[rmk83]

I expect there's a great deal of people on more than one forum as well - and I'm not sure cross-posting this to three forums is 'good form' so you have my apologies (at least I paraphrase it a bit each time - if you've read it before - ignore it!) but I wanted to say Hi since I've been frequenting the forum for a while and the information has been very helpful in reaching my eventual decision to buy this car.

This will be my first BMW - and the first car I've ever bought new. Something I, to be honest, never expected to do! I had a new (and ridiculously over-spec'd) F11 as a hire car in Germany last year and was very impressed. So, here we are several months later and I take delivery of my own 520d Touring on Saturday

Looking forward to getting the car and hoping that over the coming years this new community ( to me ) will be as welcoming and helpful as the VAG/Audi one !

Interestingly it's the B47 engine - my original order showed N47 then I changed a (minor) option at the last minute which generated a new order which showed it as a B47. I've not seen many other posts or any reviews on this engine - so we'll see what difference it makes

[AP]

That'll be the updated engine thats just been released!
Pasting in the July updates originally posted by GSPANNU previosuly

New BMW TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder diesel engine B47
Rapid torque development offers sporty driving dynamics with low fuel consumption.
Thanks to innovative BMW TwinPower Turbo technology, the new generation of the 4-cylinder diesel engine features high degrees of dynamism, low consumption and fulfils the strict exhaust emissions standard EU6. While the latest generation common rail direct injection reduces consumption, the turbocharger with variable turbine geometry increases power and response behaviour. The new BMW TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder diesel engine B47 has Best in Class figures with respect to CO2 and consumption and is available from 07/2014.
Customer benefits at a glance: With up to 10g/km less CO2 emissions and 5kW more power than the outgoing engine as well as improved acoustics, the B47 is the benchmark in the segment.

[Piers]

welcome, that sounds like a good engine upgrade already!!

As a well specced 520d M sport driver here, they are a wonderful place to spend time, and 10 months in, I could'nt be happier - unless I had a bigger engine with the 520d running costs!!!

We love pictures so make sure you post some! What colour combo and spec did you go for? Mine is below.

[rmk83]

Thanks for the welcome

Yeah looking forward to seeing the new engine (or rather, driving it) - I thought the 'old' one was pretty good to start with so it's a nice little upgrade.

Mine isn't as high spec'd as yours Piers (although the hire car was a bit ridiculous - adaptive cruise, lane departure warning, reversing cameras, panoramic sunroof etc etc)

It's an SE (although by the time I was adding extras I should probably have just got a Luxury but to be honest I prefer 17" wheels! - that comment might not go down well with some enthusiasts )

Final spec is as follows;

2014 LCI F11 520d SE Auto in Glacier Silver, Black Leather, LED Fogs (why are these not standard?) Professional Media, Adaptive Lighting, Comfort Pack (Comfort Access, Memory Seats etc), Ambient Lighting, Hi-Fi Speaker System (S676A)

The options list changed a lot between first looking at them and the actual order. There's two of us driving it so memory seats became an essential (last two cars have all had them) so the Comfort Pack seemed the easiest way to get this and lumbar support (which really should be standard - it is on a Golf!)

There's actually a few things that are options that surprise me - like lumbar support, folding mirrors (we have a Seat Leon that had these as standard) also I find it quite amusing that the 'basic' audio system in Germany is the "HiFi" one here - i.e. the standard UK one isn't even available that I can see - all cars have the 11 speaker system.

Piers - What do you think of the Multi-Function display? I considered it (and hopefully wont regret not doing it) but not sure I trust an LCD screen for visibility in all lighting conditions, besides I actually quite like the black panel one when it's off. One thing I miss from *all* car dashboards is the "Night Panel" function that Saab used to offer... had hoped the LCD screen would add something similar.

Anyway, I'm confident (hopefully!) we made the right choices and I'm actually really quite excited about picking it up (from the other end of the country!) on Saturday morning

[gspannu]

Welcome to the club. You will definitely enjoy the car.

I have just driven the new engine at the dealer (had the 520 as a courtesy car for a day). I had the N57 520D last year; can't say that I felt a difference... but then I haven't driven them back to back.

Good spec.. you will like the professional nav; It is one of the best in the class.
You can get Enhanced Bluetooth + Voice coded and this will enable 2 phones, text and email functionality, etc...

Post some pics...

[rmk83]

Originally Posted by gspannu

Good spec.. you will like the professional nav; It is one of the best in the class.
You can get Enhanced Bluetooth + Voice coded and this will enable 2 phones, text and email functionality, etc...

Yep, the German hire car had it - brilliant - although the 'normal' nav screen really looks out of place as the dash is clearly designed to take the professional wider screen.

As for voice control I didn't realise this wasn't included with professional nav.. Likewise for the text functionality but looking at the spec of the one we had in Germany (yes, I noted the VIN ) it has 6NS, mine doesn't.

Wonder where I might find someone north of (or near) the border that can code them... free/cheap features are the best type ( I similarly remember adding various things to my Audi A6 myself with VAG-COM )

[Flyboy-fil]

Hi rmk83

I've made a similar post today as I've a B47 520d SE touring on order, although it's still a few weeks until I get it.

I'd love to hear how you find the new engine. I guess like you I test drove the older one and assumed (and hoped) that it would be better, smoother, quieter etc. Certainly the X3 with that engine gets good reviews but then again the older X3 was fairly coarse so just some extra sound deadening would help that car. The 520 is more refined anyway.

Hope you enjoy Saturday.

[Im1]

Just ordered :
520d se auto
Mineral white black dakota
HK
Ambient lighting

Traded in my f30 330d se - fed up with road noise .

The refinement if the f10 was a revelation and these days with more and more speed restrictions the 5.6 second to 62 performance of the 330d won't be missed too much ( I hope !)

[Piers]

Originally Posted by rmk83

Thanks for the welcome

Yeah looking forward to seeing the new engine (or rather, driving it) - I thought the 'old' one was pretty good to start with so it's a nice little upgrade.

Mine isn't as high spec'd as yours Piers (although the hire car was a bit ridiculous - adaptive cruise, lane departure warning, reversing cameras, panoramic sunroof etc etc)

It's an SE (although by the time I was adding extras I should probably have just got a Luxury but to be honest I prefer 17" wheels! - that comment might not go down well with some enthusiasts )

Final spec is as follows;

2014 LCI F11 520d SE Auto in Glacier Silver, Black Leather, LED Fogs (why are these not standard?) Professional Media, Adaptive Lighting, Comfort Pack (Comfort Access, Memory Seats etc), Ambient Lighting, Hi-Fi Speaker System (S676A)

The options list changed a lot between first looking at them and the actual order. There's two of us driving it so memory seats became an essential (last two cars have all had them) so the Comfort Pack seemed the easiest way to get this and lumbar support (which really should be standard - it is on a Golf!)

There's actually a few things that are options that surprise me - like lumbar support, folding mirrors (we have a Seat Leon that had these as standard) also I find it quite amusing that the 'basic' audio system in Germany is the "HiFi" one here - i.e. the standard UK one isn't even available that I can see - all cars have the 11 speaker system.

Piers - What do you think of the Multi-Function display? I considered it (and hopefully wont regret not doing it) but not sure I trust an LCD screen for visibility in all lighting conditions, besides I actually quite like the black panel one when it's off. One thing I miss from *all* car dashboards is the "Night Panel" function that Saab used to offer... had hoped the LCD screen would add something similar.

Anyway, I'm confident (hopefully!) we made the right choices and I'm actually really quite excited about picking it up (from the other end of the country!) on Saturday morning

The MFD is wonderful I am afraid, I would buy it again and again, easy to see in all lights and does way more than different colour dials, with colour sat nav lane changes, ipod song changes, different coloured modes etc.

Pro media makes the car too, really good.

A not great quality night time shot, the fighter jet look.....

[rmk83]

Originally Posted by Piers

The MFD is wonderful I am afraid, I would buy it again and again, easy to see in all lights and does way more than different colour dials, with colour sat nav lane changes, ipod song changes, different coloured modes etc.

Does looks quite impressive I wonder if they've changed the type of panel from the LCD at the bottom of the other dash - when I drove one before I found it could look a little washed out in bright / low sun - something that traditional instruments didn't usually have a problem with (and obviously the dials themselves remained perfectly visible)

Then again, I also fly light aircraft (and fly with friends that fly better light aircraft) and still don't see really the appeal in the cut down version of a glass cockpit on then - maybe I'm just old school when it comes to these things. Besides the way technology is going this will probably be my last car with analogue instruments whether I like it or not - so i'll consider it a feature for now

[xenon]

Also, it's fortunately not compulsory to have Bon Jovi playing either. This is far more agreeable:

[Piers]

Originally Posted by xenon

Also, it's fortunately not compulsory to have Bon Jovi playing either. This is far more agreeable:

Hah the joys of an iPod collection, Bruce is on mine too

[GMTRB5]

Agree on the MFD - I love it and really makes the dashboard look different .. everyone who has come in my car has commented how good the MFD is

[Flyboy-fil]

So how is the new car?

[rmk83]

Originally Posted by Flyboy-fil

So how is the new car?

Great!! - been too busy driving it the 500+ miles home (the scenic route) and getting used to it to post pics.. now, of course, it needs washed again

[Flyboy-fil]

Originally Posted by rmk83

Great!! - been too busy driving it the 500+ miles home (the scenic route) and getting used to it to post pics.. now, of course, it needs washed again

And the engine? How quiet is it compared to the N47?

[remmib]

Originally Posted by Flyboy-fil

And the engine? How quiet is it compared to the N47?

+1, it'd be great if it was more refined than the n47.

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by remmib

+1, it'd be great if it was more refined than the n47.

I doubt if it will be easy to spot the difference - unless you have both cars/ engines together or drive them back to back.

The F10 is decently sound proofed anyway.

[rmk83]

Originally Posted by gspannu

I doubt if it will be easy to spot the difference - unless you have both cars/ engines together or drive them back to back.

The F10 is decently sound proofed anyway.

It's been about 6 months since I've driven the N47 and I can't complain about the B47 - i'm not sure it's any different though, as gspannu says you'd probably need to drive them back to back.

Certainly it feels at least as refined as I remember the N47 being - i've not tried pushing yet though (the other one I drove was a hire car with a decent milage on it, mine is still under 1000 miles so not really taken full advantage of it yet

One thing I have noticed is the slight judder during auto stop/start seems 'different' from the N47, not better or worse - just different from how I remembered it.

[Deano_uk]

Had my new car delivered on Wednesday morning. I wasn't sure if I would get the b47 version as my order was placed very close to the change over. I'm happy to say that I did get the new version and the whole car seems significantly quieter than my old one but then again that one had 86000 on the clock. I've only managed to drive it 50 miles to the airport and I'm now in the states for a few weeks so I'll post some pics once I get back.

[carr6775]

Hi,

I'm looking forward to seeing the pics of your new car. This is my first post as I am waiting (so far) patiently to take delivery of my first BMW.

I have driven Audi and Mercedes cars over the last 15 years but now that I'm approaching the mid life point (perhaps beyond it), I took the plunge and ordered a new 520d Luxury. It's the B47 summer update model and is currently at the dealership being prepped.

However, the dealer can't give me an estimated handover date yet as I am awaiting DVA transferring my cherished registration over. Latest estimate is 14 working days!

Still, patience is a virtue they say so for now at least, I am biting my tongue, chewing my nails, and in the main resisting phoning the dealer every day.