RE: BMW 535d Estate: Spotted

[Lancs Jag Boy]

ELROR said:

Nice. Fuel economy more like 30mpg though, and 530d gives 90% of performance, is cheaper to buy and cheaper to run. I'd go for the 530d.

I've just traded my 2015 535d estate, which had the higher 320 bhp output. 40 mpg is completely obtainable without having to drive like a saint all the time. Brilliant car.

[ambuletz]

GTEYE said:

Big GT said:

snake_oil said:

It's got the cheap nav. I'm out.

Why would that make a difference?
Why is it missing some roads, does it not recognise Lincolnshire?

Great car. Personally i would go for the 530d or xf 3.0d s sportbrake.

Either way these are one of the very few irreplaceable cars due to there alround ability

The Pro Nav makes a difference to resale and desirability- so a potentially risky move to buy one without. It’s not just the screen it’s the extra multimedia features that make the difference.

It’s the question everyone will ask when you’re selling so beware.

maybe it's just me but i kinda find it a little sad that the desirability of a bmw diesel estate is based largely on what type of satnav it has.

[Chestrockwell]

All 535ds on AT seem to be similar spec to this, perhaps they were cheap to lease at the tile hence the lack of options?

There’s a heap of bog standard 335d x drives on AT, some even without the LED lights.

I nearly leased a 335d x drive in 2016, it was 6+23 at 350 a month 10k miles. It also was bog standard but I didn’t go for it in the end.

The business nav would also put me off, my friend bought a 2014 facelift 520d m sport with the business nav and it’s terrible, doesn’t even have Bluetooth music streaming, can’t even plug it in and play music via the I drive, he only uses the AUX. I’m used to the pro nav on my car and wouldn’t settle for anything less. Maybe if it was a 2-3 grand car, I’d make comprises but if I’m spending 20 grand, I’d want the lot!

[J4CKO]

I have Business Nav in my car, I have used it two or three times, it did the job, was sat in my mates one with Pro and it looked nicer but didnt seem to do anything much different, we tried the HK sound in his vs my normal one, would have been disappointed if I paid extra for those.

[B17NNS]

Handsome, fast, sporty, luxurious, spacious, economical...

Nothing for me to dislike here.

[Nerdherder]

ELROR said:

Nice. Fuel economy more like 30mpg though, and 530d gives 90% of performance, is cheaper to buy and cheaper to run. I'd go for the 530d.

This.

[TrivsTom]

Brother has one of these. 13 plate with pro nav, paddles and panoramic roof, etc. 49mpg is a tad optimistic, more like 40! Quick when you want it to be, refined when you don’t.

[CDP]

ambuletz said:

GTEYE said:

Big GT said:

snake_oil said:

It's got the cheap nav. I'm out.

Why would that make a difference?
Why is it missing some roads, does it not recognise Lincolnshire?

Great car. Personally i would go for the 530d or xf 3.0d s sportbrake.

Either way these are one of the very few irreplaceable cars due to there alround ability

The Pro Nav makes a difference to resale and desirability- so a potentially risky move to buy one without. It’s not just the screen it’s the extra multimedia features that make the difference.

It’s the question everyone will ask when you’re selling so beware.

maybe it's just me but i kinda find it a little sad that the desirability of a bmw diesel estate is based largely on what type of satnav it has.

In five to ten years when it's up for sale again nobody will give a toss what the satnav is, just the condition.

Personally it's the six cylinder engine that would make the difference to me.

[ALawson]

They look good but not that big in the boot, just over 500 litres.

[Welshbeef]

[redacted]

[Grampa]

Great comparison article. How fast do people need to get to 60 nowadays, it took me 60 years and that was too quick!

[aaron_2000]

Welshbeef said:

E60 is a very old car now / nearly 10 years old at its newest.

Damn. I didn't even realise that, aged very well IMO.

[Welshbeef]

https://www.celtictuning.co.uk/services/performanc...

https://www.celtictuning.co.uk/services/performanc...

400bhp & 570lft/lb

[Chestrockwell]

[redacted]

[Welshbeef]

I get that but there is a lot of pleasure in feeling very strong surging power.

The other thing is the noise of the 2.0ltr isn’t great inside and outside while the I6 does make a massively nicer noise and sometimes under hard load a nice growl for a diesel.

[Welshbeef]

[redacted]

[ducnick]

I used to have a 520d F11 and it was a great car. Always thought it would be pretty much perfect in 550i F11 spec. In 530d/535d it would probably be great 80% of the time in all reality.

[MC Bodge]

ambuletz said:

maybe it's just me but i kinda find it a little sad that the desirability of a bmw diesel estate is based largely on what type of satnav it has.

This is the modern world.

To be fair, the performance and everything else is fairly academic too.

[Chestrockwell]

[redacted]

[Welshbeef]

Chestrockwell said:

I don’t think you can measure these cars by horsepower, it should be by torque as that’s what matters. A 520i will feel a lot slower than a 520d even though it revs higher and has more horsepower.

In my 430d, whenever I feel like pressing on, I use the paddles and keep changing at around 3k rpm, keeping it in the peak torque range and it eats the road, you don’t even hear the engine most of the time. An equivalent 430i will be a lot louder, will feel slower and will use so much more fuel as you’re literally revving it out most of the time.

A 520d won’t sound as nice as a 530d, it won’t have that surge of torque that pushes you into your seat but it will keep up with a 530d with ease on 75% of the roads here.

It is the complete family cruiser/commuter.

520d is 330newton Meters of torque
535d is 630newton meters of torque