More BMW Questions...

[ExpatJ]

For those who already have a BMW-

I see that all new BMWs now in thailand have the stop/start function as standard- the engine automatically shuts down / restarts in traffic to save fuel. Given that you can turn off this feature- how do people find it in practice? Seems a bit stressful to me having your engine shut down and restart constantly.

Also ,do you use eco, sport or comfort settings? Do you notice a big difference in driving experience between them?

[pedro01]

The auto stop start is odd at first but you barely notice it after a while.

As for eco pro, I dont see much difference between that & comfort but that may be down to the fact BMWs are restricted here.

3 series are ok but if it's a 5 or above, presume about 22mpg.

[mortenaa]

Normally I use it, but in heavy traffic I turn it off - there is a button for that

There is a difference in the drive settings. I mostly use comfort. My GF likes eco for long stretches. She saves money on gasoline. In eco, the car hesitate to kick down. But I like more active driving, so prefer comfort or sport.

[villagefarang]

The car roles better in Eco so on long easy drives where you can coast part of the time it is great. It is like the transmission disengages or something and the rpm drops lower than in comfort. I turn off the a/c control in Eco because I like it cold but you can't turn off the start/stop. So I prefer comfort if I need to pass a little more often or want to turn off the start/stop. Sport stays at a higher rpm and is much quicker to respond so is great for passing and driving in the mountains, say from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai.