written by itchy on 17/12/2005
Good Points
An absolute joy to drive every time!!! Sport handling is great excellent feel of the road. Solid build Q inside/out. Attention to detail. 231bhp Loads of power all the way to the red line :) with lovely sounding engine. Feels nimble. Nice BIG boot.
Bad Points
MPG:on the avg approx 20mpg around town but still early days so I can't help putting my foot down hopefully it will go up when I calm down : ) (Btw - I don't thrash it always below 5000rpm). Sound system could be better. Running costs bound to be high (Ins = £1291 - im 28 with zero NCB and that was way cheap compared to others). Not looking forward to Inspection II service. I wish the windscreen washer jets sprayed like my 2001 mk4 Golf.
General Comments
Well I've had my BMW 5 Series 530i Sport for 1 month and I'm in love with it. It's a 2002 530iA Sport Individual and is my 1st BMW. It's fully loaded sat/nav, tv, bluetooth, heated seats, Xenons etc and has special paint and nappa leather with 37K on the clock. After the first 2 minutes of me driving I said to myself that I will never sell it and still feel the same way. The interior is plush, steering wheel is chunky, suspension is firm (you feel the road - just the way I like it) and I haven't gotten anywhere near its handling limits on public roads. Steptronic gearbox gives u more control over how u want to drive. MPG is not as good as I hoped but this maybe down to me giving it some when the road is clear :) but by no-means do I thrash it so I will be keeping an eye on this as 18-20mpg around town still seems too low? (also it loves Shell Optimax it did 35miles more than using Tesco 99Octane full tank). I commute to work and am always thinking of getting back home so I can take it for a spin. Look forward to clear days so I can handwash/wax it myself (done this twice already even in tho it's winter LOL). This car puts a smile on my face everytime I take it out and I find it so hard to stop driving and go home :) IMO - the E39 is the best shape 5 series and lives upto everything thats said about it...and the Sport is a proper Sport version (handling/looks). The +'s out weight -'s and I would not sell unless its for an M5 (also hear great things about 530d Sport might have bought that if I didnt see my one). Best regards, itchy.