How do I tell if a 520d has comfort seats? Ho do they differ from standard? Thanks for this didn't know they existed!
The thing that annoys me the most in so many luxury cars is the manual steering column adjustment and manual seat forward and back, when the rest is all electric. How silly is that! If I could get these comfort seats I'd be really happy ha ha! You shouldn't have to do things manually in a high end car I'm lazy.
Family is one of y reasons for needing the comfort. Whenever my mum is in the car with me she keeps telling me to slow down because it's so uncomfortable! My mate who's into cars like me absolutely loves the sport suspension on my car. I don't mind it when I'm in the mood for it but it's incredibly annoying when you don't want to get slammed into everything on the surface. Having to go slow all the time to make it more comfortable is a pain. I'm guessing from what people have said here that the 5 series even in M sport will be perfectly comfortable despite its sporty nature.
Yeah I've heard about the run flat discomfort so if I get one with run flats on it I'll be making sure to get them changed when they wear out. I've often looked at the E60s when I've been out and about, they look good and have the classic sedan shape to them which is timelessly attractive. They look big for a 5 series, looks more like an older full size sedan due to it's size and shape.
Comfort seats have 16 way adjustment with lumbar support. The easiest way to tell them apart is that the back rest is split half way up and can hinge from that point, also the passenger seat will have standard memory with comfort seats. These are the comfort seats in my old 15 reg 535 GT, I believe the earlier models are slightly different. here you can see the split back rest.
The premium brands know how to get added value out of option packages. We have to be very aware when buying used, to know what comes standard and what options make the car a bit special. Particularly as not all options come with all engine/models. My F11 has the sport seats and I have the 'full' electric package option, for seat and steering wheel adjustment. Not all come that way. Peter
Changing to non run-flats won't be the same 'night and day' difference that we used to get on the earlier RFT models. Wheel sizes and tyres do make a difference to ride comfort. I'm running RFTs on my model, but as said in the other post, I kept with 18" (along with AD) to keep the optimum comfort/handling balance. My understanding, BMW designed the F10/11 AD around the 18" setup, hence the best balance possible. I used to have an E39 540i Touring on M-Tech suspension and 17" wheels. Superb combination. I rate the F11 setup I have, (even with RFTs) in a similar league, with a more comfortable low speed (to 60mph) ride. Peter
I have had an pre facelift 530d SE nearly new, a facelift 520d SE 4 years old and 60k miles on it, and briefly a pre facelift 530d Sport which was 5 years old and 70k miles on it, all tourings. The first two were passive dampers, the later 530d had adaptive dampers. All were on run flats. The facelift 520d I ran on 17's and then upgraded to 18's, Goodyear Eagle F1 run flats on the 18's. I have to say, the ride and comfort on the facelift passive 18" was spot on, handling great, coped with the poor UK roads brilliantly in a way the 530d sport, even with adaptive dampers, struggled sometimes. There is a fast corner near me that really shows how well the damping/tyre set up copes, it is broken surface and if over damped the back end skips about and it feels very crashy both front and rear, the passive 520d didn't break a sweat. The 520d also feels considerably more nimble to drive, there is 80 kilos less over the front axle and you can really feel it. I ran a DT-UK tri channel tuning box on mine and on the rolling road it was up from 188hp to 224hp, so plenty quick enough, measured with a timing app it was getting to 60mph in 6.5 seconds, which is fine. I thought this must be wrong, but looking at the specs of the 525d (4cyl 2 litre diesel too) with 215hp that is 6.8 seconds, so makes sense. https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/2014/1900970/bmw_525d_touring_steptronic.html I bought the 520d after arguing on Pistonheads that going diesel over petrol doesn't really save you any money financial when buying up to 5 years old, I have had enough cars with the equivalent petrol and diesel engine in them to prove this to myself. I was in my E61 530d when it broke down, at the Shell petrol station on The Marylebone road, corner of Gloucester Place. One pump, cheap fuel, all the taxis use it, my car would not start. Long queues behind me, had to call recovery decided I needed a newer more reliable car. So while waiting for my recovery truck I got on autotrader, saw this 520d Touring and bought it over the phone. I decided I would try one out with it's incredible 55mpg and the wonderful B47 engine. I knew I would hate the engine, but it was a mile muncher for me to do 30k miles a year in, and so saving money was the aim on the game. 4 years old so paid £12750 for it, so couldn't depreciate all that much, should be the perfect car for saving money and to prove to myself that diesel can be a money saver. The reality was, on winter fuel and with cold temperatures it was more like 38-39mpg calculated, disappointing, and even on a run, by the time you are doing 80mph it is 45mpg, maybe 48mpg in the summer. At this point you may as well buy the 530d, in fact the MPG between the two is bugger all. What I will say though is the B47 is a peach, and this is from someone who doesn't really like diesels at all, compared to the N47 it is in a different league, in the F11 I couldn't really tell the difference between the earlier 530d it replaced from the cabin, and it felt just as quick, it was only when you got to higher speeds you noticed the power was not relentless like the 6 cylinder diesels. To be fair, it averaged 43mpg over the 12 months and 30,000 miles I covered in it, but if you were using it for lots of sub 10 mile runs I would expect 37-38mpg calculated. I actually preferred the SE seats on the LCI over the SE seats or the sport seats on the pre lci, which really surprised me, they had more tilt which is nice and just felt super comfy. All in all I thought I would keep it for 3 months or so, sell it on and buy a 535d or 535i, the reality was after waiting for a 535i to turn up and trying it, I wondered what I was thinking? The 535i was lovely, but me getting £11k for mine and paying £19000 for the 535i that actually didn't feel as fresh seemed nuts. So ended up running this until a few weeks back. I only sold this as not sure what is happening with my business moving forward from Covid, thought it better to have £10k in the bank than sat in metal that could go anywhere price wise in the next few months. I had agreed a decent trade in against a 540i G31 Touring in Feb, but then all this happened and I bought myself a facelift E91 320i Touring for a couple of grand in case the world goes to shit and decided to let the 520d go. Oh, regarding insurance, the 535i touring was coming in cheaper than the 520d, so don't write off a 530d on that regard. I think my perfect F11 would however be the 530i touring, NA straight six petrol. The N53 is incredible on fuel, super refined pootling around and comes alive when pressing on, that instant throttle response is also something that can't be underestimated for what it adds to the package, I find it addictive and seem to manage no more than a couple of months without something with that sort of engine in the garage. But all in all, the b47 520d impressed me in a way I was not expecting, I have heard people say "it is all the car you ever need" and alway thought "Yeah, if you want a lethargic piece of crap that sounds like a tractor it is all you ever need." But I have changed my opinion, it is actually a cracking engine and makes the F10/11 feel light on its toes, something that is missing with many cars these days, not saying don't buy a bigger engine, but you can certainly enjoy the 520d, just don't expect it to save you any money. This was mine... Guy's F11 520d
Guy, it is interesting how our car choices develop over time and our perceptions change. My first F10 was a pre LCI 530d SE. I actually wanted an MSport, but the 19inch wheels I wanted cranked the company car tax up and I didn’t like the 18 inch wheel, so I decided on an SE and then added the options to make it so I would like it. I added high gloss shadow line, as I don’t like chrome, sports seats, adaptive drive, piano black, electric tow bar, HUD and a while host of other stuff to use up my budget. It looked a bit of a Q car, but with 258PS and 560Nm, it went quite well too.
