yellowmountain

Don't think so. Mine in the E60 closes even when u just push the door lightly. anyway i agree with u. it is something nice to have only, not really a necessity.

bravojs

The average Singaporan's salary is marginally higher than Canada's , but then again the cost of living is much higher in singapore (Singapore 10th in the world, Toronto 31st based on Mercer Cost of Living survey 2009). Income disparity is widening from latest reports. And of course the typical Singaporean does not buy an F10, though car ownership is definately an aspiration most Singaporeans have (5Cs). Singapore has a reputation for being one of the most expensive places to own a car in the world.

grover432

OK, let's try this: The average after tax income in Canada for a family unit is about $100,000. The average home cost in Canada is about $333,000. How about in Singapore? I appreciate that the "average" income earner in Singapore wouldn't buy an F10, nor would one in Canada. I was just trying to determine if the car is the same cost relative to income in the two countries, or the government taxes the car so highly that only the wealthy elite can drive them? In Canada, if you earn $200,000/year with two kids and a wife that works part time you can have a nice house in a good area, a mini van and a well equipped F10 in the garage, while still saving for retirement and traveling with your family. A well equipped F10 (535i) will be in the $70,000 range which is about $97,000 SGD.

yellowmountain

OK if you are looking at it this way, then I would say that ratio of car prices to incomes in Singapore is one of the highest , if not THE highest in the world. It is a well known fact that Spore imposes punitive taxes on car ownership. On top of this, supply is controlled and we have to bid (via closed auction) for a certificate of entitlement to own a car.

But do note that 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing. And they can service their housing loans using their pension fund. So that leaves us with "plenty" of take-home-pay to buy cars!! Not just the elite own cars. You can get cheaper cars. Example, u can get a Corolla for "just" US$40K+...haha.

I think we can't just compare cars and housing alone. Unfortunately I am not familar with Canada. Here is Singapore, one can go to a food court and have lunch for S$3. What would lunch cost me in Canada? Also direct income taxes are low here. The example of $80K average household income above, they would only pay income tax approx $5K. But indirect taxes (like car taxes, etc) are high..

and Singaporeans absolutely love to go for holidays!

bimmernic

Kiasu King, here you go (from carenthusiast.com):







More here: http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=361027

I too saw the trim in the white 7 series at PML Alexandra. It looked fantastic there and really gave the interior a sense of occasion. Oyster/Oyster may not be a good idea. Besides the tedium of keeping the oyster carpet clean, the dash colour is not black, somewhat between grey and taupe, while the steering is black. So, you get somewhat of a 3-tone interior.

bimmernic

yellowmountain and oZZo, thanks for the replies. Agree that it is a good to have rather than a necessity. All it needs is for the door to be closed to the initial "click" - not much effort required really - before the motors take over. Still debating this, although it really is a $2.4k+ goodie...

bimmernic

Kiasu King, oZZo, yellowmountain and any other SG E60 owners, would appreciate your thoughts on the Dynamic Damper Control option (Code 223).

Initial reviews of the F10 have been on cars with this option installed and the feedback on the ride has been great. Autocar UK ( http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...E-Auto/248585/ ), in testing the car fitted with the standard (non-adaptive suspension) were somewhat underwhelmed with the ride. On the other hand, Car Enthusiast ( http://www.carenthusiast.com/reviews...ic+saloon.html ) were more complimentary of the standard suspension, saying that it "rides beautifully, with a suppleness that takes most road nuances and hides them from you". The consensus from UK motoring journalists appears to be that the ride for the E60, especially on RFTs, can be a tad too firm, at least for UK road conditions.

Based on your experience as an owner, how would you rate the ride on the E60 with/without RFTs on SG road conditions? Would it be considered harsh for SG roads? Assuming that I do not intend to go beyond 18" for the F10 (and will probably switch to non-RFTs in due course), is the Dynamic Damper Control really a must have, given its cost of nearly $5k?

Many thanks.

grover432

I guess it isn't simple thing to compare the two economies and costs of living. I think an average lunch in Canada is about $10.00CAD much more than a lunch in Singapore. Our income taxes are very high. If you earn more than $60,000CAD every dollar after that point is taxed at 50%. We have provincial taxes of 5 - 8% and a VAT of 5% on most purchases. We do have universal health care though, so private health insurance isn't necessary. Everyone has access to health care (there are waits sometimes for elective procedures). It sounds like from your example, Singaporean's may have greater disposable income. As such the "tax" on luxury items only affect the affluent and they end up supporting the masses when they indulge. In any event, if you can afford an F10 here or there, it looks to be a great auto. I'll be waiting for the 550 Xdrive to arrive. Where I live, we see snow on the ground for 5 months of the year, sometimes longer. A well equipped 550 XDrive will probably end up costing about $93,000CAD ( 132,000 SGD),

oZZo

I have 17" RFT on my E60. Generally, I find the ride quite decent especially if you are driving on Singapore road. One big improvement made to the F10 is on ride comfort. So I don't think you need to be worried here. I recently test drove Jaguar XF with 18" wheels and found the ride far harder than my E60. Suggest you test drive the E60 with RFT to get a feel of the ride yourself as you may have different tolerance level from us.

The Dynamic Damper Control will be useful if you intend to throw your car around with sports mode on. Personally, I do not think it will be required to compensate for the RFT especially if you intend to change to non RFT.

bimmernic

Thanks. I did try the XF with 18" wheels once but could not quite understand its oft praised supple ride. Perhaps it works better under different road conditions. I tested an E60 525 with 17" RFTs once and found the ride acceptable but didn't feel that the usual PML test route offered a wide enough sampling of road surfaces to make an informed assessment of the ride.