I've been wondering about that 'turbo lag" when pulling away from a stop that many 35d owners have noted/described (including me). I'm beginning to wonder if the programing of the automatic transmission, that many have suggested is the main culprit, may be more than just trying to start off in 2nd. It may be that the automatic transmission is going into something like neutral when we come to a full stop, particularly when we engage AutoHold.

It would be interesting to find out how much load is removed (fuel saved) by manually shifting into neutral.

Funf Dreisig

Edit: I ran an experiment today where I released the brake on level ground. Our E70 35d barely inched forward. I don't have our E53 4.4i for comparison anymore. But my remembrance is that if I let my foot off the brake, it would trundle off at a brisk pace This may be a case where the weak torque of the 35d at idle actually works in the favor of just putting your foot on the brake (or using AutoHold) at stop lights.