Bmw 540! touring

[scruffy101]

Hi does anyone know the performance figures for the auto 1997 model ?I am going to veiw this and a 528 and I was wondering about running costs between the two also performance difference.The 528 is £3,500 and the 540 is £4500.Is it worth the extra or will it be a money pit and harder to shift in a couple of years as it will have about 150000 on the clock.Thanks any replies will be good!

[Shropshiremike]

scruffy101 said:

Hi does anyone know the performance figures for the auto 1997 model ?I am going to veiw this and a 528 and I was wondering about running costs between the two also performance difference.The 528 is £3,500 and the 540 is £4500.Is it worth the extra or will it be a money pit and harder to shift in a couple of years as it will have about 150000 on the clock.Thanks any replies will be good!

Autocar have tested one in a group test back in the late 90s - think it was about mid 16 seconds to 100. Was tested against an Alpina 3.2 I recall.
Worth looking at the review

[SJobson]

Hi Mike

540i is about 16s 0-100, while the manual 528i saloon is slightly slower than that (Touring heavier, automatic gearbox makes it slower so I'd say 18-19s for the 528iT).

The 528i is bound to be rather cheaper to run, but the 540i is so much more effortless. Don't pay too much for a 540iT though - I just picked up a 2000/X (pre-facelift) 540iT for £5,500 with 126k miles, and it's pristine. Do your research carefully as to what's been done to yours, because they all seem to need the same things replaced as they age.

[Shropshiremike]

SJobson said:

Hi Mike

Hi Simon - quite a few of the old lot on here - thought you might pop up on this one

[SJobson]

Ooh, just noticed that the 528i saloon in manual gearbox form managed only 18s from 0-100. So the auto Touring is going to be more like 20 seconds. Not driven a 528i but that difference would be quite noticeable, I'd think.

[williamp]

I've had by 540i (non touring) for about six weeks now. Great car, with the great V8 engine. Very quick, and effotless, as said before.

I do a mix of motorway and town driving, and get an average of 27mpg. This can go above 30mpg on a steady motorway run.

[scruffy101]

thanks i bought it!Seems very smooth although the steering creaks a bit on full lock so its going back.

[ShropshireMike]

The Autocar test figs from an R-reg 5-sp auto model tested in 98 were

0-60 6.2
0-100 15.9
30-70 5.6
ss 1/4 14.8@97
Top Speed 155mph
Kerb wt 1770kg

[scruffy101]

Thanks everyone