initialM;657214 said:
Doc,
How do you compare bet 320d & 520d? Which one feel faster and stable?
Did you read our previous first drives f10 520d reports, initialM? Here they are again-maniac and I went to Quill the very first day the car was available for test drives-minutes/even seconds after it completed its PDI-Pre Delivery Inspection!
My write up:
Went test driving with maniac bro...we broke the Quill's demo F10 520d unit's virginity...the demo car arrived yesterday at Quill's, completed its PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) at 3pm...and we were the first to drive it at 5.30 p.m.! Did the test drive together with maniac and Quill's Sales Manager, Ms. Jocelyn. It was quite a rump, the three-some and here's my thoughts on the drive. We know Jocelyn is very professional because maniac cheekily asked her whether she was married and she said matter-of-factly, 'does it really matter?'. He then quickly tried to redeem himself by saying the reason he asked her that question was because if she was single, she could bring her boyfriend in this very handsome car or if she was married, drive with her husband in this very good car....ummm, me thinks not very convincing way of going around the bush there, maniac. ha ha! Sorry, I'm being naughty, but aren't we all 320d drivers so?
So, back to the car. The F10 looks handsome. Saw it in its brand new colour, called very impressively 'The Havana'. It’s actually a dark bronzed colour and our demo unit came with cinnamon brown interior-looks dark brown with a light tinge of orange. The pipes are straight twin pipes. Not pointing down anymore. Nice! Has a GPS fin on its roof. The front of the F10 plunges down half way down the front's 'horizon' when looking out from inside, maniac very astutely observed. It results in a front nose that’s a little bit tame looking because it points downwards and ends up looking a little bit like a shy puppy. Perhaps it’s made that way for safer pedestrian front collision.
You get semi comfort-access. Meaning you still have to press the fob to open the doors but you don't need to stick it in (the fob slot ,not anything else....), after you've gotten into the car. Just press the start/stop button and you are good to go! Once you've done that, switched on the engine, you'll still notice a soft clatter. We felt it was much quieter than the 320d's clatter. Then you slam the doors shut, and it’s very quiet. Very quiet. Not a pin-drop top be heard. We always said with the 320d, you don't hear the clatter at all from the inside, just the engine's hum. in the 520d, there's no engine sound at all. Library quiet. School library, not the Curve. We didn't so much fancy the steering wheel which was of the skinny variety. Change the steering wheel to a BMW M performance steering wheel which gives you that thick-stocky grip, when you get the car. Ok, what is the first thing a diesel-head does when he first test drives another diesel car? Floor it! And..., it’s definitely more responsive than the E60 520d I tested before and an engine with enough torque and power for a car as big as it is. We couldn't really expect it to match the torqueness of the 320d, could we? the 8 speed auto gearbox makes for the smoothest of gear changes. Hardly noticeable in fact. You don't get paddleshifts but what we liked most about this car which the 320d doesn't have is the fact you can change the suspension settings with a twirl of the iDrive! 4 settings-Comfort,Normal,Sports and Sports Plus. In the last setting, the gloves come off and there's no dynamic drive control allowing you to show your horns and thrash the car. maniac did just that, with some tight bends and the transmission went dead with the transmission fault light shining up! Jocelyn's eyes opened wide suddenly and we had to apologise to her telling her we are 320d drivers. Good thing the transmission went back to normal again after we switched the engine off and again. Handling was especially supreme in the Sports Plus setting. All 4 ends of the car tightens up significantly-electronics wizardry!
The sound system was also very good and we played some Awana Ah Beng Session mp3 tunes on it with my memory stick in the USB slot! You can load 12G of data into the hard drive. Also synced Jocelyn's iPhone with the car's bluetooth and spoke with the man himself, Paul Tan, who was also speaking to us via blue tooth in another BMW in Sepang-arranging a track event there for tomorrow! You get Goodyear Excellence 17 inch RFT tyres. The rims look a bit tame. All in all, it’s a car with a more prestigious premium feel and presence. And to get all the goodies that come with it thrown in at 333K is a steal. This is the 5 series to buy if you are looking at that segment of cars. The 3 series is another kettle of fish and the same engine in the 320d makes for a more involving drive. A more maniacal drive.
In conclusion, the 520d to impress. The 320d to be impressed with.
Maniac's write-up:
Great write up doc! I'll just throw in another few observations from the drive while still fresh in mind.
It's true, the sound proofing/insulation from the engine bay is excellent....not the tiniest bit of diesel clatter can be heard from inside the cabin. You need to be right in front of the hood to hear it from the outside too. From a quick glance, the 520d is indistinguishable from its petrol brethren - you get v-spoke style 238 17"-ers and a straight tailpipe. We couldn't get an answer as to whether the particulate filter was re-inserted into the exhaust system for this to happen. Recap that the 320d has it's pipe oriented downwards to channel particulates away because it has its particulate filter removed due to Euro2M quality. Doc also opened up the fuelcap, and we noted a sticker saying "No BioDiesel" on it...anyone hear what will happen on July 1st yet?
Traffic was heavy but Doc took our menage-e-tua to Damansara Heights to avoid the congested roads, which ended up being a fantastic location, with it's bends and steep climbs. The 8 gear cogs make a significant difference in the shifts. We didn't get to rempit to test higher speeds, but the transitions in the lower gears are smoother compared to the 3-er. The car's heavier than the E90 by about 200kg, but didn't really get the feeling throughout the drive that the car was sub-powered, though turbo-lag was still apparent. We REALLY liked the ability to cycle through the 4 preset settings (Comfort, Normal, Sport, SportsPlus) at a touch of a button, which alters the gear changing response, suspension stiffness and steering sensitivity. Comfort gives you a "squishy" drive but almost completely cancels out the undulations of the road. Crank it up to Sports and it stiffens up to the UDM handling we all know and love - for a fairly large car, the F10 can handle the bends! Pushing 1700kg of kerb weight and 3 adults up the steep slopes of D'sara Heights was also a breeze with the 2.0 N47 diesel heart powering the drive. Sports Plus stiffens up the drive even more, and turns off traction control, which is the most responsive setting of all. With all of the 380Nm of torque available when flooring the throttle, we enjoyed some nice wheelspin moments too
One thing I did feel was that the steering is not as responsive as the e90, even in its most sensitive setting.
Through the i-drive, Jocelyn showed us that we could also manually set 3 more stiffness options in Sporst mode to select drivetrain + chassis, drivetrain only or chassis only. Doc was driving then, and I kinda forgot when I took the wheel and didn't really get the chance to fully evaluate what it meant in driving experience. Next guys who go for a test should have a go here.
I was actually slowing down when suddenly the dingdong of death sounded, and the idrive indicated a transmission fault, with caution to drive moderately (oops). Gear shifts suddenly halted, and I felt that the box only allowed me to shift up to 2nd or 3rd. Stopped the car, shut off the car and when we came back everything was back to normal. Hmmm....driving this mobile computer, was a "reboot" all we needed? Still not really sure what happened here. BUt this event revealed another feature - when shutting off the engine, the entire steering rack moved upwards! It came back down on starting up, and I surmise that this is to allow the driver ease of getting in and out of the car. Fascinating. You get Brake Energy Regen (BER) in the 520d, and a nifty display under the rev meter to show when you're recovering charge into the battery from braking.
The F10d is quite a nice drive, the torquey engine, stiffness settings & 8 gear transmission allows you to satisfy your urge for spirited driving. But being clunkier in weight and build, the handling is compromised compared with its e90 brother. Wished it came with 18" rims instead, and sportier trims inside & out. Good option for a senior executive luxury car, esp with its rm334k tag.
One thing I didn't get when I was on the test drive, though...the naughty grin on my face when I got back into my own bucket seats, 50/50 weight distribution and raw-nerve sensitive steering on the way home! hehe...!
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