out on a decent run on a sunday and finally we go camping a few times a yeart with our trailer tent so needs to be a tower.

MOT Miles -
2016 - 2017 = 7,422Miles
2017 - 2018 = 8,700Miles
2018 - 2019 = 9,291 Miles
2019 - 2020 = 11,121Miles (this is based on 18 Months with the 6month MOT extension)

I do fancy the sound of the Petrol engine and i fancy the economy of the Diesel engine.

The 540i Touring are few and far between - 9 listed on autotrader! some decent 530d's on there.

I suspect that most will say go for the 540i but i do remain curious.

Hit me!

Cheers

[Fusion777]

I'd go for the diesel. More of them around. Plenty of performance and good real world economy. It suits the car perfectly.

[Stick Legs]

I know you asked about G31's but having had 2 F10 530d's over a 6 year period, where absolutely nothing ever went wrong, the engine suits the car perfectly, the torque is addictive and they did 40mpg I would have the 530d over the 540i if I was going big saloon again.

[Maxus]

That's actually a bit of a tough one. Perceived wisdom is that a 4 mile commute isn't good for a diesel. The bi-weekly trips should help with the EGR regen.

I recently set out to get a G30 540i for the sound and smoothness. I ended up with a 640d. Similar engine to the 530d. It sounds good (inside!), smooth, fast and economical. When I previously drove F10 530d and 535i back to back it was the 530d that I preferred.

Go 530d and make sure you give it a regular blast. The G3x cars are really impressive and great value.

[AAD44H]

I would go petrol

[craigjm]

I wouldn’t want to do 10 miles a day in a diesel and not necessarily use it every weekend for long blasts etc meaning you gonna have to do journeys just to clear the dpf etc which negates the increased mileage per gallon saving. I would also be concerned that by the time you come to sell the diesel is like trying to sell someone who is diseased