Fin535dA

An LSD, perhaps? just kidding

znod

19.01.01 back.

0700700

i like burnouts

i dont know the word is spelled but do you know what demirage is ? its the opposite to what diesel boys like ( in gear performance). Surely the 535d is quicker than any petrol model *5 series wise* in gear, but what happens if both cars downshift from 5th to 2nd/3rd.. petrol will always be faster

525dse

I can understand what sapkan is saying. The diesel produces alot more torque lower down than the V8 which allows for a easier drive. I was dissapointed when I test drived the 231 bhp 530i, It took alot more accelerator than I would have like to get the car moving. However there is no doubt that when you get the 530i by the scruff of the neck it would kill my car, But in general driving the diesel feels so much more responsive.

BetterMakeWay

Exactly...the 5 isn't a car to make it scream to make it perform (i mean it isn't necesary) except the m5 but that's another story. In a 5 everyone thinks you are dead, you know boy wannabe racers in mazda rx-8s or audi tt or toyota cellica or whatever. But when you slightly push the foot down in the 535d, not matter where is the needle it just keeps pushin and pushind and pushing like there is no end. If your caught at low revs, no problem push the foot gently not to cause a downshift and your off. You see the speedo climbing WAAAY faster than the rev counter.560NM are fun. It's easy performance. And again i say it , it won't ruin your wallet everytime you want to play.
And btw simply because it has a narrow rev band guess what, it gives you a relaxation sensation (like the engine is relaxing...not like in a petrol where it screams as it tries to reach top speed) at high speeds. Hell i'm at 3000 rpm at 220km/h and at 250 i'm at 3500rpm in 6th gear. And there is still at least 1000rpm left...

swajames

Running a V8 in the US doesn't ruin your wallet either, and the V8 doesn't scream, it growls. There's no shortage of pull in the V8, and what it loses on torque to the diesels it makes up with revs - the V8 revs like a turbine, that's its strength, the diesel's forte is torque. I've seen no data to convince me that the 535 is faster than the 545, it quite simply isn't. However, the fact that it gets reasonably close with just 3 litres, with no turbo lag, and effortless torque is clearly an amazing achievement so utmost respect to the 535 - cheaper cost to own and run is a bonus, but that's not something that comes into the equation in the US. But at the end of the day these are different cars built with diffferent engineering goals, achieving performance through different means.

BetterMakeWay

I agree 100% with everything.
That's where i started to get alerated in the 1st place on this thread...the bashing and disrespect for the diesel.
Little correction: "it gets reasonably close " it's in his ass imo from the performance point of view, for me. For eveyday driving and so on.

swajames

Yep, I understand. We just need to convince BMWNA to get the diesels over here. One of the US car mags recently ran a test of the 120d (Bosch had shipped one out to the US as a demo of some of their technologies). You could tell that the reviewers were expecting the diesel to be a dog - but they ended up amazed and loving it!

sapkan

So much quicker... probably not. Actually I was looking at second hand sixes with 5000-6000km on the clock and they did work out slightly cheaper than my 535d (sixes dont do very well second hand) but then I drove one and was deeply unimpressed. Doesnt feel like a sportscar should, like I said in my previous post every time you want to get a move on you have to press the pedal to the floor so hard that after a year or so you would probably make a hole in it (auto tranny). Nice interior and sound but it needs the torque of the diesel, the 45 engine is just too relaxed for my liking. Now a 635d that would be a different story . Havent driven a 650, cant comment. That engine makes an incredible sound in the X5 though.

0700700

It IS a lot quicker. you gotta tell me where you got the prices for the 6 series i looked on bmw.de and the cheapest ones were about 15000 more than the 535d 650i is quite a bit more poised than the 645i but the whole expereince is pretty much the same. It sounds amazing and accelerates like a rocket ship ... and it wasnt even broken in yet you gotta remember that unless you press sport it rides very smooth and very relaxed. once you press it , its a wholy different car.

it sounds slightly different to the x5, not as deep but at high revs it screams better

I know your biased but still the 650i is in a completely differnt league , and it auto guise is as quick as a Carrera 4S auto

and besides the 650i has 490NM from 2800 to well over 6000rpm. Something the diesel can never muster