Living with a barge
Discussion
I've got an E65. Parking in a supermarket is a pain, unless you don't mind walking from the quiet end of the car park. However busy car parks sometimes afford this luxury, then it's just a pain having a big car. On the flip side I did a Euro trip in Sep just done, did [need to check] miles in 7 days. Didn't miss a beat, but iPod connection was a boon!
It's brilliant. Parking is never really that much of an issue and people give you so much more respect and space on the road. Motorway driving with a long wheelbase, squishy suspension, cruise control and near silence is amazingly relaxing. Having driven a Clio and a W126 around Paris with its narrow streets, crazy drivers and traffic I can safely say the barge was much nicer and easier, everyone just moves out of the way and gives you more space.
The only downside is the fuel consumption but some barges can be fine in this respect, just not old 80s V8 powered barges.
The only downside is the fuel consumption but some barges can be fine in this respect, just not old 80s V8 powered barges.
I never had a problem parking the S90, but then it has an amazing turning circle. Parallel parking was an interesting exercise and I often wished for bow and stern thrusters to get it docked. Previous posters are right about the extra respect and presence and motorways/long journeys were a doddle.
nsi said:
Almost forgot! Park of the Euro trip involved a couple of days in Monaco... the 7 LITERALLY wouldn't fit into some of the underground car parks. Had to go further out of town.
I do remember an underground car park in Paris being a bit of a squeeze. I fitted the length limit with a mighty 9cm to spare but the ramps were interesting.745li here, but in dubai, so we have a bit more space.
The comfiest way to get from a to b, either when in a hurry- sports mode for dampers, steering wheel buttons for changes and they are surprisingly agile , or just put on the seat ventilation, and waft along in superb refinement. Never had a car that covers all bases so easily.
Good voice recognition for the various features too.
Overall, they feel a lot smaller than they are. The parking sensors are great, and the spec is simply vast.
Oh, and the idrive which was always reported as being far too complex could be learnt by anyone, in about 5 minutes.
Superb cars.
The comfiest way to get from a to b, either when in a hurry- sports mode for dampers, steering wheel buttons for changes and they are surprisingly agile , or just put on the seat ventilation, and waft along in superb refinement. Never had a car that covers all bases so easily.
Good voice recognition for the various features too.
Overall, they feel a lot smaller than they are. The parking sensors are great, and the spec is simply vast.
Oh, and the idrive which was always reported as being far too complex could be learnt by anyone, in about 5 minutes.
Superb cars.
Some reading for you... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
smokey145 said:
I really like the idea of it, I'm sure I would ways be after something more agile though.
Depends what you're using it for. You can chuck them down a B road surprisingly well so long as it's the flowing kind, rather than the anchors/redline kind, but it's still basically a motorway car really. So yeah, depends how you'll plan to use it, as you don't need agility to cover 30k miles of motorway per year! You need cruise, good seats, toys and a long wheel base.smokey145 said:
I really like the idea of it, I'm sure I would ways be after something more agile though.
E38 740i, with factory fitted alpina suspension, wheels & chip. Whilst no hot hatch (and substantially quicker), it will quite happily play with most things on fast A roads, and cruise when you dont. Not bad for 2 tonnes of old skool motoring 
chris182 said:
I do remember an underground car park in Paris being a bit of a squeeze. I fitted the length limit with a mighty 9cm to spare but the ramps were interesting.
I don't think that's a barge problem more a French one, they treat paint as disposable and I've been in car parks where a supermini feels huge. The Q7 is pretty big, and can be awkward to park. However I tend to park well away from the supermarket to avoid the mongs and their offspring, or shop in Costco where the spaces are a proper size.
I did nearly get it stuck in an older multistory, the car filled the space completely with the white lines finishing at the back wheels.
The exit ramps were properly tight too giving me a pretty nerve wracking time to get out.
Most of the time having parking sensors on both ends of the car and a rear view camera makes maneuvering it pretty easy.
I did nearly get it stuck in an older multistory, the car filled the space completely with the white lines finishing at the back wheels.
The exit ramps were properly tight too giving me a pretty nerve wracking time to get out.
Most of the time having parking sensors on both ends of the car and a rear view camera makes maneuvering it pretty easy.
I have an E34 BMW touring which I think meets the 'barge' requirements. It's towed the Caterham to Spa Francorchamps and most UK circuits too. It's done great- I had a few early scares with overheating problems but it's so fantastically easy to fix owing to it's design and build quality and the size of everything. It's been a pleasure. I was coming from a relatively modern diesel car so was scared it'd ruin me but it's exactly as I hoped- I've grown so fond of it that I forgive it's tendency towards the drink and it's other little idiosyncrasies. I was thinking earlier about what I'd rather own for load lugging/touring/towing purposes and reached the conclusion that unless I had about 15x the cost of my E34 to spend, I'd probably rather stick with the E34 
Underrated. Had an XJ6, e32 735, ML500, now drive a clk mini coupe barge delux.
I found them just as easy as any other car to drive and twice as comfortable. Plus they usually have shed loads of toys and are effortless.
They were top of their game. My jag had hgf. Other than that they were all pretty much fault free.
Sit back, arm rest, enjoy your new living room.
I found them just as easy as any other car to drive and twice as comfortable. Plus they usually have shed loads of toys and are effortless.
They were top of their game. My jag had hgf. Other than that they were all pretty much fault free.
Sit back, arm rest, enjoy your new living room.
I run an LS 400 and my father has a LS 460. Both cars are challenging in multi storey car parks but otherwise great to live with so long as you swap over the tyres in the winter. Great cruisers, the LS 400 I park anywhere and is pretty cheap to run with over 110K on the clock. The 460 is a more expensive car, more to go wrong but so far no issues beyond a battery and tyres and pads, discs etc. Enjoy wafting and with the roads so clogged these days turn up the music, switch on the vibrating seat and relax.
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