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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums F10 / F11 5-Series Photos - Video - Media 520d Cashmere Silver F11 - 1000 mile review
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      05-30-2011, 11:50 AM   #1
Hub Dub
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520d Cashmere Silver F11 - 1000 mile review

I'd just like to start by saying a thank you to all previous contributors to this site. Your reviews and feedback helped me make the choice on the new 5 series and configuration of it. Mine is a 520d Touring with

18" Alloys (328)
205 Auto Transmission (with 2TB Sports mode)
255 Sport M/F steering wheel
3AG Reversing Assist Camera
322 Confort Access + Ambient Lighting
430 Exterior Mirrors
459 Electric Heat Adjustment
5DL Surround-View
534 Air-Con extended features
609 Pro Nav (with all the bits)
677 Pro Hi-Fi
Sun Protection Glass
Insulated Windscreen
Extended Luggage

Order & Delivery: Ordered car through my company car provider (Venson) - orderd 1st Feb, originally scheduled for end of June delivery and to my suprise and delight arrived on 5th May! Have now done over 1000 miles so about the right time to do a mini-revew.

Exterior/Looks: The car exceeds my expectations in terms of general looks now that I have it in the flesh. I think the new 5 series is a great evolution of the range and the F11 a better looking car than the F10 (no offence to any owners, still looks terrific!) and is the best looking estate on the market. Probably the hardest choice was that of colour. I have to admit that none of the colours on offer "wowed" me. If my previous car hadn't been black, I would probably have gone for this or Sophistico Grey, but I fancied a change and agree with a number of other posts that the lines of the car look far better in lighter colours. On the basis that I quite liked the look of the model in the demo videos, I took a brave decision and chose Cashmere Silver. I do not regret this decision in the slightest - it is simply stunning and am suprised not to see more 5 Series in this colour.

Drive/Peformance: I've not pushed the car yet, but is a very assured drive and enjoyable. I have only briefly switched to SPORTS+ mode as I am keen to let the engine run-in, but the difference was electric and I look forward to exploring this. Fuel economy is a little below published figures, but is still excellent compared to my previous (smaller) car and I will give it the benefit of doubt over time.

Interior: I chose the Venetian Beige with the Light Ash trim. Again - I was slightly worried that I'd made a foolish choice, but am delighted with the decision - none of the photos I've seen to date of this colour combination do it justice and I would highly recommend it. The overall layout of everything is great, the seats very comfortable (didn't realise that the front headrests were electronically controlled - spent ages forcing the buggers only to chuckle afterwards to myself when I found the switch!). Likewise - a bonus that the steering wheel positioning is also electronically controlled - didn't expect that! I was driven home recently by my wife and sat in the back - the car feels even more luxorious as a back seat passenger and the ambient lighting looks great. Visibility is better via windows and mirrors than I had been led to believe by other reviews, although the quality of the glass in the windscreen is suspect (see my post on "ripples") and I do find the reflection of the HUD projection unit (I don't have HuD) on the windscreen in bright sunlight unfortunate. One other very minor negative point is that there is nowhere to plug in the charger for my Blackberry and neatly rest the device - the only option is to put it in one of the cupholders at the front.

Lights: This is probably the only area that I didn't go for any of the "whistles and bells" on, and was worried that the Corona Rings on the standard halogens would be yellow or too dim - however they are a very crisp white and although not anywhere near as bright as the xenons I've seen on other models, they are sufficient to provide a very pleasing aesthetic appearance as daytime driving lights. I too have also experienced the phenomenom of the headlights being on during the middle of the day when Auto is selected, but like other contributors - I will be patient in the hope that the system settles itself down after a short while.

Doors: Despite reading about lots of problems from other contributors to this site, the comfort access works very well and is intuitive after a few attempts. My only dissapointment is that you almost need to slam the doors shut for them to close properly, particularly the driver's door, although I think this problem is created by the tight seal and air pressure within the car created as a result. I would say that comfort access is probably the best value-for-money feature of the options.

IDrive: So far so good. I've got used to it pretty quickly and it is far superior to the system in the Audi A6 that I test drove. To be honest, the voice commands functionality is also so straight forward that if you are struggling with finding the right menu/area of the iDrive, that this has been an easy way round it. I also like the shortcut buttons and again offer the driver good flexibility.

Entertainment System: The premium sound system is simply awesome and again exceeds my expectations. Anyone that has complained about this on previous posts simply hasn't played around enough with the settings and the equalizer. Great, great value and I could (quite sadly) sit in my car for hours outside my house listening to my tunes. Likewise, the DVD playback feature is also superb but I can't quite see myself using it other than with my son's DVDs if we are in the car park at the supermarket. Probably won't go for the DVDinMotion software which although it sounds effective, would not be used in my circumstances. At first I was a bit dissapointed that podcasts couldn't be played, but then I realised they are listed along with music tracks so you can access and listen to them after all. Another initial frustration was that you can't keep "random play" selected as an option, but I have now created this as a shortcut/favourites button.

Navigation: Again, no complaints here - the Pro Nav provides a great screen and although I have yet to really try it out on a true journey, it appears very powerful. One negative first impression is that simply entering destinations to keep for future reference appears clunky - couldn't easily save from my contacts in my Blackberry (which appear fine) - although I have discovered "My Journeys/My Info" on Connected Drive and this seems a good alternative so am not overly unhappy. The traffic alert feature and dynamic routing is also very good; I have ignored it twice thinking the original route couldn't be that bad only to regret my decision!

Other features: The rear and all-round camera's are great and again - well worth the money, particularly as I park in a street with high kerbs that scuff alloys easily. Didn't realise they came with the "guide-lines" which is an added bonus

I hope the review has been of value, and hope you enjoy the photos.
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      05-30-2011, 02:20 PM   #2
RadekG_CZ
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Nice colours!

Very nice combo! Im placing order for my F10 tomorrow and interiour in your specs is my favorite. I will take the paint also if they allow it with M paket...
They offered free slot for production for July, if they can confirm that individual leather and paint will not make it to September I will change to individual, but if there can be delay I will take same as you. Factory has holidays in Aug, thats why.
Let me ask how old are you? My friends joking with me that this is old man style I think this wood and leather choose people with style
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      05-30-2011, 03:01 PM   #3
Ricracing
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A cheaper verison of a nice and good int:
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Last edited by Ricracing; 05-30-2011 at 03:07 PM..
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      05-30-2011, 03:44 PM   #4
Hub Dub
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RadekG_CZ View Post
Very nice combo! Im placing order for my F10 tomorrow and interiour in your specs is my favorite. I will take the paint also if they allow it with M paket...
They offered free slot for production for July, if they can confirm that individual leather and paint will not make it to September I will change to individual, but if there can be delay I will take same as you. Factory has holidays in Aug, thats why.
Let me ask how old are you? My friends joking with me that this is old man style I think this wood and leather choose people with style
Lets just say that I haven't reached my 40's yet. I was a bit nervous about the "old man's" colour but everyone has commented on the great colour scheme. I would say it is definitely more of a "warm silver" than a "beige".

I don't think they offer the Cashmere Silver on the M's.
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      05-30-2011, 04:07 PM   #5
RadekG_CZ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hub Dub View Post
Lets just say that I haven't reached my 40's yet. I was a bit nervous about the "old man's" colour but everyone has commented on the great colour scheme. I would say it is definitely more of a "warm silver" than a "beige".

I don't think they offer the Cashmere Silver on the M's.
Than you are man with style when you are not 60+ and still you like light wood Im 32, I had last year 330xd with alumium inside and it was so borring, last month I had F11 535d with M paket also with stock hegagon aluminium (sold to friend after 1week). Car was perfect but had only M paket and HUD... "I want all". F10 is great car, better than 7series, better than S class (I had S63AMG for 2 yrs) 7 and S is too big and heavy and in F10 I will not look like chaufer or drug dealer
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      05-31-2011, 01:56 PM   #6
Hub Dub
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RadekG_CZ View Post
Than you are man with style when you are not 60+ and still you like light wood Im 32, I had last year 330xd with alumium inside and it was so borring, last month I had F11 535d with M paket also with stock hegagon aluminium (sold to friend after 1week). Car was perfect but had only M paket and HUD... "I want all". F10 is great car, better than 7series, better than S class (I had S63AMG for 2 yrs) 7 and S is too big and heavy and in F10 I will not look like chaufer or drug dealer
Very funny and insightful!
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