Fuel consumption confusion
- Thread starter tmcthree
- Start date
This topic is relevant to quite a few people I would think.
doing 60+ miles a day MPG was a hughe factor for me especially coming from a VW TDI doing 60+MPG.
I knew my old 3.0 roadster could do mid 30's if driven carefully, so when I decided to get a coupe I knew I could acheive that sort of figure. As I am now sitting at around 39MPG I am pretty happy.
However as a first time buyer and as I am wanting to over pay the mortgage etc etc even 39MPG is starting to hit me now and I admit I am not enjoying the car as much as I should... this is partly because of the awful ride, getting rid if the RFTs soon so hopefully that improves things.
on a side note, I had a mini cooper SD courtesy car last week.... first time I drove a new mini and I loved it, much more fun than my Z4 (sorry to say) and felt just as quick in real terms, but it does not look or sound anywhere near as good as the coupe and in terms of cost to buy, not cheap at all.
doing 60+ miles a day MPG was a hughe factor for me especially coming from a VW TDI doing 60+MPG.
I knew my old 3.0 roadster could do mid 30's if driven carefully, so when I decided to get a coupe I knew I could acheive that sort of figure. As I am now sitting at around 39MPG I am pretty happy.
However as a first time buyer and as I am wanting to over pay the mortgage etc etc even 39MPG is starting to hit me now and I admit I am not enjoying the car as much as I should... this is partly because of the awful ride, getting rid if the RFTs soon so hopefully that improves things.
on a side note, I had a mini cooper SD courtesy car last week.... first time I drove a new mini and I loved it, much more fun than my Z4 (sorry to say) and felt just as quick in real terms, but it does not look or sound anywhere near as good as the coupe and in terms of cost to buy, not cheap at all.
tmcthree said:
as i said before this z is doing about the same economy my focus did. i know which car i would rather be in
to certain extent i agree that you should just buy it and not care but running costs are a factor. i would love to get a cobra replica, a nice big lazy throbby v8 but i wouldnt be able to run it
tmcthree. you should also consider the other costs. servicing is not so cheap as perhaps other cars esp if you buy new ish and intend on keeping it full and upto date. for me it was ok taking the focus to the dodgy gargae up the road. they did good work and were really cheap. but i wouldnt take the beemer there. also tyres. i needed all 4 and a geo and it came to £600 which i thought was good (khumo ecsta le sport) again the focus i would put on khumo's that were £50 a corner (ish).
i use mine daily on city roads short journeys. its worth it.
speed12 i know exactly where your coming from with the mini except im the other way around. i just love roadsters. sitting low with a big bonnet infront. i know there are faster cars, quick cars with better consumption. just as quick cars with 5 seats (like a hot hatch) but they are just not the same.
As said above - if it is a weekend car I would get the 3.0 all day long. For long trips the MPG is exceptional for such a performance car. We drove almost 1,300 miles over the last few days to Scotland and back - even with an average speed of 80mph on the OBC for the way up ( 
) I got almost 32mpg... If I was more patient it would have been a lot higher. We had a 300 mile hoon spent mainly in 3rd & 4th in the middle, then a much slower journey home yesterday, and the OBC says 28.5 MPG. I know you shouldn't believe the computer but I can't be arsed doing the maths...
All that said, I have been using it for very short journeys 90% of the time, daily, for the last 5 months, and the OBC MPG was horrible, down at 20mpg. But when I say short I mean a couple or 4 miles each time - so really short.
If you can get in a 3.0Si you won't regret it, and it shouldn't destroy your pocket.
) I got almost 32mpg... If I was more patient it would have been a lot higher. We had a 300 mile hoon spent mainly in 3rd & 4th in the middle, then a much slower journey home yesterday, and the OBC says 28.5 MPG. I know you shouldn't believe the computer but I can't be arsed doing the maths...All that said, I have been using it for very short journeys 90% of the time, daily, for the last 5 months, and the OBC MPG was horrible, down at 20mpg. But when I say short I mean a couple or 4 miles each time - so really short.
If you can get in a 3.0Si you won't regret it, and it shouldn't destroy your pocket.
StevenH72 is stating that in DPG's theoretical weekend car that does 10mpg would cost you
450miles/10mpg*1.37ppl*4.54l/gal= £280
If it's between a 2.5 And a 3.0, then get the 3.0.
You can always drive the 3.0 slower to get the economy, but you can't put your foot down harder in the 2.5 to go as fast as a 3.0
450miles/10mpg*1.37ppl*4.54l/gal= £280
If it's between a 2.5 And a 3.0, then get the 3.0.
You can always drive the 3.0 slower to get the economy, but you can't put your foot down harder in the 2.5 to go as fast as a 3.0
1066 Country
If I was faced with the choice again between the 2.5 & 3.0 and MPG was a consideration, think I'd still do what I did at the time of look at the condition, mileage, history & optional extras.
Statistically people who buy the flagship models (3.0) tend to also spec them more highly, as they're not so concerned at being economical with extras & probably the reason why I ended up with my 3.0 as it has everything except parking sensors, bluetooth & Nav - everything else was there.
Statistically people who buy the flagship models (3.0) tend to also spec them more highly, as they're not so concerned at being economical with extras & probably the reason why I ended up with my 3.0 as it has everything except parking sensors, bluetooth & Nav - everything else was there.
thepits said:FFS IMHO if you want a car then who gives a damn about the MPG? :evil: I was asked this numerous times when I had my E30 M3.
Drive the car, Enjoy it.
If you're that worried, buy a hybrid!
Well Donald Trump, not all of us have limitless funds like yourself.
I sat and thought about all the different mpg's on this place and came to the conclusion, it's where you live and how you drive. If you drive like Richard Bucket from keeping up appearances and live in Norfolk you'll do high end mpg, if you live in Bristol like me, which is just hill after hill after hill and you drive like the dukes of hazard, you'll be in the petrol station a lot. Petrol prices will only ever go up and looking at the amount of 3 litres available on autotrader and eBay, this is getting out of hand for a lot if them. If you can afford a toy just for the weekend, then you can afford the fuel but if your looking for an every dayer and you live within a budget unlike our friend above, your going to have to work it out. You can't do more than 90 on the motorway and other roads about 60, even if your prepared to break the law because everyone else drives like a coop funeral director, so unless your on a track, a lot of horses are going to end up neglected. If you are wondering if you can afford it, you can't.
Hi guys, this is my first post, I was hoping to have my first post as an introduction of myself and my car but I haven't taken any decent pics yet so thought I'd add my thoughts as a new Z4 owner.
Before I bought mine I said that I don't care about fuel consumption, I just wanted something more fun than my 120D so would be happy to pay whatever. My best pal has had a 3.0 Z4 for 3 years now, he does about 2 miles of town driving a day & drives it like he stole it he says and is getting about 25 mpg. I didn't think that was too bad but still considered a 2.5 as I do about 18 miles per day along some winding country lanes so thought I'd try to get as much mpg as possible (no matter what it was going to be a big drop from the 44 mpg I was getting from the 120D). The more I looked though the more i realised the real world difference between the two was actually only a couple of mpg but as mentioned before you can drive the 3.0 a bit more gently to get the same mpg as the 2.5, especially if you make the most of the 6th gear.
All things considered I went for the 3.0, have done 1200 miles in a month and am on my 5th tank of fuel. I've averaged exactly 30 mpg so far but I've been 'enjoying' the car as much as possible so this should improve over time. I doubt the 2.5 would have been any better than that so far but if you're considering a car like this then mpg can only be a relative consideration as you've got to expect the lower half of 30 mpg regardless.
Get the 3.0, you'll never look back and enjoy every second of it!
Before I bought mine I said that I don't care about fuel consumption, I just wanted something more fun than my 120D so would be happy to pay whatever. My best pal has had a 3.0 Z4 for 3 years now, he does about 2 miles of town driving a day & drives it like he stole it he says and is getting about 25 mpg. I didn't think that was too bad but still considered a 2.5 as I do about 18 miles per day along some winding country lanes so thought I'd try to get as much mpg as possible (no matter what it was going to be a big drop from the 44 mpg I was getting from the 120D). The more I looked though the more i realised the real world difference between the two was actually only a couple of mpg but as mentioned before you can drive the 3.0 a bit more gently to get the same mpg as the 2.5, especially if you make the most of the 6th gear.
All things considered I went for the 3.0, have done 1200 miles in a month and am on my 5th tank of fuel. I've averaged exactly 30 mpg so far but I've been 'enjoying' the car as much as possible so this should improve over time. I doubt the 2.5 would have been any better than that so far but if you're considering a car like this then mpg can only be a relative consideration as you've got to expect the lower half of 30 mpg regardless.
Get the 3.0, you'll never look back and enjoy every second of it!
I think I need to elaborate a little from my post above.
I don't own a Z4 (yet....) but when I met my gf she drove a 2004 silver 2.2 manual MK1. She loved her car and drove it hard as she is a speed demon. She would average 34mpg most the time and i only ever saw it drop to 31 worst case. Then last year she started getting the feel to upgrade to the MK2. So me being me started researching and learning about the MK2 Z4.
I joined this forum as a result and very quickly lots of genuine guys really helped me out. We even found a car and i very quickly ended up doing a deal on it at BMW. Deal done we traded the 2.2 in for a brand new 2.0 white M sport with the works!!
The car looked the nuts as it was fully loaded with red leather and 19 inch wheels and so on.
Driving the 2.0 the same way and at times harder my girlfriend would average 35 - 37mpg. Within a few months she started missing the sound, power delivery and general feel of the straight 6. Tbh she got bored and I ended up letting her drive my V6.
In the end we decided the car has to go since she wasn't enjoying it. 2 weeks ago we got rid of it and she picked up a mint 3.0si MK1 glacier white with split rims fully loaded and hasn't stopped smiling yet! Best thing.... she is averaging 32mpg driving pretty hard.
So there you have it... this has proved to me and hopefully you that the Z4 MK1 3.0 is the most economical 3L car out there.
It pisses all over my 3.2V6 in terms of economy and even power! So much so that I have decided that I will get one myself next year!
I don't own a Z4 (yet....) but when I met my gf she drove a 2004 silver 2.2 manual MK1. She loved her car and drove it hard as she is a speed demon. She would average 34mpg most the time and i only ever saw it drop to 31 worst case. Then last year she started getting the feel to upgrade to the MK2. So me being me started researching and learning about the MK2 Z4.
I joined this forum as a result and very quickly lots of genuine guys really helped me out. We even found a car and i very quickly ended up doing a deal on it at BMW. Deal done we traded the 2.2 in for a brand new 2.0 white M sport with the works!!
The car looked the nuts as it was fully loaded with red leather and 19 inch wheels and so on.
Driving the 2.0 the same way and at times harder my girlfriend would average 35 - 37mpg. Within a few months she started missing the sound, power delivery and general feel of the straight 6. Tbh she got bored and I ended up letting her drive my V6.
In the end we decided the car has to go since she wasn't enjoying it. 2 weeks ago we got rid of it and she picked up a mint 3.0si MK1 glacier white with split rims fully loaded and hasn't stopped smiling yet! Best thing.... she is averaging 32mpg driving pretty hard.
So there you have it... this has proved to me and hopefully you that the Z4 MK1 3.0 is the most economical 3L car out there.
It pisses all over my 3.2V6 in terms of economy and even power! So much so that I have decided that I will get one myself next year!
Carsonking said:Well Donald Trump, not all of us have limitless funds like yourself. I sat and thought about all the different mpg's on this place and came to the conclusion, it's where you live and how you drive. If you drive like Richard Bucket from keeping up appearances and live in Norfolk you'll do high end mpg, if you live in Bristol like me, which is just hill after hill after hill and you drive like the dukes of hazard, you'll be in the petrol station a lot. Petrol prices will only ever go up and looking at the amount of 3 litres available on autotrader and eBay, this is getting out of hand for a lot if them. If you can afford a toy just for the weekend, then you can afford the fuel but if your looking for an every dayer and you live within a budget unlike our friend above, your going to have to work it out. You can't do more than 90 on the motorway and other roads about 60, even if your prepared to break the law because everyone else drives like a coop funeral director, so unless your on a track, a lot of horses are going to end up neglected. If you are wondering if you can afford it, you can't.thepits said:FFS IMHO if you want a car then who gives a damn about the MPG? :evil: I was asked this numerous times when I had my E30 M3.
Drive the car, Enjoy it. If you're that worried, buy a hybrid!
I'm confused - you start out calling me Donald Trump - i.e. loads of money - which I haven't - and end up agreeing with me - "If you are wondering if you can afford it, you can't"
My point entirely.
