Any 530e owners out there?

Mike9832 · 11-11-2019 11:58am

lobbylad wrote: »

Been considering taking the plunge to EV or PHEV recently, and enjoyed this thread so far.

I've a 10 reg 520D, and the wife has an 11 reg Lexus CT200h. The Lexus spends most of its time parked up, she gets Dart to work, but we use both at weekends/some evenings.

The Lexus isn't great tbh, its long run average is 6.9l/100KM vs 7.5l/100Km for the 520d.

So, thinking of changing the 520d.

Normal daily commute is home -> work, via school and then some dropoffs/pickups at the weekend. About 50KM a day.

Can I ask anyone who chose a 530e, if they looked at a Tesla S (I know they're more expensive), but have they compared the costs (2nd hand) for both, and were there any other reasons than purchase price as to why they took the 530e?

Tesla 3 looks interesting, a bit smaller than the 5 series, but new is 49K, so no that much more expensive.

Is there anywhere you can maybe hire one for a week and try it out?

Or any other suggestions? (Might consider chaning the Lexus too, an i3 (UK import) is good value)

I'd look at Mercedes 300de too.

50km on electric, rest on diesel

Great tech

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mercedes/e-class/106616/new-mercedes-e-300-de-2019-review

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201909132169430?advertising-location=at_cars&year-from=2018&postcode=m52ty&sort=price-asc&page=1&radius=1500&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&fuel-type=Hybrid%20%E2%80%93%20Diesel%2FElectric%20Plug-in&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used

ELM327 · 11-11-2019 12:46pm

Mike9832 wrote: »

I'd look at Mercedes 300de too.

50km on electric, rest on diesel

Great tech

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mercedes/e-class/106616/new-mercedes-e-300-de-2019-review

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201909132169430?advertising-location=at_cars&year-from=2018&postcode=m52ty&sort=price-asc&page=1&radius=1500&make=MERCEDES-BENZ&fuel-type=Hybrid%20%E2%80%93%20Diesel%2FElectric%20Plug-in&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used

+1
Even comes with the Tesla gearshift lever, to remind you what you should have gotten

:D.

Paul Kiernan · 11-11-2019 1:25pm

kceire wrote: »

If somebody was nerdy enough to trawl through my posts from over the years, this is what I’ve always stated. They are compliance cars, same goes for the 330e, and is the very reason I never bought one.

They do look good though.

While what you're saying may be true I think you're being a bit harsh!

I've had mine 6 months and have done 5000km of which less than 1000km has been on petrol (bringing it back from UK and one roundtrip to West Cork being most of that). Most of my daily routine I can do on electric. Furthermore when I do need to go over the electric range it usually involves a motorway run and I deliberately switch to petrol for this, switching back when I exit the motorway (or when I'm within electric range of destination).

I would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone whose daily use is less than 25km or 50km if they can charge at work. But even if it's longer than that I'd still recommend it if any of your driving is in heavy traffic.

Gumbo · 11-11-2019 2:39pm

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

While what you're saying may be true I think you're being a bit harsh!

I've had mine 6 months and have done 5000km of which less than 1000km has been on petrol (bringing it back from UK and one roundtrip to West Cork being most of that). Most of my daily routine I can do on electric. Furthermore when I do need to go over the electric range it usually involves a motorway run and I deliberately switch to petrol for this, switching back when I exit the motorway (or when I'm within electric range of destination).

I would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone whose daily use is less than 25km or 50km if they can charge at work. But even if it's longer than that I'd still recommend it if any of your driving is in heavy traffic.

I probably am a bit harsh on them in fairness. I just don’t like all that additional cost for 30km at most in EV mode.
Maybe I just wished they had a bigger battery but I suppose, small steps in the right direction.

They are a smashing car.

Paul Kiernan · 11-11-2019 6:18pm

kceire wrote: »

I just don’t like all that additional cost for 30km at most in EV mode.

But what additional cost? Either new or secondhand import the reduced VRT and SEAI grant makes the 530e much the same as a 520d. Throw in the reduced motor tax, maintenance costs, toll reliefs and it's got to save most people money.

kceire wrote: »

They are a smashing car.

I'll second that.

n97 mini · 11-11-2019 9:19pm

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone whose daily use is less than 25km or 50km if they can charge at work. But even if it's longer than that I'd still recommend it if any of your driving is in heavy traffic.

Not entirely sure about that. My wife works in Citywest and her employer has installed a CP with two sockets. There are a variety of EVs and PHEVs in the carpark, but there is a 330e which is anchored to one of the sockets every day without fail. The other socket has an Outlander on it 3 days a week.

As a result everyone else mostly has to charge at home.

Personally I think if you've to plug in your car twice a day, you probably should have bought something else.

MaceFace · 11-11-2019 9:46pm

n97 mini wrote: »

Not entirely sure about that. My wife works in Citywest and her employer has installed a CP with two sockets. There are a variety of EVs and PHEVs in the carpark, but there is a 330e which is anchored to one of the sockets every day without fail. The other socket has an Outlander on it 3 days a week.

As a result everyone else mostly has to charge at home.

Personally I think if you've to plug in your car twice a day, you probably should have bought something else.

You don’t have to plug your phev twice a day. It strikes me that most people who complain about phevs never owned one (not saying you did it did not).
Remember that the petrol and electric can work together. It’s not either or.
Again I commute 80km a day and often only charge over night. I could never imagine going back to a fully ice car.
I do agree that hogging a charger is not good but that’s about the driver and not the car.

Thumper Long · 11-11-2019 10:15pm

MaceFace wrote: »

You don’t have to plug your phev twice a day. It strikes me that most people who complain about phevs never owned one (not saying you did it did not).
Remember that the petrol and electric can work together. It’s not either or.
Again I commute 80km a day and often only charge over night. I could never imagine going back to a fully ice car.
I do agree that hogging a charger is not good but that’s about the driver and not the car.

Can I ask what consumption are you seeing? What % of your commute would be motorway / city? Thanks in advance

n97 mini · 11-11-2019 11:04pm

MaceFace wrote: »

You don’t have to plug your phev twice a day. It strikes me that most people who complain about phevs never owned one (not saying you did it did not).
Remember that the petrol and electric can work together. It’s not either or.
Again I commute 80km a day and often only charge over night. I could never imagine going back to a fully ice car.
I do agree that hogging a charger is not good but that’s about the driver and not the car.

You don't have to, but that's not always the reality.

My wife has a phev with ~60km range and she gets to charge at work once or twice a month because of said 330e and Outlander. She only ever looks to charge when she's heading to her parents house in Waterford. The rest of the time she charges at home.

My point being though that if you're 15km from work, buy a car with 30km+ range on battery.

MaceFace · 11-11-2019 11:54pm

I drive about 90km a day and when I was charging once a day I was getting about 65mpg. Now I charge twice a day I get about 85mpg.

MaceFace · 11-11-2019 11:57pm

n97 mini wrote: »

You don't have to, but that's not always the reality.

My wife has a phev with ~60km range and she gets to charge at work once or twice a month because of said 330e and Outlander. She only ever looks to charge when she's heading to her parents house in Waterford. The rest of the time she charges at home.

My point being though that if you're 15km from work, buy a car with 30km+ range on battery.

I have a commute of about 35km each way and this weather I have a range of 20km. Even if I only charged at home I would still highly recommend it.
I think a problem with phevs though are that people get so used to the electric benefits that when the battery is empty and they are solely reliant upon ice, they see how inferior an ice car is (noise, performance, economy).

Soarer · 11-11-2019 11:58pm

n97 mini wrote: »

You don't have to, but that's not always the reality.

My wife has a phev with ~60km range and she gets to charge at work once or twice a month because of said 330e and Outlander. She only ever looks to charge when she's heading to her parents house in Waterford. The rest of the time she charges at home.

My point being though that if you're 15km from work, buy a car with 30km+ range on battery.

What PHEV does she have that gives 60km? What sort of driving?

n97 mini · 12-11-2019 12:19am

Soarer wrote: »

What PHEV does she have that gives 60km? What sort of driving?

Ampera.

Work is about 16km away. Her parents place is about 190km away.

Thumper Long · 12-11-2019 12:34am

MaceFace wrote: »

I drive about 90km a day and when I was charging once a day I was getting about 65mpg. Now I charge twice a day I get about 85mpg.

Great thanks, I would only have the opportunity to charge overnight, currently averaging 25mpg so the 530e might be worth further consideration

commited · 13-11-2019 11:24pm

manaboutdog wrote: »

Not plus - identical car to this one:

https://usedcars.bmw.co.uk/vehicle/201905318522696?quoteref=45222354-ebc9-405e-8cbd-b2107e1726e4

Delighted with it to be honest, suits my driving to a tee, have a 30km commute with free chargers in work. Never comes off EV in my normal driving, I do the odd longer run and it averages 40mpg on the motorway. For eg I'm sitting in it at the moment, last filled it on Oct 19th on my way back from Mayo (I live in Limerick) and still have half a 40L tank left and 1300km clocked up since.

Lovely car to drive too.

Thanks for posting - pretty similar to what I'm considering at the moment and the saving over new RRP is phenomenal and standard spec is great too! Such a pity that sterling has gone like it has while I've been procrastinating!

I've been monitoring our daily usage over the last while and without commuting, we regularly do about 25-35km/day just tipping about. If I use the car to commute, it's a 29km round trip. So our non-motorway usage looks nearly perfect. Otherwise, we do about 8000km on the motorway/year [trips varying between 90km and 350km per day without charging]. Current car does about 30mpg tipping about and 38mpg on motorway runs.

Our fuel costs at the moment are roughly €2500, I reckon 50% of our mileage will be done on EV so €1250 saved on fuel, but €500 spent charging. We have mega tax @ €1500 so some other obvious savings there that help with the man maths...

A few questions for owners (sorry if it's been covered)
- On a motorway run, what sort of MPG do you get on engine only? 40mpg?
- On a decent length motorway run with full battery (maybe 160km), what sort of MPG do you get when in hybrid mode?
- Is 25-30km achievable on EV mode?

manaboutdog · 21-11-2019 1:26am

- On a motorway run, what sort of MPG do you get on engine only? 40mpg?
Yes - got that recently on a return trip to Dublin

- On a decent length motorway run with full battery (maybe 160km), what sort of MPG do you get when in hybrid mode?
Not sure what you mean here, I don't think the battery will do anything cruising along at motorway speeds, I normally save battery for when I am closer to my destination and drive in EV mode for the last bit.

- Is 25-30km achievable on EV mode?
Yes I was wondering how it would fair now that i am driving almost exclusively in the darker hours, but still over 30km on my commute.

Paulmee · 08-12-2019 5:20pm

Hi.
Just about to purchase from a garage in Galway. He is looking to get one for me, 191 msport, black with comfort pack(at a minimum) They are taking in my 2014 a6 as a trade. I'm getting a decent trade in value, having no luck selling private.

Any recommendations for a charger installer/company around Limerick? Not more information online about the latest electric Ireland offer, for 149. Would like one to be future proof and cater for if we get a second electric car in the next year or so.

My commute is 4k, with a trip to Dublin from Limerick once a week (not every week though) so I'd like to think the majority of my driving would use the battery.

Casati · 08-12-2019 5:42pm

Potato Man wrote: »

Hi.
Just about to purchase from a garage in Galway. He is looking to get one for me, 191 msport, black with comfort pack(at a minimum) They are taking in my 2014 a6 as a trade. I'm getting a decent trade in value, having no luck selling private.

Any recommendations for a charger installer/company around Limerick? Not more information online about the latest electric Ireland offer, for 149. Would like one to be future proof and cater for if we get a second electric car in the next year or so.

My commute is 4k, with a trip to Dublin from Limerick once a week (not every week though) so I'd like to think the majority of my driving would use the battery.

Dublin return will be 400km?
4km commute 4 days a week is 32km plus whatever you do a weekends

Most of your driving won’t be on battery for sure but still probably economical on the motorway especially coming into Dublin traffic where you’ll benefit from the hybrid. I wonder though would a 520d be a lot cheaper fuel?

Paulmee · 08-12-2019 6:49pm

Casati wrote: »

Dublin return will be 400km?
4km commute 4 days a week is 32km plus whatever you do a weekends

Most of your driving won’t be on battery for sure but still probably economical on the motorway especially coming into Dublin traffic where you’ll benefit from the hybrid. I wonder though would a 520d be a lot cheaper fuel?

I've considered a 520d, just preferred the drive of the 530e. A trip to Dublin would be 400km alright but I'm lucky I can claim mileage for that.

Heres Johnny · 08-12-2019 6:55pm

Potato Man wrote: »

Hi.
Just about to purchase from a garage in Galway. He is looking to get one for me, 191 msport, black with comfort pack(at a minimum) They are taking in my 2014 a6 as a trade. I'm getting a decent trade in value, having no luck selling private.

Any recommendations for a charger installer/company around Limerick? Not more information online about the latest electric Ireland offer, for 149. Would like one to be future proof and cater for if we get a second electric car in the next year or so.

My commute is 4k, with a trip to Dublin from Limerick once a week (not every week though) so I'd like to think the majority of my driving would use the battery.

As a matter of interest, what's the cost to change from a 14 A6 to a 19 530e?
Ive a 75,000 km 141 A6 S Line and might, just might, change to a 530e next year. I got an offer of 13k a few months ago for my A6 which I thought was very low, and the 530e was a 182 for 37k so 24k to come up 4 years to a similar enough value car so 6k a year which is probably about right.

Paulmee · 08-12-2019 7:03pm

Heres Johnny wrote: »

As a matter of interest, what's the cost to change from a 14 A6 to a 19 530e?
Ive a 75,000 km 141 A6 S Line and might, just might, change to a 530e next year. I got an offer of 13k a few months ago for my A6 which I thought was very low, and the 530e was a 182 for 37k so 24k to come up 4 years to a similar enough value car so 6k a year which is probably about right.

I was offered 17500 for a 141 a6 s-line, full Audi service history with 120km. I tried to sell private but no luck.

The price for the 191 will be around the 45k mark. I know I'd do better going over to the UK but obviously limited with the trade in. Other garages offered me 16/17

Heres Johnny · 08-12-2019 7:08pm

Potato Man wrote: »

I was offered 17500 for a 141 a6 s-line, full Audi service history with 120km. I tried to sell private but no luck.

The price for the 191 will be around the 45k mark. I know I'd do better going over to the UK but obviously limited with the trade in. Other garages offered me 16/17

I sold a 141 530d a few weeks back for 20k but I'd say it was the scarcity of the 530d as opposed to 520d that made it sell. A6 is standard 2.0 tdi auto that are 10 a penny so doubt I'd be able to sell it private

willowthewisp · 15-12-2019 8:29am

Hi, just recently purchased a 530e. Very happy with the car.
Have a question regarding the charging cable, what type should I purchase and where?

Assuming it should be a type 2 to type 2?
Also assumed you could just walk into Halfords and buy one, however they don’t seem to be advertised in the online store so just wondering.

Thanks

KCross · 15-12-2019 11:44am

willowthewisp wrote: »

Hi, just recently purchased a 530e. Very happy with the car.
Have a question regarding the charging cable, what type should I purchase and where?

Assuming it should be a type 2 to type 2?
Also assumed you could just walk into Halfords and buy one, however they don’t seem to be advertised in the online store so just wondering.

Thanks

https://evonestop.co.uk
https://evcables.co.uk

Either of those sites will do.

Eventhough your car is only capable of 16A, buy a 32A cable as it will future proof you for your next car which is more likely to be 32A.

e.g.
https://evonestop.co.uk/collections/type-2-cables/products/ev-public-charging-cable-type-2-to-type-2-16-32-amp-3-6-7-2-kw-5-10-metre?variant=9690528874543
https://evcables.co.uk/index.php/select-your-car/bmw/bmw-530e/coiled-charging-cable-type-2-to-type-2-green.html

The coiled cable (second example above) is a good option. I have one. Its easier to deal with when taking it in/out of the car. The downside is that a 5m cable isnt really 5m as you cant pull it straight but it is fine for public charge points. If its for home use just measure your distance from the charge point and decide from there.

willowthewisp · 15-12-2019 8:06pm

KCross wrote: »

https://evonestop.co.uk
https://evcables.co.uk

Either of those sites will do.

Eventhough your car is only capable of 16A, buy a 32A cable as it will future proof you for your next car which is more likely to be 32A.

e.g.
https://evonestop.co.uk/collections/type-2-cables/products/ev-public-charging-cable-type-2-to-type-2-16-32-amp-3-6-7-2-kw-5-10-metre?variant=9690528874543
https://evcables.co.uk/index.php/select-your-car/bmw/bmw-530e/coiled-charging-cable-type-2-to-type-2-green.html

The coiled cable (second example above) is a good option. I have one. Its easier to deal with when taking it in/out of the car. The downside is that a 5m cable isnt really 5m as you cant pull it straight but it is fine for public charge points. If its for home use just measure your distance from the charge point and decide from there.

Thanks very much for your reply, very helpful. Appreciate you taking the time to post in detail.

n97 mini · 16-12-2019 6:24pm

KCross wrote: »

Eventhough your car is only capable of 16A, buy a 32A cable as it will future proof you for your next car which is more likely to be 32A.

The flip side to that is the 16A cable isn't as thick. The 32A is a little unwieldy. If I was buying again I would go for the 16A and just let the cable go with the car to whoever was buying it.

Blub123 · 08-01-2020 8:29pm

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Imported one from the UK last week. Had a 2012 520D before this. Very impressed so far but not got my head around the various hybrid options so far. Exceptionally good value sourcing them from the UK at the moment - bought a Jan 19 car, 9k on the clock, M-Sport Plus and Comfort Pack trim for 33k sterling.

Hi there, am in the same situation now myself.. Have a 2011 520 that I'm changing out and looking to go to the UK to purchase.
What's the impression of the 530e after 5 months if you don't mind me asking? Also is there a huge difference with respect of the boot size? (3 Young children) thanks

jesus_thats_gre · 09-01-2020 10:03pm

Blub123 wrote: »

Hi there, am in the same situation now myself.. Have a 2011 520 that I'm changing out and looking to go to the UK to purchase.
What's the impression of the 530e after 5 months if you don't mind me asking? Also is there a huge difference with respect of the boot size? (3 Young children) thanks

My gut instinct is that you will suffer with the boot. We don't have kids or pets but have found myself putting stuff on the back seat far more frequently than with the previous car. In terms of space (and the shape/layout), you are pretty much down 1 large suitcase.

Other than that, I am quite fond of the car and very happy with the purchase overall. I am only getting slightly worse fuel economy than the 520d but I do do have a pretty heavy foot.

irishgrover · 10-01-2020 10:59am

good morning all... thanks to all who have posted in this thread. Information was very beneficial...
As a consequence I bought one yesterday.... will collect in the UK next week. Ifs for my better half, I drive an Ioniq BEV. I'll post next week about VRT and all that in case it is of help to others.

fifth · 18-01-2020 9:57pm

How did you get on?

I'm thinking of buying one of these (little later in the year). Wondering when exactly the bigger 12kwh capacity battery came in.. second half of 2018 or first half of 2019?

Any 530e owners out there?

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