BMW 5 Series Saloon 520d SE 4dr Reader reviews

My car

The 5 series looks and is very special. The body is beautiful from any angle and the interior exudes class. On the move the cabin is quiet and very comfortable (if lumbar support is added) and the driving position perfect. Steering and ride are beyond praise and I am at a loss to understand why VDC is considered by yourselves to be worthwhile. The engine and 8 speed auto provide high performance in all circumstances and it is hard to believe that any practical advantage could be gained by having a larger engine. I travel aminly on country A roads and I find overtaking effortless. The choice of colours is poor (mainly greys and blacks) but I looked behind the off-putting "Milano Beige" to find a delightful pale gold. The choice of extras is enormous. Beyond the obvious auto and satnav I recommend the reversing camera as it it is impossible to see the boot. I considered the Headup display for navigation but the basic satnav gives a direction diagram in the instrument cluster and this does much the same job. This is my 7th BMW and I expect reliability to be (as usual) total.For all these cars I can recall only one fault that required fixing under warranty. The sales experience was first class: Matt Barnes of Chandlers secured the sale by lending me a demonstrator for a day. I had decided the 5 series was too big for my needs but that was overcome by the driving experience. The new car arrived within 5 weeks.

My car

520d SE 4dr sports auto with VDC. Only had the car 1 week, here are my first impressions. Positives: Incredibly refined car, smooth delivery of power via the 8-speed auto box. I drove a demonstrator without VDC, but added VDC based on the WhatCar review. I am glad I did as VDC definitely improves ride and handling over the standard car in all but Comfort mode. The slightly jiggly ride is greatly reduced in Normal mode, and eliminated in Sport mode. The car corners very flat, the steering weights up and the autobox hangs onto gears for longer and changes down earlier on acceleration (I know the steering and engine changes are not down to VDC, but the flat cornering is). The ride in all settings is great at absorbing bumps in the road, making for a very comfortable ride. By comparison; I ride share with a colleague who drives an Audi A6 S-Line. This has a teeth-shattering ride by comparison with my new 5 series, something worth bearing in mind on our pot-holed British roads! Regrets: Having spent my options budget on the auto box and VDC, I went for gloss black paint. Wish I had gone for a metallic in truth as they look nicer and something like silver or space grey would be easier to care for. Also just stuck with standard seats, which I now know lack the level of lumbar support I like. Should have added lumbar support, or maybe gone for sports seats. Then again, lumbar support should be standard on a car of this price! Overall: Very happy with my first BMW!

My car

Been driving the 5 for just over 6 weeks and completed 4000 trouble free miles. Most of this has been motorway driving and I am getting close to 50mpg out of it (astonishing). The 5 is a GT in all but name. Comfortable at long distance cruising and even in base mode the engine is responsive, fast and entertaining. Its also very quiet in the cabin which means you can sometimes get caught out as to how fast you really are moving.

Quite frankly I am not seeing the need for the optional VDC control to make this a "proper 5 series". Even in SE mode the car will tackle a twisty country lane with gusto.

I have no optional extras with this car and it does not need anything additonal.

Gripes??. The manual gearbox is less than precise and I have found myself in reverse rather than first gear and vice versa on a number of times.(thankfully only in car parks).

This is a minor gripe on what so far has been a great introduction to my first BMW.

My car

Auto with VDC - 28000 miles on the clock now and a few days over it's 1st birthday. Verdict: Superb. Engine now well into it's stride and performance improvements noticeable. Have had only one minor gripe, which was fixed after a visit to the dealer, being an annoying rattle from around the passenger seatbelt. But this was only noticeable because the rest car is just so damn quiet! Auto box is always in the right gear, and with 8 ratios extracts the best out of the engine. Whatever the road conditions, it's great! Handling is fantastic (not up to my previous 330d) but for such a big car leaves many smaller cars behind. Bad points? ....erm... well the rain on the boot lid still runs in, the solid black paintwork shows all the chips and light scratches, and some car parks can be tricky to negotiate. All in all, struggling to find anything serious to fault; reliable, quiet, economical, fun to drive, safe, secure, roomy, comfortable, very well specced, high class of fit and finish, exudes quality, and is really a very nice place to be! Drove a courtesy 520d with dynamic pack, manual with no VDC, and thought that was great too, so can't absolutely say VDC is necessary, but certainly makes for enjoyable driving whatever your situation or mood. Sports+ turns it into a real GTi basher, and makes country lanes a blast!

In summary, I can't recommend this car enough. If you are in the market for this class of car, definitely give it a try - hard to beat on all counts in my opin