BMW 530d GT - First Impressions
Discussion
Following introduction post in 'Readers Cars' - picked up my 530d GT last week. Done 300 or so miles so far. Still not managed to take pictures, but first impression of the car are brilliant.
Looks aren’t to everyone’s taste, but everyone that has seen mine in the flesh has loved it. Very colour dependant and needs the 20” wheels aesthetically. Massive road presence.
It’s huge. Parked next to anything other than a Range Rover or Rolls Royce it seems massive, and you can feel the bulk from behind the wheel, but only really under breaking. It’s not as nimble as my old car (M-Sport 3-Series), but it does belie its size round corners.
It’s quick. Coming from 270bhp 3-series I expected the power to be disappointing, but it feels every bit as quick. 8-speed auto will help, but the engine has so much grunt, you just get seemless power to well over legal speeds.
It’s huge Inside. Rear space is comical – it’s immense. Add in high roof and the panoramic sunroof and it feels like a Maybach Same elements benefit front space, and the dash design that leans slightly away from you gives an even greater feeling of space. Huge glass surface – big windscreen and the sunroof give a very luxurious feel.
It’s quality. A league ahead of my old 3 series, itself well-specc’d. & series interior and it shows. The materials, the quality of the fit and finish and the overall design are hard to fault – although it does need the Anthracite Ash Wood finish. Overall a very very nice place to be. The huge 10” TV screen is beautifully integrated into the dash and using Google Maps as part of its SatNav is fantastic. The latest iDrive is great, certainly a league ahead of anyone else’s equivalent, and a league ahead of the 3-yr old 3-series’ version I came from. Only real gripe is the iDrive controller on the wrong side of the gearstick – problems of car designed for European market.
It’s loaded. An immense standard spec, plus £8k+ worth of options mean the car has everything you can think of needing in the real world (and yet you could add a further £20k to it…!). Leather/8-speed Auto/Panoramic Sunroof/adaptive ride/electric seats/Xenons/LED lights for all non Xenon lights/Adaptive headlights/Sat Nav/BlueTooth/HDD Multimedia/20” Wheels/16 speaker digital amp stereo/voice control/Ambient lighting/….the list goes on.
It’s practical. The rear seat design is brilliant. Even slid forward, rear leg room is good, in the rear most position it is Limo-like. The duel boot is actually very useful. Full opening vital for loading Buggy and child paraphernalia, and even in smallest size configuration, swallows everything a 2-year old could need for a night away. The small opening is great for small items and has been used far more than I think.
It’s not a sports car. The drive and ride is very good…..for a 2-tonne car. Even in Sports+ setting, the car is not M-Sport firm. It handles remarkably well for such a big car, but it is still a big car. BUT…..it makes you want to ‘waft along’. The seating position is high and very ‘mini-range rover’ like – it encourages smooth, relaxed progress - well suited to the grunty diesel engine. It’s a great motorway car, eating miles up without noticing. The twisty B-Roads are a bit more of a challenge. It copes well, but you wouldn’t choose it over a 3 or normal 5 for a 20 mins b-road blast.
It’s frugal. Running around so far, and enjoying the grunty response of burying the throttle more than you would normally, has seen just over 40mpg. A 70 mile motorway run to parents saw 45mpg.
Overall – it’s a staggering car. I’m immensely happy with it and it has exceeded my expectation after a few days. I’m just not looking forward to replacing four, 20”, runflat tyres….!
Looks aren’t to everyone’s taste, but everyone that has seen mine in the flesh has loved it. Very colour dependant and needs the 20” wheels aesthetically. Massive road presence.
It’s huge. Parked next to anything other than a Range Rover or Rolls Royce it seems massive, and you can feel the bulk from behind the wheel, but only really under breaking. It’s not as nimble as my old car (M-Sport 3-Series), but it does belie its size round corners.
It’s quick. Coming from 270bhp 3-series I expected the power to be disappointing, but it feels every bit as quick. 8-speed auto will help, but the engine has so much grunt, you just get seemless power to well over legal speeds.
It’s huge Inside. Rear space is comical – it’s immense. Add in high roof and the panoramic sunroof and it feels like a Maybach Same elements benefit front space, and the dash design that leans slightly away from you gives an even greater feeling of space. Huge glass surface – big windscreen and the sunroof give a very luxurious feel.
It’s quality. A league ahead of my old 3 series, itself well-specc’d. & series interior and it shows. The materials, the quality of the fit and finish and the overall design are hard to fault – although it does need the Anthracite Ash Wood finish. Overall a very very nice place to be. The huge 10” TV screen is beautifully integrated into the dash and using Google Maps as part of its SatNav is fantastic. The latest iDrive is great, certainly a league ahead of anyone else’s equivalent, and a league ahead of the 3-yr old 3-series’ version I came from. Only real gripe is the iDrive controller on the wrong side of the gearstick – problems of car designed for European market.
It’s loaded. An immense standard spec, plus £8k+ worth of options mean the car has everything you can think of needing in the real world (and yet you could add a further £20k to it…!). Leather/8-speed Auto/Panoramic Sunroof/adaptive ride/electric seats/Xenons/LED lights for all non Xenon lights/Adaptive headlights/Sat Nav/BlueTooth/HDD Multimedia/20” Wheels/16 speaker digital amp stereo/voice control/Ambient lighting/….the list goes on.
It’s practical. The rear seat design is brilliant. Even slid forward, rear leg room is good, in the rear most position it is Limo-like. The duel boot is actually very useful. Full opening vital for loading Buggy and child paraphernalia, and even in smallest size configuration, swallows everything a 2-year old could need for a night away. The small opening is great for small items and has been used far more than I think.
It’s not a sports car. The drive and ride is very good…..for a 2-tonne car. Even in Sports+ setting, the car is not M-Sport firm. It handles remarkably well for such a big car, but it is still a big car. BUT…..it makes you want to ‘waft along’. The seating position is high and very ‘mini-range rover’ like – it encourages smooth, relaxed progress - well suited to the grunty diesel engine. It’s a great motorway car, eating miles up without noticing. The twisty B-Roads are a bit more of a challenge. It copes well, but you wouldn’t choose it over a 3 or normal 5 for a 20 mins b-road blast.
It’s frugal. Running around so far, and enjoying the grunty response of burying the throttle more than you would normally, has seen just over 40mpg. A 70 mile motorway run to parents saw 45mpg.
Overall – it’s a staggering car. I’m immensely happy with it and it has exceeded my expectation after a few days. I’m just not looking forward to replacing four, 20”, runflat tyres….!
From reading the Auto Express article it seems to have some reasonable DNA, but I just cannot accept the huge bulk and awkward styling. I would also be surprised if you couldn't really improve the car on a smaller set of wheels and standard tyres. It will be interesting to see how people take to them.
kambites said:
The concept (and to some extent the execution) reminds me greatly of the R-class, which was hardly a roaring success.
Why BMW didn't just make a 7-series estate is rather beyond me.
Still, as long as you like it.
It basically IS a 7-series estate. Just called a 5 to appeal to younger buyersWhy BMW didn't just make a 7-series estate is rather beyond me.
Still, as long as you like it.
yonex said:
From reading the Auto Express article it seems to have some reasonable DNA, but I just cannot accept the huge bulk and awkward styling. I would also be surprised if you couldn't really improve the car on a smaller set of wheels and standard tyres. It will be interesting to see how people take to them.
That picture is proof indeed that you need:1) a decent colour - not the blue shown there
2) 20" wheels - not the std 18" there
3) Dynamic pack to take away the chrome
Guvernator said:
Can someone tell me why one would buy one of these over the estate version. I'm not trying to knock them, just really interested to know why someone would choose a GT with it's "challenging" looks. What is the niche\unique selling point of this car over an estate?
Challenging look perhaps, although everyone who has seen mine has been surprised that they have liked it int he flesh - I like the quirky looks, but then I like the X6 too.As for why this over a 5-series estate. The car is not for everyone, but it's a clever piece of kit. It's based on the latest 7-series platform and with sliding and reclining rear seats means it has X5/5-series touring beating load space but can also have 7-series 'L' rear legroom. It has an elevated driving position, but has car-like dynamics rather than SUV. It's fantastically well-specc'd. Build quality is stellar (7-series interior) but 5-series pricing.
As for the 5-Touring. I hate estate cars, the new 5 touring is awful, plus it has less spec, less practical, less value, less well built, no great improvement in looks and above all offers nothing that the GT doesn't.
Horses for courses.
Ramses said:
As for the 5-Touring. I hate estate cars, the new 5 touring is awful, plus it has less spec, less practical, less value, less well built, no great improvement in looks and above all offers nothing that the GT doesn't.
OK, so you hate estate cars, but I have to say I think the 5 Touring's a handsome beast and the GT is less so, shall we say...And although I've probably not seen yours I have some a number in the metal.
Still, glad you're enjoying your new car, would be a dull world if we all liked the same thing.
M
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