My BMW 5 Series G30 is now 6 years old: 80,000 km update

Inspite of almost 2 years of lockdowns, the fact that I have still done 80K km without much highway driving is a testament to how good the chassis and engine/gearbox is.

BHPian np23 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Dear Bhpians,

It's been a while and a lot of developments so I thought it's a great time to update you all. The car is 6 years old now and completed 80,000km, of which mostly was peak city driving.

I believe that inspite of almost 2 years of lockdowns, the fact that I have still done 80,000km without much highway driving is a testament to how good the chassis and Engine/Gearbox is and that is when I went from an F10 530d to this G30 530i, I am sad to see with the G68, they have again made it floaty like the F10, having owned the E90 (Eerily similar to the E60), I was so glad to see how they perfected the G30 chassis for India, it feels like a proper BMW to drive and still acceptably comfortable, and it showed in the numbers, enthusiasts were back in the showrooms.

However again, the with G68, its softer chassis, and removal of creature comfort like unblinds, reclinable seats, M Sport kits etc (I honestly don't know what they are targeting) and it is surprising that already, in a city like Delhi I have seen the V214 E class much more than the G68 which was launched months in advance.

Coming to my vehicle it still runs like on day 1, except for some minor wear and tear, in fact the only thing which bothers me is a quintessential BMW rubber/plastic melting issue on the right door armrest plastic melting which makes it sticky, apart from that everything feels factory fresh.

The car still looks new, and yes I still turn back and look at it.

As they say, the best journeys are those not planned for, and that happened in September, an in a prompt plan to go the Pandupole Temple inside the Sariksa Tiger Reserve propped up and we were on our way.

On reaching the forest gates, we came to know that the Safari Gypsys were all taken, and the other zones of the park being shut for the Monsoons, there were fewer Gypsys available. We were told that Private cars are allowed on Tuesdays and Saturdays for the temple, but I am sure even the designers in Munich never thought the G30 was meant for this, that too when even the dirt tracks were in a horrible shape due to monsoons and full of slush, water and what not. I am glad I didn't think much and signed the documents, and in we were.

Having the forest to yourself was surreal, and the animals welcomed us and how, almost as if it was meant to be. Crossing through makeshift rivers, dirt tracks, and rocky aravlis in this, was surreal without a single scrape and only once or twice did the traction system kicked in, when the tracks were really slushy and wet and needed a bit of assistance. It is also a testament to how far these cars have come, and also what the mind and machine can achieve if they want. We saw most mammals from the whole tiger to the more common deers, in this 5-hour adventure.

For those who don't know, I drove around 30 kilometres (60 return) inside the forest on monsoon-battered slush tracks, and it was almost as much at home as it was after connecting onto the incredible Mumbai Delhi expressway.

Will be posting some pictures shortly.

To all the Senior Members out there, there is some special news around the corner with delivery next year from the same manufacturer.

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