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Originally Posted by COBodom
Appreciate the copy/paste.
I didn't say nomenclature was the only difference. I said that you are correct on the proper nomenclature. Not sure where you got the idea that I am claiming nomenclature being the only difference. Of course there are mechanical and physical differences. I never said there aren't.
We can keep going on and on about those personal preferences and whether you hear/feel the difference in engines. Folks who want a V6 to begin with shouldn't even test drive the four; they will never be happy with the four banger. It has nothing to do with performance, but more with the aforementioned personal preference.
As far as performance goes, a four banger can outperform a v6 as it has been proven many times (i.e 2011 528 vs 2012).
Please note that Audi is a VAG car too.
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I do off course know that the Audi is a VAG car (VAG is short for Volkswagen Audi Gruppe). Living in Europe I kind of have a lot of VAG products around me all of the time
The part about nomenclature was nothing more than a reply to your sentence:
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As much as you are correct about the i4 vs v4 nomenclature I am not entirely sure whether besides knowing the correct prefix those educated and carrying buyers can even tell the real difference.
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(note the quote tags
) And, since you have mixed up the i and V I wasn't sure you knew the difference
I notice you still call it a V6...
Personal preferences are really not debatable, because it's hard to argue against that. We all make different choices due to personal preferences, because we have different priorities and interests in life. That's what makes life interesting
I would not disrespect someone because they don't have the same preferences I have when it comes to which engine they want to choose
I have driven both the 4 cyl and the 6 cyl (as well as the M6) versions of the newest generation BMW. I can both feel and hear the difference between the diffferent engines, but as I said, my wife would not be able to pinpoint the differences (apart from the M6 obviously
). It's kind of like someone who's a musician can hear stuff in music that I don't have a clue about...
I didn't say that the i6 has more performance, just that it is a different engine in it's characteristics than a 4 cyl, or even a V6.
Obviously a 4 cyl engine can beat a 6 cyl engine. That's just down to the different stage of tune on the respective engines. A turbo'd 4 can beat a NA 6 cyl. But a stock 528i (N20) won't beat a stock 535i (more accurate comparison as both engines are turbocharged). That's not because the 535i is 6 cyl, but because it's a 3l engine and is turbocharged, whereas the 528i is 2l and turbocharged.
BTW, the
2011 528i (6cyl) beats the
2012 528i (4 cyl) in the videos I have posted previously:
The 528i (6 cyl) take around 24,5sec from 0-200km/h.
The 528i N20 (4-cyl) takes around 32,8sec from 0-200km/h.
Around 8sec more than the 6cyl 528i, even though it's just as quick to 100km/h... As you can see the N20 528i starts to struggle (compared to the 6-cyl 528i) at higher speeds and looses at lot of time from around 150km/h and upwards.
But, that's not the point. Any engine configuration can be made to make lot's of HP. A 4 cyl can beat a 6 cyl engine, and vice versa. The point is that the 4 cyl engine can't have the same smoothness and sound as a 6 cylinder engine, and for some of us that means we prefer the i6 engines
EDIT:
To me as an automotive engineer, calling a inline 6 cyl engine a V6 is just like calling a violin a guitar or calling a iPod a iPad. Yes there are similarities (like both have 6 cylinders or both instruments have strings), but these are totally different architecture engines. I guess calling a i6 engine a V6 is indication of a not very "engine minded" buyer (nothing wrong with that).
To take another example, some just go with the regular sound system in their car, others need the B&O system. That doesn't mean that there is something wrong with the regular sound system, but just different priorities and interests. I would not tell someone who is a audiophile that there is no way you can hear the difference between a std. sound system and a B&O system in their new BMW. I might not be able to appreciate it (I do) but that doesn't mean others do
My point being, you might not notice any difference between a i4 and a i6 (and since you keep calling it a V6 I kind of get a feeling that engines are not your #1 interest ), but others actually do.
And, again, I have nothing against the new 520i/528i (as it seems others have) and I DO NOT consider a N20 engined 528i a "lesser" 5-series at all. Logically the new 528i is the more rational choice and even has a tuning potential due to the turbocharging. It's a great engine and works great in the 5-series.