My 530d - Review....Pics to follow
04-07-2004, 07:51 AM
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The big day finally came, and I took the train over to Scotthall, the Leeds BMW dealer. They have been extremely helpful and friendly through the whole 3 months since I ordered the car, and presented me with a bottle of Champagne when I arrived. I am sure this is standard fayre for anyone ordering a new BMW, but it did the trick and made me feel special, which is what you want when your new pride and joy is about to depreciate through the floor the moment you drive it off!
My local dealer unfortunately had the stereotypical a BMW/Merc mentality (i.e. up their own backside), hence the journey to Leeds.
After a tour round all the controls, it was off to the city streets?..
Exterior Styling: Well, you either like ?em or you don?t (and I appreciate many hate it). Not much I can say that will change the mind of the detractors, other than it?s one of those you must see in the metal. I think it?s modern, aggressive and remarkably well resolved even in areas that have been described as ?challenging? e.g. the boot line and the headlamps. What I would say is the E60 is very colour sensitive, and it is the first car where I have had to go and view each colour I was interested in to be sure of the right one for me.
Interior Styling: One of the things that attracted me to the car was the removal of the large numbers of buttons from the dash to i-drive. I was concerned that the all-black interior would look too dour, like on the mkIII Golfs for example, but somehow BMW have managed to keep it airy through clever use of different textures in the right areas. The standard of finish is exemplary.
Performance and handling: Bear in mind I am driving like a bit of a granddad over the break-in period. I can say however, that this car is a bottomless pit of torque. When it comes to overtaking, I have already christened it the ?Martini? car ? ?anytime, anyplace, anywhere?. While a diesel will never satisfy those after 8 and 9k redline thrills, this engine is surely one of the most flexible on the road today. There is a hint of the trademark diesel ?clatter? when stood outside the car at idle, and virtually none when inside the car. When driving, this is replaced by a fabulous 6 cylinder sound.
The handling seems peerless (for the car?s type), certainly to my limited driving skills. You?d have to be driving like a monkey to upset this car, and even an untrained idiot like me can make rapid progress cross-country without upsetting my passengers.
The book says 36mpg combined from the auto box, and I?m already averaging 35mpg at this early stage. As the engine loosens up I?m hoping for more.
Technology: Apart from the exterior styling, nothing has stirred up more debate than the i-drive system. I really cannot see what the fuss is about. 5 minutes of RTFM, and 20 minutes of playing is enough to master the system. I-drive now has a ?Force Feedback? type system, which is very helpful when you are scrolling through lists etc. Having said all that, I can see that if you are shy of stuff like Windows etc., it may cause you a few problems.
More of a problem are the integration issues of the disparate technologies. Most of the dealer bulletins now are to do with software, rather than engines, suspension, brakes etc. I had problems ordering stuff like integrated Bluetooth along with navigation, for example. I was supposed to get voice control of all the systems, but was told it was unavailable, just before delivery.
I suppose of there are many third parties developing for the car, they all blame each other when things go wrong.
Overall, I?m well chuffed as you can imagine. Will post pics later if the weather brightens up a bit.
PS - the comfort seats are absolutely brilliant, well worth the money.
My local dealer unfortunately had the stereotypical a BMW/Merc mentality (i.e. up their own backside), hence the journey to Leeds.
After a tour round all the controls, it was off to the city streets?..
Exterior Styling: Well, you either like ?em or you don?t (and I appreciate many hate it). Not much I can say that will change the mind of the detractors, other than it?s one of those you must see in the metal. I think it?s modern, aggressive and remarkably well resolved even in areas that have been described as ?challenging? e.g. the boot line and the headlamps. What I would say is the E60 is very colour sensitive, and it is the first car where I have had to go and view each colour I was interested in to be sure of the right one for me.
Interior Styling: One of the things that attracted me to the car was the removal of the large numbers of buttons from the dash to i-drive. I was concerned that the all-black interior would look too dour, like on the mkIII Golfs for example, but somehow BMW have managed to keep it airy through clever use of different textures in the right areas. The standard of finish is exemplary.
Performance and handling: Bear in mind I am driving like a bit of a granddad over the break-in period. I can say however, that this car is a bottomless pit of torque. When it comes to overtaking, I have already christened it the ?Martini? car ? ?anytime, anyplace, anywhere?. While a diesel will never satisfy those after 8 and 9k redline thrills, this engine is surely one of the most flexible on the road today. There is a hint of the trademark diesel ?clatter? when stood outside the car at idle, and virtually none when inside the car. When driving, this is replaced by a fabulous 6 cylinder sound.
The handling seems peerless (for the car?s type), certainly to my limited driving skills. You?d have to be driving like a monkey to upset this car, and even an untrained idiot like me can make rapid progress cross-country without upsetting my passengers.
The book says 36mpg combined from the auto box, and I?m already averaging 35mpg at this early stage. As the engine loosens up I?m hoping for more.
Technology: Apart from the exterior styling, nothing has stirred up more debate than the i-drive system. I really cannot see what the fuss is about. 5 minutes of RTFM, and 20 minutes of playing is enough to master the system. I-drive now has a ?Force Feedback? type system, which is very helpful when you are scrolling through lists etc. Having said all that, I can see that if you are shy of stuff like Windows etc., it may cause you a few problems.
More of a problem are the integration issues of the disparate technologies. Most of the dealer bulletins now are to do with software, rather than engines, suspension, brakes etc. I had problems ordering stuff like integrated Bluetooth along with navigation, for example. I was supposed to get voice control of all the systems, but was told it was unavailable, just before delivery.
I suppose of there are many third parties developing for the car, they all blame each other when things go wrong.
Overall, I?m well chuffed as you can imagine. Will post pics later if the weather brightens up a bit.
PS - the comfort seats are absolutely brilliant, well worth the money.
04-08-2004, 01:12 AM
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Originally Posted by cidair' date='Apr 7 2004, 07:22 PM
Congrats!
What do you like the Logic7?
What do you like the Logic7?
I think the comfort seats are the best option I chose.