523i LCI - Pictures and impressions after first 10 days
04-15-2007 | 01:10 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Members
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: Dublin, Ireland
My Ride: F10 530d Deep Sea Blue, Oyster/Black, Auto, Dynamic Pack, Professional Sat Nav, Professional Hi-Fi
Got my 523i LCI 10 days ago - my first E60
Specs:
E60 523i SE Saloon N53 2.5
Colour A52 Space Grey Metallic
Upholstery LCGE Cream Beige Dakota leather
205 Automatic Gearbox
415 Rear Blind - Electric
416 Sun blinds for side and rear windows
481 Sports Seats
548 Speedometer w/ KMH read
USB/audio interface
Bluetooth Telephone Preparation
Hi-Fi loudspeaker system
Luxury Package
Light Poplar wood trim. High-gloss
Love the new gearbox - very fast shifts in Sport or Manual mode, nice and smooth in "D". I chose the 523i over the 520d because of the 6 cylinder refinement and tuneful engine noise (and of course with the punitive Irish tax system my 523i was Euro71,000 - so a bigger engine was even more out of my reach). For those of you in the US who don't get the smaller engines - the 523 has a 2.5l 190bhp engine - not hyper fast but plenty around town. It lacks a little in low down torque but never feels lethargic. I'm trying to keep to the break-in "rules" but it's very difficult
My previous BMWs were an E46 330Ci Auto and an E46 330Ci Auto convertible - baby on the way necessitates more space and comfort
. The new gearbox is a lot better than the E46 box, the engine lacks the punch in the back of the 231bhp 3l, but just as smooth running. My only complaint so far is that the engine is "lumpy" at idle. I am going to bring it in to my dealer soon. The engine seems to idle at 600rpm which is quite low - so perhaps then need to up it to 650 or 700rpm.
One option I was very keen on was the USB interface (see my previous posts). I have attached some images below which show it in operation. Currently I have a 1Gb USB stick (8Gb on the way). It is very fast to move around the menus and Artist / Album and from push to playing takes about 1 second. The car can store the details of up to 4 USB sticks and up to 20,000 songs according to the manual.
The light beige leather is very light and is going to be a bitch to clean (particularly the matching cream carpets) but it looks fantastic. The light poplar wood is a lot darker than I expected - but looks great with the light interior. I didn't go for the Sport suspension - as a result the ride is excellent on the 17" wheels. Body control is still very good and roll is only noticeable when really pushing the envelope.
Thanks to everybody on e60.net for all the info - which helped me to wait for the LCI and chose the right options for me. If anybody has any questions that I might be able to help on - in relation to my specifications - please let me know.
Specs:
E60 523i SE Saloon N53 2.5
Colour A52 Space Grey Metallic
Upholstery LCGE Cream Beige Dakota leather
205 Automatic Gearbox
415 Rear Blind - Electric
416 Sun blinds for side and rear windows
481 Sports Seats
548 Speedometer w/ KMH read
USB/audio interface
Bluetooth Telephone Preparation
Hi-Fi loudspeaker system
Luxury Package
Light Poplar wood trim. High-gloss
Love the new gearbox - very fast shifts in Sport or Manual mode, nice and smooth in "D". I chose the 523i over the 520d because of the 6 cylinder refinement and tuneful engine noise (and of course with the punitive Irish tax system my 523i was Euro71,000 - so a bigger engine was even more out of my reach). For those of you in the US who don't get the smaller engines - the 523 has a 2.5l 190bhp engine - not hyper fast but plenty around town. It lacks a little in low down torque but never feels lethargic. I'm trying to keep to the break-in "rules" but it's very difficult
My previous BMWs were an E46 330Ci Auto and an E46 330Ci Auto convertible - baby on the way necessitates more space and comfort
. The new gearbox is a lot better than the E46 box, the engine lacks the punch in the back of the 231bhp 3l, but just as smooth running. My only complaint so far is that the engine is "lumpy" at idle. I am going to bring it in to my dealer soon. The engine seems to idle at 600rpm which is quite low - so perhaps then need to up it to 650 or 700rpm.One option I was very keen on was the USB interface (see my previous posts). I have attached some images below which show it in operation. Currently I have a 1Gb USB stick (8Gb on the way). It is very fast to move around the menus and Artist / Album and from push to playing takes about 1 second. The car can store the details of up to 4 USB sticks and up to 20,000 songs according to the manual.
The light beige leather is very light and is going to be a bitch to clean (particularly the matching cream carpets) but it looks fantastic. The light poplar wood is a lot darker than I expected - but looks great with the light interior. I didn't go for the Sport suspension - as a result the ride is excellent on the 17" wheels. Body control is still very good and roll is only noticeable when really pushing the envelope.
Thanks to everybody on e60.net for all the info - which helped me to wait for the LCI and chose the right options for me. If anybody has any questions that I might be able to help on - in relation to my specifications - please let me know.
04-15-2007 | 01:48 PM
#2
Senior Members
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,539
Likes: 1
From: Greece, Patras
My Ride: 530i M-sports package, carbon black,Beige leather dakota, Steptronic, active steering, anti-theft alarm, sunblinds for rear window and back seat window, interior and exterior mirror with anti-dazzel function, poplar brown dark, comfort seats, PDC, extended lights package, Hi-Fi loudspeakers, Innovation Package (contains Xenon, Headlight washers, adaptive headlights, Comfort access), automatic air-conditioning, professional radio, individual high gloss satine chrome,Sunroof
Congrats
Looks very nice
Looks very nice
04-15-2007 | 05:02 PM
#4
Contributors
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,626
Likes: 0
From: So. Cal 626
My Ride: 2007 550i White/Black, SMG, Sports Pkg, Comfort Access, Nav, HUD, Satellite Radio, Anthracite Maple Trim
2006 X5 3.0, Black/Black, Sports Pkg, Premium Pkg, Xenon Adaptive Headlight, NAV, Rear Climate Pkg, Anthracite Trim
car looks great.. congrats
04-16-2007 | 02:54 AM
#10
Contributors
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
From: ROI
My Ride: 530D , Msport, Deep Sea Blue , Cream Beige Dakota , Due April 2007.
Hey Darragh,
Great pics , you've been missing for about 10days from this great forum .......... its easy to see why...
Absolute great pics nice to see the Cream Beige Dakota , wait till the smurf arrives i know my 2 are gonna do their best to destroy the interior.
I have to say the front does look slick , i've been seeing a few 07's around (although the usual with a new car you keep seeing them once your waiting on one or got one) but none of the LCI yet i'm certain . But yours looks really great from the front shot.
Sounds like the 6FL is working really well, makes me want to pop a cap in the dealers ass for not getting it in mine , here'a link to a 12GB memory cube which may be of interest a touch over ?100 so really good price , i paid ?85 a few months back for a Dysgo 4GB"Link"
Any way safe driving .
CL.
Great pics , you've been missing for about 10days from this great forum .......... its easy to see why...
Absolute great pics nice to see the Cream Beige Dakota , wait till the smurf arrives i know my 2 are gonna do their best to destroy the interior.
I have to say the front does look slick , i've been seeing a few 07's around (although the usual with a new car you keep seeing them once your waiting on one or got one) but none of the LCI yet i'm certain . But yours looks really great from the front shot.
Sounds like the 6FL is working really well, makes me want to pop a cap in the dealers ass for not getting it in mine , here'a link to a 12GB memory cube which may be of interest a touch over ?100 so really good price , i paid ?85 a few months back for a Dysgo 4GB"Link"
Any way safe driving .
CL.