[liljestig]

What's happened in Europe over the last decade, due to the fast progress of 4-cyl gasoline engines, is that the depreciation on the larger engines has steeply increased.

With the road taxes more and more being determined by the displacement size and CO2 exhausts, you can more or less get a 3 year used 330i for the same price as a 320d, only to end up with 20-30% higher running costs. After more years than that, the bigger engine models are practically ice cold due to more wear (more active driving) and 2-3 times higher repair costs.

Traded 535i for a new 320d in 2009 and has practically never missed the bigger engine in terms of performance, only for its sounds and its more sophisticated charisma. (even the smallest bimmers start their hp/torque models where the competitors leave off)

As I see it after owning a couple of bavarian masterpieces is that regardless of their engine size, very seldom do they become "slowly suicidal boring" to drive..

(of course not fair to compare a dual turbo gasoline with a single turbo diesel, just a heads-up for what the environmentalists might be up to in your country soon too)

Cheers