JOY is beauty....
JOY is refinement....
JOY is luxury....
JOY is power....
JOY is the BMW 530d !
JOY has arrived...
Guys, i took delivery of my 530d on the 27th of October 2011 . Its an Alpine white colour with interiors of the Black and Ivory combination.
I am very happy with the dealership Bavaria Motors, Pune. The director, sales manager and their team did make this a very satisfying experience indeed and i think they do deserve special mention in this thread !
So the experience of JOY did start off on the right foot for me ! Test drives , paperwork , delivery , communication and practically all details of the transaction were handled efficiently, politely and seamlessly ! Thank you Mr. Vishal Agarwal, Mr. Shahnawaz and team !
They handed me the keys to my very own 530d ! The feeling was surreal ! From the moment i cranked her up the first time till today i have had the widest smile on my face. I'm completely convinced that the car i now own is a masterpiece and a perfect example of the excellence in automotive engineering in the world today !
The 530 is a perfect blend of luxury, performance and safety! From the beastly engine to the incredible interiors to the sporty exteriors this vehicle oozes class.
A high class review of the 5 series (525 and the 530) is already available on this forum written by some of the most capable review teams around ! So i will be concise in my review below !
What you may not like about this car -
It doesnt have wings and hence cannot fly. BMW had the opportunity here to create a segment first !
(especially with the MONSTER engine and a cockpit and aerodynamics already present !)
What you will definitely like about this car -
EVERYTHING !!
Jokes apart, i really find it impossible to find any flaw in this product that BMW has put together !
The absence of the pure hydraulic steering , rear AC temperature controls and a spare wheel could be some of the grouses. But really the final product that has been delivered by BMW has a huge WOW factor.
ENGINE & TRANSMISSION :
The engine is a 3 litre , 6 cylinder in-line configuration which is available in its highest state of tune in India as 245 bhp and 540 Nm with a minor upgrade to follow soon. It is mated to an 8 speed sports transmission. The engine is mighty and yet super refined. Power and torque delivery is instantaneous, pure, very linear and UNLIMITED !!
The 8 speed gearbox works seamlessly with its gear changes and keeps the engine revving at optimal speeds !
The engine and gearbox have really to be worshipped ! The overall refinement of the engine and the super ride quality make it impossible for the occupants and even the driver to predict the speed of the car. Till you look at the speedometer or brake or corner you really dont comprehend the speed ! The car does an amazing job in masking the speed and you are doing crazy 3 digit speeds before you know it !
The pinned back to your seat feeling does make it very entertaining to drive enthusiastically ! At the same time the fuel efficiency is mind boggling ( City - 9kmpl and Highway - 18 kmpl (at speeds around 110 kmph) and 12 kmpl (at speeds around 160 kmph)
My car has run only 740 km till date and i will update these figures in the future.
RIDE & HANDLING :
The low speed ride is very plush indeed. And yet the high speed handling is composed. The SPORT mode does stiffen up the suspension noticeably and this is useful for high speed drives.
The steering is also very good and direct, maybe not as much as the legendary Pure Hydraulic unit, but still very very good in its own right !
INTERIORS -
I will let the pictures do the talking for this one ! Ergonomics and styling is superb. Tried to capture good pics of the ambient lighting as well. Also you can see the HuD and pics of a Hard drive present on the car.
Multi coloured HuD ! Awesome !
The legendary SPORT mode !!
A Hard drive to store music and videos !
Other significant things about this car:
1. The ICE is very nice and i find the bass to be really high quality.
2. The steering wheel on this car has a nice grip (thicker meatier portion at points where you hold the steering)
3. Paddle shifts become largely inconsequential with the sports gearbox itself being highly responsive and loads of torque available at any speed.
4. Could not arrive at the "perfect" driving position yet.
5. The black panel lcd on the instrument console is fabulous and adds a lot of bling to an already stylish interior setup.
6. Navigation is very accurate and useful !
7. Voice controls are very easy to use and speech recognition is spot on.
8. If the driver door is not shut properly the car does not move. it gives a warning and alarm. I really found this to be a useful feature. Dont know if its present on the E and A6 ?
9. Rear View camera with all its gridlines and planes make reversing a very easy job.
10. Hard drive makes it convenient to dump your favourite music on board the car. 12.5 gb is good enough for the time being.
11. Wondering if the region code of the DVD player is the reason why i am not able to play region 3 dvd on the player. The disc is undetected.
12. Seat profiles are perfect and long journeys should be very comfortable.
13. Headlamps are supremely powerful and make night driving very safe and secure.
14. Engine refinement is unreal and makes the car pin drop silent when cruising at 120 kmph on tar highways !
A quick verdict -
This is an insanely powerful and refined car which ticks almost all the right boxes that a luxury sedan of this segment should. Its as much fun to drive peacefully and slow as it is to push hard on fast straights and corners. It does not like bad roads too much though. It has one of the best ride and handling balances amongst sedans !
The interiors are immensely satisfying. The red lighting that bathes the interiors looks awesome at night. Exterior styling and the day light running light rings is quite simply stunning and stops some people in their tracks and turns a lot of heads. You can see the "wow" on their faces !
Overall this is the car to buy from the current crop of cars in this segment. I am one happy soul !! I will in due course upload more information and pics (Daytime pics) of exteriors....stay tuned !