New 525d & 528i Engines

[dickyt]

I am due to Change my 520D M Sport Touring at the end of the year (company car), and have now noticed that BMW have changed some engines on the 5 series, opting to come down from the 6 cylinder to new twin turbo 4 cylinders.

I am on my second 520D, which has been fantastic. I always wanted the 530D but it's just beyond my budget, and the 525D just didn't seem worth the extra money for real world driving compared to the 520D.

Having seen the specs for the new 525D at 218 bhp and low emissions, it seems like a good option to the 520D -even the 528i at 245 bhp has low emissions which is appealing to anyone paying BIK tax.

I just wondered if anyone knows when these will start filtering through to the showrooms? - It will be interesting to see how they drive performance wise compared to the 520D. As a previous owner of a Saab 9-5 Aero with 250 bhp, I know that a big turbo on a 4 cylinder car can be good fun - although I expect the new twin turbo's should have less lag & be much smoother?

I also note that the VDC option, which seemed to be a must have from previous reviews has now vanished & has been replaced by Electronic Damper Control / EDC. Does this mean that BMW have tweaked the suspension to improve the standard ride, which I have previously understood to be not great? Does anyone have any experience of the new EDC and is it a must have 1K option to improve the standard ride?

Thanks

[jm0908]

Production starts beginning of Sept, so cars will start to hit showrooms in October...

Also worth noting the 520d auto emissions are 123g/km which is great for the co car driver...

[325iMSport]

I believe the 528i is a single turbo.

Also one thing to note, BMW have brought back the 530i but it uses the same N53 engine that came out in 2007. Even though its more expensive than the 528i, the figures claim its also slower too. Strange