2010 528i or 2012 530d?

[bmwmike]

Fox- said:

bmwmike said:

Petrol everytime because diesel stinks and has crappy power delivery IMO

I'm also no fan of diesel and flirted with the idea of replacing my then 2010 530d F10 with a similarly aged 528i. Unfortunately the 'crappy power delivery' was to be found in the N53 - it just didn't seem to work as well as the 3.0d in the F10 when paired with the 8 speed box. It needed revs to extract the performance which is absolutely the last thing you want in an 1800kg 8 speed automatic barge.

I was very sad as I love the silky smooth silent waft of the petrol engine and happily railed against the tyranny of diesel for 8 glorious years in my E39 530i

I ended up in another 530d.

That's not my experience at all. The n53 coupled with the ZF8 is great. Yes, to get full power you need to rev it but even normal driving works great, it's right on the button with rpm between 1000 and 2500 ish very smooth and eager.
Quote "needed revs to extract the performance" applies to every inline nasp six ever, perhaps you've got too used to the on/off of the derv?

The ZF8 in manual mode exploits the full 7000 rpm and in kick down too, it really shifts, easy to break grip.

Perhaps something wrong with yours, which wouldn't be unheard of for n53 hehe. I do find I need to use the box to get the best from it but that's all part of the fun imo. Or maybe that's what you don't like. Fair enough.

Btw Mines the 272ps 530i so a bit more than the 528i bit doubt it makes that much difference.

Edit to add the n53 engine cars are quite a bit lighter up front than the tractor versions too.

[Fox-]

The car I test drove was a 2012 530i with 21k on the clock so I doubt there was anything wrong with it. I guess I just expected more from a 272bhp car - it just felt lacking compared to my then 245bhp 530d and wasn't how I remembered my 530i, which I guess was a lighter manual.

[bmwmike]

Fox- said:

The car I test drove was a 2012 530i with 21k on the clock so I doubt there was anything wrong with it. I guess I just expected more from a 272bhp car - it just felt lacking compared to my then 245bhp 530d and wasn't how I remembered my 530i, which I guess was a lighter manual.

Not many of those around, do you remember the reg or the colour? I'm south west also..

[Fox-]

bmwmike said:

Not many of those around, do you remember the reg or the colour? I'm south west also..

Typical of quite a few 530i of that vintage (They all seemed to be unusual colours and bizarre specs) it was Cashmere Silver and was for sale as an AUC at Rybrook Worcester IIRC, this was circa 2015.

It also had business nav but soft close doors!

[Mr Tidy]

I might be wrong, but IIRC the 2010 528i was a 4-cylinder engine - I'd definitely prefer a six-cylinder 530d to that, regardless of mileage!

Anyway good luck with your search OP.

And it might be worth looking at this thread about 19" rims with run-flats (one of many)!

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by Mr Tidy on Wednesday 22 August 00:07

[Rosscow]

Confusingly the 528i came in both a 4 cylinder turbo and a straight 6 version.

I believe the 4 cylinder turbo was 2012 onwards.

Obviously it would be the 6 cylinder if it happened, but they’re like hens teeth!

[Fox-]

In July 2011 the 528i became 4 cylinder turbo and the 530i was introduced with a slightly more powerful N53 6 cylinder.

[gizlaroc]

I never knew that. Was the 6cyl 530i available in the UK?

I always thought the 528i became a 4cyl turbo and then that became the 530i when it got a slight power increase.

[Fox-]

gizlaroc said:

I never knew that. Was the 6cyl 530i available in the UK?

Yes, it was. It was really odd that it even got introduced - on paper it offered less performance than the 528i it sat alongside in the range. As you can imagine they sold very few of them.

It was available from July 2011 until the LCI in July 2013. The first 4 cylinder 530i was the G30 530i.

[bmwmike]

Fox- said:

gizlaroc said:

I never knew that. Was the 6cyl 530i available in the UK?

Yes, it was. It was really odd that it even got introduced - on paper it offered less performance than the 528i it sat alongside in the range. As you can imagine they sold very few of them.

It was available from July 2011 until the LCI in July 2013. The first 4 cylinder 530i was the G30 530i.

I've got one. I think I looked up on how many left and it was less than 70 registered between 2011 and 2013. Might be wrong.

[Rosscow]

Neither!!!

Couldn’t bring myself to spend that much cash on a 6 or 8 year old car.

So I’ve put a deposit down on a not quite 3 years old fully loaded Volvo XC70 2.4 D5

Head beat heart on this occasion.

[Fox-]

I'd have taken the 5 despite the age. Because Volvo product lifecycles are so old the XC70 is absolutely ancient. I had one as a hire car a few years back and it felt like I had gone back in time. I was so glad to be back in my then 5 year older 530d.

[Rosscow]

Yep, I hear what you’re saying.

But I think a 7 year old Volvo will actually be easier to sell in 3 or 4 years time than the BMW.

There are so few of them now and they’re really sought after, people love them.

A 10 year old 5 series SE with 100k on the clock much less so.

If I’m honest I’d rather have bought the BMW, but the towing capability with AWD also swayed my decision.