Hire Car Report: The BMW 520d

[i_should_coco]

...and adds weight when required etc).

How does it do that? By eating burgers? Or perhaps currywurst, being German.

[Jezzer]

Mmmm Currywurst...

[SergeAuckland]

Mine has electric power steering rather than the older hydraulic method, and is weighted differently at parking speeds to normal driving. Works fine, but then I've not been into "enthusiastic" motoring since my 20s. More Morris Oxford than Austin Healey, that's me.

S.

[barneys dad]

Corners like a sports car?

Does the 3.0 litre have a completely different steering system? The 2.0 litre had slow and vague steering with absolutely no feel or feedback - it was like driving a video game on a sluggish PC.

Nothing this heavy could possibly corner in any way like a sports car. Even the big Jags don't, and they are a damn sight better than any BMW. I sometimes think all you German car fans may never have driven anything half-decent.

With low profile 19 inch tyres, there's not much on the road that corners so well.
Certainly its the best in its class, just read the reviews.
The problem is you're slagging off the 5 series, BMW's & indeed German cars and their drivers based upon one, base model, hire car experience.

We'll meet up at Scalford & put the 530D M Sport around some of the country lanes and then you can make a more informed opinion.

[meninblack]

I'm sure any powerful car with big tyres can corner quickly. My point - which only Samantha ever seems to understand - is that FAST is not the same as SPORTING. A sporting car should do more than go fast - it should reward the driver with feedback, feel and a real sense that you are driving a car, not playing a video game. It's about being able to trim the cornering line on the throttle; it's about feeling the steering wheel squirm in your hands in response to tiny ripples in the road surface - bikers will recognise what I mean. The only German car I've ever driven which could do this was an old Porsche 924 - hardly a fast car, but most certainly a sporting one.

Big-engined BMW/Merc/Audi are great for boasting in the golf club bar or playing Top Trumps with the on-paper performance figures, but they are really not sports cars.

I will give up now, and leave you barge captains to your deluded fantasies of Formula 1 heroism...

[hifiwigwam]

I'm sure any powerful car with big tyres can corner quickly. My point - which only Samantha ever seems to understand - is that FAST is not the same as SPORTING. A sporting car should do more than go fast - it should reward the driver with feedback, feel and a real sense that you are driving a car, not playing a video game. It's about being able to trim the cornering line on the throttle; it's about feeling the steering wheel squirm in your hands in response to tiny ripples in the road surface - bikers will recognise what I mean. The only German car I've ever driven which could do this was an old Porsche 924 - hardly a fast car, but most certainly a sporting one.

Big-engined BMW/Merc/Audi are great for boasting in the golf club bar or playing Top Trumps with the on-paper performance figures, but they are really not sports cars.

I will give up now, and leave you barge captains to your deluded fantasies of Formula 1 heroism...

Spot on.

For example, there is nothing sporting about a Mercedes E55 AMG, even though it's so fast it could rip your face off. Unless the sport you are talking about is drag racing I suppose.

An MX5 is sporting and no where near as quick or powerful as an E55 AMG. Sporty and Fast are different. Although sporty cars should be relatively fast, not all fast cars are sporty.

[hifiwigwam]

[/B]

With low profile 19 inch tyres, there's not much on the road that corners so well.
Certainly its the best in its class, just read the reviews.
The problem is you're slagging off the 5 series, BMW's & indeed German cars and their drivers based upon one, base model, hire car experience.

We'll meet up at Scalford & put the 530D M Sport around some of the country lanes and then you can make a more informed opinion.

I've driven one, lots, my best mate has one, it's fast and corners well. It's a bloody fantastic car in many many ways, but it's not sporty.

Another friend of mine has an M5. That borders on sporty, the sheer speed of the thing makes it hard to argue otherwise, but it's not a sports car. It doesn't have the ecsence of a sports car. It's a very fast saloon that happens to stick well in the corners..

Drive an MX5 for an hour then tell me the beemer is sporty.

[Samantha]

Agreed MiB of course re Sporting being different to Fast. The other thing that people seem to not get is that grip isn't the same as handling. Great big fat tyres give lots of grip sure .... but if the handling isn't right (as is often the case with over-tyred huge wheels) then no notice of when the limit is about to be reached.

My little Zed is not as fast (on paper stats) as the Golf 2.0TDi for example, however it is much more fun and sporting. I've owned both and covered lots of miles in both and there really is no contest. Yet the Zed loses on paper.

Serge - with the mpg stats ... what the dealer failed to mention is that mpg stats are obtained by running the cars (when new so not a running in issue) on a rolling road. No air resistence, no road resistance and no hills etc. Hence most stats are a little optemistic vs. real world. I track the mpg on my cars by inputing every petrol fill (cost and litres) and mileage - this way I get the real mpg.

[gthang]

We'll meet up at Scalford & put the 530D M Sport around some of the country lanes and then you can make a more informed opinion.

Wow, sounds like great fun, a ride in a proper diesel motor sport 5 series!
Can I sit in the back please?

[SergeAuckland]

Serge - with the mpg stats ... what the dealer failed to mention is that mpg stats are obtained by running the cars (when new so not a running in issue) on a rolling road. No air resistence, no road resistance and no hills etc. Hence most stats are a little optemistic vs. real world. I track the mpg on my cars by inputing every petrol fill (cost and litres) and mileage - this way I get the real mpg.

I was comparing the official figures (urban, extra-urban and mixed) with the actuals I achieved. All my earlier 520s (I've had 520s now for some 20 years) all achieved an average MPG very close to the official "mixed" numbers, so I was expecting something similar again. This is the first diesel and the first automatic I've had so whether this makes a difference, I really don't know, but it's a long way off the official numbers. BMW assure me that it will improve, but I have no independent proof of this, so would be interested in knowing what anyone else with a 520d auto achieves.


S.

[Samantha]

search for sometihing called Fuelly and you can see what people are getting for similar vehicles - although be sure to only look at UK results as of course the US gallon is different

[meninblack]

I think with Diesels there is a greater tendancy for manufacturers to tweak the ECU program to optimize results in the statutory fuel consumption tests. This is likely to be especially true for the 520d, as its low CO2 emissions make it a key model in the company car market. (And mini-cabs, of course )

My Pisshat has a statutory average figure of 64 mpg. By very relaxed driving - and 95% motorway use - I can achieve 60. Most colleagues with the same model report nearer to 50 mpg.

[Jezzer]

I used to think beemers were sporty until I drove a 911.

I'll get my coat...

[SergeAuckland]

search for sometihing called Fuelly and you can see what people are getting for similar vehicles - although be sure to only look at UK results as of course the US gallon is different

Thanks. Useful tip. Looks like I'm not so unusual. Interesting that the 2010 520d got a better average than the 2011. It does indicate that it gets better with useage, but of course not definitive and it's a very small sample. (just 3)

S.

[musicbox]

I'd like to know what car MiB does like - that can seat 4 adults and decent amount of luggage and carry them safely and comfortably 400miles in a reasonable time?

[browellm]

I'd like to know what car MiB does like - that can seat 4 adults and decent amount of luggage and carry them safely and comfortably 400miles in a reasonable time?

Trabant.

[hifiwigwam]

I'd like to know what car MiB does like - that can seat 4 adults and decent amount of luggage and carry them safely and comfortably 400miles in a reasonable time?

Mondeo? Carry 5 people AND luggage, all of which would have twice the room.

[musicbox]

Trabant.

Oh yes - I'd forgotten about his Bentley!

[meninblack]

I'd like to know what car MiB does like - that can seat 4 adults and decent amount of luggage and carry them safely and comfortably 400miles in a reasonable time?

LOL, plenty of cars will do this - even my shitty Passat. I'd rather do it in a nice Jag or Bentley though. If I had to buy another 4-seater saloon with my own money it would probably be a Jag, although the big Citroen (C6) is very tempting - pity they are so rare.

[musicbox]

Oh I'm with you on the C6. Gorgeous... but bet its shit to own.