@Glos Guy, thank you so much for your advice and comparisons of both engines/models. I really do appreciate you taking the time to reply to me. By the way, your car looks beautiful on the photos I’ve seen. Fuel costs are unfortunately a factor for me as I’ve been forced to take early ill health retirement. However the mpg figures that you are getting from your car are quite reasonable in my opinion. They are similar to what I’m getting now from my current car (Audi Q3) and I’ve realised that I will hopefully be doing even less miles soon as most of the daily miles are taking my daughter to college and she’s taking her driving test in November. What does concern me is the bad weather and how the car handles in the snow. I live high up on the Pennines and when we got bad snow last year and the year before, my Audi was one of the only cars that managed to get out of my avenue. Gritters don’t come down my avenue as it gets really bad if we have snow and ice. I also have elderly parents who needed help last year with shopping and Drs appointments. My Father still drives but will be giving up shortly as he’s almost 80 and my Mother can’t drive. So on that note, I think the same model As yours would suit me best. I know I can’t predict if we get snow but having the reassurance and 4WD is the dealbrealer for me. I just hope the dealer isn’t annoyed with me for changing my mind! Thanks so much to everyone who replied, you’re all so helpful and lovely!
Hi Rachel. You are welcome. I’ve had loads of diesels and I have to say that I’ve not experienced any of the problems that Rene mentions. Also, with it being a lease car, some of those issues don’t apply (costs etc) or are less of an issue (e.g. in the unlikely event of a problem, it’s not you who pays). Also, with a 60 mile motorway drive each week you won’t have dpf issues as that run will burn off any accumulation. That being said, I tend to agree that with your type of driving and preference for 4WD, the 20i xDrive might be your best bet. We have moved from a VW Tiguan 2.0 TDi 190PS diesel and the petrol 2.0i BMW engine is just as economical (and significantly more refined), so no increase in running costs for us by moving to petrol unlike, for example, the B4P 2.0i Volvo XC40 which is very fuel inefficient. The BMW engine is also considerably more powerful than the only petrol engine that you can get in either the Audi Q3 or Mercedes GLA through Motability, although the latter is sadly no longer available.
So, in summary, if running costs are a major concern for you, I wouldn’t be at all concerned about getting the diesel. However, if you will feel happier having 4WD I don’t think that you will find the 20i xDrive to be a thirsty car, although one other forum user is only averaging 34mpg in his, so you should maybe assume that you might get closer to that than what I am achieving (we don’t live in a city so aren’t in stop start traffic all the time). The sDrive (2WD) will be a few mpg better but, like you, we feel that’s a price worth paying for all the benefits, which you get all the time (better performance etc) and not just when it snows.