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I moved from a E39 530I Msport Auto to a F10 530D Msport.
My reasoning is that I wanted a more economical car but with the same of better performance. I ownered my last car from new for 10 years and intended to do teh same for the F10, I feared fuel and car taxation for petrol cars potentially becoming very high over the next 10 years (we'll see if that comes true)
ALthough I never intended to buy a 520D, I did none the less have one for a day to try out. I would have been disappointed with that as I didn't like the engine sound , it didn't feel anywhere near as refined as my old 530i. Performance was how shall I say,m adequate, but never made me smile.
I did wonder if moving from petrol to diesel would be something I'd regret but having got the 530d, thats a no. I wanted a straight six and although at idle , you can tell this is a diesel, once you move off , it is very refined. In addition, it was faster than my 530i.(530i 0-60 was 7.6s, the F10 with 257BHP, is listed as 0-60 as 6.0s. very respectable)
on the motorway, you wouldn't know as it is very quiet and because of the low down torque, it only revs at 1500RPM at 70mph. Effortless!
I have actually grown to this engine, I thought it was good when I test drove it but actually now prefer the torquey feel to it, it really is so effortless and you just waft around in it.It never feels like its strained and I think real world, its very quick.
The only regret I have with the F10 is that it doesn't feel as involving as the E39 was to drive. Its bigger (it feels way bigger than the dimensions suggest) and teh steering is no where as good. Sure you get used to it but the E39 really was very good for press on driving.The F10 feels more luxurious to me than sporting, even in msport guise. I've just got teh standard passive msport suspension , I've no experience of active suspensions systems, you can find plenty of threads about that within these forums!
If economy if a priority, I would suggest not dismissing the 530d. There may be an arguement that if you drive for a set amount of performce,, you kight be pushing a 520d more than a 530d and therefore might not get as good a economy as you might think, I suspect theres not much between them real world.
Economy varies on how you drive it (and again you'll plenty of thread about that here!) but I get with gentle driving around 35UK Mpg on town, 25MPG in really heavy stop start , around 45MPG fast motorway and up to 58mpg on gentle motorway (60 mph). This equates to around 50% better than the 530i I used to drive, so I'm pleased with that. Typically get 650 miles to a tank.
I think the only advice I can give is to try the car yourself, only you can decide on wether teh car is for you or not. Try and get a car for at least a day to really get a feel for it.Half an hour with a salesman round the block won't suffice.
I would certianly recommend the 530d msport (with a load of options!) but I would certianly not give it 10/10, it's very good, but not perfect. I'd have given my old E39 near as dammit 100% score, it was and I think still is, a very good car.
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