535d Tourer Review
 

Well peeps what a weekend i had :D

Picked up the 535d on friday at 12pm, decided to try it out on a vast different set of roads as i basically had a free afternoon.

Now i wasnt expecting much from it, yeah i had a half decent drive in it during the week, but as i said earlier i wanted something to lug everything around in.

On all aspects of roads it pulled like a train (auto box), torque was :thumb: & it helped getting to (ahem) high speeds ;)

Car is basically everything i need apart from the wood interior but the sales guy said that he could get that changed for me, i dropped the car off yesterday, left the salesman with some feedback & i am waiting on him getting back to me today :D

Nice - glad you enjoyed her. How much would you pay for one of those ?!?!

Do they do these in manual? All the ones I've seen are auto.
I drove an auto 525D and it was like having my left arm chopped off.

Everyone I've spoken to seems impressed with the 535d, did you find the rear wheels having problems with the power in the wet.
I know from my 330D that if you plant it other than in a straight line in the wet you get the backend to slide about which is fun but the dsc light starts flashing and you loose power until it regains grip.

I might be able to get if for 34k on an 05 plate, trading in a 52 plate C220 cdi

I am not sure about manual, the rear wheels like to spin but i think i was causing it sometimes ;) traction control soon sorted it, the dsc can be turned off, which i tried but nearly **** myself coming off a round about :eek: :D

I've had my (manual) 530d sideways on a roundabout when it came on boost in 3rd. In the dry, without really trying.

On the track I suppose I might turn off DSC, but since it works extremely well, I never bother to fiddle with it.

To answer the auto/manual question, I'm pretty certain you can't get a 535d in manual form, which is a pity, because I'm not sure I will ever really want an auto.

Hey, I said I'd never want a diesel or a BMW ;) ! Amazing how things change...

I'm driving a 3 year old company 330i sport auto at the moment, but the auto box is starting to do my head in.
Approach a roundabout in Sport mode, or tiptronic manual mode, at a reasonable speed, lift off the gas, steer round roundabout, and apply the gas for a spirited exit, and **lurch** - not massive, but there is significant hesitation as the drive train takes up the power - as if I had had the clutch in, in a manual. Is it my auto gearbox, or do they "all do that, sir?".
My planned next car was a 535d, but if they only come in auto, and this is how the tiptronic box works, I'm not marginally interested - it is physically impossible to make reasonable progress without that hesitation. Always did prefer manuals, but was impressed with the auto box initially...not any more!

I think they are all like that, although I've only driven two BMW Steptronics.

Even if you don't like sliding around, with powerful RWD and wet weather, I would prefer normally aspirated and no torque converter, gives the fine control you need to give you confidence.

Could there be a worn cush drive? Its only a lump of rubber afterall.....


Simon

sti-04, out of interest, which dealership was this at and how do you find the service from Salespeople??


Cheers,
Grant

I found the same thing in an Auto 525D and a 325ci you put yer foot down then there's a small pause and then whoosh off yer go. I know there's a kickdown but should it really take that long. I tried it in both auto and sport and tiptronic, also unless your in tiptronic you can't use the engine for braking it's like riding along in dodgem car.

But the worst thing about the auto box is that when you've been driving one for a few days and get back in a car with a real gearbox the first junction you come to the car jerks forward and stalls...forgot to put the clutch in. doh

Definitely not the kick-down, that only comes in when you go past the 'stop' with your foot flat down. It's just a hesitation. From the comments above, it sounds like it is a 'feature' - but it completely spoils any kind of spirited driving (well, for me, anyway). I dont even understand the much vaunted ability of autos in traffic. A car with decent torque can be kept in 2nd from 0mph to 40mph (and more), and controlled on throttle and clutch far more sensitively than that horrible 2mph crawl that they all seem to have.

Parks of Hamilton in Hamilton

Grant, i went in there last year to look at a 325ci & i pulled up in a new ST170 & jeans & t-shirt, the sales staff didnt come near me :rolleyes: & that piss's me off, but this time i went in the the C Class & Shirt & tie & it was like flys round ****e.

But i suppose its a stigma thats associated.

Figures are going to be ok, so pick up on friday :thumb:

did you get the 'hesitation' or 'take-up' -not quite sure how to describe it- when you were test driving the 535d?

First time I drove an auto I stamped on the brake with my left foot - I was going for the clutch!! Was quite funny

I did that. Almost broke my son's nose (he was in the back seat without seatbelt - only 5mph off a garage forecourt, but enough)

Too true - Steptronic is top of the stack as far as autos go IMHO but I'll never have another; I like stirring the stick around around too much ;) . I came off the M25 to join the M3 going southbound (nice long sweeping curve) the other night and it really got it knickers in a twist.

Word of caution though - the trade really likes autos in BMWs and they do carry a premium 2nd hand so if you are going for a manual, make sure you buy well to reflect market demands. BMW Car mag had an article in this month which said there could be as much as a 2 grand differential between a 3 year old 330i with steptronic and one without.

Cheers
Kav

steptronic, yuck

Had steptronic in my 3.0l Z3, totally wrecked a very good car. I managed to mod the car up to about 265bhp and it still felt slow compared to my standard blob eye.

Don't ever tell a steptronic driver that they are crap though because you will get a kicking

Anyone driven the 530d and 535d?

Would be interested to hear how they compare in terms of performance (i.e. do you notice much difference in day to day driving).

Is there any difference in handling and the base spec of the cars?

Cheers

Not from me, you won't ;)

Cheers
Kav

Lots of references to Steptronic here - is that just BMW's name for their slushboxes or is it a specific crap type? Are Merc autoboxes any better? I quite fancied a 530d/e320cdi as my next car

It's just BMW's name for their automatic box.

As I understand it, it's a bit more than a bog standard auto in that you normally have 5 or 6 gears to play with, plus you can have it in full auto or "semi automatic" mode. In semi auto, you've got control over what gear gets selected when...

...but it ain't perfect.

Like others have said, I took the manual as I prefer to be in full control of the car. Again, like others have said, it's bloody difficult to find the car you want with a manual box at times!

Only when cold, i feel that all auto diesels suffer from this, well the ones i have driven.

When warm & in sports mode especially its as smooth as my arse ;) :D

Thanks for the reply, gave them a call and enquired about the car we were interested in and they said that they couldnt get hold of one for a while... so its kind of academic now.

Looks as if we'll be going with Henry Bros. in Glasgow.


Cheers,
Grant