Fuel economy

P

Putter Whore

Senior member
 Solihull
Hi all - hoping for some guidance. The head is telling me to get a Z4 3.0 Sport - heart is screaming the Z4M. Have researched insurance, tyres & servicing costs and none have put me off. I am however a tad concerned over the difference in fuel economy. I accept you don't buy this sort of car to worry over a few extra quid in the tank. Or to drive it conservatively.

Given an average mix of urban and extra urban driving coupled with sometimes booting it whilst the rest of time stuck in a trail of traffic, what should I be expecting out of a tank? Is the 3.0 enough or should i go for the Z4M and not look back? Any thoughts or advice will be much appreciated.
 
I put £65 of premium in my Z4M on saturday morning gave me 330 miles, Averaging 26mpg maxing at 32mpg lowest of 21mpg. Enough? Sold? thought so :wink:
 
There are a few threads worth searching for where several prospective Z4/Z4M owners debate whether it's worth going for an M over a 3.0, search those out.

Last time I read those there was a considerable difference between the two in urban mpg figures. If I was to spend a fair amount of time stuck in traffic I'd not have a sports car probably, but thankfully I don't sit in traffic often (use public transport to and from work) but that's just my opinion based on my finances, what I think is acceptable, how much I value having a performance car etc etc.

Have you done the maths to see how much extra cash an M would cost you over the course of a year in terms of fuel alone? Would an extra £100 a year be acceptable? £500? £1000? I've no idea how many miles you do a year and how much urban driving/stuck in traffic you do.

For the record, per tank my car does some suburban London driving which can be short journeys, plus some A road/Mway driving which can be 2 hours long. I don't drive like a nutter, but open it up when able to as why have an M (or any performance car) if you're only going to drive up to only 2.5k rpm?

Looking at the data on my Road Trip app I often get around 250 miles per tank, though I've hit 280 a few times too. Right now I have an overall MPG of 24.5mpg which is identical to my old 3.0 V6 Alfa, which is fantastic if you consider the Alfa was 220bhp and the Z4M is 338bhp :o My E46 M3 vert was only 21.5mpg so the Z4MC isn't bad on fuel for the performance it gives.
 
True as said above depends how you drive it, where I live there is barely any traffic so that probably accounts for my higher mpg. Once going over to newcastle being stuck in a huge line of traffic sitting at 50 it made 35mpg... but lets be fair in the real world you are looking at 24-26mpg average and sitting on the motorway at 75 30-32mpg. Depends how you drive it, I like to drive mine smooth and don't drive it like a mad man.

But obviously its a sports car and hitting that red line in the M is very addictive. The car screeches, I was sold on a 3.0si because of its MPG and everyone says its as good to drive as an M but with great economy but when I tried the M its just better and fell in love with it straight away.

The M is a much better drivers car IMHO, no electronic steering for one makes the car so much better, the noise from the quad exhausts is a fantastic metallic rasp. That engine is one of the best BMW have produced too and the power delivery is amazing 80% of torque from 2000rpm. Also all the stuff that comes with it being an M car, the exclusivity especially the coupe as there are only around 550 in Britain.

But that being said the 3.0SI is the best all rounder but if you want that extra the M is def worth a look and at the prices they are at you can get a mint example for about 16k private try 18k at a dealer with a BMW warranty. When I bought mine I was sold straight away and signed :thumbsup:
 
Z4M_Trinity said:
Im averaging 26.6 mpg. Between 250-320 miles to a tank depending on the driving. 6th gear cruising really helps!
Click to expand...

Incredible figures! With the right driving style and the right type of journeys these cars are green machines! :D
 
markos said:
Incredible figures! With the right driving style and the right type of journeys these cars are green machines! :D
Click to expand...

:D. Well a lot of this is motorway stuff, more recently with abut less motorway I've got 25!

I mean we don't buy these cars for the fuel economy, but these figures are such a bonus!! (Either that or I haven't got enough lead in my right foot!!)
 
I reckon for the type of driving the OP is doing he could easily see the MPG in the teens. Mid 20's is usually reserved for relaxed motorway driving or a B road cruising. Going above 80-90 when abroad will take the consumption down to the low 20's.

Anyway screw the fuel consumption and buy an M, they've got more character and are absolutely addictive once you get under their skin.
 
If this is of any help, the average fuel consumption I had over cumulated trips of about 5,000 Km during June to September 2011, was 10.9 l/100Km.
Most of this distance was motorway driving, at a typical speed of 120-130Km/h, with about 6 or so "sessions" roughly 150 Km long each at 170-180 Km/h.

As a conclusion, (at least for my case) a figure of 11 l/100Km is a reasonable estimation for the average fuel consumption of a Z4M over a long distance / time. I find the Z4M fuel economy quite poor (at least compared to a modern turbo car), but I wouldn't call it outrageous.
 
I have a 2.5si and i kid you not on a recent trip to London from Blackburn i did 220 odd miles averaging 46.5 mpg. Average speed 62 mph with a few 50 average speed zones thrown in and sitting behing trucks for some of the journey. There are times when ill drive it like it was supposed to be driven but then times when i want to save money on fuel.
 
I do a lot of motorway driving during the week and sit at an indicated 80 'leptons' for periods of 50-200 miles (M56, M6, M40, M25, M4, etc.). I'm not the lightest on the loud pedal, and am not overly concerned about fuel economy but keep a record to remind me how amazing these are for a car that gives sub-5s 0-60 and 170mph (i.e. ///Ms in general - excluding the more modern e90/e60 onwards models of course which are thirsty buggers).

The best I've had is about 33mpg for a tank - full-to-full using 51 litres (of a 55l tank) - coming back from Heidelberg to Dunkirk in convoy (so cruising at a very steady 130kph for a few hours), and I covered 380 miles before stopping for fuel. The warning light came on at 340 miles and said 65 miles to empty.

My figures over the course of 50,000 miles and 3 years:
  • Urban: 17-22mpg
  • Extra Urban: 20-25mpg
  • Motorway/DC: 25-33mpg
  • Overall: 25mpg
 
Mine is used mostly for short journeys of less than 20 miles and I have a little fun. Showing 23.5 over last 10k


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mmm-five said:
I do a lot of motorway driving during the week and sit at an indicated 80 'leptons' for periods of 50-200 miles (M56, M6, M40, M25, M4, etc.). I'm not the lightest on the loud pedal, and am not overly concerned about fuel economy but keep a record to remind me how amazing these are for a car that gives sub-5s 0-60 and 170mph (i.e. ///Ms in general - excluding the more modern e90/e60 onwards models of course which are thirsty buggers).

The best I've had is about 33mpg for a tank - full-to-full using 51 litres (of a 55l tank) - coming back from Heidelberg to Dunkirk in convoy (so cruising at a very steady 130kph for a few hours), and I covered 380 miles before stopping for fuel. The warning light came on at 340 miles and said 65 miles to empty.

My figures over the course of 50,000 miles and 3 years:
  • Urban: 17-22mpg
  • Extra Urban: 20-25mpg
  • Motorway/DC: 25-33mpg
  • Overall: 25mpg
Click to expand...

Think you nailed it on the head there mmm-five :thumbsup:

The quoted 23.3 average from BMW is quite low most people get more than that. I don't know if they actually did the tests for the car as the figures are quoted the same as the E46 M3 with is a significantly heavier, bigger and less aerodynamic than the Z4.
 
mmm-five said:
I do a lot of motorway driving during the week and sit at an indicated 80 'leptons' for periods of 50-200 miles (M56, M6, M40, M25, M4, etc.). I'm not the lightest on the loud pedal, and am not overly concerned about fuel economy but keep a record to remind me how amazing these are for a car that gives sub-5s 0-60 and 170mph (i.e. ///Ms in general - excluding the more modern e90/e60 onwards models of course which are thirsty buggers).

The best I've had is about 33mpg for a tank - full-to-full using 51 litres (of a 55l tank) - coming back from Heidelberg to Dunkirk in convoy (so cruising at a very steady 130kph for a few hours), and I covered 380 miles before stopping for fuel. The warning light came on at 340 miles and said 65 miles to empty.

My figures over the course of 50,000 miles and 3 years:
  • Urban: 17-22mpg
  • Extra Urban: 20-25mpg
  • Motorway/DC: 25-33mpg
  • Overall: 25mpg
Click to expand...

Looks good and I would say my 3lt is about 3-5 mpg up on your figures.

More town driving averages around 29-30, more country around 32.
 
23.1 mpg - commute/town/dual carriageway/and country blast combined. Not overly aggressive with the throttle. that's over about 7k
 
To the OP. I don't think you could go wrong with either car from a "head" point of view. So go with your "heart". (M)
 
90% of drivers will average 27-32mpg in the 3 litre (I did) and I reckon the same number will get 22-27mpg in the Z4M, depending on how much motorway you do. If it's mainly town driving you'll struggle to get much above 20-22mpg. Budget 30-40% more in fuel costs.
 
I'm 99% town driving.

I average 14.4 in town
And one the rare occasions i'm on dual carriageway i get around 26mpg.

Only time i got 300+ to a tank was the day i bought it!
 
Aliv6 said:
I'm 99% town driving.

I average 14.4 in town
And one the rare occasions i'm on dual carriageway i get around 26mpg.

Only time i got 300+ to a tank was the day i bought it!
Click to expand...
You're a heavy-footed wild haggis though :poke:
 
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