Having been a bit flippant in my previous reply to this thread here's a few more serious suggestions... Provide a digital display that combines some sat nav basics with digital speed readout. The analogue speedo is difficult to make out in bright light, not helped by speed delineated at 20, 40, 60 e...

Well at least I had free coffee while waiting for the mechanics to finish with the car. And they gave it a complimentary wash and vac! As for the fuel economy thing - basically patience is a virtue. Nothing untoward found and I was told I could expect a significant improvement at around the 2 - 3k m...

Car booked in with the dealer this coming Thursday to see if they can identify why fuel consumption is so low. I mentioned also that the car (DSG) tends to hold on to its gears on hills even to the point were it's essentially over revving for the speed. Apparently a characteristic but they'll have a...

Did a 500 mile round trip recently mostly motorways in light to moderate traffic so a pretty steady 2000 revs in D7 most of the way. Temps around 5 - 8 deg C so could have been warmer. Car loaded with the equivalent of 3 adults at an average weight of 80Kg and with rear seats removed. All of this is...

For all those suffering issues with the 1.5 I thought I'd balance it out a bit with tales from a 1.6ltr diesel user. In a manor reminiscent of the 1.5s unwillingness to take instructions from the throttle pedal the 1.6 has a similar trait when cold. Three times now I've been caught out by a signific...

Hate to say this but the 8 speed auto and their very good 2ltr diesel from BMW would be a good start. The rest BMW can keep. I find the DSG to be a pretty woeful auto box and the 1.6ltr diesel appears to get its instructions via ships telegraph.

For those with the DSG try left-foot braking. Braking with the left foot allows a slight depression of the accelerator pedal so that S/S doesn't cut in in situations like roundabouts, right turns etc. It takes a bit of getting used to but is particularly useful for low speed manoeuvring.

Mine wasn't a "proper" BMW Colin (not in BMW circles anyway ). Front wheel drive you see so definitely not considered a real beamer by the cognoscenti. Probably why it was never in any danger of catching fire!

After 11 months of Karoqness, It gets more bland (IMO) as every day passes...... After nearly 4 years of sometimes quite exciting ownership of a BMW I'm looking forward to some "blandness" for a bit. My excitement included: 1. Driver seat lumber support adjustment button broke on first us...

It would be a dull old world if we all agreed ! Well that's one thing we can certainly agree on! :lol: I suspect my assessment was coloured partly by coming from a diesel in the first place and one with a very good engine and auto gear box (8 speed) combo - probably the two best things about the BM...