Thirsty too
mine was awesome on fuel. i must say it felt gutless in comparison to the TFSI, but driving it made up for everything. mine was the clubman though.
got it tax free from parklane BMW(via naafi car sales) for quite possibly the best deal ever. Tax fee, forces discount. all i had to do was to pay the first years interest off the finance (£104 per month) and a £500 deposit, and then BMW take the car off your hands after a year and settle the finance.
almost like leasing, i just had to ensure the car didint go over 10K