str8_6

Totally agree with you Ron, the diesel option and the savings you get doing high annual mileage make sense. Fuel calculations seem pretty spot on. For the record, we drove Wellington to Turangi and back over the New Year period with the final mileage on the clock being 745km when we got home. I filled up in Wellington initially with premium at $1.93 per liter. Whilst the car told me I did bang on 15ltr/100km when we got home, I calculated we used approx 114 litres at $1.93 (220.02) for the trip at approx consumption of 15.3ltr/100km. I topped the tank in Turangi when we left and put in for the total trip $254.62. There was just under half a tank left when we got home. It never once felt underpowered or stressed and we definitely don't need to rev it to 4500rpm for it to move or keep up. It generally chugs along at 2000 - 3500rpm with the boat on. Neal, if was daily driving one, we would not go the V8 route, in fact, we'd likely buy a newer model diesel as I prefer the e70 but personally I prefer driving a smaller car day to day. The diesels are generally more expensive but will hold resale. We bought ours as the depreciation has almost all been lost and we don't use it a lot... But when we do, it safely gets us around with close to 2ton of boat and camping gear a few times a year. We chose it over a station wagon because most big wagons tow ratings came too close to the boat/trailer weight (I like to build in a little redundancy). We also bought it because it has AWD and that is always helpful on a slippery boat ramp.

The old Discovery V8 we had used to do about 21ltr/100km towing the same boat. Leaked about the same amount of oil too. Around town the X5 is thirsty. From memory sits around 14-15ltr/100km without the boat.

Yeah, the torque from the 535d is epic. Driven the 335d and 535d and was very impressed.

Yeah, I've seen a few with quite negative camber. Ours doesn't seem to be so bad. I've read that worn control arm bushings lead to increased negative camber. Ours has rear air suspension which keeps the height the same when loaded/unloaded so there is minimal change in camber when towing. CRD has moved things on a lot, they are brilliant but you have to be doing higher annual mileage to justify the cost etc.

We bought an earlier model pre-facelift e53 X5 for towing the boat a while back. We previously had a Discovery and Pajero and the X5 is leaps and bounds ahead. Ours has the sport package so it's firm, but once it's loaded up it rides nicely. It's not the best of build quality compared to other BMW models, but it still looks good for a 14 year old car. We decided on the V8 because the diesel's had a higher price and for the amount of mileage we do in it, it simply wasn't worth it. Agreed, it looks like a "Remuera tractor" but it tows effortlessly, it's big and safe, even has sway control when the trailer is hooked up. Boat weighs about 1.8 ton, I got 15L per 100kms on a recent trip Wellington to Taupo and back and it did not slow down on any of the hills :-). Not too shabby when I compare that to the Discovery and Pajero which were gutless.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Where can you purchase the spray?

Is there anyone in Wellington who can code or knows their way around coding the e9x platform? I want to add a newer LCI head unit with voice control and USB and that apparently will need coding.

Damn, I promised myself I wouldn't mod it... but that is just awesome.

Yeah, where's the fun in that? I'm a little spoilt and used to the M5's torque. I tried a 335d but the petrol makes a better noise.

I have looked into it, and I should try it just to say I have but there have been a few who have flashed back to standard because they do the majority of their driving in normal driving mode and they haven't liked the way the flash behaves. I'm much the same, spend most of the time in normal driving mode. I rarely use sport so I'm likely to be in that camp. I'm not sure how one would call this car boring with the steptronic gearbox. Don't get me wrong, a manual has it's place, but I am NEVER wishing I waited for a manual. I'm reluctant to try the DCT... because I will end up liking it more... and I have enough liabilities.

I've had the M5 for about 6 years and love it. Generally just age related maintenance - seals, gaskets, fuel pump etc but they come with "M tax" prices to remediate. I don't like daily driving it anymore so went for something just as fun for running around in, hence the 335i. Had the 335i for about 6 months and glad I got a warranty - been in more times than necessary for a car with sub 50km on the clock. None of the problems major, but just frustrating. If it wasn't so much fun to drive daily then it would have been sold by now. It's effortlessly quick and the engine suits the automatic transmission - it's not slushy as Matthew mentioned above. Auto learns your driving style, paddle shifters and sport mode if you want to have a little more fun, even subtle blips of the throttle on downshifts in sport mode. There is almost zero turbo lag too. What impressed me most though is the steering feel you get in the e90 series chassis. It is so sublime. I have driven the newer F30 series and they feel more removed and floaty to drive.

Or if you like maintaining two needy cars, buy the 335i and M5... ?

First BMW I owned was a pre-facelift e30 325i Motorsport coupe. I still miss that thing, it was one of those cars you found excuses for just to go drive it. It just did everything right.

The newer generation n52 six cylinder in the e90 and e87 is a real gem. I haven't really heard anything bad about them. I've never driven a four cylinder BMW (non turbo) that I've liked. They are pushing around cars that aren't really considered lightweights and you end up spending just as much on fuel as you would in a 6 cylinder. Don't forget, the 6 also sounds much better.

I used to daily my E39 M5 and it's a brilliant cruiser. It eats up motorway miles. Interesting that others find the clutch light, mine has always been quite heavy so traffic can be annoying. I was told that it is quite normal... perhaps it's not factory - there's no mention of change in the service records though. It really has two personalities and for my daily driving, I was really only bumbling around most of the time. Somewhat wasteful as it likes being pushed - prod it and really is a different animal completely. It just wakes up and feels so much better for it - suspension feels properly weighted, steering feels better etc. I've struggled to find a replacement for it. It's retired to a weekend car due to the mileage I now do. Taking it out from time to time makes it all that more enjoyable. I love the look of the e60's but didn't want the daily thirst of the v10 and whilst I love the e92 M3 look, I wasn't 100% drawn in by the drive for the price - it felt a little lazy compared to the S62's mountain of torque which feels more useable. I got the chance a few months ago to try an e92 335i coupe and instantly fell for it. It does everything I need a daily to do whilst still being seriously quick and economical. It's a blast to drive, looks brilliant and it sounds great too.

It's not too bad when it's sitting in an E39 M5 either.

Mine is tightly held and although it doesn't get a lot of use at present, I think that just makes the times I do use it even better.

Funnily enough the e39 m5 wasn't fitted with brake duct cooling from factory (may be different for the U.S. cars with different rotors). You can retrofit the 540i MSport air ducts and wheel well liners (or cut the holes yourself). There's more information on M5Board. I've never really felt the need to install them as I don't track the car and it leads a pretty easy life. In saying this, the brakes are probably its weakest point and I have overheated the front disks during some spirited driving...

On my N52, I kept getting the error code 2A99 (Crank Shaft - Outlet crank shaft, correlation). I had a rough idle when cold starting and noticed power surging while cornering uphill on winding hill roads. The other symptom I noticed was when coming to a stop from time to time, the engine felt like it was going to cut out as it changed from second to first gear. I cleaned both solenoids and noticed a slight improvement but still surging. I cleaned them both a few more times but it still wasn't 100%. I swapped them around and the car ran really badly so I realised one of them was faulty. Replaced it and now no more error codes, smooth idle and no surging.

I couldn't code this out on the e85, so I pulled the wire out on the buzzer for the reversing gong, leaving the wires connected for the reversing sensors/park distance control (they share the same buzzer in the Z4).

If I was buying a car for some back road thrashing, I'd probably go with an e46 M3. Big enough to use everyday, fast enough to cause some trouble but still small enough to chuck around. No... But I am biased

I managed just over 700kms on a tank driving Wellington to Auckland over New Years. Was quite impressed.

I have the same 3.0 engine in the Z4 and it probably weighs about the same as the 1 series. I find it extremely economical especially for the performance. It's got a small tank, but I generally see 550kms around town.