[S350L-E240]

I spoke of this in the 525d review thread, and like I mentioned HUD + Navigation is a good addition but ultimately not something which adds to the usage of the car, it has been more then 10 years now and I still do not understand why exactly at this price we do not get better seats?

I remember I always have argued with Mercedes and then BMW India why do they not offer us the better seats and if not that then why not atleast ventilated seats? Most of our country is hot weather and it's a boon to have them esp. for people like me whose backs become as wet as that of when one is just out of the shower, I'm glad VW has taken this initiative with the Passat hopefully others follow.

Coming back to the car, I think if the current car is offered at a good discount it makes it a bargain as it's a blast to drive and there is nothing I would consider in that category.

And the Price of 2L + does not seem correct infact I will not be surprised if they add these features with less than .5% of price rise as they might time it with the new Audi A6 launch.


Regards,

[Turbanator]

530d needs better wheels, something that would distinguish it from other variants

+ 1 - Yes it deserves better if not bigger at least , I plan to order one for mine 530 D very soon - I think the older 5 series were having different types for different specs maybe BMW India have negotiated something with BMW Germany as Quantity Discounts and uses across the range to save on costs - Yes even within companies they have something like transfer pricings and every country / region works as a different cost center .

Is it possible to get Navigation working on 520D with its 7" screen? If I get navigation on this car, it would be just perfect

I doubt its going to be possible easily as the I-Drive of 530 D is different from other ones - it has an internal HDD where you can store some songs as well data - in fact I found this feature very useful to store CDs - I think more of manufactrers are coming with HDDs now a-days . Size of screen probably does not matter for this feature .

This loading was much due. The 530d doesn't seem value enough in it's current state, besides the engine and rear entertainment(if you are a backseat user then you would have bought the 520d instead) were just not enough to justify the price difference.

Very right - even i tried to reason with sales guys on the logic - if someone wants to use rear entertainment he will miss the fun of engine . However occasionally I give car to Driver and enjoy movies in the rear .

BUT I don't find any one commenting / Highlighting on the Chassis Setup - One of the reasons I opted for 530 D was the different modes that you can set up in suspension - I am sure everyone who has driven this car will appreciate the difference in the handling especially on curves at high speeds - if we drive in comfort mode & sports mode - even the co-passengers can feel & one more advantage if someone has not noticed - you can get through speed breakers or rough patches far more easily in sports mode as shockers / dampers are stiffened !

Overall if you see the difference in money terms - about 6 lac extra for 530 D it looks expensive but if you compare with Percentage over 525 D it comes to about 15 % and then the car looks OK , i think this is almost same % we pay extra on smaller cars for top variants or maybe these calculations are good to overcome Brain over Heart ..

[fre2bpowerless]

@Turbanator

The drive modes do make a huge difference in the way the car behaves, sport mode without the sport transmission is my preferred setting for daily drive. Car feels very lofty in normal mode, bouncy over the speed breakers and humps on our roads.

The entertainment system was attractive when I bought my 530 but its hardly ever used now.

[mdsaab]

That's some good news.
Ofcourse we want the really cool HUD.
with cars such as the Aria, Endevaour etc offering navigation systems built in.
it's about time high end cars offer the same.
But one thing for sure, updating the maps on these things are going to cost a bomb.

[BeamerBoy]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I doubt its going to be possible easily as the I-Drive of 530 D is different from other ones - it has an internal HDD where you can store some songs as well data - in fact I found this feature very useful to store CDs - I think more of manufactrers are coming with HDDs now a-days . Size of screen probably does not matter for this feature .

Retrofitting Navigation on BMWs!!! If you have got a BMW with 8.8'' screen and the 8 button i-drive, check out with your dealer - a BMW indash navi retrofit kit is available now. For the month till July, they are also have a very fantastic offer price.

For me, I own an E60 and yeah, this news was not of much use to me. Just thought it would be useful to share the info here.

[Turbanator]

a BMW indash navi retrofit kit is available now. For the month till July, they are also have a very fantastic offer price.

Hi

Do you have an idea of prices ? Chdgrh Dealer is not aware of such fitment yet - can you PM me details of your contact . Further as per local guy in BMW - price of 530D is going to get increased to about 50 Lac Ex Showroom due to extra features & Duty issues

[BeamerBoy]

Did you check with the Sales Guy? Check with someone in Service/Parts. I got the info from Bird Automotive. You can call the Parts Guy there or re-check with your dealer first.

If you still have no luck, just let me know I will PM you the contact details.

[n:CorE]

Increasing the prices to a good 2L+ just for these features doesn't seem worth it. BMW is anyways at threat by the New A6. I mean look at the A6. It not just has what the BMW provides, but so much more! Best-in-class rims, loaded with technology and equipment to the gills, quattro 4WD system, 4-zone climate control, light-weight set up, stonker of a 3.0 V6 to name a few, all this @ 56L OTR Thane.

[S350L-E240]

Hello,

Yes the A6 looks nice, but BMW is not exactly threatened by the car in terms of equipment, the only important things missing are the air suspensions and the quattro, but the quattro is only on the higher end cars which are only about 30 % of total sales but then BMW also has some equipment which the A6 does not and while one can discuss the need or not it does add to the value which is

1. Rear seat entertainment
2. HUD
3. Navigation System
4. Electric steering column

Also when it comes to engines even the BMW's have brilliant inline 6 engines in the 25d, 30d and 35i.

Also if you see the price for the loaded A6 it works at 59.xx on road in ahmedabad and that's mainly due to the new ckd norms compared to this the 530d is at 54.xx so while the A6 maybe a very good car BMW India has been very aggressive with the 5 too.

Infact the car maker who will be really worried is Mercedes India and they will really lose a lot of E sales which was anyways playing second fiddle to the BMW 5 since launch.

Regards,

[n:CorE]

Actually, BMW India, has been superbly aggressive when it comes to the 5-series. Mercedes is going down for sure. Time we see those discounts pouring in from the dealerships to sell units or if they decide to go the BMW (read aggressive) way, then maybe a price cut?

Above all of this, the Audi is yet to be proven in the area where it matters the most, the volumes, i.e the 2.0L Turbo-diesel! BMW has been the clear winner with the 520d. Lets see how the 2.0 TDI from the Volkswagen stable performs under the skin of the A6.

[S350L-E240]

Note from Mod : The BMW 530d review has been uploaded at this link; please continue the discussion on the new review thread.

n:CorE,

Problem is even if the A6 2.0 is a very good car, it is still a front wheel drive car, and most of all OTR is 49,43,571 in Ahmedabad and the 520d is 42,37,773 and above all the 525d is 45,60,794 so not only does the 520d have a huge advantage above the A6 in terms of price, but also the fact that is a Rear Wheel drive car which many may not care for but most might just consider the 525d, which has a inline 6!! Rear Seat entertainment and I still don't understand why Audi choose to not include the electric steering column adjustment at the price?

This will be an interesting fight in the next few months, but I think Audi will have a huge price disadvantage. Also do consider BMW prices are on road prices and you can easy get a lac or so knocked off the price which is harder with Audi dealers.

Regards,