F10 525D

[pits]

Had a go of one earlier, some of you may remember I didn't really get on with the E39 we had just bought preferring my 34 over it, well sadly the 31 got pranged the other day so now requires most of the nearside replacing, got the like for like courtesy car and been given an 11 plate F10 525D, semi auto, Idrive, full black leather, pretty much seems fully loaded.

First impressions are, it is pig ugly, but this is easily negated because, what a car, quite honestly the best thing I have ever driven, the handling is crisp and precise, plenty of power on tap, comfortable, I love it, I have a feeling one may be added to our stable at some point, I honestly thought it would be a wallowing pile of crap, but it doesn't even have a hint of body roll.

Only thing I dislike is lack of key and taking 10 minutes to figure out how to start it and get it to bloody move, it is a bit of a faff at first, but brilliant brilliant car, oh and it is a 525D but a 3.0 straight 6? When did the badge on the back become irrelevant

Out of interest has anyone gone from a 60 to a 10? May have to consider a 60 if it is as half as good as the 10.


Also the Idrive is really cool.

[Pickled Piper]

How did you find the ride on the runflat tyres? It was a real negative for me.

pp

[Mustard]

Just to confuse things further, as of week 36 production 2011 (start of Sept) the 525d is now a 2 ltr 4 cylinder!

[Crombers]

I spent the day with an F10 520d loan car last week which after being a bit of an E39 fan boy thought I'd really like.

Alas I walked away without any great feeling towards it, other than promising myself that I shall never own a car with an oil burner under the bonnet. I'm surprised modern diseasals still sound so agricultural.

It was a competent number by all accounts, handled well enough, seemed well built but it didn't really feel special.

Only thing worth noting is that BMW seem to have improved their seat comfort these days. The 520d and B5 Bi-Turbo I was in recently were in the Volvo league of ergonomics.

I'd also add that the ride was no better than my B7 which runs on 21s and the 5 had fairly low spec balloon tyres!

Still, I was a little disappointed that I didn't walk away thinking 'I want!'

[Pickled Piper]

Crombers said:

Still, I was a little disappointed that I didn't walk away thinking 'I want!'

My thoughts exactly, as I got back into my E39 to drive home.

pp

[sparks_E39]

Pickled Piper said:

My thoughts exactly, as I got back into my E39 to drive home.

pp

Would take an E39 over any of the newer models.

[pits]

Crombers said:

I spent the day with an F10 520d loan car last week which after being a bit of an E39 fan boy thought I'd really like.

Alas I walked away without any great feeling towards it, other than promising myself that I shall never own a car with an oil burner under the bonnet. I'm surprised modern diseasals still sound so agricultural.

It was a competent number by all accounts, handled well enough, seemed well built but it didn't really feel special.

Only thing worth noting is that BMW seem to have improved their seat comfort these days. The 520d and B5 Bi-Turbo I was in recently were in the Volvo league of ergonomics.

I'd also add that the ride was no better than my B7 which runs on 21s and the 5 had fairly low spec balloon tyres!

Still, I was a little disappointed that I didn't walk away thinking 'I want!'

Run flats I honestly can't say I noticed, mostly because I ride a Ducati which is the most uncomfortable thing in the world to ride and you feel even the tiniest of cracks in the road, so neither here nore there for me.

the 6 cylinder diesel doesn't sound like a diesel at all, and pulls from nothing, honestly it feels like a petrol 6, so smooth and plenty of oomph, it hits 100leptons scarily quick.

Seat comfort, yeah unlike the 39 I didn't end up with a dead arse.

I found the ride comfortable though, it is wrong to say but it almost wafts like a Jag.

It also makes the 528i seem like even more of a slug than it already is, nothing against the 39 but it is fecking slow.

I could honestly see myself in an F10 one day, 60 first though, and agreed it doesn't feel special like the 34 or 39 but I think I would have one as an everyday waft mobile.

[Jobbo]

I had an F10 530d for a week when I was having some warranty work done on my E60 last year. Loved it - much more of a proper successor to the E39 in quality and comfort than the E60.

[sparks_E39]

pits said:

Run flats I honestly can't say I noticed, mostly because I ride a Ducati which is the most uncomfortable thing in the world to ride and you feel even the tiniest of cracks in the road, so neither here nore there for me.

the 6 cylinder diesel doesn't sound like a diesel at all, and pulls from nothing, honestly it feels like a petrol 6, so smooth and plenty of oomph, it hits 100leptons scarily quick.

Seat comfort, yeah unlike the 39 I didn't end up with a dead arse.

I found the ride comfortable though, it is wrong to say but it almost wafts like a Jag.

It also makes the 528i seem like even more of a slug than it already is, nothing against the 39 but it is fecking slow.

I could honestly see myself in an F10 one day, 60 first though, and agreed it doesn't feel special like the 34 or 39 but I think I would have one as an everyday waft mobile.

The 528 is quite quick car I thought. Not necessarily off the mark but once it gets going it's no slouch.

[Deva Link]

Pickled Piper said:

Crombers said:

Still, I was a little disappointed that I didn't walk away thinking 'I want!'

My thoughts exactly, as I got back into my E39 to drive home.

pp

The snag is that there's nothing special about a 520d - it's a car that senior sales reps drive up and down the motorways.

There's a good reason why BMW won't sell anything with 4cyls in the US.

[pits]

sparks_E39 said:

pits said:

It also makes the 528i seem like even more of a slug than it already is, nothing against the 39 but it is fecking slow.

I could honestly see myself in an F10 one day, 60 first though, and agreed it doesn't feel special like the 34 or 39 but I think I would have one as an everyday waft mobile.

The 528 is quite quick car I thought. Not necessarily off the mark but once it gets going it's no slouch.

lol have you ever driven an E39 528i Tourer, it is not much quicker than my 518i 34, even when going it is slow, the power to weight is all wrong

Jobbo said:

I had an F10 530d for a week when I was having some warranty work done on my E60 last year. Loved it - much more of a proper successor to the E39 in quality and comfort than the E60.

That is what I thought, I haven't driven a 60, going to see if I can get a sneaky test drive somewhere to see what it is like, but for me the F10 feels like the successor the 34, I like the 39, but I don't love it, I just find it a bit cumbersome, it is a bit "Volvo C70" quite quick, but too much of a barge to enjoy, I find the 39 quite scary at speed the amount of "ooh fff" moments I have had in the 39 now I try to avoid driving it, the power to handling ratio is all wrong, same as Volvo C70, I know I said the 39 is slow, but it is fastish, but it is too fast for the way it handles, where as the F10 is firmly planted, point and squeeze as oppossed to the 39's point, squeeze, remember you are in the 39, panic slightly as it wallows around the corner ready to either run wide into a hedge or try and step the back out.

[sparks_E39]

Hmm no I haven't, 3 years with a 528 saloon though, which I can verify does 0-60 in around 7.5-8 seconds. I don't know the touring figures but they can't be far off.

[Tebbers]

Deva Link said:

The snag is that there's nothing special about a 520d - it's a car that senior sales reps drive up and down the motorways.

There's a good reason why BMW won't sell anything with 4cyls in the US.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-29/bmw-s-50-...

[Deva Link]

Tebbers said:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-29/bmw-s-50-...

Fairy enough - talk about taking the piss with the badging though!

Wonder if they'll be adding an external version of Active Sound?

[Jobbo]

pits said:

That is what I thought, I haven't driven a 60, going to see if I can get a sneaky test drive somewhere to see what it is like

I only ever drove mine on the OE Goodyear fun-flats (typo intentional ). It had 18"s and sport suspension despite being an SE. It didn't ride very well, the only way the steering improved upon my E39 was that it didn't have the recirculating ball slack in the centre, and it hopped sideways over bumps when cornering. My E39 had 17"s and the factory MTech suspension which was standard on the 540i.

The F10 I borrowed had adaptive drive (or whatever it's called) and 19"s, so a fair comparison I think. The ride was immeasurably better than the E60 but it handled well too, much more level and composed.

[gizlaroc]

pits said:

I find the 39 quite scary at speed the amount of "ooh fff" moments I have had in the 39 now I try to avoid driving it, the power to handling ratio is all wrong, same as Volvo C70, I know I said the 39 is slow, but it is fastish, but it is too fast for the way it handles, where as the F10 is firmly planted, point and squeeze as oppossed to the 39's point, squeeze, remember you are in the 39, panic slightly as it wallows around the corner ready to either run wide into a hedge or try and step the back out.

I find this bizarre, I have had 3 E39's, 528i se, 530i touring and a 530i saloon.

I found them to be far more telling of what is going on chassis wise compared to the F11 we had, and the best 'all round' BMW I have ever owned, and I have owned a few from 528i e39 to 535d E60 to the latest F11 touring.

My brother now has my old 530i sport E39, and it is starting to show its age, it is a 2001 and he was not happy with the handling, I took it out and not surprised, it was feeling very tired and twitchy. However he has just changed all the bushes and suspension and it feels nice and tight again.

You sure you're not comparing a tired 10-15 year old car with a brand new one??




We got rid of the F11 after 10 weeks, as much as we tried to like it as time went on it got duller and duller, does everything well but just doesn't excite in any way at all.

I preferred the E60 in that respect. Shame as the interior and toys on the F10/11 are superb.

[pits]

gizlaroc said:

I find this bizarre, I have had 3 E39's, 528i se, 530i touring and a 530i saloon.

I found them to be far more telling of what is going on chassis wise compared to the F11 we had, and the best 'all round' BMW I have ever owned, and I have owned a few from 528i e39 to 535d E60 to the latest F11 touring.

My brother now has my old 530i sport E39, and it is starting to show its age, it is a 2001 and he was not happy with the handling, I took it out and not surprised, it was feeling very tired and twitchy. However he has just changed all the bushes and suspension and it feels nice and tight again.

You sure you're not comparing a tired 10-15 year old car with a brand new one??




We got rid of the F11 after 10 weeks, as much as we tried to like it as time went on it got duller and duller, does everything well but just doesn't excite in any way at all.

I preferred the E60 in that respect. Shame as the interior and toys on the F10/11 are superb.

Our 39 has done 168k miles now, but it has had all the suspension and bushes replaced by p/o about a year ago, I just can't get on with it, it is even worse since someone *names wont be mentioned* went out and fitted Triangle tyres, but even on the Dunlops I found it woeful through the corners, I really can't get on with the 39.

I find the 34 for me the best 5er so far, and the F10 close behind, then the 39.



Jobbo, I will test drive a 60 as I love the look of the 60, but I will agree the F10 does feel so composed, it is deceptively quick and handles like a sports car, felt minimal body roll, and just hugged the road.

[E38Ross]

pits - there must be something wrong with your E39. i've driven an E34 (though it had mega miles, the suspension had been refreshed not too long ago) and the E39 WAS the better handling car, end of. not driven an E60 or F10 though so can't comment.

i do like the F10 though, the interior looks really nice, i think the styling is far more a successor to the E39 than the E60 was IMO.

hope the E31 gets back on the road soon! is your E31 the 4.0 or the later 4.4?

[Jobbo]

I wouldn't necessarily say the E39 is a better handling car than the E34. I loved my E34 to bits; the E39 was more refined, modern, mature etc but the E34 simply felt sportier and had a wonderful way of flowing with the road.

[gizlaroc]

E38Ross said:

pits - there must be something wrong with your E39.

I agree.

Sounds like the threads that say it is a mess and turns out there is different tyres front and rear.