[lamborghini]

@S350: Nice to see you back here. Been following your F10 thread, and I hope you have many happy miles with the car.
I haven't been able to drive the F10 as yet, however, I did go and check it out at the showroom when I was in town last.
I found the E60 easier to get into, specially the rear seats. You are correct when you mention that the F10 has a better ride than the E60, as even GTO and others have mentioned the same. However, there is no doubt that the ride would improve further on regular tubeless tyres.
Also, I don't know if you have noticed this, but the RFT's do have poor grip. At least on the E60, with the traction control kicking in quite frequently under hard acceleration. If you do plan on driving on the faster side, changing the tyres would be the first upgrade i can think of.
We haven't changed ours, as the car is driven quite sedately for most part.
About the boot, even I have no idea where the button is. I just use the key, or unlock the doors and have the person open the boot from behind. Mercedes on the other hand has a nice switch, with a diagram, conveniently located next to the drivers side door pockets.


@black12rr: As S350 said, the problem isn't with reading the manuals, but how easily the controls fall into your hand in Mercedes, as opposed to a BMW. BMW's in general tend to have smaller buttons, many of them unmarked. When driving it can get really frustrating trying to adapt to the changes, many of which are illogical.

Either ways, I am extremely happier driving simpler cars with fewer features. Less buttons to worry about, and fewer chances of a breakdown.

[scooby05]

Hello, Ive just returned from a trip of 270 odd kms, Mumbai Khandala/Talegaon and back.
This F10 Drives Superb. Handling is very good, has a particular character, and I am totally fresh driving her to office from Khandala 110kms.
The rfts arent a real cause of worry, since the ride is pretty good, better than the earlier 5 and very close to the E. Once in a while I felt the bounce of hard rubber, but very tolerable[will study if tire pressure is kept at 28/30 what the effect is]. Not here to just find fault, since I own her now!
Nevertheless, the power/punch and response is less than my E280cdi-brabus for sure. Didnt want to but still cruised at 180kmph for a good stretch with rpm showing 2700 in D and 3000 in DS modes, which is Very Very Good! but cant understand why this? when surely in both modes car is in 8th at that speed. Surprisingly the traction control light hasnt come on even once, is it not working or am I a little too gentle with the car?
I have put in a portable compressor in the space provided in the boot, in case of emergency can inflate a punctured tire and move on instead of ruining the tire. Max a person can add a jack and a puncture repair kit which is capable of repairing a puncture without having to remove the tire off the rim, heard these are available, wherein you push in a rubber round strip and a glue with a special tool and reinflate the tire. Am in the process of finding details of this.
I do not expect a puncture as yet with brand new tires and am careful with my car, but just in case. Am not changing the tires to normal, and will go thru the 20000kms before a change.
The boot switch is on the drivers well pillar, and if we can bend down to open the fuel lid below the seat in so many cars sure we can bend forward to open the boot.
The switch placements will need a lil getting used to as with any new car. Yes the door unlock button had to be hunted for.
All in all a very pleasant feel and drive, with No Regrets, though a little early. Just Miss the punch and reponse of my E but guess she has opened up. Will floor this car after she has clocked 1500kms, and will write back on this.
Thanks to myFamily and GTO for me switching to a BMW, feels nice, and hope I feel as nice 3 years down, when its time for a change.
Will opt for the 5/60000 BSI in due course.

[Sahil]

Glad you are enjoying the car !

Originally Posted by scooby05

Surprisingly the traction control light hasnt come on even once, is it not working or am I a little too gentle with the car?

Nope, you aren't being too gentle. You are just used to Merc's overly sensitive traction control. The BMW will flash the traction control light only if you are reaaaallyyy pushing her to the limit, when you see the light you should be warned and go easy.

[scooby05]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Glad you are enjoying the car !



Nope, you aren't being too gentle. You are just used to Merc's overly sensitive traction control. The BMW will flash the traction control light only if you are reaaaallyyy pushing her to the limit, when you see the light you should be warned and go easy.

Sahil, Have you really driven an E280cdi hard?
Ive used a 733i way back in 1982 for 5years, and had broken the pressure plate twice, to a point where even the keyway on the main pulley had got damaged due to the thrust, and to which no one has had an answer to, to this day, Mr. Sethna used to maintain her and his only question was "how do you manage to do these things". I had damaged 2 alloys in my first trip over poladpur ghats with the car done only 1000kms! The pain of getting all this from Germany in those days cant be imagined. I Have Mellowed down in 30 years, and welcome safety/warning features to protect the car and the driver.
If its too sensitive its a pre warn safety feature, just as you said 'when you see the light you should be warned and go easy' then its upto an individual to push on or lift off.
Sure though the 525D is slower than my 280cdi.

[Sahil]

Yes I have driven the E280CDi hard several times and the traction control light was far more sensitive than my car. Even in a straight line when floored hard the light went off, this never happens in the BMW unless there is water or mud causing wheelspin.

[RROD]

What baffles me is You review a Ford Figo and also a BMW, and yet you cover the most important aspects, that really concern. This is very difficult to explain, but hope you get my point.
Hats off to you GTO!!
Another gr8 review again!!

[abk]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Yes I have driven the E280CDi hard several times and the traction control light was far more sensitive than my car. Even in a straight line when floored hard the light went off, this never happens in the BMW unless there is water or mud causing wheelspin.

My E39 (540i) would often flash the yellow TCS indicator when taking off from a traffic red light in the D mode. Guess it is the tailspin feedback BUT i love it On one particular occasion when I was negotiating a curve (fast, as usual) on a rainy day the yellow indicator came on for few "long" moments & i could feel the powerful forces of the brakes on individual wheels working frantically to keep the car in the intended direction. It was such an amazing experience! While at the same time feeling assured that all these marvel of engineering and electronics would keep the car well in control which they all did. Without the TCS yellow indicator cutting in often when taking off from a red light i'd imagine the bimmer isn't driven the way it should be

[S350L-E240]

An update, the final weapon by BMW to completely dig the W212 in the ground is out in advance, instead of being launched in Q1 2011, the BMW 520d is out now for sale, it's at a price so tempting that I wonder why anyone will look at the 320d Highline any more as the difference is only about 5.5 lac INR.

Features missing compared to the 525d are just the 6 CD Changer, or else the car is pretty much the same as the 525d, and ofcourse the 4 Cyl engine. This might just add a lot of numbers for November and December.

Ex Showroom price in Ahmedabad is 37,72,000 INR/-

Next up is X1 in December with deliveries to start from January 2011.

Regards,

[StarrySky]

I got a chance to TD the 520d today (a friend was evaluating and I tagged along, I'm a long way off from buying a BMW). It was just WOW! Still getting goosebumps!! It was a day of firsts - driving a BMW (infact any "luxury" sedan) for the first time, first time in an automatic.

- The car is fairly low, but I thought the visibility towards the front was quite good
- I found a good driving position easily, I just had to move the seat forward a bit
- Like GTO mentioned in his review of the 525d, there's the cockpit effect and in some ways it felt similar to my Punto
- Front seats are excellent. Put the seat belt on and the seat literally hugs you - like saying, "OK, I got you, now your're safe"
- AC is very good, even at the rear
- I won't compare the performance to anything, it's just not fair on my part because the 520d is nearly twice as powerful as any car I've driven so far. So it's no real surprise that I was "blown away". The car picks up speed effortlessly
- Brakes are excellent
- The car is quite silent
- I read that the steering is not a good as the old 5, but for me, it was perfect
- Boot is quite deep, but not quite that wide - considering the width of the car

Initially, I was a bit short on confidence because I had never driven anything that matches the 5 in sheer size. Another reason for my apprehension was that I've never driven an AT car before. But then, the excitement of getting to drive a BMW drowned all my apprehensions. To my surprise, the 520d proved to be quite easy to drive despite its size. I think I would've found it quite hard to park it in tight spots, but I didn't have to encounter that situation during the TD. For the first 1-2 kms I had this itch to take my had off the steering wheel and shift gears, but I got it under control soon. The sales executive did a good job of reminding me that my left foot is "jobless" After that, I really started enjoying the car. Anyway, I wasn't the one evaluating the car, so my joy lasted only about 15km. But I probably had the widest grin on my face when I stepped out of the driving seat!

Some brands are called aspirational. Well, after driving the 520d today, I understood what that really means!! Simply put, it means "I WANT ONE!!"

Funny moment during the TD: A few years back when the Jetta was launched, I spotted one and I remember staring at it with wide eyes and open mouth. Today when I was driving the 520d, I spotted a guy in a Jetta staring at the 5 with wide eyes and open mouth! It's that kind of car. (No offence to VW or Jetta or Jetta owners)

[S350L-E240]

Hey all,

Sorry for double posting but have a question, my 530d suddenly sometimes in "R" gear acts a little hesitant to back up, this does not happen every time just randomly, but in last few days it has started frequently, is this a normal behavior or something I need to worry about and get it checked?

Regards,

[S350L-E240]

Autocarindia is reporting the 530d is getting the following updates in few months,

Link to Autocarindia

1. HUD (Heads Up Display)
2. Navigation system.

I think honestly they should add the Ventilated Seats, I don't know why all car makers here ignore the better seats?

I would love to have the HUD + Navigation system in my 530d if it is possible to do it by BMW aftermarket?

Regards,

[xavieman]

I was wondering the same - I tried contacting the local bmw dealership but the sales agent was out of town and the lady at the desk had no clue.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

BMW continues to register strong sales in the luxury segment and the new 5-Series has contributed tremendously to the success story of the German giant in India.
Although the 520d has been the more successful model from the 5-Series stable, BMW is now trying to push the sales of the more powerful 530d. BMW is enhancing its 5-series even further by offering a heads-up display and satellite navigation (courtesy MapMyIndia) for the 530d. This update is expected to go on sale in the second half of the year.
For the month of March, BMW managed to uphold its numero uno position in the luxury car segment with sales of 1027 units. It became the first luxury car manufacturer to post sales of over 1000 units in a single month.
Andreas Schaaf, president, BMW India said, “The new BMW 5 Series has contributed tremendously to the success story of BMW in India and is the largest selling luxury sedan in its segment. The new BMW 5 Series has received extremely positive feedback from the market and has positioned itself as the best business limousine in India.”

Source - BMW 530d to get added features | Autocar India


Finally some added features for the 530D. Nightvision too isnt far off IMO.

[BeamerBoy]

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

Autocarindia is reporting the 530d is getting the following updates in few months,

Link to Autocarindia

1. HUD (Heads Up Display)
2. Navigation system.

I think honestly they should add the Ventilated Seats, I don't know why all car makers here ignore the better seats?

I would love to have the HUD + Navigation system in my 530d if it is possible to do it by BMW aftermarket?

Regards,

HUD retrofit....that is very expensive job. Very expensive for the fact that the whole dashboard is different.

Navigation....yes, depends on the level of information display unit. If it is the one with TV function, you can.

[S350L-E240]

Hi,

Thanks for the answer, I know HUD is impossible but if you say Navigation is possible with TV Units, then Yes, the 530d does have a large screen with TV function and an inbuilt HDD.

Have tried to get information from BMW India but no reply yet, will update this post when I have some concrete information.

Regards,