520d opinions-underpowered?

the_viper2kie

Hey all,
My Dad is replacing his 520i petrol(2004). He loves the 5 series hence he's replacing it and thinking of going diesel. I drive his present car all the time and to me it seems superpowerful compared to my VW polo anyway however my brother reckons that the engine just isn't powerful enough for a car of that size and weight. Any opinions on this?! Also any recommended accesories when ordering?

Fey!

Don't know about the power, but certainly order the cruise and climate control, and possibly leather sport seats.

I know a couple of people who have the 520d, on of them in an estate, and they seem to like them.

unkel

The 520d is not underpowered. Similar performance as his previous 520i (0-100km/h in 8.6s) and lots of torque available from low revs. If he likes his 520i, he will like this one even more

And since there is no longer a 520i, petrol it means that the 520d is about 5 grand cheaper than the cheapest petrol (523i)

The diesel will depreciate less too...

Anan1

The weight of the current 5 series is very close to that of the current 3, so I would assume similar performance. The 2.0d engine is fine in the 3 series, even in auto. Interestingly enough, the current 5 series didn't do as well in the Euro NCAP crash tests as the current 3. If it's any help to you, my mother just ordered a new 320dSE and she specified: automatic gearbox, adaptive xenon headlights, sports seats, heated seats, lumbar support, folding mirrors, bluetooth, Logic7 speaker system, DAB radio, metallic paint, luggage pack, no smoker pack, and badge delete.

bazz26

As the others have said. I don't think any diesel BMW was ever accussed of being underpowered. Offical figures from carzone.ie give the 520d 163bhp with a top speed of 224 kph and 0 - 100 km/h of 8.6 seconds.

If I was spending that kind of money I would definatley take one for a test drive before deciding though.

It will definately be more desireable than a petrol model come resale time. If he has the spare cash then go for the M Sport pack which includes larger alloy wheels, sports suspension and front/side/rear skirts afaik. The 5 Series looks alot nicer imo with them. Also leather seats are a must in this class of car.

TheBazman

I bought a 2006 520d M-Sport last year. I dont feel it is underpowered for most use (and given my last car was a Nissan 350Z). I really enjoy the linear acceleration from the auto diesel and given the 0-60time is AFAIK only 0.1 sec slower than the 523i I would suggest that he would be happy enough. The turbo lag is noticable at times but your going to have this with most turbo diesels except the twin turbo beasts like the 335d and 535d.

Cyrus

i reiterate all of the above, my old man had an 04 520 (2.2 petrol) and i advised him to get the 520d last yr instead of the 523i,

the diesel is if anything a quicker car and fuel consumption and resale value seal the deal

junkyard

I thought it was a bit slow tbh, you really need a 3 litre, as far as I'm concerned, for any serious driving.

unkel

junkyard wrote:

I thought it was a bit slow tbh, you really need a 3 litre, as far as I'm concerned, for any serious driving.

Comparing to your M5 maybe, but it's got similar acceleration to your X5 3.0d

The OP('s dad) is buying new. The 530d and 535d are awesome motors but the list difference between a 520d SE manual and a 530d SE manual (never mind a 535d) is a whopping €15k, of which you won't see much back after a few years. New the 520d makes much more sense

unkel

Anan1 wrote:

The weight of the current 5 series is very close to that of the current 3

The (manual) models 520d SE and 320d SE are 1485 and 1405 kg respectively. Indeed very close!

The list price difference between these is very small too, €52.5k vs €49.2k. I've never seen similar 5 and 3 series cars priced so close together. What would be the idea behind that?

maidhc

unkel wrote:

In manual models 520d SE and a 320d SE they are 1485 and 1405 kg respectively. Indeed very close!

The list price difference between them is very small too, €52.5k vs €49.2k. I've never seen similar 3 and 5 series cars priced so close together. What would be the idea behind that?

Does the 3 series deserve to exist?

Well worth the 3k to go from a fun sized BMW to a decent one! I'd even go so far as to say the 520d is almost good value for money... Skoda Superb beware!

Anan1

maidhc wrote:

Does the 3 series deserve to exist?

Well worth the 3k to go from a fun sized BMW to a decent one! I'd even go so far as to say the 520d is almost good value for money... Skoda Superb beware!

I'd be inclined to ask the same question, but of the 5 series! If I needed to truck 3 passengers around on a regular basis then maybe i'd take the 5, but otherwise the 3 is a bit quicker, a bit cheaper, easier both to drive fast and to park (being smaller), and better in the NCAP.

junkyard

unkel wrote:

Comparing to your M5 maybe, but it's got similar acceleration to your X5 3.0d

The OP('s dad) is buying new. The 530d and 535d are awesome motors but the list difference between a 520d SE manual and a 530d SE manual (never mind a 535d) is a whopping €15k, of which you won't see much back after a few years. New the 520d makes much more sense

Yes but the X5 is a jeep and while it might be O.K. for a jeep I thought the 520d was just a bit gutless tbh. The 5 series is a lot nicer than the 3 series, the 3 series is very cramped inside too and I'm not very big or tall either.

HashSlinging

05 535 for 50k thats half price i think?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=566865

Mr Magnolia

unkel wrote:

The (manual) models 520d SE and 320d SE are 1485 and 1405 kg respectively. Indeed very close!

The list price difference between these is very small too, €52.5k vs €49.2k. I've never seen similar 5 and 3 series cars priced so close together. What would be the idea behind that?

I'm amazed the price is so close tbh. OP, I don't think the 520d is underpowered either, test-drive a few models.

unkel

HashSlinging wrote:

05 535 for 50k thats half price i think?

Not quite. List is 77k, so depreciation of just over 30% in two years, which looks pretty normal to me

HashSlinging

my bad I thought the 535 would be in A8 territory, thats where the 7 slots in I guess.

Roll on 2008! :cool:

the_viper2kie

Thanks everyone,
Heading down and saturday to test drive anyway but so many BMW drivers and wise people around here i thought i'd get opinions! On the M-sport pack, my dad can afford this but he's a company exec. so doesn't want it to look boy-racerish if you know what i mean. From what i can gather from carzone it includes skirting etc.
Should he go auto or manual-presently he's got manual but partly because last time round couldn;t afford it. Company car so given a certain sum of money to spend!
Also on colours what do people like or recommend? At the moment he's got that sort of dark grey with a black upholstery-no leather. This time he will be going for leather however-slightly more money to spend this time round!!!.

Cheers for all your help wisemen and ladies!

unkel

Auto definitely. Leather sure if he can afford it. M-pack doesn't look boy-racer, but is not to everybody's taste

Anan1

unkel wrote:

Auto definitely. Leather sure if he can afford it. M-pack doesn't look boy-racer, but is not to everybody's taste

I'm afraid i'd have to agree with the OP's dad on that one!;) Plus, he could get other genuinely good options for less money. Adaptive xenons or the Logic7 hi-fi upgrade spring to mind.

Henry Ford III

I've never driven one of these, but I believe they are excellent cars, although in common with every other car on the market here, are scandalously overpriced due to penal levels of taxation (VRT particularly).

The 520d seems to be the least powerful model available?

Cyrus

it appears so but looking at the figures it has 7bhp less than the 523 but more torque, mpg better and costs less

a no brainer unless you hate diesel

Anan1

Cyrus wrote:

it appears so but looking at the figures it has 7bhp less than the 523 but more torque, mpg better and costs less

a no brainer unless you hate diesel

Or love your straight 6 petrols.;) You're right, though, in economic terms it has the 523 licked.

Cyrus

personally id have the petrol actually, my own car has the 2.5 straight 6

for my dad and a lot of others its a no brainer tho!

the_viper2kie

Hey guys,
Back again with an update. My dad went down to the dealer for a test drive yesterday-basically to drive the 2.0 diesel and put in the order. The guy told him that BMW had announced during the week that there's a new 5 series to begin production in March. I only spoke briefly to my dad about it, he just said that he will wait to see what it was but the dealer just said it was just a few small changes cosmetically, on the dashboard and the interior but that there was rumours of a new gearbox and transmission system too. Has anyone else heard of this or shed some light on what the changes are?
He's holding off anyway, as it was going to probably take some time to deliver the model anyway and he's probably only going to lose a month or so. Also I just found out from him that he has roughly €66k to spend maybe an extra one or two if he pushes it. I was thinking about getting the visibility package(xenon adaptive headlamps, washer system), the entertainments package(sat nav professional, 6 disc changer, bluetooth prep radio) and the luxury package(leather, heated elec seats, popler wood dash). When the new model comes in will these packages be still available to people think and would the base price of the 520d be subject to change as with these options pretty much on the button moneywise?

Cheers

bazz26

the_viper2kie wrote:

Hey guys,
Back again with an update. My dad went down to the dealer for a test drive yesterday-basically to drive the 2.0 diesel and put in the order. The guy told him that BMW had announced during the week that there's a new 5 series to begin production in March. I only spoke briefly to my dad about it, he just said that he will wait to see what it was but the dealer just said it was just a few small changes cosmetically, on the dashboard and the interior but that there was rumours of a new gearbox and transmission system too. Has anyone else heard of this or shed some light on what the changes are?
He's holding off anyway, as it was going to probably take some time to deliver the model anyway and he's probably only going to lose a month or so. Also I just found out from him that he has roughly €66k to spend maybe an extra one or two if he pushes it. I was thinking about getting the visibility package(xenon adaptive headlamps, washer system), the entertainments package(sat nav professional, 6 disc changer, bluetooth prep radio) and the luxury package(leather, heated elec seats, popler wood dash). When the new model comes in will these packages be still available to people think and would the base price of the 520d be subject to change as with these options pretty much on the button moneywise?

Cheers

The current 5 Series is around since late 2003 so the new model available in March is just the model's mid life facelift or revision. More than likely it will only have small revisions as usually BMW are conservative in their model facelifts so that resale values are not effected too much of the old model. Expect a revised front and rear end i.e. slightly different headlights or a new bumper, etc. Usually the price of the revised model will increase slightly over the old model. Not sure about the increase in the optional extras as they probably will change these options on the revised model.

Actually I'm a bit surprised the dealer is telling you about the revised model as usually they are quite eagar to sell the remaining old model. Maybe their allocation of the old model has already been sold.

the_viper2kie

Yeah, I just spoke to my dad there properly about it. The dealer told him as they are no longer taking orders on the old model. I thought it was weird that he would have told him alright. There are some details i found on the international website- http://www.bmw.com/com/en/index_highend.html It appears yeah that as you said its a new bumper, slight changes to the rear and side also. Its also has changes to the inside with 8 or so favourite buttons. Dealer told dad that prices should be out in 10 days or so.
My dad also mentioned about a new automatic transmission thats completely electric-haven't a clue about that!!
There's also going to be some new colours added to the line too.