First Autos Cars Blogspot: November 2013

BMW 520D M-Sport 177BHP (Feb 2008), a set on Flickr.

BMW 5 Series (2008) E60 520D 1,995cc Diesel 177hp

This BMW 520D 2008 E60 is in Metallic Stone Grey, with the M Sport Kit plus Professional Package with it.

Exterior: It solid and really executive look. Additional with M Sport factory body kit give it more handsome and muscle view in the eyes. The wheels look great, but are slightly painful to clean. Exterior design is certainly a major feature of this car, it just looks good. However, in my opinion I think that the 5 Series must have the M Sport Kit.

Interior: The interior like others bimmer, not much facelift by germany from it predecessor. But it already flawless. No panel gaps whatsoever, and everything is placed in a spot that is easy to reach. Cream leather with black roof lining looks great in my opinion. Real leather used here, no alternatives as expected from BMW. The wood panelling doesn’t look tacky either, as it does in many other cars I’ve seen. If the interior was all black, I think the aluminium inserts look superior, however with cream the wood seems to work. Seats are really comfortable with excellent bolstering. Certainly makes for a great daily driver.

I-Drive: If anyone whinges about I-Drive, then they need to actually use it. Straight forward to use, and the wider screen is excellent. Simple to navigate around once you’ve gotten used to it. Phones Sync’s automatically every time you get in the car, and also has the charging dock in the centre console. iPod connectivity is excellent, with an iPod Nano left in there permanently. Sound system is great, with a crisp, clear sound. Another thing, why isn’t HUD standard across all cars. It was excellent, providing the information needed, including speed, cruise control info, and also Sat Nav.

Driving: Righto, Slot the key fob in, and press the start button (Comfort access would make more sense, but that’s not worth nitpicking the car for). It really, really sounds like a diesel at idle. Not a bad thing, but more agricultural than the 2.0 Diesel motor. Doesn’t detract from the car overall. Pull the joystick gear lever into drive and off we go. Around town it’s a great car to be in. Refined and comfortable. The combination of the M Sport Wheels and Suspension gave a slightly stiffer ride, however, was not noticeable at all. Bumps were felt, however, they never caused any discomfort from the passengers, and most were soaked up well by the car. Lag was noticeable when I was sitting on 85, and had someone coming onto the highway at the same speed as me. Couldn’t change lanes as I had a truck to my right. Plant the foot. Nothing, nothing, car changes down and it picks up speed with an astonishing rate. This auto transmission was excellent as well. On the highway, you can’t tell it’s a diesel at all. It’s so quiet inside, that the only giveaway to the diesel motor is the rev counter having a different look to a normal petrol counterpart. And also the consumption: 24 MPG town / 34 MPG highway. Excellent consumption for a car of this size. Slightly increases in town, but not significantly.

Steering and Chassis: Perfectly weighted, put simply, it’s fantastic. Turn the wheel, and the car immediately reacts. Doesn’t have Active Steering. The best chassis I have encountered so far was in this car as well. It felt just right. It was a dynamically superior car to many cars of this size I’ve had experience with others german.

Overall:
A brilliant car. Very hard to fault it at all. Are you paying for a badge with BMW's? I used to think so, but after getting behind the wheel, you are definitely not paying for a badge.