N16E

Well I've just put 3000 miles on my 520 D and it just keeps getting better, on a run to Bury today I had done 100 miles and had a range of 600 left!!! potentially 700 miles out of a tank - awesome!!!

If you were in any doubt - take it from me, for the money this is the best company car you can drive.

I bet the taxman hates them!!

N16E

Shrek3

You're right n16e, there is not any competition in terms of Company car. My alternatives were: Audi a4, a6, 3 series, Honda, Volvo, MB c class to name a few and none came close to the e60. A6 was tempting but it's lease cost is higher, spec is less and co2 is higher. No brainer. My only other alternative was to buy my own car instead and really fancied the new Disco but the lure of the e60 was too much plus I do a high mileage.

derbyjj

Got mine on Wed 14 exchanging for an E39 525d SE leather adv aircon cd changer. the 520 is a bit more clattery on start but is just as quiet once you have moved off.
bad things
six speed gearbox is a pain and seems to be 1st is 10 mph 2nd 20 3rd 30 4th 40 5th 50 and 6th is only useful on the motorway infact around town only 1-3 are any use at all . the engine labours badly in 4th below 40, it may need to loosen up so i hope this will get better over time.
4cyl has sameish bhp as my old 6 cyl 525 and i think torque is comparable but the engine/gearbox ratios are very different.
my 60 mile dash on the m6 twice a day was basically done in 5th including most overtaking!

the halfwit engineer/designer who moved the cruise control off the steering wheel needs executing
the new one is too fiddly and i keep indicating to go into coast or change the cd when i want to go faster.

tend to agree with Clarkson/Topgear magizine on i-drive ...idrive then i crash !!!
the nudge up to go up menus doesnt take you back to the start for instance.
also the TG mag is incorrect the car is not ipod compatibe no aux input as standard.
and worse still the cd wont play mp3's the new ford fiesta does !!!!!!
Can't get the seating right either !

and which minge bag accountant at BMW made the glove box torch an option that you cant order?

options i should have picked
boy do i miss the adv air con. on my prev 525 i set it once 3and half years ago and never touched it again.
have spent the first 200 miles trying to get the same effect but can have warm feet or upper body but not both and the fan is too noisy you can hear the air whooshing all the time.

Some good stuff at last
power steering much lighter than E39 my wife might drive it now.
Interior much improved.
Got the logic7 Hi Fi fantastic sound but as didnt get a cd changer as expected a ?890 stereo to handle mp3 and planned to use an Ipod which isnt supported now have stacks of cds in the door pods.

at the mo would take back the 525 without a moments hesitation

but the tax man rules and 18 % tax raher than 23 on the 525 eases the pain.

tried a x jag 2.3 d estate v responsive but verdict sounds like a transit but with leather seats
Audi A6 2.0 d again too much diesel clatter all the time and unnderpowered
Also had a VW Touraeg 2.5 and V6 tdi's beautiful but mpg too low and tax too high.
this is prob a 4 cyl v 6 cyl thing

Overall get one you wont be disapointed but if you have the budget get the biggest diesel you can !

afterglow

Hi, Derbyjj, and thanks for the first impressions.

First, what are the car specs: (as I presume from your post that you are from Britain) is it a basic, an SE or a Sport, what paint colour, trim, leather?, rims, wheels, is it a car or a touring?

Was your 525d an automatic? If not, is the gearchange command worse than in the 525d? I use to start 4'th gear from 40 km/h and 5'th from 70 to 80 km/h on. In general, 4 cil engines tend to work badly in 4'th below 40 km/h. (Whoops! I now notice you wrote 40 miles! Is it 60 km/h? Is it so bad a gear?)

I have a Citroen C8, 2.2 HDI, 133 CV, now and a 95 km daily commute (47 km to and from work) is basically done in 5'th, also.

The cruise control command in the 520d seems very similar to the one in my C8 and I love it! I basically used it as a hand accelerator (only in 4'th and 5'th gears from 50 km/h on) except when I find heavy traffic.

I think it is a matter of habit. I respect your preference for the steering wheel command, although I think the side command doesn't have the inconvenience of the steering wheel turns.

What radio do you have? Business? I have learned from this post that mp3 capability exists only in Pro Radio sets, and even so with some number restrictions. Also an ipod option must be specifically done aftermarket or by the use of an aux option.

Can't get the seating right either !

What seems to be the problem?

Sorry, what do you mean by glove box torch? My limited english didn't catch that one? Is it the lighting in the glove compartment?

In Portugal, all e60/e61 are equipped with the advanced air-con. In my C8 I just set the temperature, switch the auto button and that's it! Never done much more in the climate dep.!

My wife's company car is a 318d (previous family) and the climate system is the manual air con and basic system. It is really somewhat basic. In very hot weather, sometimes she complains the air con is not very effective. But we love the temp wheel in the central dash!

The problem, here, is a car like the 520d I state in my signature has a price in the 52.000 Euro figure(!!!!!!) and a 525d can't cost less than 62 to 65000 Euros!!!!!!!!!! Stupid portughese car tax system!!! :thumbsdown: Of course I would like to mount my engine but that is impossible, for the time being.

Greetings.

norham

I have a 520i and am completely satisfied after 1 yr driving it I went from diesel to petrol because I was doing less milage The car is still a head turner and the technology is fantastic, I will change some time in the future to the 520/525d but for now I'm happy.

BigGrey

Hi,
You can a get a e61 525d 1 year old (or less) from BMW-Germany full extras for the price of a new 320d Touring. That is what i did.
And BMW Portugal is importing them too!!!

copello

Hi,
You can a get a e61 525d 1 year old (or less) from BMW-Germany full extras for the price of a new 320d Touring. That is what i did.
And BMW Portugal is importing them too!!!
[/quote]
Totally agree. Regarding 520d, the difference in price (with rebate) with that of a 320d with same equipement is close to 2000-2500?. So why hesitate and not pick the E60 ?

afterglow

The car I'm talking about is a company car. So, it must be brand new!

Also, I didn't even think of a 320d, cause it's too small for my needs/wishes. :thumbsdown: And true, the difference between a 320d and a 520d, here, is around 6.000 Euro but the 520d has dakota leather and PDC already included, what reduces the difference to circa 2.700 to 3.000 Euro. Space and distinction wise, no comparison! Hurra, 520d!

sforshaw

1. I've had mine since Dec 1 and now put around 700 miles on it. I found the same as your statement about speed versus gears initially, but now the car's loosening up it's lost much of the labouring at lower revs - there's even some torque down there

2. The new cruise control system is much better and brings it into line with many other systems, with the addition of a few bells and whistles (speedo readout), but it would be better back on the steering wheel.

3. Just hit the menu button and you're back to the start - you'll get used to it. Biggest critiscism of i-Drive is the stupid method of controlling the fresh air - what was wrong with the dial on the centre vent of the e39

4. I thought the same about my old e39 (528 SE auto etc etc) for about a week, but then I really started to appreciate the development that's gone into the e60. Only thing I'd change now is the rediculously unpleasant RF tyres, and the stupid climate dial thinghy (on the i-Drive).

BM.

PaulCP

I had a new 520d Touring with M sport spec (low emmissions = low company car tax) delivered yesterday by the leasing company. First impressions are good but engine is tight (still done less than 100 miles) - at the moment i can concur with previous post re engine labouring at <40mph in 4th gear. Will be doing a 300 mile trip tomorrow and over 1000 miles in next week so we'll see how quickly it frees up..

Previously has a Volvo S60 D5 with sports suspension (110,000 miles in under 3 years) which has same power & torque outputs and found performance Ok for a daily 150 mile round trip (mainly dual carriageways) although the BM is 100kg heavier. Will give my views & comparisons in a week or so's time.

In the meantime a couple of questions
1. I cocked up the order and forgot to specify the CD changer. Once the car arrived at the dealer (some 300 miles away from me) i asked them to fit one. They said it is a difficult retro fit and wanted ?550 so i told them to forget it (it was a ?295 option). Had a look in the glove box and there is a connection lead where the CD changer fits. Does anyone know if it is a difficult fit (software mod??)

2. The rechargeable torch is missing (the socket is there) but at the side of it is what looks like a "jack plug" hole. I've been following the various threads re IPOD links over the past 2 weeks. Does anyone know if this could be an AUX input. The car is a Nov 05 build.