55NF

I had one on my Golf R..... now in my C Class .. if you still want a pic? It looked ok in the Gold & was hidden behind the mirror quite well. I had the rear cam also and the wires were hidden.

Picture of my daily workhorse.

Standard is crap........... and nowhere near as good as standard BMW. I still wouldn't pay for Dynaudio thhough, I;m only interested in the driving experience. Hence, standard car, cloth seats etc

I have an 18 plate 7.5 R and a 68 Plate GTD If I drive the R like a loon I get around 26mpg over a 50 mile country drive. In the GTD, same run & driving style I can't get it below 38MPG, however hard I try !!!! Not much difference considering derv is approx 10p more per litre I don't take any notice of the MPG tbh and just ful up............ just change the displahy on the dash if it bothers you that much !

Good points re the alloys. I bought an E350 from JCT Sheffield & the diamond cut 19s were fine on collection. Within a few hundred miles they were wrecked, and I don't mean slightly... they were white corrosion style!!! They collected the car from me. 90 miles away & DROVE IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP, returned to me, and the wheels did it again. So again they collected it!! a 400 mile trip (ON MY CAR) to sort their problem out. Be sure to keep a watcful eye on the alloys and agree it with the dealer that if it happens, they need doing properly

Which FB group is it? I'm nosey!!

Mine was the standard car, only option being the Performance Pack (wheels, brakes etc) It was actually cheaper than the 330d to lease.......... but as you rightly say, the 330d is the better all round car. The xDrive, as good as it is killed the enjoyment & I felt detached from the car. The one time I found the Xdrive useful was in the snow, any other time I don't think it's a neccesity in the UK.

There’s a few posts on here or pissedonheads titled ‘R or GTD’’? As you say, totally different cars... but the question has been asked in the past, so I’ve answered it... as I have both 7.5 cars which most people don’t.

Ok if you can’t fathom the comparison , in comparison to my 335d M Sport xdrive 2016, which the R replaced. 335d averaged 37.7 over 23k. Fast in a straight line, handled like a sack of potatoes. Heavy lumpy front end. On Business contract hire it was 180.00 GBP more per month than the 7.5 R. Nowhere near as much fun, more expensive overall than the R. Compare the GTD to the 335d. I would take the DSG GTD as a daily, which is the reason the wife has one now. The only downside is lack of 4WD on the rural country back roads I use in the winter to get to the A1, but that is where the R fills the void. 

Ok, if you can’t fathom the comparison , in comparison to my 335d M Sport xdrive 2016, which the R replaced. 335d averaged 37.7 over 23k. Fast in a straight line, handled like a sack of potatoes. Heavy lumpy front end. On Business contract hire it was 180.00 GBP more per month than the 7.5 R. Nowhere near as much fun, more expensive overall than the R. Compare the GTD to the 335d. I would take the DSG GTD as a daily, which is the reason the wife has one now. The only downside is lack of 4WD on the rural country back roads I use in the winter to get to the A1, but that is where the R fills the void.

Of course it should go in the same sentence. Some potential buyers will benefit from the MPG & running costs quoted. That is the reasoning behind this post if you read it. If you can’t afford an R, get a GTD. Although at the MPG of my R stated by the pics I’ve posted, there’s minimal difference. I’ll post up a 7.5 GTD comparison of the identical journey shortly when I take the wife’s GTD.

250 mile round trip in the R today, mainly slow moving Friday afternoon congestion on the M62. Impressive results with economy, not so impressed I didn't get much of a chance to have a 'fun' drive though.

I I've only covered 1K miles in the GTD, mixed, motorway & 3K in the R. I agree; the GTD is a good car and all the car I really want & need. I don't miss the R when driving the GTD, but that's maybe as I have both. Averaging over 37MPG in the GTD in comparion to the R Long Term.... it makes the R not a noticable difference in cost to run at 10mpg Long Term difference. Insurance cost doesn't matter at my age and is minimal for the R.

Correct, it's the options which delay it. I just wanted a cheap daily so went standard. Once you start adding options to lease it becomes too expsnsive to justify. Very very cheap standard car on business lease deals though. My days of waiting for a car are over, I wouldn't wait. I once waited 12 months (late 90s) for a 2.8 Z3 which I collected from a dealer in Munich & drove back to the UK.

I got mine more or less immediatly with the lease company......... same with the GTD lease.