Hi Guys,

Don't compare taxis to road cars as they aren't a good benchmark of what to expect in a family car.

The reason is that they are used in a VERY different way, meaning the wear and tear on the engine isn't as severe. I can't remember the article I read, but there are a number of factors that favour taxi engine life, including:
- far fewer cold starts per km driven (ie: cold started, then driven for 16 hours)
- I also read something along the lines of there are acids and stuff that get into your oil on a cold start. Something to do with the piston clearance on a cold engine lets a bit of fuel biproducts into the oil. This boils off in a taxi, but in a car that's run for 10 minutes then sits all day, things aren't as sweet.

Sorry my facts aren't bulletproof (haven't got time to do the research), but you get the idea...

As for what the BMW engine would get: dunno.. For the same km on an enginee, the one that does lotsa long freeway mile trips would be better than one that sits in traffic inching along day

Cheers,
Scott