Need a ULEZ 640d-beater - help please

[amanu1]

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

[Gtom]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302164...

Try again with a bit more grunt this time. Same colour and area strangely!

[E63eeeeee...]

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.

[jason61c]

isn't a 640d euro 6?

[E63eeeeee...]

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.

[E63eeeeee...]

jason61c said:

isn't a 640d euro 6?

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

[jason61c]

E63eeeeee... said:

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

Surely thats the answer then?

[E63eeeeee...]

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.

[Killboy]

You won’t easily get 35+ mpg out of the 45 or R, only if you really p-foot it. I’d take the boring 640d for those miles any day. I’ve just come from hot hatches to a 530d, and it’s infinitely better on the motorway and A roads. Yeah it’s a bit dull on B roads.

[SWoll]

The issue with smaller cars is that you lose the comfort and refinement that larger models offer, which I would consider to be the real priority for covering a lot of distance personally.

How about one of these?

[codenamecueball]

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

[CG2020UK]

E63eeeeee... said:

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.

To be honest I’d expect a Leon Cupra to actually be just as quick as a 640d if not quicker in the real world.

Any of the GTI/R/S3/Cupra stable with a Revo/APR remap and DSG box are seriously quick in the real world and won’t have an issue.

[E63eeeeee...]

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.

[jason61c]

CG2020UK said:

E63eeeeee... said:

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.

To be honest I’d expect a Leon Cupra to actually be just as quick as a 640d if not quicker in the real world.

Any of the GTI/R/S3/Cupra stable with a Revo/APR remap and DSG box are seriously quick in the real world and won’t have an issue.

a 3ltr twin turbo IL6 is very quick in the real world. Especially a world compared to a leon Cupra

[CG2020UK]

jason61c said:

CG2020UK said:

E63eeeeee... said:

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.

To be honest I’d expect a Leon Cupra to actually be just as quick as a 640d if not quicker in the real world.

Any of the GTI/R/S3/Cupra stable with a Revo/APR remap and DSG box are seriously quick in the real world and won’t have an issue.

a 3ltr twin turbo IL6 is very quick in the real world. Especially a world compared to a leon Cupra

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

[jason61c]

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

1/4 mile is not representative of in gear roll on. The loss of real world grunt/overtaking and a silky smooth engine is what you'd be loosing. not to mention, a 6 series is one of the best built cars bmw ever made.

[sociopath]

I can sell you my 5.7L V8 kit car, because that's ulez compliant.

Just shows how bizarre the rules are.

[CG2020UK]

jason61c said:

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

1/4 mile is not representative of in gear roll on. The loss of real world grunt/overtaking and a silky smooth engine is what you'd be loosing. not to mention, a 6 series is one of the best built cars bmw ever made.

I’m not sure what real world grunt or overtaking you’d actually be losing when the Cupra is highly likely faster on the roll and it’s lighter by about 400kg.

I really like both cars and both certainly have pros and cons over each other.

It’s not a slight that stock vs stock the Cupra (a fantastic hot hatch) can roll a 640d (a fantastic cruiser) it’s just different use case and both suit different users.

[E63eeeeee...]

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.

[georgeyboy12345]

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...