F10 520d M Sport Auto - Magnificent, what a bloody car!

F10 520d M Sport Auto - Magnificent, what a bloody car!

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AMDB9

Original Poster:

2,714 posts

206 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
I needed something to ferry me across 100 miles of motorway a day. My daily driver up until now was my Aston Martin DB9 (used to do 10 miles a day) and using that on my new found run would have meant selling my house by the end of this year biggrin

So I was in the market for a new Diesel. I'm not new to diesels and have had a fair few including my current family bus the X5 40d M Sport (7 seater) and previously owned an E60 535d and 530d M Sport but those 5 series although were amazing cars I struggled to get more than 32-35mpg from them with my driving style.

I narrowed my search down to the new 1 series (118d M Sport) and the new 3 series (318d/310d M Sport) and test drove both - lovely cars no doubt. But then when looking hard on the AUC sites I started to notice that I could pick up a 520d M Sport for not so much more money so narrowed my search down to these and started looking for the highest spec I could find within my budget.

I didn't bother with looking at the bigger engined versions as I just wanted something that was comfortable and gave me the most miles for my full tank and having had the 30d and 35d I new they were probably not the right choice.

Anyways, around a month back I picked up an AUC pre LCI 2013 520d M Sport in Alpine White. The car has a massive spec including Pro Nav, Xenons etc etc and I am so damn impressed with this machine that I thought I'd share it with you.

It's in no way sluggish, 0-60 is just under 8 seconds but I swear to god it feels much quicker, much much quicker! Must be something to do with the torque and twin turbos! The 2.0d Twin Turbo engine is more than sufficient especially in sport mode. If I drive using cruise control at steady speeds I can easily achieve 60mg. On a quick motorway run (75-85ish) all the way I can achieve 47-50mpg and around town stuck in traffic it still returns 41mpg! This is phenomenal for such a car. No matter how hard I drive it - I can keep it in sports mode and overtake at ease and it still does not drop below 45mpg between fill ups. The most I have got out of my £82 full tank so far is 710 miles but the norm is around 600-625 miles out of a whole tank.

My car has a 5 year service pack on it but even looking at the condition based servicing schedule on the idrive it seems these cars don't need much maintenance when compared to Merc and Audis that need annual servicing. The BMW's just asks for what it needs when it needs it!

Super impressed, and glad I made the decision to buy this one. Compared to my E60 30d and 35d this car is miles better as a whole package.

This thread will probably end up with 25d and 30d owners saying I should have got one of them or driven one of them first but I bought what I needed to buy for what I needed it for - the DB9 awaits me at home if I feel a need for insane speed wink

theboss

6,878 posts

218 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
AMDB9 said:
I needed something to ferry me across 100 miles of motorway a day. My daily driver up until now was my Aston Martin DB9 (used to do 10 miles a day) and using that on my new found run would have meant selling my house by the end of this year biggrin

So I was in the market for a new Diesel. I'm not new to diesels and have had a fair few including my current family bus the X5 40d M Sport (7 seater) and previously owned an E60 535d and 530d M Sport but those 5 series although were amazing cars I struggled to get more than 32-35mpg from them with my driving style.

I narrowed my search down to the new 1 series (118d M Sport) and the new 3 series (318d/310d M Sport) and test drove both - lovely cars no doubt. But then when looking hard on the AUC sites I started to notice that I could pick up a 520d M Sport for not so much more money so narrowed my search down to these and started looking for the highest spec I could find within my budget.

I didn't bother with looking at the bigger engined versions as I just wanted something that was comfortable and gave me the most miles for my full tank and having had the 30d and 35d I new they were probably not the right choice.

Anyways, around a month back I picked up an AUC pre LCI 2013 520d M Sport in Alpine White. The car has a massive spec including Pro Nav, Xenons etc etc and I am so damn impressed with this machine that I thought I'd share it with you.

It's in no way sluggish, 0-60 is just under 8 seconds but I swear to god it feels much quicker, much much quicker! Must be something to do with the torque and twin turbos! The 2.0d Twin Turbo engine is more than sufficient especially in sport mode. If I drive using cruise control at steady speeds I can easily achieve 60mg. On a quick motorway run (75-85ish) all the way I can achieve 47-50mpg and around town stuck in traffic it still returns 41mpg! This is phenomenal for such a car. No matter how hard I drive it - I can keep it in sports mode and overtake at ease and it still does not drop below 45mpg between fill ups. The most I have got out of my £82 full tank so far is 710 miles but the norm is around 600-625 miles out of a whole tank.

My car has a 5 year service pack on it but even looking at the condition based servicing schedule on the idrive it seems these cars don't need much maintenance when compared to Merc and Audis that need annual servicing. The BMW's just asks for what it needs when it needs it!

Super impressed, and glad I made the decision to buy this one. Compared to my E60 30d and 35d this car is miles better as a whole package.

This thread will probably end up with 25d and 30d owners saying I should have got one of them or driven one of them first but I bought what I needed to buy for what I needed it for - the DB9 awaits me at home if I feel a need for insane speed wink
The 520d has a single turbo - if you had a 525d you'd have the N47 2.0 twin turbo.

Interesting reports on economy - I find my 125d (auto) returns 47-48mpg with low 50's achievable on a sedate run.

I had the new 518d as a loan a few months ago and would have 'assumed' it were a 520d had I not known - it exceeded my expectations by not being woefully underpowered.

AMDB9

Original Poster:

2,714 posts

206 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
Nopes my F10 20d has a twin turbo engine and even says twin turbo on the plastic engine cover biggrin


theboss

6,878 posts

218 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
I'd wager it says TwinPower Turbo like mine does - but believe this is a marketing term for their 'twin scroll' variable turbo geometry whether there is one or two of them installed. They never make these things simple do they!

yellowbentines

5,296 posts

206 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
AMDB9 said:
Nopes my F10 20d has a twin turbo engine and even says twin turbo on the plastic engine cover biggrin
Possible replacement engine?

I know some are described as "TwinPower" but that doesn't mean Twin Turbo, instead meaning Twin Scroll Single Turbo AFAIK.

ETA...as said above!

theboss

6,878 posts

218 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
Didn't mean to throw the OP - I fear he is rejecting the car as we speak smile

philmots

4,630 posts

259 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
AMDB9 said:
Nopes my F10 20d has a twin turbo engine and even says twin turbo on the plastic engine cover biggrin
nono

AMDB9

Original Poster:

2,714 posts

206 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
fk knows what it is (single or twin) but the last time I looked under the bonnet it said twin turbo or something. Anyways whatever it is it's brilliant smile

Just what an executive cruiser should be....

NPI

1,310 posts

123 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
Apart from the turbo issue, it might have been remapped too.

I know they're pretty good cars but I've never read quite such a gushing report, even from other drives who use them mainly on the motorway.

Are you doing the MPG brim to brim or relying on the trip reading?

Alex L

2,575 posts

253 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
Just went outside and grabbed a photo of the engine cover in my 320d



Mine returns an average of 48mpg over the 4 months and 13,000 miles of ownership since new and is the non ED version,

Edited by Alex L on Friday 7th March 15:09

AMDB9

Original Poster:

2,714 posts

206 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
NPI said:
Apart from the turbo issue, it might have been remapped too.

I know they're pretty good cars but I've never read quite such a gushing report, even from other drives who use them mainly on the motorway.

Are you doing the MPG brim to brim or relying on the trip reading?
Certainly not remapped as I managed to find the previous owner on LinkedIn...strangely we work in the same industry! Id asked him that in addition to a few other things I had on my mind :-)

NPI

1,310 posts

123 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
Alex L said:
Just went outside and grabbed a photo of the engine cover in my 320d



Mine returns an average of 48mpg over the 4 months and 13,000 miles of ownership since new and is the non ED version,
Is this a bit like those 1 Series drivers who think their cars are front wheel drive? hehe

matsoc

853 posts

131 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
I am very happy owner of a F11 (estate) 525d but the review seems a bit too enthusiast for me too. The 8 speed auto in every mode, eco pro, comfort, sport and sport+ is just brilliant but the 5series is an heavy car, the performance is effortles but never so brisk.

AMDB9

Original Poster:

2,714 posts

206 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
[quote=matsoc]I am very happy owner of a F11 (estate) 525d but the review seems a bit too enthusiast for me too. The 8 speed auto in every mode, eco pro, comfort, sport and sport+ is just brilliant but the 5series is an heavy car, the performance is effortles but never so brisk. [/quote

Honestly my experience and not paid for by BMW lol is your F11 your only car? Remember my comments are also in comparison to my X5 and DB9 and the 20d is no way sluggish...

theboss

6,878 posts

218 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
I think you did well OP - I was faced with making similar choices in terms of car combinations and also have a 7s 40d X5... in hindsight as good as the new 1-er is I do miss a slightly comfier, more refined mode of transport and it seems as though the 2.0d is no less economical in the larger models. I don't have the pleasure of an AM V12 in the stable either!

Pickled Piper

6,334 posts

234 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
That's quite a write up up. You are obviously taken with your car.

I took delivery of my 520d MSport last week. I must admit that after a couple of days of driving it I was wishing I had paid the extra for a 530d or 535d. However, mine is quite tight . It has still only covered less than 200 miles. I know it will loosen up and get progressively more powerful and smoother.

There is no denying, it is an impressive overall package. I am still on my first tankful so have yet to see the mpg benefit.

One issue that is really annoying me is the inability to get car to work with my Ipod. It appears that some sort of update on the vehicle now means there are now compatibility issues, when previously there were none. I changed from a 2012 730d, where my Ipod Iphones worked seamlessly.

Overall, it's a pleasant place to be and I am looking forward to the next few thousand miles.

pp

Stick Legs

4,825 posts

164 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
Love my 530d. The F10 is quite a car and I have not head of anyone who is disappointed yet.

You are right about the economy thing. My 530d is knocking around the 30 - 35 mpg territory.

My wife's 118d twin power turbo is a twin scroll. As is my 30d.

AMDB9

Original Poster:

2,714 posts

206 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
My journey home today (a bit shorter than usual though)


anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
Pickled Piper said:
That's quite a write up up. You are obviously taken with your car.

I took delivery of my 520d MSport last week. I must admit that after a couple of days of driving it I was wishing I had paid the extra for a 530d or 535d. However, mine is quite tight . It has still only covered less than 200 miles. I know it will loosen up and get progressively more powerful and smoother.

There is no denying, it is an impressive overall package. I am still on my first tankful so have yet to see the mpg benefit.

One issue that is really annoying me is the inability to get car to work with my Ipod. It appears that some sort of update on the vehicle now means there are now compatibility issues, when previously there were none. I changed from a 2012 730d, where my Ipod Iphones worked seamlessly.

Overall, it's a pleasant place to be and I am looking forward to the next few thousand miles.

pp
Well, I collected my 530D this morning. Early days, only done 30 miles or so but it seems a nice enough place to be. Quite like the nav/media/DAB/internet stuff, but it takes some getting one's head around. I had an hour's 'lesson' with the dealer 'expert' this morning and only seemed to scratch the surface.

It seems I have 5 suspension/engine/ settings - EcoPro, Comfort +, Comfort, Sport and Sport +, which sounds a lot but will hopefully maintain interest once I have a few miles on the car.

Puzzled by your problems with your iPod. I just plugged mine in and have full functionality.


Stick Legs

4,825 posts

164 months

Friday 7th March 2014
quotequote all
AMDB9 said:
My journey home today (a bit shorter than usual though)

Why I like these cars. :-)



Apologies for the sideways pic. Apple strikes again!