420d 2.0 xDrive M Sport Auto 2dr

Probably the best car I've ever owned

I've had a few cars over the years from 2CVs to single seaters but this is the best road car I've ever owned.
It's fitted with 205/255 Pirelli runflats so the handling is precise and you would have to be a bit nuts to lose control even in the wet. However, this comes with a downside of requiring constant attention particularly at speed - the runflats are very precise and any deviation in the road surface can pull you off line. Thus it gets very tiring on a long fast drive as in France (no longer possible in the UK!). It originally has Michelin Pilot sport but I found there was a momentary lag on turn in as the radial sidewalls caught up which was disconcerting.
The standard brakes could be bigger considering the performance; they work well enough but I'd like a bit more - I'm just about to refresh my first rear discs at 80k not bad!
It's great fun driving in sport mode using the paddle shift and very easy to find yourself going too fast. The balance of torque and bhp is good and frankly enough for most people.
Over 80k I've averaged over 45mpg and a lot of that is at 130kph on our 800k trip down French motorways. On my 130mile M25/A1 journey I get more like 55mpg so happy with that.
I always try to use premium diesel, it keeps the inlet/injection tracts clean but doesn't seem to make any difference to the mpg when I don't. And it doesn't use any oil between the 10k oil changes.
Tax is now £160 and business use insurance is now £700 odd. I do have extended warranty cover but I've never used it so that a cost of £600pa.
Apart from the egr recalls, there's been no need to take it to the garage.
I have access to a professional garage so my maintenance and repairs are about as low as they could be - LL04 oil is expensive about £45 per oil change + £15 for the filter. If you want to use genuine parts e.g. wiper baldes, then they are really expensive as are BMW dealers.
The dealership is quite good but a lot of people seem to complain of poor service.
With the rear seats folded down the boot space is huge but the initial height is a bit restricted.
It is a practical and versatile car. If you have the option of a reversing camera take it - it's not too easy to park accurately without. The Xdrive means uou won't get stuck in the snow or mud otherwise you won't know it's there. The seats are great, plenty of adjustments to get it just right, if your wife will mess them up go for the powered memory seats. I would have liked nets on the seat backs as standard.
This is my 3rd BMW and I rate them highly for build and engineering quality, much better than most!

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