Quote:
Originally Posted by cvee
I’m close to ordering but am stuck on deciding on a 30d vs 30i.
I’ve only ever driven Petrol engines but love the fuel economy and high torque of diesel.
My only concern is long term maintenance costs and issues with dpf in a diesel.
I keep my cars a long time.... so in 10 years will I curse the decision of going diesel when it breaks down etc.
Not to mention the higher pollutants from diesel exhaust being emitted in my garage.
Tough choice.
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I agree it is potentially a tough choice - a 4-cylinder petrol vs 6-cylinder diesel. For me, the question could really come down to what sort of driving you are going to use the X3 for - city vs long distance driving. If its mainly city/suburban driving with only the occasional long distance trip I would opt for the petrol 30i, or if you do say 50% or more long distance driving like I do, I'd say the diesel. We've had our 2011 F25 X3 30d for over 6 years & 120,000+km now and with the amount of long distance country driving we do the diesel is the natural choice - both for reduced fuel costs and driving range.
We're currently looking at replacing our X3 with either a G01 X3 30d or a 5 Series wagon. The X3 30i is not under consideration but if we end up with the 5 Series wagon it will probably be the 530i (we currently only have the choice of the 520d and 530i in Australia). We would love it if they brought in the 530d wagon - it would solve our problem.
Whose paying for your fuel? - ie will it be you personally or will your company (if applicable). Don't forget the 6-cylinder diesel attracts a higher yearly rego cost over the 4-cylinder (worth an extra $160/year in QLD). The 30d has it all over the 30i in terms of performance - especially rolling acceleration for overtaking on country roads. If the comparison was between the M40i and the 30d, the petrol would be the better performing car.
While the 30d is very refined for a diesel (much quieter inside than say the 20d diesel), the 30i petrol will be the overall quieter car.
Maintenance costs are much the same. If you opt for the pre-paid service agreements (which I highly recommend if you do 15-20,000+km a year in the car) the costs are the same for either petrol or diesel X3s. The pre-paid service costs are listed on the X3's specification sheets downloadable from the BMW Aust website. And you can extended your pre-paid servicing to cover up to 10 years/200,000 km. Extended warranty is limited to only 5 years.
Tony