USED BMW 5 Series Saloon (03 - 11)

My car

When the latest 5-series first made its appearance, it just did not appeal to me. My choice was definitely going to be an E-class (E270 CDI).

However, with the amount of E-class taxis on the road and the fact the 5-series started to look more and more attractive by the day, I opted for the 525d SE (also swayed by the What Car? verdict).

This car is spacious, feels real quality and for some reason looks more and more handsome by the day. It drives great, however, I find the economy slightly disappointing, especially compared to the E270 CDI. Bearing in mind the Mercedes is far more common on the road, for some reason it seems to depreciate less than the BMW equivalent.

Something that I will encounter in a couple of years time!

All in all the 525d SE is a great car, if only it was more economical.

My car

I have had the honour to drive this car, and I feel there are no appropriate words to explain the experience with this car.

The one that springs to mind though is ‘AWESOME’. All round, this car is a masterpiece and truly amazing. I would buy one if I had the means to do so, hopefully that time will come sooner rather than later.

My car

I am 32 but only passed my test this year. I have only driven a couple of hire cars (Opel Vectra, Mercedes S Class, Audi A3, Saab 9-3) so I do not have much to compare it to.

As my first car, the parking distance control is a great help - a 2D picture of the car and surrounding objects on the inbuilt computer. For fuel efficiency, I guess it is average / good for its class. The automatic gearbox has 3 different driving options for comfort -> sport -> manual shift, which ensure driving can still be enjoyable.

Quality of the interior is good. Of course with more options it can get very luxurious and high-tech - head-up display to name one example.

I love the look - a welcome change from the boring classic BMW look. Plenty of space. Neat onboard computer. The only thing - should I switch on DTC always when I am driving on snow / ice???? I figure if DSC is left on it may increase the risk of a bad slide on ice... By the way - DSC (Dynamic Slide Control) and DTC (Dynamic Traction Control) come as standard.

All in all, a good car even for the introductory price.

My car

Great car.