Can a small lady drive a BMW Series 1 M Sport?

[paula92]

Thanks everyone.

I still don’t have the car. They said they’ll call me when they’re ready... it has been 3 working days so far hopefully tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

[thebraketester]

Was just about to comment saying don’t buy a diesel unless you are doing lots of miles..... was I too late?

[paula92]

thebraketester said:

Was just about to comment saying don’t buy a diesel unless you are doing lots of miles..... was I too late?

Not at all I do about 100 miles a week. 90 miles of that is on the dual carriageway so I believe diesel is definitely a better option.

[Pericoloso]

100 miles a week isn't "lots"

Break it down to a 5 day week ,20 a day or 10 there ,10 home .

Still might not be diesel compatible.

[thebraketester]

I would say at that mileage you are far better off with a petrol. 100miles a day..... that’s a different story.

[paula92]

Well it cost me almost £30 a week in petrol to drive that many miles a week whereas in a diesel it will be around £10 or thereabouts.

[Mr Tidy]

paula92 said:

Well it cost me almost £30 a week in petrol to drive that many miles a week whereas in a diesel it will be around £10 or thereabouts.

For 100 miles a week I'd buy a petrol (or 2 - like I have).

But I hope it works out for you - just try to do at least one trip of 30 miles or more every week or so, or you may end up needing a new dpf.

[paula92]

Mr Tidy said:

paula92 said:

Well it cost me almost £30 a week in petrol to drive that many miles a week whereas in a diesel it will be around £10 or thereabouts.

For 100 miles a week I'd buy a petrol (or 2 - like I have).

But I hope it works out for you - just try to do at least one trip of 30 miles or more every week or so, or you may end up needing a new dpf.

Good Lord, now you are all worrying me! I was told by so many people that I should get a diesel which will save more fuel for me. We will also be going holiday and some day trips in this car as well, which will add up the miles.

Never mind... a bit too late to back off now! My other half will possibly be using it as well. He will use it to go work when I do not need it (he works around 13 miles away on dual carriageway).

Sounds like I need to start taking trips to my other town 10 miles away rather than the one that is only 10 mins from me lol.

[Mr Tidy]

paula92 said:

Good Lord, now you are all worrying me! I was told by so many people that I should get a diesel which will save more fuel for me. We will also be going holiday and some day trips in this car as well, which will add up the miles.

Never mind... a bit too late to back off now! My other half will possibly be using it as well. He will use it to go work when I do not need it (he works around 13 miles away on dual carriageway).

Sounds like I need to start taking trips to my other town 10 miles away rather than the one that is only 10 mins from me lol.

So long as the car does some longer trips from time to time it should be OK.

I bought my 123d in 2008 because I was doing business miles at the time, so annual mileage ended up being around 14,000.

My regular commute was 16 miles each way, but at weekends it only went a few miles sometimes. Then it might do a 200 mile work trip. I never had any DPF issues with it.

But if yours has stop/start I'd get into the habit of turning it off every time you drive it! My battery didn't last 5 years (and as it was an AGM coded one it cost £300 to replace) then the starter motor died before 7 years of age (that was £600). Whereas my Z4 battery (no stop/start) lasted 10 years and only cost £100 to replace!

[thebraketester]

paula92 said:

Well it cost me almost £30 a week in petrol to drive that many miles a week whereas in a diesel it will be around £10 or thereabouts.

No idea which 1 series you bought but my wife has a 120d and it struggles to do much more than 40mpg which is crap given that most modern 2.0T petrols will so about that.

Your saving calculation isn’t accurate. Certainly wouldn’t be triple the cost to run a petrol equivalent.

[Mr Tidy]

Well to be fair my 123d averaged 48.7 mpg over 81K miles and 6+ years.

But it was nothing like a third of the cost of a petrol! I had a 325ti Compact for 3+ years and 23K miles and that averaged 34.9 mpg in similar use.

[Della21]

Hi Paula,

I am in exactly the same situation, I am 5 foot and pick up my BMW 116d next Tuesday, took it for a test drive and found it drives beautifully but i couldn't reach the pedals very well. More than anything, I wanted to know how you've got on with yours since you picked it up as I'm a little terrified of driving it to work next Wednesday

[Poppiecock]

thebraketester said:

No idea which 1 series you bought but my wife has a 120d and it struggles to do much more than 40mpg which is crap given that most modern 2.0T petrols will so about that.

Your saving calculation isn’t accurate. Certainly wouldn’t be triple the cost to run a petrol equivalent.

Your car is broken - the BMW x20d engine will turn in mid 40s in a 5-series.

[thebraketester]

Poppiecock said:

thebraketester said:

No idea which 1 series you bought but my wife has a 120d and it struggles to do much more than 40mpg which is crap given that most modern 2.0T petrols will so about that.

Your saving calculation isn’t accurate. Certainly wouldn’t be triple the cost to run a petrol equivalent.

Your car is broken - the BMW x20d engine will turn in mid 40s in a 5-series.

Or wife has lead foot. Anyway we got rid and got a 118i which is much nicer to drive and returns about 35mpg.

[Mr Tidy]

Della21 said:

Hi Paula,

I am in exactly the same situation, I am 5 foot and pick up my BMW 116d next Tuesday, took it for a test drive and found it drives beautifully but i couldn't reach the pedals very well. More than anything, I wanted to know how you've got on with yours since you picked it up as I'm a little terrified of driving it to work next Wednesday

So long as you can get the seat and steering wheel in a comfortable position you'll be fine - Mrs Tidy was about 5'4" and used to rag my 123d around quite happily!

All the best for Wednesday.

[AlasdairMc]

Della21 said:

Hi Paula,

I am in exactly the same situation, I am 5 foot and pick up my BMW 116d next Tuesday, took it for a test drive and found it drives beautifully but i couldn't reach the pedals very well. More than anything, I wanted to know how you've got on with yours since you picked it up as I'm a little terrified of driving it to work next Wednesday

Mrs Mc (5ft) is fine with ours. She strangely couldn’t get comfy with an Audi A5 as its driving position was a bit odd, but no issues at all with BMW. The A5 driving position meant she had to be quite close to the steering wheel to reach the pedals, but on a couple of BMWs and a Jag she’s been fine. We test drove a 1 with no issues.

[4rephill]

Poppiecock said:

thebraketester said:

No idea which 1 series you bought but my wife has a 120d and it struggles to do much more than 40mpg which is crap given that most modern 2.0T petrols will so about that.

Your saving calculation isn’t accurate. Certainly wouldn’t be triple the cost to run a petrol equivalent.

Your car is broken - the BMW x20d engine will turn in mid 40s in a 5-series.

Poppiecock: So if I can get your car's mpg down to the low teens,or even single figures, does that automatically mean your car is broken?, or does it simply mean I'm ragging the cr4p out of your car?

A 520D will only return mid 40's if it's driven in a manner to achieve mid 40's!

[Poppiecock]

4rephill said:

Poppiecock: So if I can get your car's mpg down to the low teens,or even single figures, does that automatically mean your car is broken?, or does it simply mean I'm ragging the cr4p out of your car?

A 520D will only return mid 40's if it's driven in a manner to achieve mid 40's!

Which involves driving it quite hard. If you're gentle with them, you can coax nearly 60mpg out of one.

If you can't get 40mpg out of a 120d, then it's either broken or the driver is using the throttle as a binary switch.