tegel

Hi,
I was just about to order my e61 523i Touring when I realised BMW is selling a diesel model in the same price range. Since I am paying 2000 Euro/year in just petrol cost I am quite attracted by the potential savings and also by the mid-range punch delivered by the diesel. Coming from an 525i, I'm a bit hesitant to the diesel world of clatter, vibration and such.

The car is meant to be the "perfect" family car, used everyday for commute and every once in a while for long journeys.

The planned spec:
Steptronic
Panorama roof (for the kids!)
Luggage pack (straps etc)
Isofix + key switchable passenger airbag
Sun blinds in rear windows
Metallic (silver grey)
Advantage Package (alarm, rails, cup holder, ski sack, cruise control), Comfort Package (arm rest with cooling, pdc, xenon, extended climate, dakota leather) M-Sport package (all the M-stuff and chassis).

We are still debating the fully automatic tail gate, we have it today and will probably miss it if we leave it out.

Now to my two questions;
1. Is the 520d the better engine of these two for overall feeling (highway, city, economy) when connected to a Steptronic? The midrange acceleration should be as powerful as the 530i.
2. Is there anythin obvious missing from the spec sheet above?

Thanks for any advise or thoughts,
M

Robert J

Hmm... I would have skipped the panoramic roof and the M-kit and ordered a engine for the car. If you have had a 525i with 5-speed box, I think you will find both the 523i and the 520d a lacking power. I had a 525i with manual and it was quite OK to drive in a calm pace, but after turbo Saabs the midrange was totally dead in the BMW. In your cloths I would skip some of the exterior goodies and go for a driving machine. 530d with comfort seats...

You will not miss the tail gate to much. I got it on this one and if I had a change to try it before I got it I don't think I would have ordered it. It's so slow in the movement.

For me, Hifi and comfort seats is a must!

Instead of blinds I got the tinted windows, they are really good value for the money.

tegel

Hi,
thanks for your comments. As to the engine; I drove the e61 525i with standard chassis and was not impressed. It felt very much like the car I have today. To me, the chassis is more important then the increased power. I did not drive the 520d yet but I expect it to have a lot of pulling power in the mid range and to work really well with the steptronic.

The M-kit spoilers are not a "must have" but you more or less get them for free if you want sport seats, 18" alloys, black head liner, sports steering wheel, sports suspension etc.

Panoramic sun roof.....well I think it's a really good feature, especially for the (small) folks in the back seat. I have been thinking about comfort seats, especially attractive is the side support adjustment, but I really find the sport seats adequate, even for 1000km stretches through Germany ;-)

Blinds are good because you can open them! Isn't the tint a bit too dark in winter?

Lastly, the tail gate. It's very convenient when you have your hands full with stuff, kids, bags etc, it's winter, car is dirty, ground is dirty and you just press the key and gate opens. But yes, it can be a bit slow. Have to think a bit more....

Thanks again!
M

Herwig

Its a pretty big step from a 525i to a 520d - you should definitely try the car with this engine and see whether you really like it.

Having owned six petrol 5-series over the past years I tried the 525d a few months ago and despite the obvious strengths of the engine I must say I didn't like it at all because it is simply not the type of engine I would expect in a BMW.

In terms of the options - I would definitely chose HiFi loudspeakers - standard ones are not very good in the E61.

As a father of two sons I find blinds to be the better choice because they give the rear passengers the choice. Also there are enough (small) people who get sick on the backseats when they don't have the opportunity to look out of the window.

k44ent

520d lacking in power??, think you will find that it suprises you....but fuel consumption maybe not as good as expected. I am getting about 38mpg mixed town and motorway, quite short runs.

tegel

I think it will come down to a question on engine character more than outright power. The 520d beats the 525i in mid range acceleration according to BMW's own figures and also manages to beat the 523i in 0-100 km/h acceleration.

Mid range acceleration is really important for overtaking and adds to the overall driving comfort. Today I must rev my 525i past 3000 rpm to get decent engine pull.

BUT of cource I enjoy the smooth as silk performance and broad rev range of the straight six. Will try to find a 520d to test drive during the week.

/M

tegel

Well I'm getting 23,5 MPG in the 525i, mixed, and 28,25 MPG on the highway. 38 looks good to me...

/M

Robert J

I'm not clear in my head this early in the morning so... I got 0,79l/10km at my last tour. It was from Stockholm trought Sm?land down to Blekinge and back. Now the car have ran only 1800km so what I have been told, the consumption will be about 0,1l/10km lower when it's compleatly broaken in. It's supposed to be that after 10000km.

After all, it's already about 10-15% lower in consumption than the 525i (192hk) that I had.

What I can see, the only downside of the diesel is the little strange noise. It's not as knocking as an old Benz, but it still sounds a little "tractor".

If you look at the motors and the upgrades of them, I'm quite shure that a revised version of the 525d is to be released soon. It's the only D engine that have not been updated and are a little "old" compared with the other ones. I can imagine that it will be released to the MY change in September.

I can't argue with the blinds, I have have never ridden in the rear of my car! But I don't think it's so dark after all. I can imagine that it's about 30% tint. The panoramic roof is a nice feature, but if I had to choose from power and roof... POWER! Same with the M-kit. The chassie is quite OK standard and 18" wheels are not that expensive. I got my set of 124-wheels for 8000sek.

If you want, you can PM me in Swedish.

Regards, Robert

mr_djurgarden

I would go for the 520d. What I know we should have some new taxes soon here in Sweden about diesel and it should now be cheaper to drive a diesel compared do a petrol.

tegel

Update; borrowed the 520d sedan with stick from the dealer today. Only issue I have is with the engine sound, all other worries are gone. Engine sounds as if it belongs in a smaller car. But, it consumes 30% less than my 525i on the same test track.

My wife is currently out taking it for a spin, interesting to hear her comments when she gets back.