Best optional extras for BMW 520d

sid40

I am changing my car (2011 reg BMW 520d f10) in the new year for a new 520d and enquiring if anyone has any opinions on some of the optional extras. My current car was the straight basic model so I'm thinking I would like one or two of the extras this time.

The ones I am looking at are the following:

Variable damper control - most reviews of the car say this makes a considerable difference to the driving experience.

Adaptive headlights / adaptive LED headlights - The dimmed lights on my current car have always been very poor so these are something I would look at. There is a big difference in price with the LED ones though.

Heads up Display - An unnecessary luxury?

Apple Car Play - Does this work and is it useful?

Reversing Camera - I know there are parking sensors as standard, maybe they are adequate, always found the system in my current car worked well.

Active cruise control - Not sure how useful this is? Mainly drive on country roads as opposed to motorway so maybe a bit of a waste?

Is there any really useful one that I am overlooking? Obviously I have stick within a budget so can only go for one to two of the above.

Any opinions appreciated.

bazz26

The current G30 is very well equipped compared to your 2011 F10. LED headlights are standard as is the widescreen Pro Nav. The head up display is still pricey and really up to you if you see value in it. I've adaptive headlights on my F10 and find them great especially if you live in the country or do alot of rural driving. I've no experience of the adaptive cruise control but looking at videos of it on other cars and it looks very good, shame BMW still charge an arm and a leg for it though.

If you like your music and sound then the Harmon Kardon loudspeaker system is worth upgrading to. MirrorLink is handy if you use your smartphone alot, using Google Maps on the screen would be more useful than the BMW sat nav which is average at best. I'd prefer if they did away with the built in sat nav and made MirrorLink standard. The auto dimming exterior mirrors are also a handy feature if there are blinding headlights from the cars behind. Memory seats are handy too, if you have more than one driver of the car.

The one extra that many people tend to overlook and I would find very handy is the split folding rear seat. I'd say 95% of 5 Series sold don't have a split folding rear seat.

freddieot

Reversing Camera
Folding mirrors
Maybe upgrade the interior trim \ wood to a preferred one if you intend holding onto the car for a long time.
Mem seats

After that it's very buyer specific but the HUD and things like that would be last on my list as you may soon tire of them and they are not cheap options. Better to spend money on real luxuries like heated steering wheel, screen for our cold mornings.

bmwguy

I wouldn't go without m sport spec it just makes the whole car look far better.
Also surprised nobody said a different engine yet! The 20d is pretty good though.

sid40

bmwguy wrote: »

I wouldn't go without m sport spec it just makes the whole car look far better.
Also surprised nobody said a different engine yet! The 20d is pretty good though.

Agree it looks good but is it worth a extra 6K ?

carsfan2

How long do you intend to keep the car and have you a budget in mind for extras?
Very easy to spend thousands even on a reasonably well equipped car like 5 series.
Bear in mind most extras will have little or no residual value, you are buying them for your own pleasure so the longer you keep the car the more you get out of them.

bmwguy

sid40 wrote: »

Agree it looks good but is it worth a extra 6K ?

No, it isn't. That's a lot of money. They do fetch more second hand though. Have an estimate of how long you will keep the car then see what the price difference generally is on second hand market for cars that age. Definitely won't be 6k but might be 3k.
I always buy used and it's easy for me to say buy the sport model but if it was my 6k.....don't think I would.

Enigma IE

Personally I would go for the M-Sport, looks much better and much more spec as standard. Also significantly more desirable when you your going to sell.

The other editions are ten-a-penny.

macjohn

As Bazz said the g30 is much better equipped than your current f10 as it has the led headlights and pro nav as standard (one of the main reasons for trading my F10 was the appalling dipped halogens)

One thing I would defo go for is 18inch alloys - I think the 17s look totally lost under the g30 and really let the car down.

I think they may have priced it out of reason but the soft close doors were a lovely touch on mine.

You are going from 2011 to 2018 so 7 year jump - would you intend keeping the next one as long?
If yes - then for the msport question I think I would go for it as overall its a nicer looking machine if yo are looking at it over a long period (also nullifies my comment on the 18inch alloys as would come as part of package)


If you are not going for msport I would look at seat options. On the F10 I found a big difference between the ordinary seats and the sports seats - not as familiar with the g30.

Again if you intend keeping long term and doing big mileage I would even look at the comfort seats.
Its down to personal preference (eg I am not huge into music) but by 2025 with tech advances we may be listening to tunes differently and the cars system will be dated but still able to enjoy comfortable seating!!!

Reverse camera and auto dipping mirrors nice to have.

Again with Bazz on the split fold rear seats - miss them when dont have them.


I think if I had the msport it might encourage me to keep car longer - is that a cost saving? I dont know. I haven't worked out the sweet point for me in terms of changing/cost of changing.

Congrats on going for it and keep us updated!

Theboinkmaster

Personally I wouldn't bother with the HUD.

The f10 speakers aren't great so if g30 as poor definitely upgrade the speakers.

Heated steering wheel I'd want also.

Reversing camera I find pointless since you already have sensors and they do the job well.

Msport absolute must IMO with at least 18" alloys, maybe 19".

Folding mirrors I'd definitely get, if you value them when parking and don't want to pay €1k to replace one because some stupid bint smashes them in your local Tesco.

sid40

Thanks for the interesting replies. Yes I probably will keep it for a while (used to change my car every 2 years which I think was mad) but I'll have had this one for 7 years (the one before that for 5) and do quite a bit of driving (about 170K km on the current one).
The list price of these cars has gone up substantially since I bought the last one, so straight away you are not getting as good value for money. Not sure whats it worth now, probably not a huge amount with the high mileage and they are very plentiful second hand. It is in good condition though.

The Msport does look well, I have the sports seats in my current one so I would like to get those again. I'm actually going to go for the touring, I use the boot a bit and I think it looks better than the saloon.

I reckon if I keep it as long again then it may be worth upgrading a bit now. It is a lot of money alright but someone has to buy them new I suppose!!

I would get the better lights alright, maybe forget the HUD and VDC.

What do people think of the darkened glass at the back? Is it a bit blingy? I don't really need to be hiding anything on the back seat lol.

bazz26

I've the rear privacy glass on my current F10 and had it on my previous F10 also. Don't think it looks bling at all, it actually makes it look a bit more classy imo as well as making rear passengers more comfortable in strong sunlight. They used do a M Sport Plus options pack on the F10 which included upgrade 19" alloys, rear privacy glass and Harmon Kardon loud speaker system which was relatively good value. Probably not available yet on the G30 given it's a new model.

Idbatterim

analysts predict the euro will reach parity with sterling early next year. Id be hanging onto this several years if you buy it new from an Irish dealer. Would you not import one from the Uk? Id look into it!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707117277572?advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&price-from=4500&model=5%20SERIES&sort=sponsored&make=BMW&postcode=e153ar&year-from=2017&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&page=1

Theboinkmaster

sid40 wrote: »

What do people think of the darkened glass at the back? Is it a bit blingy? I don't really need to be hiding anything on the back seat lol.

Yes I'd definitely get the rear privacy glass really adds to the look of the car, I wouldn't buy one without it.

Also if you've babies/young children it's great.

carsfan2

They still do that m sport plus pack alright with those options. Sun protection glass really improves the look of the touring model.
On a touring I would add the panoramic glass sun roof. Really adds to the airiness of the interior. Not so sure I would have the m sport on the touring model unless it was a 530.
comfort pack at around 3 grand I would get too. Gives you keyless entry, memory seats, reverse camera and folding mirrors. All nice and you will appreciate them every day.

R.O.R

Is there a reason on holding off on a new 5 Series until next year?

Might be worth calling in to a BMW dealer and pricing one for 2017 delivery.

[Strong hint, but can't say too much]

macjohn

R.O.R wrote: »

Is there a reason on holding off on a new 5 Series until next year?

Might be worth calling in to a BMW dealer and pricing one for 2017 delivery.

[Strong hint, but can't say too much]

OP - THIS!!!!!

Invaluable info to get.

R.O.R. is semi in the trade and a regular solid poster.

carsfan2

R.O.R wrote: »

Is there a reason on holding off on a new 5 Series until next year?

Might be worth calling in to a BMW dealer and pricing one for 2017 delivery.

[Strong hint, but can't say too much]

Don't say the prices are going up again?
I thought they increased in July by 1100 euro for the 520?

sid40

R.O.R wrote: »

Is there a reason on holding off on a new 5 Series until next year?

Might be worth calling in to a BMW dealer and pricing one for 2017 delivery.

[Strong hint, but can't say too much]

Point taken R.O.R.

Thanks

Leonard Hofstadter

sid40 wrote: »

Agree it looks good but is it worth a extra 6K ?

The only engine upgrade that would be worth doing is going for the 530e (the plug in hybrid model), but that requires a particular set of circumstances for it to make sense - it will probably use more fuel than a 520d on a motorway, for example.

The 525d would have been worth the extra money if it had a straight six, but sadly, 525ds are only four cylinders these days just like the 520d, so I wouldn't bother - with 187 bhp, a 520d is not exactly going to be slow.

The 530d is always worth considering because it has BMW's famous straight six engine, and six cylinder engines are much, much nicer, but it's too expensive to recommend brand new. In saying that I hope people buy them so that they are available for me to buy used for only a few hundred quid extra;).

James Bond Junior

I had the pleasure of driving a new X6 over the weekend. It had adaptive lights and they were a revelation. Fantastic things. They change the direction of the beam depending on what was coming against you meaning my half of the road was on full beam but the oncoming side was dipped and not dazzled.

It also came with HUD and to be honest bar it telling you what the speed limit was on the road you were driving, I found it quite irritating and distracting at night. Daytime not so bad but at night a pain. The HK stereo is quite good too if that's your thing.

Go M sport if you can afford it, just looks so much better.

digiman

This is what I would buy if I was buying one

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/bmw/5-series/used-2017-171-bmw-5-series-530d-m-spo-galway-fpa-3969480865567611065

Has all the extras you need really and has the 3.0L xdrive engine which is very very good.

For me Msport plus pack is a must have. If you are spending 60k plus on a car then its not much extra to spend.

I love the HUD, one of my favourite extras, great for flicking through radio stations while driving and never really having to look at the dash is great.

Comfort access is just so handy, almost no cars have this so I would have to give it up I guess if I change car. I love just walking up to the car without having to use my keys.

Reversing camera and the surround view are also fantastic extras, great for parking and given the 5 series is a decent sized car means you can park with great confidence and also great for avoiding kerbing your alloys.

higster

R.O.R wrote: »

Is there a reason on holding off on a new 5 Series until next year?

Might be worth calling in to a BMW dealer and pricing one for 2017 delivery.

[Strong hint, but can't say too much]

Now that has me nervous. Was planning on buying on for July 2018...back looking at e class so.

kirving

I think no matter what new car to go for, you'd be crazy not to spec a radar / autonomous emergency braking system if available. Even if it only ever works once in years of ownership, its worth it. I'm looking at (second hand) cars at the moment and have ruled out any car without it.

carsfan2

Kevin Irving wrote: »

I think no matter what new car to go for, you'd be crazy not to spec a radar / autonomous emergency braking system if available. Even if it only ever works once in years of ownership, its worth it. I'm looking at (second hand) cars at the moment and have ruled out any car without it.

Think that is standard on new 5 series.

Will be interesting to see what is coming down the tracks that R.O.R is hinting at.
I wonder is the co2 level to be revised making the cars more expensive?

sid40

carsfan2 wrote: »

Think that is standard on new 5 series.

Will be interesting to see what is coming down the tracks that R.O.R is hinting at.
I wonder is the co2 level to be revised making the cars more expensive?

I heard a motoring correspondent interviewed on Drive Time on radio 1 this evening. Basically she was saying the way emissions are stated will be changing from Sept 1st to give a more realistic figure of real world emissions and also mpg figures. Consequently the emissions figures will probably be up to 20% higher than currently stated and as our car tax and VRT are based on emissions figures we could expect to see an increase in both theoretically? I don't think it will really come into effect until later next year?

Is this what you were referring to or am I way off the mark?

carsfan2

Yeah
This is what I was wondering as I read an article saying something similar. However I can't imagine that any changes would happen as quickly as the new year?

Blazer

sid40 wrote: »

Thanks for the interesting replies. Yes I probably will keep it for a while (used to change my car every 2 years which I think was mad) but I'll have had this one for 7 years (the one before that for 5) and do quite a bit of driving (about 170K km on the current one).
The list price of these cars has gone up substantially since I bought the last one, so straight away you are not getting as good value for money. Not sure whats it worth now, probably not a huge amount with the high mileage and they are very plentiful second hand. It is in good condition though.

The Msport does look well, I have the sports seats in my current one so I would like to get those again. I'm actually going to go for the touring, I use the boot a bit and I think it looks better than the saloon.

I reckon if I keep it as long again then it may be worth upgrading a bit now. It is a lot of money alright but someone has to buy them new I suppose!!

I would get the better lights alright, maybe forget the HUD and VDC.

What do people think of the darkened glass at the back? Is it a bit blingy? I don't really need to be hiding anything on the back seat lol.

Took the new one for a test drive recently and its a big step up inside over the F10 which I have. Steering is definitely lighter which the purists hate but I'm not too bothered on a car like the the 5 series.
If you have an iphone then the option carplay is a must have.
Also the privacy glass.
The seats are a big step up. They feel way more comfortable inside but I'd be tempted to upgrade them to the sports or luxury ones especially if I was keeping it for a few years.
The display key I wouldn't bother with..reports are its laggy as hell so BMW still haven't fixed that crap with response since the 7 series launch.

Also BMW have just released a registration bonus discount of 4k so you could put that towards the msport.
PS I saw the touring m sport in Morrisons (white with black wheels) and it looked fantastic.
Other options I would get are the service pack plans they're currently doing and the Protect X for the exterior and interior.
And one last option would be the comfort access. Definitely recommended.
If you like I can send you on the pdf quote I got so you have an idea of price and some of the options if you like.
PM me if you want.

bazz26

If the 4k bonus discount is anything like the ones just gone before it then it's nothing but fudging of figures. Most of that 4k will either be clawed back by giving a very poor trade-in value on your F10 or it's conditional on a higher PCP APR interest rate.

Also you don't need to have an iPhone to integrate your phone into the infotainment system, MirrorLink has both either Android Auto or Apple Carplay installed so either an iOS or Android phone will work with it. One thing to remember is that Carplay and Android Auto are licence based so not all your phone's apps will work through it, only certain apps who subscribe will work through the infotainment system. BTW gesture control while a gimmick, if you like your toys is a relatively cheap upgrade at about €300 extra.

Optional wireless charging is probably worth considering too if you spend a lot of time in the car and don't want cables hanging out of the dash.

That Protect X is a waste of money too imo, they tried to include that in the price when I was looking at a 330e about two months back and I told them to remove it. Dealers have a big profit margin on it and I'd rather spend the same money on a good professional detail than leave the apprentice valeters at it.

sid40

Blazer wrote: »

Took the new one for a test drive recently and its a big step up inside over the F10 which I have. Steering is definitely lighter which the purists hate but I'm not too bothered on a car like the the 5 series.
If you have an iphone then the option carplay is a must have.
Also the privacy glass.
The seats are a big step up. They feel way more comfortable inside but I'd be tempted to upgrade them to the sports or luxury ones especially if I was keeping it for a few years.
The display key I wouldn't bother with..reports are its laggy as hell so BMW still haven't fixed that crap with response since the 7 series launch.

Also BMW have just released a registration bonus discount of 4k so you could put that towards the msport.
PS I saw the touring m sport in Morrisons (white with black wheels) and it looked fantastic.
Other options I would get are the service pack plans they're currently doing and the Protect X for the exterior and interior.
And one last option would be the comfort access. Definitely recommended.
If you like I can send you on the pdf quote I got so you have an idea of price and some of the options if you like.
PM me if you want.

That must be the same one I saw it Conlons! It must be doing a tour. Class car.

Blazer

bazz26 wrote: »

If the 4k bonus discount is anything like the ones just gone before it then it's nothing but fudging of figures. Most of that 4k will either be clawed back by giving a very poor trade-in value on your F10 or it's conditional on a higher PCP APR interest rate.

Also you don't need to have an iPhone to integrate your phone into the infotainment system, MirrorLink has both either Android Auto or Apple Carplay installed so either an iOS or Android phone will work with it. One thing to remember is that Carplay and Android Auto are licence based so not all your phone's apps will work through it, only certain apps who subscribe will work through the infotainment system. BTW gesture control while a gimmick, if you like your toys is a relatively cheap upgrade at about €300 extra.

Optional wireless charging is probably worth considering too if you spend a lot of time in the car and don't want cables hanging out of the dash.

That Protect X is a waste of money too imo, they tried to include that in the price when I was looking at a 330e about two months back and I told them to remove it. Dealers have a big profit margin on it and I'd rather spend the same money on a good professional detail than leave the apprentice valeters at it.

ah I thought the protectx was done at the factory.
As you said a professional detail is much better.

bazz26

Not as far as I'm aware, it's a dealer option that they try to up sell even on their approved used cars.

Blazer

bazz26 wrote: »

Not as far as I'm aware, it's a dealer option that they try to up sell even on their approved used cars.

yep..looks like a complete con..hell I do that to my car every 4 months myself and it doesn't cost me that price.
From the sounds of it I thought they would do the ceramic coating or something but its nothing even close to that..


https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=48719

acronym Chilli

Blazer wrote: »

yep..looks like a complete con..hell I do that to my car every 4 months myself and it doesn't cost me that price.
From the sounds of it I thought they would do the ceramic coating or something but its nothing even close to that..


https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=48719

Salespeople probably get a big clap on the back each time they sell one of those options!

carsfan2

We picked up a BMW in July and to seal the deal I got them to throw the gard x in after we had haggled the price.
The day we were collecting sales guy rang to ask what time in the afternoon we were coming. I said it is this morning and my wife was on the road. The lads haven't done the gard x yet he says but no panic it sets quick.
When she picked up the car two hours later it had been done apparently.
Can't be much if that's how long it takes.
I've had cars done by detailers and the wash and prep work prior to coating would take longer.
Do not pay for gard x.

Back to the 520d, have you looked the e class estate? Seriously good looking as an amg line and there are still price reductions advertised.

Robertr

I'm looking at ordering a 530e M Sport at the moment. Carbon black and Ivory White Nappa leather

The things I am definitely adding are:

- M Sport Plus Package
- Comfort Package
- Visibility Package
- Enhanced Bluetooth / Wireless Charging
- Apple Carplay
- Ceramic Finish Controls
- Electric Glass Sunroof


Things that I am on the fence about (worth about 5k)

- Driving Assistant Plus - commute the N7 from Kildare to City Centre each day so would be handy in traffic
- Display Key - a gimmick but cool
- Parking Assistant Plus - just love the idea of being able to see a 360 picture of the car from my phone

Pkiernan

The best option is the 3 litre twin turbo engine.

Seriously good value on 535ds at the moment.

R.O.R

acronym Chilli wrote: »

Salespeople probably get a big clap on the back each time they sell one of those options!

More like a load of commission.

Blazer

Pkiernan wrote: »

The best option is the 3 litre twin turbo engine.

Seriously good value on 535ds at the moment.

A 535d must be close to 80k? I don't see it on the irish site.

Leonard Hofstadter

Blazer wrote: »

A 535d must be close to 80k? I don't see it on the irish site.

Doesn't seem like they're going to bother doing the 540d (the successor to the 535d) for right hand drive markets with the G30s unfortunately.

They're definitely not doing the M550i and M550d in right hand drive that's for sure, the 540i xDrive will be the top non M model. Funny as the Brits definitely like their go faster versions of cars, I've definitely seen a good few F10 535ds in the UK and there's a relatively large number of six pot diesel 3 series around the place as well.

Odd when BMW are boasting about record sales figures that they're reducing the amount of choice available for right hand drive markets, before we used to get everything - even the V8s (God be with the days when there were not one but two V8 options for the 5 series and even the 520i had the all important six cylinders as standard), which they must have only sold about 10-15 of a year tops :rolleyes:.

bazz26

One of the Dublin main dealers has a 540i in stock @ 80k.

166man

R.O.R wrote: »

More like a load of commission.

I can confirm that this is definitely not the case.


Can't blame car dealers from selling these things when people will buy them - they're in the business of making money. I always find it funny how it's made out on boards to be some kind of a scam that premium brand car dealers charge for things and look to make a profit

SmithySeller

digiman wrote: »

I love the HUD, one of my favourite extras, great for flicking through radio stations while driving and never really having to look at the dash is great.

Interesting that many are saying they wouldn't bother with HUD, I wonder how many have used it extensively.
At first I found it odd and distracting, after a while I have come to the conclusion that's it a great feature and a tangible safety feature at that. That's my opinion!

digiman

SmithySeller wrote: »

Interesting that many are saying they wouldn't bother with HUD, I wonder how many have used it extensively.
At first I found it odd and distracting, after a while I have come to the conclusion that's it a great feature and a tangible safety feature at that. That's my opinion!

It's been a very rare option up until very recently going by any 3 or 4 series I've looked at. It seem to be a bit more common on any 5 series that I see advertised now.

In other words of say you are spot on, very few have used it enough to have a valid opinion on it.

sid40

going to test drive a touring tomorrow :-) Looking forward to it.

sid40

sid40 wrote: »

going to test drive a touring tomorrow :-) Looking forward to it.

I drove two Tourings today (at two different dealers), one a SE edition, the other an M Sport.

Both very nice to drive, smooth and plenty of poke. The digital cockpit is very nice, a definite improvement on the f10. Depending on whether you had the car in comfort/sport/eco modes the display was different for each - a nice touch.

The display screen is very sharp and a lovely feature. The boot is great and the independently opening window part is very handy.

The Sport model had the HUD - it was very clear and displays lots of things such as telephone book, navigation info, radio/music as well as the speed you are doing. I'm not sure if you'd get tired of it after a while? Is it worth €1500?

One thing that confuses me is the EDC. I actually thought the comfort/sport/eco buttons beside the gear lever was the EDC but was informed it isn't. These are standard on every car. Actually they are already on my existing F10 but I have never used them. So firstly, does anyone every use these and what exactly do they do and secondly what does the EDC feature do? Neither of the dealers could really recommend the EDC but I'd say they weren't over familiar with it. Maybe its not a commonly picked option even though many of the reviewers say it makes a big difference to the driving of the car?

One of them suggested the EDC would be more useful on a higher powered car than the 520D and recommended the upgraded speaker system instead of the EDC but I've always thought the basic sound system to be perfectly adequate for my ears!

Interestingly neither could really give me a price today, it seems I'm a bit early enquiring about 2018. Both said there is a lot of uncertainty over sterling and what will happen over the next few months. They would have to wait a few weeks before committing to anything.

That has has me thinking should I just go ahead and order if I'm going to and take delivery whenever it comes. i.e. Is there any big disadvantage taking delivery in Nov/Dec as a 172 reg as opposed to a Jan 181 reg. Especially as I will most likely hold on to this for a good few years. How much of a difference does that late 172 / early 181 reg time difference make to trade in value?

Anyway all in all a lovely car. Hopefully after the sums are done I will be able to go for it in some guise...

carsfan2

Did any of the dealers not mention the 4K discount mentioned earlier by another poster?
I am very surprised they did not try to sell you a stock car for now.
What are your thoughts re m sport vs se after driving both?

sid40

carsfan2 wrote: »

Did any of the dealers not mention the 4K discount mentioned earlier by another poster?
I am very surprised they did not try to sell you a stock car for now.
What are your thoughts re m sport vs se after driving both?

Yeah they did mention the discount thing but I suppose I said from the outset that I wanted it for 2018 so they didn't know if that would still be there in a month or six weeks when actually ordering for 2018.

To be honest I couldn't tell much difference between the two. I guess they were only short drives. The MSport certainly looks a bit nicer alright. Not sure about the dark headlining that is standard with MSport - it makes the interior very dark with a light leather...

SE had beige leather and carpets which I wouldn't go for - too hard to keep the carpet clean, especially in the boot. MSport was black leather with a horrible aluminium trim. I like the ivory/black combo

Leonard Hofstadter

sid40 wrote: »

Yeah they did mention the discount thing but I suppose I said from the outset that I wanted it for 2018 so they didn't know if that would still be there in a month or six weeks when actually ordering for 2018.

To be honest I couldn't tell much difference between the two. I guess they were only short drives. The MSport certainly looks a bit nicer alright. Not sure about the dark headlining that is standard with MSport - it makes the interior very dark with a light leather...

SE had beige leather and carpets which I wouldn't go for - too hard to keep the carpet clean, especially in the boot. MSport was black leather with a horrible aluminium trim. I like the ivory/black combo

I'd definitely go with the M Sport, you'll get quite a bit of the extra money back when you want to trade it in and it is much nicer to look at. I think SEs look quite bland to be honest but they will be more comfortable (but in fairness, I've never heard of anyone complaining about the ride on the newer 5 series, it was only really the E60s that had problems with ride comfort).

Blazer

I wouldn't bother with EDC on the 520.
Below shows what the EDC does etc and like the dealer said mostly for the higher powered cars.
Definitely go for the msport..gorgeous looking and holds their value better.

http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759602

Leonard Hofstadter

Blazer wrote: »

I wouldn't bother with EDC on the 520.
Below shows what the EDC does etc and like the dealer said mostly for the higher powered cars.
Definitely go for the msport..gorgeous looking and holds their value better.

http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759602

Is EDC the same as the VDC option on the F10 or the adaptive suspension on the 3 series? If so I'd definitely pay the extra, they're supposed to ride and handle much better with this option fitted. I note What Car have said the G30 is much better to drive with VDC. One other extra worth paying for is lumbar support (if they don't fit it as standard), it's the one thing I really wish my E46 had.