F10 530d Road Test - Top Gear

[zhul]

Stonking engine, this. Fast, smooth, refined and quiet, with just a hint of six-cylinder diesel growl that helps make this 530d one of the finest engines in any car.Unfortunately, you probably shouldn't buy one. If you've got avault of cash then go ahead. Buy away. But for nine grand less, you can get the equally magnificent 520d.The cash-chasm is mainly accounted for by the engine. It also buys you auto aircon, metallic paint, a USB connection and ambient interior light, but the rest of the difference is swallowed by an extra two cylinders, 61bhp and 118lb ft of torque.And this is where it gets tricky. As the financial questions niggle away in the corner of your mind, the 530d blasts them away with great swathes of torque. It's like it propels itself into some higher dimension, delivering pace and grace with almost complete disdain. It's also deceptively rapid, dispatching 62mph in 6.3 seconds.But, as you can read here, the 520d handles itself similarly splendidly. It might not have quite the magic as its big cousin and, yes, it's slower... but nine grand slower? Hmmmm. We wonder.Taken in isolation, the £37,100 cost doesn't seem so bad for such a well-sorted machine. But unless the engineers somehow crap-ify the 520, it's hard to justify the extra spend. Looks like BMW has become a victim of its own success. Bümmer. Dan ReadOn your drive for: £917Performance: 0-62mph in 6.3secs, max speed 155mph, 45.6mpgTech: 2993cc, 6cyl, RWD, 245bhp, 398lb ft, 1790kg, 166g/km CO2http://www.topgear.com/uk/bmw/5-series/road-test/530d-driven

 

[safri]

very good article - thks Zhul. I was told 528 petrol will be launched by year end.

 

[Eggie86]

Thanks for the article bro. A good read. Need to get my fix of car articles after Clarkson's weekly articles on Times Online aren't accessible to non- members recently. :top:

 

[solo]

So the price difference between the 530d and 520d in UK is about 9K pounds (about RM54k). What's the price difference in Malaysia?

From Star Motoring I can only find this:

BMW 520d SPORT EDITION 379,800.00
BMW 530i 459,800.00

So if by comparing these two, the price difference is RM80k. Holy cow you can buy a second-hand E46 for that price or all the performance parts your heart can desire if you get the 520d sport edition or do a heart transplant to a bigger BMW engine for your 520d.

Only in our country is the price disparity so great. And we're not even taking into account roadtax and insurance.

Salut

 

[shiva73]

This is an ongoing daytime robbery .!

 

[solo]

This is an ongoing daytime robbery .!

Amen. Amin.

 

[NewbieZ4]

excellent

Fine article

 

[affan66]

So the price difference between the 530d and 520d in UK is about 9K pounds (about RM54k). What's the price difference in Malaysia?

From Star Motoring I can only find this:

BMW 520d SPORT EDITION 379,800.00
BMW 530i 459,800.00

So if by comparing these two, the price difference is RM80k. Holy cow you can buy a second-hand E46 for that price or all the performance parts your heart can desire if you get the 520d sport edition or do a heart transplant to a bigger BMW engine for your 520d.

Only in our country is the price disparity so great. And we're not even taking into account roadtax and insurance.

Salut

These are E60 prices right?

 

[haywire]

So the price difference between the 530d and 520d in UK is about 9K pounds (about RM54k). What's the price difference in Malaysia?

From Star Motoring I can only find this:

BMW 520d SPORT EDITION 379,800.00
BMW 530i 459,800.00

So if by comparing these two, the price difference is RM80k. Holy cow you can buy a second-hand E46 for that price or all the performance parts your heart can desire if you get the 520d sport edition or do a heart transplant to a bigger BMW engine for your 520d.

Only in our country is the price disparity so great. And we're not even taking into account roadtax and insurance.

Salut

Not a correct comparison, the article was comparing 520d with 530d, your comparing 520d with a 530i.

Unless its a typo of course.