Team-BHP - BMW 525d : Test Drive & Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby05 (Post 2112099)

Dippy, Jaguar still needs time to set up dependable service and dependability here. You know how my S type troubled me. XF was concieved when ford was in charge and on the way to hawking off the division, so am apprehensive, why pay 15 lacs more for it. God willing would love to go for the new XJ in a years time. But am looking at the range rover option in the next 6 months.
I had driven the 525D and found her reasonably responsive, not as much as my E280cdi, because of the Brabus chip I guess, but will chip the 525D too. Yes will post impressions once I get the car, which is hopefully before Diwali.
Yesterday, I floored the CDI, and believe me, I wondered why I'm changing my car, No Mind just the stupid Heart!

Sometimes a change is not bad. I'm sure the BMW will be fun too once you chip it. Anyways what to do we are addicted to the German diesel torque :D

Whats the E like after the Brabus chip?

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby05 (Post 2112099)

I had driven the 525D and found her reasonably responsive, not as much as my E280cdi, because of the Brabus chip I guess, but will chip the 525D too.

Sir, that make me ask you, why not the 530d? You get 45bhp and 90nm more of torque. Also some extra features in the car. I understand it is about 5-6 lacs more. You seem to drive your cars a fair amount to be thinking of chipping etc hence why not just buy the more powerful version?

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshay1234 (Post 2112223)

An internationally authorised tuners chip will cost me 1.50lacs. I dont use the rear so rear seat entertainment is useless, thus not interested in paying 7 lacs more.

Folks, my car has arrived. Initial feelings are Good, I Love the New leather smell. I will surely take time to come to terms and adjust. Have been a Merc user for 24 years.
Engine is responsive enough, and there is no end to what we may desire. I did realise that if at cruise speed of 20kmph I press the throttle she shifts down and moves/accelerates, but, When I Floor the Throttle she Jumps Forward!! and That feels Nice. This will further improve with the engine opening up a lil bit and a Hamann chip.
The tranny is seamless and very good.
Ride quality is better than expected but, still the E rides better.
Like E350 said on his thread, the steering wheel lacks the feel of such an expensive car. The bluetooth is Very good.
will post pictures in a few days.
I have not taken the bmw secure nor the 5 year service package yet, and am contemplating its real worth. Can opt for them before the 1st service.

drove the 525d on sunday. the car in havana color looks absolutely fabulous. couldn't see the ambient lighting OR the l.e.d hidden in the door handles because drove it in the noon. though the white hallo rings look great even in daytime.

few points at the rear that got me wondering. the headroom is just enough, your seating is lowered (low hip point height as mentioned by GTO), the transmission tunnel is huge (so anyone sitting in the middle - will feel unwanted), the window sill is high so you don't get the roomy feel (i rather felt a bit like sitting in a box), legroom is barely enough - i doubt anyone would want to sit behind me when i am driving (i am 6'2). why would a chauffeur driven person want to buy this car?
i mean all the gadgets, gizmos things to play with are on the front. the rear ain't that comfortable to be in.

how would the audi a6 fare as compared to the f10?

another thing that has already been mentioned - the steering wheel looks downright cheap for a car this expensive!! heck even my laura's steering wheel feels better.

Scooby-congrats! do take the BSI if you plan to use the car extensively. Also the e60 525d has it's transmission limited to handling 400nM torque only hence I have stayed away from chipping it. Do check on BMW forums if the F10 525d transmission is limited to a certain torque level too.
What's the output the hamann chip promising?

@samyakmodi- the a6 backseat is worse. The headroom is terrible

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahil (Post 2127564)

Sahil, Thanks. I presume the new 8 speed gearbox is basically the same on the 530D except for the sports mode ratio options, so this should take the higher torque. Hamann dont do a chip for this diesel. So am looking at 'racechip tuning' or some other better chips. What I have seen is an upto 31% increase in bhp and 16% increase in torque.
If you have any suggestions being a BMW Veteran do tell me.
My usage is max 10000kms per year, and propose to keep the car for just 3 years. 2 years in anycase is the warantee from bmw, so really contemplating not doing the bsi costing 2.5lacs for a 3yr/60000 package.
2 services will cost me say 50000 and I still have 2lacs for the German independability in the 3rd year. I still have time of 3 months to decide. FYI, if I take the bsi later[a couple of months], its claimed as revenue expenses, and not capitalised. You know that the first year insurance gets capitalised!!
The only major doubt/worry is the suspension troubles! and which could cost a lot.

Congratulations on the new arrival scooby. Looks like it made it home just in time for Diwali :) Quite a change from the Merc I guess. Will be looking forward to your driving impressions and detailed comparisons with the Mercedes. Do start a new thread with pictures.

Hope to see it in person someday soon . Happy Diwali.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby05 (Post 2128243)

So am looking at 'racechip tuning' or some other better chips. What I have seen is an upto 31% increase in bhp and 16% increase in torque.

First of all many congrats for getting a great and very balanced car esp just before Diwali. This is exactly the car I'm looking for next year. I totally echo your thoughts on the decision to get this rather than 530D.

About racechip - I would advice you not to go for this at least based on my experience with a chip I got for my Q7 4.2 TDI. There was hardly any gain and got a lot of smoke in bargain. (details here) I'd recommend chipexpress as it performed quite well in my earlier 3.0 TDI Q7 as well as Skoda Superb Mk2 (2.0 TDI PD). There is no smoke and you can measure the performance gain clearly without any additional smoke. Though it is a bit pricey but worth it (at least in my experience).

Wishing you many happy miles with your new toy !!

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby05 (Post 2126842)

Folks, my car has arrived.

Congrats on the 525d, Scooby! I can spend a full weekend only looking at it :)

Reasons you should NOT remap:

- The 525d is quick already!

- Doubts over whether the transmission can handle additional torque.

- Your warranty will be nullified. The F10 is a fresh generation and will inevitably have some bugs & niggles. My suggestion : Get a 5 year BSI and sleep peacefully.

Congrats scooby05,

I guess you are the second Mercedes-Benz person moving onto the BMW world, me too on the first day had no idea what button was where, could not believe they would place the rear sunshare button on the door with the window buttons.

About the tuning part, trust me stay away, I know of a certain someone here who had to go back and forth to get some issue sorted which was being looked upon with a certain bit of negativity due to getting his car tuned, and considering the response time I think you can have a bit of fun in the stock car for a while?

Do let me know if you plan to do something about the spare wheel, I'm thinking of clever solutions but none that have stuck me yet.

Regards,

@S350 and Scooby: Yes, the Mercedes generally does have better ergonomics than BMW's.
I have seen quite a few BMW owners wondering how to unlock the doors from inside, due to the awkward placement of the buttons on the dash.
Also, the Mercedes tends to have bigger buttons, and more storage spots than the BMW.

@scooby: Forget getting the chip for the first year till you get the know her capabilities better. Get better tyres first. Ride and Handling will both improve. Our E270 has better grip than the E60 525d over uneven roads, due to the run flats. Also, under hard acceleration the traction control cuts in quite early due to the tyres.

lamborghini, how have you been? Long time. Coming to the F10, just got back from a nice trip dpong close to 200 Kms and I have to say the car is addictive to the core, and today again while driving I needed to reduce the fan speed and took me some time to find the right button, boy was I missing Mercedes-Benz and their large and easy to see with well placed buttons, believe me I was in the car and could not find the boot open button nor do I still know where it is, I used the key to open it, will update the report on my post but about the RFT's trust me lamborghini, I've said it in other posts too and not sure if you have driven the F10 or no but if not, then believe me the car really has been tuned well for the RFT's it has absolutely none of the harsh ride qualities the E60 suffered from.

I've completed close to 700 KMs now and have had no issues with it at all, my only concern still remains about an efficient way to add a spare wheel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S350L-E240 (Post 2130355)

I needed to reduce the fan speed and took me some time to find the right button, boy was I missing Mercedes-Benz and their large and easy to see with well placed buttons, believe me I was in the car and could not find the boot open button nor do I still know where it is,

This might sound silly , but don't you guys read the manual at length once completely ? .:confused:

Apparantely I do, but trust me the discussion is about how easy Mercedes-Benz places the buttons and nothing more. Just a point of ergonomics where I guess some would prefer BMW style but I think overall neutrally and most will agree Mercedes-Benz is far ahead in terms of Ergonomics.

Regards,