| Motoring Discussion > BMW 520d Touring - mini review | Buying / Selling |
| Thread Author: Fursty Ferret | Replies: 4 |
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New Mon 27 Jun 16 15:54
BMW 520d Touring - mini review - Fursty Ferret
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I've now had a brand new BMW 520d Touring in my possession for a week, and now I've put a thousand miles on it I can offer some thoughts in comparison to the V60*. In terms of spec, it's the M-Sport version with professional navigation kit, but not much else. 190bhp, so the same as the Volvo, and an 8-speed automatic gearbox. Building it on the BMW website gives an on-the-road price of £41,300. To get the same level of toys as the V60, the price jumps to a somewhat eye-watering £48,000, roughly £14,000 more than the Volvo. And you don't get keyless go for that or pedestrian / cyclist recognition. What's it like to drive? Well, actually, not bad. The seats are moderately comfortable, the soundproofing is excellent, and the engine has sufficient grunt but is coupled with the world's laziest gearbox. The gearbox is incredibly smooth - far more so than the V60 which makes me think that there's something wrong with mine. This is partly down to the "Efficient Dynamics", which has the car shifting into top gear as soon as it can; coasting; and constantly telling you to ease off the gas in anticipation of a downhill segment or a roundabout. Floor it though, and it goes quite quickly. Fuel economy about 50mpg. The iDrive system has a phenomenally steep learning curve, but doesn't cause my iPod to lock up every few days like the Volvo, and the enormous screen helps with navigation. The maps are really clear, and it uses its built in SIM for traffic updates. The voice is relaxed, friendly, and I feel less inclined to argue with her compared to her Swedish counterpart. The voice recognition is still terrible. The telephone integration lets you send text messages, which is dodgy, and although you can write with your finger on the iDrive controller you'll struggle, as it's not quite big enough to do a clear letter. One thing I did miss from the Volvo is the ability to use the steering wheel controls to navigate the infotainment. I also liked the automatic tailgate, but if you use a multi-story car park you'd better lower the height or be prepared for an unpleasant crunching noise. The good: * Nice interior * OK to drive * iDrive excellent once you get used to it * Beautifully smooth gearbox * Auto-hold! * Turning circle much better than V60 owing to smaller wheels The bad: * Seats not perfect * Top of steering wheel hides top of speedometer * No option to show digital speed * It knows the speed limit but won't tell you what it is unless you pay extra * iDrive powerful but confusing * The steering wheel creaks and rattles * The brakes are TERRIBLE. * The accelerator is hinged and makes your foot ache after a bit (forgot about that from the 120d). The ugly: * The price. Jesus wept. * No active cruise as standard * Actually, not much as standard One final thing - if you have the option to spec adaptive cruise control on your next car, you MUST do it. My driving is shocking now and you don't realise how much it helps on the motorway. Ditto blindspot warnings. Would I buy one? Possibly, if it was about £15k cheaper. But I swore I'd not buy BMW after their head office and dealer network fobbed me off with a £1200 repair when the car was three months out of warranty, full BMW history, and a known fault. That policy still stands. |
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New Mon 27 Jun 16 15:56
BMW 520d Touring - mini review - Fursty Ferret
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* Oh, the V60. Well, they eventually collected it on Friday after I posted them the keys. Not heard anything else, but since I'm putting excessive miles on someone else's car now I don't care. Also, how do you make a personal injury claim without going through a no-win-no-feel shyster, since I did end up taking a day off work with a sore back. |
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New Mon 27 Jun 16 17:21
BMW 520d Touring - mini review - CGNorwich
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If you are claiming through your insurer ask them to include your personal injury claim in the recovery from the other drivers insurance. They may be happy to do this. If you are claiming for damaged to your car directly from the third party's insurer's simply include a claim for loss of earnings. The third party insurers will no doubt ask for evidence of earnings and may well want some medical evidence such as a doctor's certificate but on the other hand if you are are only asking for one day's pay they may well think that it is a very reasonable settlement and just pay up as a full and final settlement and think themselves lucky. |
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New Mon 27 Jun 16 16:31
BMW 520d Touring - mini review - commerdriver
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>> One final thing - if you have the option to spec adaptive cruise control on >> your next car, you MUST do it. My driving is shocking now and you don't >> realise how much it helps on the motorway. Ditto blindspot warnings. >> Totally agree FF, when you get used to a car with such gadgets you don't half miss it when you drive something without. ACC is very much a preferred tool on any future vehicle for me. |
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New Mon 27 Jun 16 16:50
BMW 520d Touring - mini review - Avant
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Very interesting, FF, as I've just done 3,000 miles in the V60, but was seriously considering a 220i or 220d Active Tourer, or even an X1. But there were hardly any discounts on either BMW, not least because so much is an optional extra, and extras don't get discounted. I got nearly £6,000 off the V60 (list price much the same as the X1). Your report is reassuring as there's not nearly enough there to justify the excess cost over the Volvo, and as you say there are some minuses as well. Does your V60 have the 8-speed automatic? Mine has and it seems smooth enough to me, no less so than in several BMWs that I tried. I find the infotainment (horrible word) in the V60 counter-intuitive, and there are some things that I'm still discovering. BMW's i-Drive seemed much easier to understand, although maybe it isn't! |
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