BMW 530D estate
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Sorry my bad been a long day lol
5 GTs look great in the right colour and wheels IMHO.
However, 5 Touring has more practical carrying space as it doesn't have a sloping roofline like the GT. GT does have more rear passenger space, though. But that's not what the OP is looking for.
I'd get an E instead. Huge. More space than the 5 Touring.
Forgive my ignorance here, but why do people not go for these by default? Surely this is better than an F10 in every possible way? Larger than a 5-series, with a hatchback making the car actually useful, but with the excellent F01/F10 style interior?
They are considerably bigger than an F10, making them less wieldy in town and in car parks.Forgive my ignorance here, but why do people not go for these by default? Surely this is better than an F10 in every possible way?
Also the sloping rear makes them less practical than the F11.
And perhaps the price (when new) puts people off?
My dad's had a 535i GT for 3 years now and it's bloody brilliant.
It is bloody massive though and the boot space isn't great considering the size.
That was useful, to at least compare modern BMW and Mercedes, I thought Mercedes had caught up again on quality/luxury obviously not.
Thanks.
Andi.
My 2p worth...
I have an E91 (previous shape 3 series touring) which has decent boot space, but I wouldn't want to use it for moving house. While it's perfectly practical for getting large boxes and the like in, you'll struggle badly with any large'ish furniture.
It looks like you probably have the budget to get into an F11 (current shape 5 series touring) and this is where I'd put my money, especially for your particular requirements. They are very large (substantially bigger than 3 series and C class size), very well made, and very comfortable.
If you want performance then the 530d is the right choice. If you're not too fussed about performance then I'd opt for the 520d. It offers much better fuel economy and you'll likely have a greater choice of cars to pick from.
The 520d is no slouch and the 530d really is very brisk, but neither engine will offer you performance comparable to your Z4.
Also, the 525d is now a 2 litre 4-pot diesel, but I'm not sure when that happened...it may be that in earlier F10/F11 the 525d was still the 3 litre 6-pot.
/edit: Seems that the F10/F11 525d was 6-pot in 2010/2011 and changed over to the 4-pot in 2011. Therefore, models in your budget will have the 6-pot engine.
I have an E91 (previous shape 3 series touring) which has decent boot space, but I wouldn't want to use it for moving house. While it's perfectly practical for getting large boxes and the like in, you'll struggle badly with any large'ish furniture.
It looks like you probably have the budget to get into an F11 (current shape 5 series touring) and this is where I'd put my money, especially for your particular requirements. They are very large (substantially bigger than 3 series and C class size), very well made, and very comfortable.
If you want performance then the 530d is the right choice. If you're not too fussed about performance then I'd opt for the 520d. It offers much better fuel economy and you'll likely have a greater choice of cars to pick from.
The 520d is no slouch and the 530d really is very brisk, but neither engine will offer you performance comparable to your Z4.
Also, the 525d is now a 2 litre 4-pot diesel, but I'm not sure when that happened...it may be that in earlier F10/F11 the 525d was still the 3 litre 6-pot.
/edit: Seems that the F10/F11 525d was 6-pot in 2010/2011 and changed over to the 4-pot in 2011. Therefore, models in your budget will have the 6-pot engine.
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
It probably doesn't. When driving the 520d I get about 29mpg around town and mid 40's on a run. Trying hard on the Motorway it'll just about hit 50. It is not the super-wonder-ultra-mpg-machine of victory the quoted figures would have you beleive.
This, however, is very true. You will get a newer, nicer 520d for your money for sure. But then... it's a 520d.
Thanks Havana, I'm looking closely at the 5 series, I don't expect it to be as quick as the Z but the more the merrier so a 535 would be nice eh!. It isn't going to be used to move house only to assist, so boxes maybe up to fridge size, certainly not a whole house. For the major stuff the kids are hiring a van and when we get round to the move it will be mainly a removals firm, I'm way too old for stuff like that!
Andi.
PS, are there any alternatives that I may have missed? I'm going to exclude anything that doesn't have an engine bigger than 2l at the moment.
Andi.
PS, are there any alternatives that I may have missed? I'm going to exclude anything that doesn't have an engine bigger than 2l at the moment.
[TW]Fox;25826520 said:
Personal experience with both, which I've had as loaners from the garage while mine was in for servicing, was that the 520d returned an average of 43mpg and the 530d returned an average of 36mpg.
I only had both for a day, and they weren't driven an awful lot (about 50 miles for both) but that took in a decent mix of road types. I only took note of the averages.
That ~15% is a fairly sizable difference in economy, especially when taken over a longer period, however...
...given the choice of either I'd take the 530d over the 520d every time, but my experience is that the F10/11 520d is still an excellent car/engine combination.
/edit I should add that I agree wholeheartedly with your statement that the 520d is not the super-MPG machine that the official figures suggest, and neither is my 320d. Official 320d figures suggest average fuel economy of around 65mpg, but my personal experience is that the real-world average is more like 51mpg. That said I still think that the 520d is an excellent combination of relative performance/economy.
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For mpg figures I've been looking at the Telegraph Real MPG site. They all seem to exceed the Z4MC though 
Andi.
Andi.
The only others I can think of are Audi and Volvo.
A6 Avant and V70 D5.
New A6 is worth a look perhaps and the Volvo will cost you half as much, which leaves room for a toy
Err I hope it's the current one and not a very expensive runout version of the old one!
The current model is good, the old model is absolutely nothing like an f10, being 10 years old, and is very much a car for a sub 10k budget not a 25k one.
The current model is good, the old model is absolutely nothing like an f10, being 10 years old, and is very much a car for a sub 10k budget not a 25k one.
Soldato
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I would've gladly taken your Z4MC off of you for 8k 