Review of a diesel BMW (E60 530d)

[woodfire]

diesel peeps, here is a glowing review of a diesel powered bimmer from a recent (last sat only) fun run of the BMW Club of the Philippines.

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It was good fun guys, many thanks to all those who made it so.

My Notes on the E60...

The E60 530d is great, lots of torque, big acceleration, and a big surprise to everyone as we pulled into Petron. It's not our unit yet, courtesy of PGA, through the kindness of Andy Maribao.

The driving expeience is very much 5 series, composed yet racy, big & roomy yet agile, comfortable and pampering inside. The engine roars but you hardly notice it inside, as with the trikes slowing the pace along Tagaytay roads. I wonder how it sounds as we pass other vehicles, did not have the chance to hear the exhaust from the outside.

The distinction is the high-tech gadgetry, the new I-drive. If you have a full-optioned E39, most of the computer functions had been taken over by the I-drive. Other than the motorized steering wheel height adjustment, most of our E39 functionality are there (power seats & blinds, multifunction steering wheel, full OBD, PDC, heated seats) and adds to the familiarity.

We had a wee while adjusting to the 2 left stalks, turn signal & cruise control (E39 is at the steering wheel). I often hit the cruise control stalk when I wanted to turn, so some of my turns were without the signal lights when I thought I already flicked it. Maybe one will get used to it if it eventually becomes a daily drive.

We are concerned with consumption though, even if it was a diesel, as the torque and power "really" encourages driving with gusto. One tends to look for every opportunity, every space between other cars and nearby lanes, to hear the sound and feel the acceleration with no holds barred.

There is that diesel shudder though, when you turn the engine on, and off. It shakes the whole car as if waking up a sleeping giant, and gulping one last breath before it dies as you turn the ignition off.

Our E39 is fitted with Bilstein sports suspension with H&R and extra wide 18" radials. We throw caution to the wind when doing 100kph turns on it, we were a little reserved on the E60 doing the same, but we did it anyway. No body roll feel, just a slight sliding feel on the wheels, but we were overly cautious with it, it was not our car yet.

We missed the sun/moonroof of our E39 though, especially as the weather to Tagaytay that day as ideal for driving open top. Sana Z4 naman next time Andy...or an E46 convertible. We promise to give you an honest write-up again like this.

Eric & Mina

[rebel]

Well I've tested the 530d and ito lang masasabi ko SUPER SUPER SUPER HATAW for a Diesel!!!!!!!!

My interest in new generation Diesels came after my trip to Germany 3 years ago when we were driving a audi A6 at 220mph then we got over taken by a PASSAT 1.8T Diesel. We tried our best to catch up with the PASSAT but to no avail. The Diesel which was only 1.8 was too fast for our A6.

After that incident I had a chance to drive the PASSAT with V6 3.0 Diesel. The power it's giving is UNREAL. NO 3.0 petrol engine can match the torque and pulling power it gives.

After I arrived here I wanted to buy a car with the new generation diesel engines but none of the dealers was willing to sell me at that time well until recently the can sell 320d and the 530d but I can't afford them anymore since I already spend the money for my car.

This new diesels will not only give you power but economy as well not to mention very low emmissions.

[edzzz]

mga sir sorry for the ignorance. ano po ba yung i-drive and the tsaka cruise control. what does it do?

[mazdamazda]

Damn... that diesel engine is just yummy... 500 Nm of torque!!!

Nothing comes close to it!!!

That just shows how the Europeans have really advanced their Diesel technology while their Japanese counterparts are still trying to play catch up.

[bardigones]

I wonder how it sounds as we pass other vehicles, did not have the chance to hear the exhaust from the outside.

there's a new invention in cars called "windows", you can open it and you could hear what's going on outside....

[OTEP]

i-drive is the computer mouse thingie on the center console. Dun mo i-cocontrol ang mga iba't-ibang features ng sasakyan (audio, climate control, etc.).

Yung cruise control is for long drives. It will allow you to take your foot off the gas pedal and the vehicle will maintain speed automatically. I love using that feature on our Expedition. Bawas pagod.

[kimpOy]

wala bang pics?

[rebel]

[theveed]

May Opel Speedster na diesel na lumabas sa Europe... Using the diesel engine of the Vectra. Its faster than the gas variant, 400+lbs of torque, does 20km/liter or so... hehe hayup.

[mbt]

europe is on top of the diesel game... sobrang mahal kasi ng gasolina nila dun e, so diesels are the engines of choice para tipid

[rebel]

Theveed I think Yan yun ni post ko sa CarTalk area.

Ito ba yun VX220 Eco-Speedster?

Pero that will not be in the market pa daw eh.

Just exclusive for R&D

[theveed]

Yun ata hehe saw it sa D&W TV...

[mazdamazda]

Even Honda was FORCED to develop a diesel engine for them to be able to market the Accord better in Europe. Didn't Honda swear before that they would not be venturing into diesels?

[rebel]

The eco-speedster break many records unimaginable before for diesel engines.

The can swear all they want but diesel are the future.

If I'm not mistake the most powerful diesel engine for a passanger car is with VW PHAETON W8 diesel engine.

[fierari]

nahuhuli nga ata ang japan sa pag develop ng diesel.

[mazdamazda]

rebel, i think that there's already a W10 diesel egnine from VW.

huli na nga ang japs, tingnan mo pa lang ang output ng toyota diesels - nakakahiya!

[truckman]

220mph? baka 220 KPH lang. nagtatanong lang.

[ian_rex]

iba na talaga ang mga diesels ngayon noh? mukhang ang trend e duon papunta. sir, how about fuel consumption? nakaka-ilang km/liter? grabe yung torque talaga niyan. 500Nm, e parang Dodge Viper na yun a. anyway, i've computed this 500Nm to kg/m and it roughly translates to 52 kg/m, almost double of what the dmax's torque output which is 28.5 kg/m with the same engine displacement.

[ian_rex]

i guess, talagang ganun ang innovation nila dahil sa mga german nag-originate ang diesel. another feat in automotive engineering! =>

[empy]

Originally posted by rebel
My interest in new generation Diesels came after my trip to Germany 3 years ago when we were driving a audi A6 at 220mph then we got over taken by a PASSAT 1.8T Diesel. We tried our best to catch up with the PASSAT but to no avail. The Diesel which was only 1.8 was too fast for our A6.

what motor is in the german A6's? somehow i find it hard to believe that a 1.8 TDI can stay with a 3.0 6-cyl or a 2.7T 6-cyl A6 (US-spec), especially at top speeds where gasoline engines tend to shine vs. diesels