630d GT XDrive

[rsG32er]

B57 I6 diesel, 457lb/ft and about as smooth as you like. Apr 2018 car, currently showing 1.3k miles.

20" 648M alloys, staggered 275/35 rear and 245/40 front
comfort seats + nappa
piano black trim
tech pack (heads-up, enhanced bluetooth, wireless charging, gesture control, display key, wi-fi)
driving assistant plus (active cruise plus the lane assist and autonomous stuff)
parking assistant plus (3d camera, auto-park)
online entertainment + concierge


the biggest car I've owned and possibly the biggest difference I've ever experienced moving between cars.

I've had to adjust how to drive to take this thing on - not a problem now but definitely has needed the brain and inputs to adjust.

good bits so far

engine - unbelievable, seems very different from all previous xxxD cars previously owned but suspect moving from 4-banger VAG diesel accentuates this
gearbox - my first taste of the 8-speeder, briliant, makes even latest VW DSG feel agricultural
rear loading/boot generally - more convenient (wider access) than previous passat estate and great proportions, perfect for suitcase and laptop bag management every week. need to get a full load to the tip to validate
steering - the car can be placed so accurately even on bumpy local welsh roads
feeling of size - after the first 10 miles the car seems to have shrunk and now doesn't feel worrying to thread down country lanes
visibility - superb from the drivers seat and the camera system instills confidence for lower speed shuffling around
isolation - if you want the feeling of no assault from constant road activity, this achieves it
nav & displays - outstanding tech quality, no different from latest 5/7 series I guess
seats - I suffer from recurring back issues and these seem to be a bit of a revelation for my needs


bad bits so far

has taken me 500+ miles to get the tyre pressures right, normally I would over-inflate by 1-2 psi all round but this hasn't worked for me on this car
spoiler doing wierd stuff - got iced up then has been throwing a few wobblers
rattle from front of sunroof - disappointing
am concerned for the state of the wheels picking up so much gravel dust / farm muck - but my fault for living where I do
window drop on door open - it does this too late meaning strain constantly on front glass edge. annoying.


Will be first week of normal use starting with red-eye Tuesday morning schlep to the Midlands then onto Reading - then normal run home on Thursday so 500 miles to gain some more opinions.

happy to answer any questions if folks are interested

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

Welcome to GCF and thanks for the write-up here and in the 6er thread, I particularly like the white piping on the black leather seats. Curious as to why you opted for a 6er GT instead of a 5er Touring since you were also coming from a wagon prior to this.

 

[rsG32er]

The piping comes out white on every pic I've seen - it's more of a silver-grey.

This purchase was bourne out of decision whether to take company car or not.

Company route would have been a 530d touring SE, or 525d M-sport (right at values limit for the scheme). But wouldn't have been able to get 530d MSport.

Spec would have been standard, maybe room in their budget limits for one extra.

I could have gone for the same but private route - but would have spent more on the equivalent spec car and be left with picking up on ownership at anywhere between 10k and 25k miles. There is a 530d xdrive touring on the BMW site right now - good spec, same age and similar price that I paid but 26k miles covered.

Further cost comparison - even when I take into account depreciation, costs to run etc - if I save what I would have put into company scheme for BIK etc then I end up better off for next time round compared to the tax man getting my cash. Raw figures are I would be net £1100 per month worse off for cashflow each month by opting to take a higher end co. car rather than current cash. That is a bit ouch.

So I found myself trying to justify spending x amount privately on something slightly better than I could have had at what felt like a high monthly cost on the company scheme. We set a budget and went from there - then I started spotting 6GT models and the dealer pre-reg's that they have obviously been struggling to shift as they are not the popular choice.

Then the car itself - I couldn't have chosen something a bit different on the scheme - this is certainly a bit different. The driving position and visibility for motorway use are marginally improved. I don't know if the comfort seats are better/worse but assume the same.

Isolation - road noise, other traffic - that constant drone for 4 hours at a time - it all builds up, especially when I then have 12 hour days in the office in between. Sure - it's only 10-20% difference maybe - but that adds up over a long period and I put higher value on that than maybe the "conventional" choice.

8mm higher ground clearance than the 5er and higher rear clearance - there are many situations where the Passat Alltrack ground clearance has saved me - doesn't sound like a factor when you say 8mm but the higher rear matters when reversing on muddy tracks round here. Ownership of this car where I live is a bit of a test for a supposedly premium BMW - challenge accepted

Improvements on the Alltrack - that was a spongy car with very vague turn-in and poor control when you get repeated bounce on trickier road elevations. The GT manages to stay in control and has much more accuracy with placing on the road both on motorway and tight country roads. It is affected less by changes in camber / poor road building - the tradeoff being the worse small bumps are felt more through the runflats - but that's runflats on 20's for you.

The shape - I really like it. A big luxury hatchback, lovely !

Overall it's as close as I'll get to a 7-series with no penalty on load-lugging and the feeling of still being in a bigger car than the 5.

The downside is it doesn't handle like a 5 - but then nor does a 7 and I can live with that when as mentioned elsewhere 95% of my priority needs relate to sitting on active cruise on the M4. My local driving at home is not fast open b-roads so the 5'er wouldn't have had chance to shine like you read in all the test reports. I drove a 520d and it was superb so I know what I haven't got.

The above may or not make sense to those reading - but I guess I end up in the bracket that some folks have described for the 6GT - you want a 7 but can't afford it / need practicality, you would try an SUV but not sure on image or ownership prospect, you like the touring practicality but want something different, you value refinement and isolation from the road but can't afford the true luxury business/executive class options.

If I can get the few annoying niggles sorted out (spoiler - behaved fine yesterday, sunroof rattle) then I'll be a happy owner. It already feels like a world apart from the Passat so no regrets so far

 

[rsG32er]

oh and I should add, the only engine I really wanted was the new 30d

more torque than my previous 335d E90, supposedly without the fuel penalty even in a heavier car, was intriguing - the reality is so far it has far exceeded my hopes.

massive shove with superb refinement / sound deadening gives the right balance of interesting sound vs "is it really a diesel?". love it.

 

[rsG32er]

so, 1k miles added in first 10 days, 600 of them in the last 72 hours with pretty wintry conditions for a lot of it.

completely and utterly faultless/effortless to drive, seats are a revelation and if you sit at 70 in eco pro mode it returns 47mpg on the computer.

rear spoiler being taken apart and rebuilt next week after initial diagnostics today, it may need replacing if no joy. worked fine yesterday and today after regularly throwing error messages in auto mode.

engine starting to wake up now

I would value any other owners sharing their thoughts on ownership experience as my feelings are BMW got this car right.

 

[dalab]

nice color

 

[Centurion]

Congratulations. I have always said that the 6 GT isn't a car for everyone but under particular circumstances it will be the perfect car - especially because of the generous discounts.

Next month I'm starting a new job and have a hefty company car allowance. However I will be taking the train as commuting on the M25 into central London can only be described as nightmares. The tiniest incident on the M25 can result in a 60-120min delay.

However if i get relocated to the company's other office that doesn't require commuting into central London, then I'll be doing the maths like you have done.

If you are leasing then a 6 cylinder BMW diesel is the way to go, their power delivery in the bigger cars is simply sublime with the 8 speed ZF and the fuel economy is good to. They are a substantial leap from 4 cylinder diesels.

I'm glad you picked up on the improvement on turn-in and control compared with the Golf Alltrack. A common misconception by the average man on the street is that all wheel drive is the same regardless of the car. However AWD on economy cars only benefit the driver if the front wheels lose traction. In premium cars like the 6GT, full time AWD and torque vectoring work continuously to make a heavy car steer and handle more neutral.

A few months ago I test drove an sDrive X1 and was baffled how significantly different it felt to steer and accelerate around sweeping and 70 degree bends compared with my xDrive X3.


How are you finding the car to manoeuvre in multi story parking complexes or park in tight spots?

 

[rsG32er]

How are you finding the car to manoeuvre in multi story parking complexes or park in tight spots?

Am somewhat scarred regarding big cars and car parks - smashed a wing mirror off previous E65 in a multi storey, £750 was not pleasant.

So far this translates into me being a bit over-protective with car parking, although the camera system with emergency PDC brake is pretty awesome tech.

annoyingly the rear camera offset is not compensated for on the guide display - so am having to get used to trusting my brain to align tracks slightly right of where it suggests you should be. will take some time.

the length of the car is a problem for normal spaces - but if you are parking near a kerb the raised rear overhang means no exhaust scraping trauma and front is also high enough to clear standard height kerbs.

 

[rsG32er]

Will leave this for a while now, but properly starting to get connected with this car - it has several layers of character and capability that are now beginning to reveal themselves.

It has become very clear that choosing whether to buy a car on review comments alone (this is mainly aimed at all UK test cars having 2-axle air suspension) would have been an unfair decision.

All of them raved about the ride quality but complained about the lack of body control. I would like the press to all be given standard suspension cars and retest. Not that they ever will.

On "standard" m-sport suspension (air only at the rear) this car is brilliant. It's a heavy car and demands an adjustment to driving style compared to FWD/Haldex cars, but you can really attack fast roads even when more challenging/twisty. And the engine/gearbox/xdrive combo - wow.

The biggest compliment I can pay the car is that I am now looking forward to a 5am start tomorrow - whereas with the Passat I dreaded Tuesday mornings in the last 4-5 months of ownership. And fingers crossed, the chronic back pain I suffer from has eased noticeably in 2 weeks.

will come back to this in 5-10k miles time

 

[rsG32er]

spoiler mechanism and control unit was replaced and now works perfectly. BMW also offered to fix the boot rattle. And made it worse.

As for the rest, you get in it, drive 200 miles, get out and want to get back in to drive it some more. 4400 miles now showing on the clock, best MPG 52.5 sitting at 69mph for 100 miles between offices in Eco-Pro, worst has been 36-ish after a longer run with busy traffic and then pushing on a bit.

 

[rsG32er]

have now covered 10k miles and the car had it's first oil change to keep things fresh. Tyres at 6mm front and 5mm rear @ 9k miles.

Engine starting to wake up some more, it's definitely the best BMW diesel I have owned - long term average 40mpg with regular journeys above 50.

Not much of note to add other than the sunroof mechanism randomly refusing to close properly and boot rattle are 2 annoyances, plus I have a squeaky front brake - these little things are not what I would expect to see from an expensive car.

The driving bit however is pretty much faultless, all of the extra options are actually useful and it doubles brilliantly as a semi-estate car.

Best bits @ 10k miles :

• Engine/gearbox
• Ride quality
• Active cruise
• Camera system
• Comfort seats

Worst bits

• squeaky m-sport brake
• clunky wind deflector in sunroof

 

[Centurion]

best MPG 52.5 sitting at 69mph for 100 miles between offices in Eco-Pro

That's sick and wouldn't have been possible with a 20d.

sunroof mechanism randomly refusing to close properly

What do you do when that happens? Do you put a cling film over to prevent rain from leaking into the cabin?

 

[rsG32er]

It does close just needs some encouragement with the front sprung section. Cling film is an interesting concept