Bmw 5 Series Bmw Diesel Ultimate Driving Machine
I recently changed my taxi. (For the second time this year!) My old car was a BMW 525TDS which I'd run for about 3 years (and about 90,000 miles) practically trouble free, so my first choice of vehicle when looking about for a change of car was another diesel BMW.
Unfortunately I was waylaid and seduced into purchasing a Nissan Maxima QX 2-Litre Auto back in June (2008). This big Nissan was/is a marvellous car (review to follow) but after the frugality of the BMW 525TDS I simply found that a overall miles per gallon figure of between 18mpg and 19mpg was simply unliveable for someone who drives such a huge annual mileage as I do, so after a couple of months I decided that much as I loved the car it simply had to go.
I'd already decided on my next car. I was after an older model BMW 530D SE (E39 model) which many of my taxi driving buddies had already purchased and who gave the car glowing recommendations on all fronts especially economy, comfort and performance. After a few false starts I eventually found a 1999 model in a local garage with a mere 109,000 miles on the clock (this is nothing on a large diesel engine) and a full BMW service history. The service history is very important when buying a car as not only does it verify the mileage, it also shows it has been looked after properly and is thus less likely to develop serious (or even terminal) faults shortly after you drive it off the garage forecourt.
After a bit of haggling about the price (I am a Scotsman!) and the offer of a 3 month parts and labour warranty the deal was struck for a mere Euro7100! This was a whopping Euro850 less than the original ticket price of Euro7950, but it's a buyer's market at present with the current recession hitting used car sales very hard.
So why a BMW 530D and not one of the many other fine "oil burners" that are now becoming so popular on the roads of the UK and Ireland? (Diesel cars have been popular in the rest of Europe for the last 15 years or so!)
Two main reasons. The first was that I was already very familiar with BMW diesels and the second was the strong recommendations from my taxi driving colleagues. A wee tip here; if you really want to know about how good (or bad) a car is then take the time to make a trip down to one of your local taxi ranks and ask the drivers their opinion. You could save yourself from making a very costly mistake.
So what do I think of the car thus far, (I've had it a month) and what are its strong and weak points?
Its strong points are legendary. The 530D has been described in various motoring circles as the finest diesel car in the world, and I'd be very hard pushed to argue with that assessment. First of is the absolutely scintillating performance. And when I say scintillating that's exactly what I mean. This car is so quick it will scare the living daylights out of an inexperienced driver (and even some passengers!) with a 0 to 62 miles per hour time of only 7.1 seconds. Add to that an incredible top speed of 152mph, so much torque (pulling power) through the gears that you pass other vehicles as though they were standing still, and road holding that would put a limpet to shame and you have a car that is sure to both delight and excite you. It was my wife (who simply loves speed) who came up with the title of this review for me. I had her out in the car for the first time and was putting it through its paces on a quiet section of dual carriageway. After catching her breath she comes out with the statement, "It's just as well it doesn't drink Red Bull or we'd be taking off!" (Red Bull gives you wings. Heh, heh)
There's another *HUGE* plus factor in regard to the performance. With most cars the faster and harder you drive and work the engine the more fuel it will drink. This doesn't appear to happen with the large BMW diesel engine. No matter how hard you are with your right foot the car still achieves an overall miles per gallon figure of over 40mpg. I've verified this over the last month using the on-board computer facility that gives you digital read outs on the dash of nearly everything you'd ever want to know. For a car that is so fast and with such mind boggling performance this is simply incredible! In fact, I'm now getting about 10mpg more than I managed with my old BMW 525TDS. (2.5 litre diesel engine)
The automatic gearbox is a delight. Gear changes are seamless, and there's absolutely no lag in the powerful turbo when you use the kick down to accelerate quickly. For those who enjoy a manual box BMW have incorporated a "steptronic" feature. Simply move the gear lever over to the "S" position and you can drive the car as fast as you like through the gears by selecting the "+" or "-". Plus moves you up a gear and minus down a gear with the added security that the gearbox won't allow you to "red line" the car (and thus risk damaging the engine) but will automatically change up a gear if it feels you are driving just a tad too enthusiastically.
The suspension is just right; not firm enough to jolt you but not soft enough to cause body roll in the car when you are pressing on through a corner. Add features like anti lock braking (ABS) and traction control (to avoid you skidding) and you have a car that is very difficult to drive badly and very unlikely to allow you to get yourself into any sticky situations from a safety point of view. Talking about safety; this BMW has so many airbags (driver, passengers, side, etc) that it would resemble a balloon factory if they were all to go off together. This is reassuring, but obviously it's a feature of the car you hope never to put to the test. A nice set of alloy wheels with a set of quality 17" Pirelli tyres ensure that the car handles like a dream. (Another wee tip; always use the best quality tyres you can possibly afford on a performance vehicle)
Comfort levels are high as you would expect in a car that has been the market leader in the "executive" market for as long as you'd care to remember. The driver's seat is infinitely adjustable to ensure that anyone can find a comfortable driving position, and the steering wheel also adjusts for height. So no getting out after a long journey with a back pain that requires almost immediate medical attention!
I have a little crib here though. For such a big car I feel that the legroom for the rear seat passengers could be little better, and with three fully grown adults occupying the rear seat it's a wee bit of a squash. (Although liveable) My car comes equipped with very attractive (and hopefully long wearing) black fabric seating, although in an ideal world I would have bought a model with black leather upholstery. At least the ice cold and very effective air-conditioning/climate control system ensures that both driver and passengers travel at a constantly ambient temperature, as does the very effective heating system during the winter months. (Separate controls for the rear seat passengers by the way)
At this point you've probably twigged that I absolutely adore this car. So is there anything else I don't like about it. Hmmm....If pressed I'd have to say that the boot space leaves something to be desired. It's pretty deep, so if I'm picking up passengers with lots of suitcases (as I often do at the airport) then you can get four or five bags in with relative ease. But it is also fairly narrow, with the wheel arches (and 6-disc CD changer) infringing into the boot space. This means that when I'm off playing golf (which I am fairly often) I can only comfortably fit in my own set of golf clubs and electric trolley. My companion's golf bag has to go across the rear seats! With my old Nissan Maxima you could easily get three or four sets of clubs into the boot.
Another minus factor would be the servicing costs, especially if you are foolhardy enough to use a BMW main dealer. Garages these days seem to make most of their profit out of after sales service, so my advice here is to find a good back street mechanic who knows their stuff. Also use either second hand or "spurious" parts (eBay is great for BMW parts and accessories)whenever possible to keep down the cost as a BMW garage will ensure you need to take out a second mortgage to purchase even the simplest of replacement parts!
Overall the BMW 530D SE comes with my highest possible recommendation. It certainly lends credence to BMW's motto of it being the "ultimate driving machine" and nowadays it's possible to get a reasonably priced used version in good condition for less money than you'd pay for a bog standard family saloon.
Model BMW 530d SE
Engine type Six-cylinder, 2993cc diesel
Power 218bhp @ 4000rpm
Torque 368 lb ft @ 2000rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual, five-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Suspension (front) spring strut axle with double-joint thrust rod (rear) aluminium multilink
Fuel 40.9mpg (combined)
Acceleration 0 to 62mph: 7.1sec
Top speed 152mph
Price from 30,950 (New)
