Beobloke
pfm Member
Sounds more like a driver issue than a car issue.
Sick of manual gearboxes? Maybe good news is coming
- Thread starter richardg
- Start date
Suffolk Tony
Aim low, achieve your goals, avoid disappointment.
Yep, had a few of those too & they're also excellent.
eddie pugh
pfm Member
Has anyone anything good to say on the Lexus Autos. I've been driving a lovely old BMW 530d Tourer Auto for the last 22 years with no issues whatsoever but getting a bit nervous about rubber hose degradation etc and wondering what might replace it.
Wife has a 2017 Tiguan 4x4 with Dual Clutch Auto thing which I must confess is quite impressive but is much jerkier at low speed stuff
Budget lent us a non hybrid small Lexus in the States recently which I think had a CVT I wasn't that impressed Slow to take off etc
Looked at the drive train in the full hybrid Lexus's on you tube and that did my head in with its complexity. very impressive though and I guess the lower down Toyotas use pretty much the same tech. I had an Auto Toyota Camry in Riyadh for a year or two and thought it a great little car until I got car jacked !!
Eddie
Wife has a 2017 Tiguan 4x4 with Dual Clutch Auto thing which I must confess is quite impressive but is much jerkier at low speed stuff
Budget lent us a non hybrid small Lexus in the States recently which I think had a CVT I wasn't that impressed Slow to take off etc
Looked at the drive train in the full hybrid Lexus's on you tube and that did my head in with its complexity. very impressive though and I guess the lower down Toyotas use pretty much the same tech. I had an Auto Toyota Camry in Riyadh for a year or two and thought it a great little car until I got car jacked !!
Eddie
If the BMW does what you want and you like it, just keep it serviced and replace any hoses etc that start to look worn. A decent local specialist (they are everywhere, ask around and you'll find one) will keep the thing on the road for a lot less than annual depreciation on any newer car. They will know what gives up and how to deal with it before the thing becomes unreliable. My dad runs a 520d, not as old as yours by half, but he has a local specialist 2 man band running similar cars, both 15+ years old and both over 250k miles. One is beyond 300k miles. Given that they will have a ready supply of used BMWs of all ages the fact that they carry on running older ones with high mileage speaks volumes as to whether it works.
Rockmeister
pfm Member
when will 'driver' become 'driven'?
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
At 100km/h in 6th gear, my engine spins at 2,200rpm. Max torque of 400Nm comes in at 1,500rpm and remains flat until just a smidge over 5,000rpm. I change up into 6th above 70km/h. What's not to love about a six-cylinder turbo-petrol motor.
If I had chosen the ZFAT transmission option, 8th gear would be spinning the motor at barely above idle at 100km/h.
PaulMB
pfm Member
A straight-six is the most beautiful of all engines. Years ago I had a 2-litre straight-six BMW, a 320i with no power steering. A joy to drive!
gez
pfm Member
I know you said rhetorical but.... BMW manuals were never particularly great examples of the breed, and the ZF gearboxes are by most peoples accounts very very good. Also there's no denying that in objective performance terms the new BMWs are superior to the older models. But all that said.... I would never buy one, but mostly because they are a) just too heavy now and b) turbo charged. I've not experienced their ZF personally, but I wouldn't let the fact they were auto put me off at least test driving one (if by some miracle my other issues with them were not the case).
I currently drive a N52 equipped 3L model and I couldn't agree more with what you say about the straight six engine, silky smooth really is not an exageration. Gear change is the usual "rubbery" slightly notchy afair (if many reviewers are to be believed anyway - certainly mine has those oft stated BMW manual qualities)
What's wrong with them being turbo'd? There are some poor turbo'd modern petrol engines, (I've driven a couple of awful ones) but there are many excellent ones. BMW's B58 is a real peach and might surprise you. It's a 6, so has that turbine smoothness, bags of torque from just off idle, no lag, and no drop off at high revs. Sincerely: I just don't know how anyone can criticise its manners and driving characteristics.
gez
pfm Member
I've nothing against Turbos in principle. They're just not for me. I don't like the way they develop power, I prefer an NA engine as I like to rev an engine out to gain it's max performance. Yes I know that modern turbos do reward being revved out (at least some of the BMWs do by all accounts), but there's no getting away from their torque curve which just doesn't appeal to me*. I guess it's because I "grew up" with motorbikes long before I ever drove a car and so I grew to like the way an NA engine progressively builds torque and power. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate a flexible engine though, I don't think I'd enjoy a super peaky gutless engine in a car (in a motorbike it's not so much of an issue as they rev so much faster).
*Your bold bit is exactly what I don't want from an engine.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
I had a Honda Accord VTEC a while back. It really needed to be revved above 4,000 rpm to produce any useful power. It was naturally aspirated too, so there's really no horses home from down low. On the same incline that my F31 climbs comfortably at 80km/h in 6th gear, I would need to drop the Honda down to third, sometimes second if fully laden with bodies.
Turbo-petrol engines have come a long way, and are now virtually ubiquitous.
Turbo-petrol engines have come a long way, and are now virtually ubiquitous.
martin clark
pinko bodger
.. those 5sp are all ZF boxes; lovely to use.
It's the Getrag boxes for all 6-sp manuals (of all eras) that are a bit ...agricultural.
It's the Getrag boxes for all 6-sp manuals (of all eras) that are a bit ...agricultural.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
Not all 6-speeds are Getrag. The variety in my 335i, according to Wikipedia, is made by ZF. It is buttery smooth.
Lot's of talk about that a couple of years ago, including fantasies that people suddenly wouldn't want to own there car anymore. And then.............................................. Silence.
I don't mind if everybody else is in self driving cars as long as I'm allowed to drive my own. When I'm old enough not to drive anymore I can always call a cab if it's really important.
artoly
pfm Member
I enjoy an older NA engine with a slightly sporty tune, mostly for weekend and occasional other drives (3.2L V6). It would only have marginally more welly/kg than the similar aged 1.8 turbo, but it somehow feels better and sounds much nicer while doing the same thing, and is more of a driving experience. Unfortunately the little turbo engines eat the big NA's for breakfast on the efficiency front though (in my limited experience), so better for the daily grind.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
Perfect primary and secondary balance is what i6 gives. It also defines the classic engine configuration of a BMW.
