[FastLaneJB]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

I've never been able to let the self-parking do the whole parking job...don't have the bottle for it...I do wonder if that is the German's way of having a laugh...'watch this Franz, we tell ze car that a parking space ist 6 m long und 2.4m vide and vhen zeh try to park using ze feature....BAM! Ah, ze Englander....vatch him try to touch up zat Individual Blue paint after...HAH!'

Honestly it's like launch control in reverse when you start it... Well not quite but it did shock me the speed it initially wanted to go.

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Fully agree with the HUD...best improvement over past models by a long shot in my books, lets you fully concentrate on the roads and almost never need to look at the cockpit really. The size is really something that has to be seen and experienced doesn't it.

Yeah it's just a huge improvement over the old one and even that one is better than other makes I've come across. BMW ones for me have always been razor sharp, the one I had in the C63S always seemed just a little off focus. Only a tiny amount but it just wasn't quite right. Same on the test one I drove so know it wasn't faulty, just simply not as good.

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Good to know about the suspension thoughts, I know I have completely become used to this one and forget how hard and how stiffness can lead to loss of traction at times (outside a track!) on public roads...something for me to consider when I do go for some Summer alloys, be a shame to throw away the comfort for looks completely.

Yeah firm and stiff is for tracks, out on the public roads at least in the UK those types of suspension setups don't always work so well. Some of our roads are quite shockingly bad

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Love the bit about the fuel gauge...Shell had to let go of a few people last night after doing an emergency call in as they knew you were going out...but you didn't stop in to even say so much as a 'how do' to them...Stock prices have dropped until you issue a statement to clarify that you aren't now looking to move to a diesel....

I'll have to prepare a statement to set the record straight

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Personally, the 730d is perfect for the daily car concept. It is quick enough, it is very frugal, it has enough power so one is not wanting, it keeps the tax man at bay (comparatively) and if one really wanted just that bit more oomph...you could get it remapped to output the 15% or 20% more without pushing it and be where a 740 would be anyway for a lot less money than buying the 740. If I keep this one for the next couple of years I may remap at some later point when all the compacts get a discernible boost so one can maintain just that bit more to be able to nip and tuck when needed in traffic to avoid issues but not for being able to race, it just is such a lovely car that I'm quite happy to do the grand touring concept...fast but not stupid and completely in comfort....let the boy racers drag their bottoms and shake and rattle away....

Tax isn't much different after the first year if your buying privately. Infact I think it's pretty much the same though the first year does sting at £2k! Not a good choice for a company car though as the tax band will be off the roof I'm sure.

Looking forwards to just being debadged. Just today coming back from the dealers in the M5 some guy in a blue 3 series must have spotted my car and comes right up behind me at speed, braking at the last minute. Road clears and I move on at quarter throttle and he's right on my ass. Then as he exits and speeds off he looks at me with a look I would describe as "That guy wasted his money on an M5, my 3x0d (Or whatever it was) could keep up no problems". Honestly the number of people that just want to race you is silly around here.

It's warm and dry today, tyres are gripping nicely. I could have floored it and shown him that no, a 180bhp car cannot keep up with a 560bhp car but I'm over that. What happens in those cases is you vanish, get to the speed limit and slow down then they shoot past you at over 100mph by the time they catch up.

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

the 760 is an exception...at least in concept...it seems to be able to sleep and be the tame tiger when wanted but also be able to quickly disavow anyone of the illusion that it isn't the best production car they make...Although it does come with the higher price tag, higher running costs (services will be interesting to hear about! 325_bucks, tyzer and myself will pass the hat around and buy you a pint and a chaser to get over the shock and bring some warmth back into your body upon seeing the total on page 12...) A stunning example, hope it doesn't have a sting in its tail though with taxes, fuel, servicing costs (if one was to have it longer than the 5 years or drive more than 50k miles with it)

I do personally like the 730 or the 760, not sure I'd go for anything else myself...and the 730 is just a lovely sweet spot that does everything without complaint but can be upgraded with remapping to get that bit more if needed in a few years time to stay up with the jones's...

The 760 is pretty much a do it all car. The only downsides to it is the cost and running costs as you mention. I doubt I'll use it beyond it's service life time so probably not have to pay any of those costs myself so not worried about that, it's just the fuel. Once your running an M5, it'll be more but your used to already going to fill up often so it's not going to be a million miles worse. Going from a 730d to a 760 though could be a shock to the wallet though. You'll need roughly twice the amount of fuel to cover similar distances plus 98 RON ideally which is a bit more expensive per litre. So if doing work for business just make sure you can cover that so not hugely out of pocket is all.