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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum 6 weeks in and 4,500 miles done...
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      07-13-2012, 10:39 AM   #1
A900ss
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6 weeks in and 4,500 miles done...

I’ve had a BMW 520d touring auto from 29th May and here are my first thoughts after 6 weeks and 4,500 miles of driving.

My car is SE specification with no options other than an 8 speed automatic gearbox. It has standard 17 inch wheels and run flat tyres (no spare). Exterior colour of blue and a beige leather interior. I do circa 30,000 miles a year so comfort is my priority but I do drive ‘swiftly’ so do expect a car to handle on the B roads as well as the motorways. I do very little town driving as I live in rural Gloucestershire but I do a fair bit of motorway driving.

First things first, the headlights are dire. This is a company car and at the top end of my budget which left no room for options unless I paid the full value of the options myself. With hindsight, I would have specced Xenon’s. I had them on my last car and were amazing. Going back to halogen, and the BMW halogens in particular, is a very retrograde step. I have checked other forums in case it is me expecting more than I should but it does seem to be a very regular complaint – the 5 series needs to have Xenons if you want to drive at night!!!!! OK, Rant over.

In every other respect the car is fantastic. It is super comfortable for a family of four and dog, quiet, refined, quick, handles well (especially for such a large car) and reasonably economical.

The car is very large, the bonnet exceptionally so. Interior space up front is excellent and you sit quite low in the car, you feel very cocooned. Quality of the trim is the best I have ever experienced and I have driven plenty of Audi/Mercs/BM’s before. The car has quite a long wheelbase which combined with an ‘average at best’ steering lock and thick pillars makes car parks sometime challenging. I am more than competent at driving (ex HGV1) but it is a large car with restricted vision in smaller spaces. Drive slowly and it’s fine. The upside of this is that on the road, it is supremely relaxing and just eats up the miles. It is ultra quiet and everybody I have given a lift to has remarked how quiet the car is when travelling. This can cause an issue on motorways as unless you are on cruise control you can very easily be travelling at a higher speed than thought/sensible.

The car does have a ‘Sport/Comfort/Eco Pro’ button by the side of the gearbox and it does make a real difference. I don’t bother with Eco Pro. It works up to 75MPH and is supposed to dial down the air con and electrical systems to save fuel. In real life if saves hardly any fuel but the car is as responsive as me when I am asleep.
Comfort is where I spend most of my time, car behaves like a lazy auto should changes up between 1700 and 2000 RPM in normal driving and is very smooth. Car will accelerate quickly when you kickdown.

Sport is the B road blast option. It holds gears longer, turns traction control down a bit and won’t engage 8th gear. Nice for when the mood grabs.

As I don’t have the adaptive suspension option, the sport/comfort button doesn’t alter the ride but it rides just about right for me on the standard 17’s. I would be the first to admit that I would prefer bigger rims for aesthetics but as a day to day car, 17’s are the sweet spot for ride/handling. I would not consider M Sport suspension at all. The SE is firm enough for a back road blast and comfortable enough on the motorway.

The engine is certainly big enough for propelling the car up the road even if it does weigh in at 1.8 tonnes. Overtaking is no problem whatsoever and I expect this to get better as it loosens up over the next 20,000 miles or so. At 80MPH the car is turning over at just over 2,000 RPM.

Even though the car is ‘bog standard’, the included kit is still impressive and some highlights are:
Bluetooth integration to phone is fantastic. Some people are surprised when I tell them that I am driving as they just can’t tell.
Ipod Integration with the I-Drive displays album artwork and you can control the ipod directly with the I-Drive – very good.
E-mails, SMS and my calendar can be displayed on the I-Drive screen from my BlackBerry (iPhone will work from ios6 release). When stationary you can view the complete e-mail, when moving you can just read the headers.
Can program the ventilation to come on 30 minutes before you get in the car to cool it down with ambient air. Handy for these hot days we are currently experiencing!!!!

MPG – I guess a lot of people are interested in this and I am happy with what it is delivering. I have done a lot of driving with a roofbox on and with 4 bikes on the roof which is all sub 40MPG but in normal driving I am getting just over 45MPG. This is measured brim to brim, the actual computer reckons I get an additional 2MPG. If I were to drive on the motorway at 70MPH, the car would be delivering well in excess of 50MPG. I don’t so it doesn’t.

Other notes:
Engine oil warms up very quickly, within 3 miles. I guess this will be different in the winter (note I wrote oil not water – it doesn’t have a water gauge, just an oil temp gauge and oil takes longer to warm than oil)
In the sun you do get an annoying reflection in the windscreen. I wear polarised sunglasses so it isn’t an issue for me.
Also in the sun, you can get an annoying reflection from the shiny black trim in the central reservation. Why can’t trim be matt to avoid this?
Car spins its rear wheel very easily – might be the energy tyres but could be an issue in the snow…
Brakes stop very well but do need a firm shove, much firmer than most cars I have driven recently
Rain water collects on top of bumper below tailgate making it dirty.

Very accurate speedometer, reads 100MPH when doing a true 98MPH judged by TomTom sat nav

Car rolls and rolls and rolls when you lift the throttle. Takes a bit of getting used to, you need to lift much earlier than expected or else you are straight onto the brakes!!!!

In summary – best car I’ve ever had; quick, economical, handles well, comfortable just don’t drive at night!!!!
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      07-13-2012, 11:15 AM   #2
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The breaks needs less pressure the faster you press brake pedal.

How do you program the car to cool down? Mine is far from standard, so I guess I should be able to do this as well.

And I totally agree with you. It's a fantastic car!
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      07-13-2012, 11:32 AM   #3
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A few comments of your comments:

Yes, the Xenons are a must. The lamps are amazing at night, and you really need these on the back roads. I could not live without them. The adaptive Xenons are even cooler when I am in the twisties at night. Helps me see all the deer standing at the edge of the road at night.

The long wheel base and the big bonnet make this car feel like a boat while turning. For the first time ever, I am embarrassed while parking when others are waiting behind me. I try to be extra cautious because I fear I will hit something. Otherwise the car drive great for its size and weight.

Eco Pro really is worthless to me. I did one tank of gas on Eco pro during my regular commute, and after 7-8 days of commuting it bought me 7 extra miles out of the tank, but the drive was so pathetic. I wouldn't turn it on even if it gave me 20 miles more.
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      07-13-2012, 11:45 AM   #4
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Great review!

I share the opinion that the car does not do as much engine braking as I am used to. I find myself needing to either downshift or tap the brakes much more often in this car than my old 550 sport. It's a bit annoying but it does cause me to work to anticipate slowdowns earlier therefore (in theory) making me a safer driver..?or at least more alert.
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      07-13-2012, 02:56 PM   #5
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Great review, I would agree about lights. I changed the bulbs to Philips night breakers and it has helped night driving quite a bit. Wish I had gone for decent lights instead of Business satnav.
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      07-15-2012, 05:50 PM   #6
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Wow 4500 miles! We got ours the same week as you and we've done just over 700 ...and would love to do more. Filled it twice, so brim to brim is about 24mpg, the journeys are short, and the car is usually heavily loaded. Computer said I was doing 45mpg on the motorway today at about 65-70mph so I guess it has potential.

Not driven the car at night yet, so can't comment on the xenons.

Parking, I am much better at now. I can get it into a space with a foot each end ok.

However, we have road width restricting bollards everywhere round here. The 6'6" wide ones I slow down for if they are head on, but some have to be approached obliquely and I have kerbed 3 of the 19" alloys :-( ...I now drive the long way round to avoid these roads.

Our old 318i feels like a little go-cart now.

The car's size has its advantages, we have hauled a stone family bath in it with the seats down, and regularly fill it with heavy building materials. No roof box yet.
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