[760Lifan]

Originally Posted by mitch57

I considered the V8 when making my purchase but when I saw the specs I decided I wasn't going to pay the outrageous premium just to get a bigger engine with minimal performance increases, worse gas mileage, and only 6 tenths of second faster from 0 - 60 MPH.

I have no problem getting around those freaking left lane campers and traffic impeders in my 6 cylinder X7.

I think the weight of the larger V8 engine negates a good percentage of the performance gains it should have over the inline 6.

That depends on which V8 you are referring to. It is indeed only a difference of 0.6 seconds between the xDrive40i and xDrive50i. The M50i, however, more than doubles the difference to 1.3 seconds and that, you can certainly feel.

Initially, I never considered the V8 for the same reasons but the launch of the M50i changed my opinion. It also matters how you are using the vehicle (i.e. how much you drive).

I ran some numbers and the insurance premium was almost identical compared to the 40i. Based on the low mileage I drive, additional gas might cost me $20/month and due to the fact that I would have gotten a fully loaded 40i anyway, the difference in base price between the 40i and M50i of $25,700 shrunk to less than $16,000. Since I'm leasing, I'm only paying about 40% (plus interest) of that difference or in other words, $180/month more. All in all, the M50i cost me an additional $200/month. A price I was willing to pay for the additional performance, sport exhaust system, sport differential and laser lights.

But as I said, it was basically a 50/50-decision. Fact is, you can't go wrong with any X7.