RE: BMW M550i gets 530hp; 840i gets 340hp and RWD

[E65Ross]

Rick1.8t said:

Its not about speed limits or road tax in Europe, what I mean is I would need to be doing moon miles to want to have this kind of car to get the benefits of the huge power / comfort available, not do my usual 10 mile commute down an A road or days out that never add up to much more than a hundred miles each way and could realistically be comfortably done in a Nissan Micra - The few times I have driven through mainland Europe (800 miles or so in a day) have allowed me to sit on the motorway with a decent amount of space around me and munch up the miles.

Why would a 550bhp barge make sense in rural England? If you wanted something for the A and B roads surely an M3 / M4 etc would be a much more exciting choice and at least it wont be completely un-wanted when its done 100k miles, is worth 20% of its new price and costs a fortune to tax and run.

If you can afford to run one as a new / nearly new car you wont care anyway and I am sure it will be a great thing to own as a fast / comfy family barge - I am just not convinced a soul outside of the pistonheads forum will want to bank-roll a 5-10 year old one in an increasingly enviro-centric country.

Edited by Rick1.8t on Monday 20th May 12:25

Big, powerful cars are often just nicer to spend time in, too. If people can afford it, and they want to, it doesn't matter if you can't see the point. Do you think the same for sports cars, because the roads are overpopulated etc? You then say an M3/4 makes more sense....but these are just as quick, yet are arguably more compromised than a 550i RE the points you're talking about.....They are less comfortable, less spacious etc

[Rick1.8t]

E65Ross said:

Big, powerful cars are often just nicer to spend time in, too. If people can afford it, and they want to, it doesn't matter if you can't see the point. Do you think the same for sports cars, because the roads are overpopulated etc? You then say an M3/4 makes more sense....but these are just as quick, yet are arguably more compromised than a 550i RE the points you're talking about.....They are less comfortable, less spacious etc

Did you miss the bit where I said this - "If you can afford to run one as a new / nearly new car you wont care anyway and I am sure it will be a great thing to own as a fast / comfy family barge - I am just not convinced a soul outside of the pistonheads forum will want to bank-roll a 5-10 year old one in an increasingly enviro-centric country".

I was really following on from one of the posts about them being a second-hand bargain and that they wont really make sense as a used option in the years to come - I think my point is being taken out of context there. As for an M3 being more compromised, sure, but people will still want it in 5-10 years, wont they?

[Chestrockwell]

I don’t see the point in this car unless it’s a touring, not because it’s ‘too powerful’ or ‘too much’.

Brand new M5 100k retail, 25% discount easily achievable with 0% interest, 75 give or take.

Pre reg M5, as little as 70.

The M550i would have to be cheaper by a considerable margin to make sense otherwise people will just pay 10-15 grand extra for the proper car, with the seats and driver modes.

However, if the M550i is considerably cheaper, people may just not buy the M5 anymore as the M550i has a V8, x drive and 530 bhp.

The problem is that they both have ZF autos, have the same engine in different states of tune and both are X drive.

The M240i and M2 had different gearboxes, engines and the M2 came with an LSD with a wider body etc, it wasn’t that much quicker but it made more sense in the eyes of an M2 buyer.

BMW should have made an M540i I reckon.

[Ares]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Popped into bmw at the weekend and we noticed a brand new delivery miles standard M4 with over £17k knocked off.

£17k!

WTF is it with modern bmw pricing? Every car seems to be at least 20% overpriced so they can knock huge numbers off to get you a “deal”. Do people really fall for it?

Read the article and thus perhaps explains why a std M4 was available with a hefty discounts. Plus, was it new, or was it pre-reg'd/ex-demo?

[Ares]

aston addict said:

Must we be ‘treated’ to the constant deluge of BMW news?

Are PistonHeads on the BMW payroll, or just gifted a never ending stream of test drives in fancy locales?

Joking aside, I’ve started to look at Engadget of all places for auto news, they frequently feature new car models never even featured here.

e uni

Major manufacturer realises information which should be universally welcomed by PH.... 530bhp 5-series/manual sports car/cheaper petrol RWD GT/more power as standard M4...... and now get criticised for telling us???

Joking aside, you appear to be someone who would whinge about a £million lottery win being paid the wrong way.

[Ares]

Greg the Fish said:

Oh, another poxy BMW thread.

Oh, another poxy whinge.

[Ares]

Bryans69 said:

ducnick said:

M550i touring would be perfect for me. I don't like the overly harsh set up for the more hyper focused saloons such as rs6 / AMG / M5 etc. Ride too firm, gearbox to snappy etc.

A estate 5 series with a softer ride, ZF 8HP, and comfort seats would be just about the perfect car. The diesels are excellent of course but when I had one, the thought of the same car with a petrol V8 was nirvana.

I think the current 540i more or less covers those bases. Whilst I like the idea of a V8, in the real world the 540 is more than fast enough

In the real world, a 520d is fast enough.

But this is a site for car enthusiasts, a 530bhp V8 is good news. If you don't think so, perhaps you need to try OldGreyGardeners.com or CoffinDodger.com

[simonpeack74]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Popped into bmw at the weekend and we noticed a brand new delivery miles standard M4 with over £17k knocked off.

£17k!

WTF is it with modern bmw pricing? Every car seems to be at least 20% overpriced so they can knock huge numbers off to get you a “deal”. Do people really fall for it?

Yeh some really good deals out at present , my friend ordered an M2 from Best New Car Deals in Bournemouth and saved 20% and on the website
they even have this deal I noticed this morning , must be the cheapest M5 offer ever

https://www.bestnewcardeals.co.uk/personal-contrac...

[av185]

schaeffs said:

- Some of what I would deem the "non-critical" elements to the cars have seen cost cutting and optimising - I see this as a way to make more profits / keep up with the VAG / Mercedes powerhouses. In an ideal world I'd like all cars to be built to an engineering spec but in this day and age that is not possible.

Agree on the cost cutting which started with the E46. The E36 3 series and E39 5 series were really the last of the properly solidly engineered BMWs.

The current M3 and M4s whilst looking pretty and being reasonably fast (in a straight line), sound horrifically farty, are dull and bloated with a diluted driving experience especially compared to the E90 V8 which had many attributes not least a proper n.a. engine.

Edited by av185 on Monday 20th May 14:00

[av185]

J4CKO said:

av185 said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Popped into bmw at the weekend and we noticed a brand new delivery miles standard M4 with over £17k knocked off.

£17k!

WTF is it with modern bmw pricing? Every car seems to be at least 20% overpriced so they can knock huge numbers off to get you a “deal”. Do people really fall for it?

Yep same essentially chav customer base as those falling for the laughable never ending DFS furniture sales.

BMW need to focus on their rapidly declining reliability and obvious huge quality control issues as they are still the worst manufacturer by far.

Hilarious some still view them as a 'premium' brand.

Same with all the German brands really, including Porsche, used to see a Porsche occasionally, now see them absolutely everywhere, a lot of tarted up VAG stuff isnt it really ?

Depends on the Porsche.

Incidentally, there are way more Mclarens and Lamborghinis than Pork in my neck of the woods.

[Ares]

av185 said:

schaeffs said:

- Some of what I would deem the "non-critical" elements to the cars have seen cost cutting and optimising - I see this as a way to make more profits / keep up with the VAG / Mercedes powerhouses. In an ideal world I'd like all cars to be built to an engineering spec but in this day and age that is not possible.

Agree on the cost cutting which started with the E46. The E36 3 series and E39 5 series were really the last of the properly solidly engineered BMWs.

The current M3 and M4s whilst looking pretty and being reasonably fast (in a straight line), sound horrifically farty, are dull and bloated with a diluted driving experience especially compared to the E90 V8 which had many attributes not least a proper n.a. engine.

Edited by av185 on Monday 20th May 14:00

[Ares]

av185 said:

Depends on the Porsche.

Incidentally, there are way more Mclarens and Lamborghinis than Pork in my neck of the woods.

[AFourCab]

Cost-cutting most definitely started with the E36 and if anything, abated during the E46 period. An E36 is not a pleasant place to spend time, apart from ergonomically and the sound from the sixes.

[av185]

Ares said:

av185 said:

Depends on the Porsche.

Incidentally, there are way more Mclarens and Lamborghinis than Pork in my neck of the woods.

Oh look a picture of Kathy Burke and Harry Enfield.

[anonymous-user]

J4CKO said:

Same with all the German brands really, including Porsche, used to see a Porsche occasionally, now see them absolutely everywhere, a lot of tarted up VAG stuff isnt it really ?

Exactly. And quoting Porsche as ‘reliable’ is hardly a position of strength

Since when did power levels get so out of control in run of the mill cars. I honestly can’t get excited by any of them.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 20th May 16:12

[E65Ross]

J4CKO said:

Same with all the German brands really, including Porsche, used to see a Porsche occasionally, now see them absolutely everywhere, a lot of tarted up VAG stuff isnt it really ?

So which 911 is a tarted up VAG?

[Arsecati]

av185 said:

Depends on the Porsche.

Incidentally, there are way more Mclarens and Lamborghinis than Pork in my neck of the woods.

Pah, they're used as taxi's round my neck of the woods - it's wall-to-wall Paganis and Koennigseggs round here.

[Water Fairy]

AFourCab said:

Cost-cutting most definitely started with the E36 and if anything, abated during the E46 period. An E36 is not a pleasant place to spend time, apart from ergonomically and the sound from the sixes.

My BMW indy reckons the E46 is one of the best models they ever made. Over engineered, it feels solid and is a lovely place to be even after 15 years and 162k.

In comparison my 2017 2 series GT is all very modern, less analogue, dull, and generally very boring. And feels far more tinny.

[bad company]

Greg the Fish said:

Oh, another poxy BMW thread.

If you don’t like it the solution is obvious.

[Wills2]

E65Ross said:

J4CKO said:

Same with all the German brands really, including Porsche, used to see a Porsche occasionally, now see them absolutely everywhere, a lot of tarted up VAG stuff isnt it really ?

So which 911 is a tarted up VAG?

Or Cayman or Boxster, perhaps the new Panamera as that's just a Bentley GT in drag...Oh.