Test Drive 530d vs 320CDI

[adam1]

Test drove the 530dSE today new shape 218BHP ..500Nm torque 0-60 7.1s.

It was an automatic 6 speed w/o sports susp.
The car felt very stable at speed.
The route include 5 miles of motorway and basically straight roads and some corners. I had already tested 520i on bends and corners...country roads and that felt very capable of handling country roads with all the sharp bends. This was mainly a straight run in biult up areas. The car did not dissapoint in terms of speed. It has massive low down torque which blasts you to 30-40mph in no time. when ur doing around 40 then 60 or 70mph is only a few seconds away. It seems to propel you forward but you dont feel a sudden push its a smooth takeoff if u know what i mean.

I the sound when you floor it is like a roar from a 4 carriage diesel train when it tries to increase speed after pulling away from platform, but with less noise. It not annoying but it sound just like that when i come to think of it.

What do i think of this car?

Well it drives good, handles good but there is something about this car which for me I didn't have that feeling.....i kind of i want it right now type of feeling. Its basically a nice car dressed up wrong. The look of it just didn't make me smile. If I have it parked in my drive i think i just wouldn't care as much when u know its a brand new car you would stare out of the window every minute to see how it looks....u know the feeling...with this car I'd love driving it but wouldn;t appreciate its looks. Now that is something which for 34K I expect.

I'm sure it can outrun a 320CDI 0-60 and maybe match or beat it in the mid range pull but when it comes to styling it has to be second best. Nothing beats the avantgarde package and equipment. The std alloys were very dissapointing...i thought the merc ones were bad. You'd have to fork out 600-1000 to get decent sized to match the big big arches.

If u add leather ,auto, xenons it adds another 2-3k and the price is near the 33K. The Merc will be another 2k will the right options and for that small premium you get a better package.

So roll on Wednesday for the Merc test drive the E270 then the 320CDI estate demo.

I just hope the electronic issues with the E Class are resolved, and if anyone who owns an Eclass has had any other issues with the car I would appreciate any feedback.

Adam,

 

[Le Burpor]

I've had my E320 for over 2 weeks now and have not had a single issue (touch wood). I think being a 2nd year production makes a big difference as the bugs from the 1st year are ironed out.

I agree with your thoughts on the look of the new 530. On the weekend I had the opportunity to park right next to the new 530. I spent quite a while just walking around both cars and comparing. The Merc just wins hands down. The new 5 tries to look sporty and muscular but it just didn't get there for me. When I look at the Merc it says to me "Style, Power & Elegance". I'm probably biased...

One of the other main reason why I stayed away from the new 5 is because of it being a 1st year production. I'd rather wait for the 2nd year. Don't really know what probs the new 5 have, it'll be interesting to read the BMW forums..

 

[fuzzer]

I was sitting in a 530d new shape £36k .

Was inside it and i must admit i would have thought i was sitting in a fancy hyundai . The switchgear is the worse ive used , talk about flimsy.....

The lightswitch isnt big enough for me to get my fingers into it. On the mercedes you get nice chrome door handels , ohh no , on the BMW you get crappy plastic ones and they feel it. The heater controls are also shocking.

Basically you can tell the diference from the old 5 series . the old was was solid , nice interior etc etc. The new one is basically a cost cutting measure.


gimme a W211 anyday .....
:bannana:

 

[Brian WH]

Originally posted by fuzzer
I was sitting in a 530d new shape £36k .

Was inside it and i must admit i would have thought i was sitting in a fancy hyundai . The switchgear is the worse ive used , talk about flimsy.....

The lightswitch isnt big enough for me to get my fingers into it. On the mercedes you get nice chrome door handels , ohh no , on the BMW you get crappy plastic ones and they feel it. The heater controls are also shocking.

Basically you can tell the diference from the old 5 series . the old was was solid , nice interior etc etc. The new one is basically a cost cutting measure.


gimme a W211 anyday .....
:bannana:

Enough said.

 

[Andrew]

Mercedes have done a good job of the new E-Class in my opinion. I am much more a fan of this model than the previous. It also seems to me that at the moment it has the edge over the new E60 5-Series. I'm still not convinced about the new direction in which BMW are taking the styling of their cars. What can I say about the new 7-Series......it looked somewhat "awkward", the Z4 seems to be able to carry off the styling and the 5-Series seems to be growing on me the more I see them.

But rest assured if I had to buy a saloon tomorrow I would be heading for the Mercedes dealership.

 

[Brian WH]

Originally posted by Andrew

But rest assured if I had to buy a saloon tomorrow I would be heading for the Mercedes dealership.

We on this Forum wouldn't let you go anywhere else mate.

 

[adam1]

Been back from the Dealers.

Had a good test drive of E270 vs e320CDI about 30 mins each, motorway, national speed limit country roads, sharp bends , uneven roads etc.

First the E270CDI.

Very responsive on the throttle, picks up speed fast. It was avantgarde, tealite blue grey leather, split seats and panoramic roof. The supension was more sportier, ride smooth but not as soft as elegance on the E320. The engine noise is more vocal at motorway speeds and the steering was looser than the E320 which had parameter steering as std. However how that helps sporty feel not sure since the E270 handled well on bends. I can only think the parameter steering helps fast motorway speeds but lacks more feedback at slow speeds in cf to w/o the option..the steering was slightly heavier than e270 when taking bends, although the body roll was similar on both. Motoways the E320 went as straight as a bullett, the 270 was not as stable. The same stretch of road was used, same route.

The E320 seemed less vocal on motorway and the roar on the flooring of throttle was slightly less heavy cf to 270cdi. However the diff btween acceleration was not a very big diff I mean 0-60s ur looking at 8.4 s or 7.7s. Both have low down torque at 1800-2600 revs.

With comparison to the 530d the roar of the engine was more pleasant and turbine like than sounding like a train engine. I would also say that the 5er handled well in conutry roads and bends but in my opinion today drove the E270/E320 up to100mph on country roads and took bends at 60 with little body roll or loss of control. The 530d was driven slower and seemed less capable in my opinion although its steering felt more responsive on the bends. The ride was smoother with the E class than the 530d easily. I drive both over cats eyes, bumps etc to test this.

On the test route we nearly had an accident. This is where my faith in this car has been strenghthed. We were going around 60 mph and coming towards us was a truck. Out of nowehere a car and a van behind it both pulled out to overtake on a small country road. I saw this and instantly jammed the brakes to stop otherwise the car was head on seconds away. The merc stopped so fast w/o skidding that both the van/ and car pulled out and continued. Complete idiots, they didn't even look if any car was coming b4 pulled out from behind the truck. The salesman said that was good driving but I know that all i did was jamm the brakes the car did everything else.

I also did something silly...I overtook a car b4 approaching a bend. The bend was 180 degrees and being in the countryside i could see that there was no other car in the opposite direction. The bend was at right angles to direction of the car and if a car was coming it could be seen b4 the bend. The car handle with impecable manners. i would never attempt that in my car.

The E320 is an overtaking car since it has so much low down torque same as the M5.

The dealer is getting back to me with prices. If the differential btw 270 and 320 is less than 1.8k then that will be the incentive for me. The more u spend the bigger the discount should be I reckon.

Overall a decent package with a big loan that I probably cant afford as Le Burpor puts it. Now I wonder if it will fit in the garage

Oh no I'm going to biuld another garage it will be a tight squeeze...must get rid of that washing machine....or maybe leave it in drive overnight...how many of u guys park in garage?

 

[sym]

Sounds like you had an eventful test drive !

I expect the salesman needed a new set of underpants after all that excitement !

Oh, and I always put my car in the garage . . there is JUST enough room for it amidst the junk waiting to be thrown out !

S.