[rpunwani]

Background

I owned a 2012 VW Passat Highline 2.0 TDi and I was thoroughly enjoying the car. Apart from the usual ABS Sensor replacements (9 sensors were replaced from Nov 2012 to Feb 2021) and replacement of the rear shock absorbers, the car was trouble free. All repairs & service were carried out at a VW ASS. I had upgraded the brake rotors to high performance slotted & drilled type, which I purchased from ECS Tuning. In addition, some features were enabled with the Ross Tech VCDS. I had also upgraded the internal lighting to LED’s with a kit from ECS Tuning.

Last year, I felt the need to look for an upgrade as the car was 7+ years old; however the pandemic changed our lives and thinking; forcing me to abandon my thoughts. I even upgraded the RCD 510 head unit with a VW MIB PQ+ unit with Apple Carplay / Android Auto in Sept – Oct 2020. See my post “VW Passat - Upgrading the RCD 510 to VW MIB PQ; the link is https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...b-std2-pq.html (VW Passat - Upgrading the RCD510 headunit to VW MIB STD2 PQ+). I was a happy man.


In Jan 2021, BMW launched the 3 Series Grand Limousine. This was on my radar ever since I heard the news that this model will be sold in India. Having no intention to purchase a car immediately after the launch (no discounts), I called the two BMW dealers in Mumbai for pricing & test drive. The on-road price for the 320Ld was just shy of 65L. One of the dealers suggested that I look at the 520d as the on-road price difference is <2L after discounts. I was aware that BMW India is scheduled to launch the facelifted 5 series in May 2021. On checking with the dealer and on the internet, I inferred that the external changes are to the headlights (maybe Laser, but loses fog lights), grill, front bumper, rear lights, rear bumper, exhausts and changes inside will be a larger central information display 12” with Android Auto and possibly connected tech.

Curiosity got the better of me and one thing led to another and I asked for a test drive of the 520d. The dealer promptly brought the car and after having driven the car, I was very impressed. However, I was still not ready to buy a new car as I was very happy with my Passat. Meantime, I test drove the Mercedes Benz E Class & Audi A6 – none matched the driving experience of the 520d, even though they had more features than the BMW and the E Class had much more rear space. Having said that, I was not ready to buy a new car just yet – had planned on buying one in 2022.

A friend in the building knew the GM of Infinity Cars and suggested that I speak with him if I am interested. So after a few days, I casually called the GM and asked him about the 3 & 5 series. To cut a long story short, he offered me a Dec 2020 assembled car in Imperial Blue Metallic & Beige interiors at a price lower than that of a 320Ld. I had originally liked the cognac interiors, but the beige interiors suited the Imperial Blue colour better, however keeping it clean would require more effort.

I requested him to give me a day to think about it. The next day (on 18th Feb) he called me and I just threw a price at him stating that this is what I am willing to pay for the car and if he agrees, I will come to the showroom and pay the deposit. If he did not agree, I would not have been disappointed as I was not really 100% serious about buying a new car; however if he agreed then the price would be a real steal for the 520d. He asked for some time to get back to me.

He called me back and agreed to sell the car to me at the price I had offered. So on 19th Feb, I promptly went to the showroom, checked out the VIN and confirmed that the vehicle was made on 19.12.2020. Paid the deposit and asked for BMW Finance. I also insisted that I want to do a PDI as per the Team-BHP check list, which I did the very next day. I was impressed with the dealership as they store their BMW/Mini cars in a godown, which was reasonably clean rather than in the open.
























Simultaneously, I started asking people regarding sale of my Passat. Luckily for me, my colleague in the office agreed to purchase the car at a mutually agreed price. Deal done !

The finance was approved on 22.02.2021 and I transferred the balance amount on 23rd Feb. The RTO formalities were completed soon thereafter, and I took delivery of the car on 28th Feb 2021. I opted for the Service Inclusive Package for 3 yrs/60,000 km as I felt that the Service Inclusive Plus was exorbitant & if the car ran 10k per year. The Service Inclusive had brake pads/rotor renewal included as well as replacement of wiper blades (once a year). I was also told that the extended warranty (Repair Inclusive) can be availed at any time before expiry of the two-year manufacturer’s warranty. I have opted for the 5 yrs/2,00,000 km warranty. The warranty for 6 yrs/2,00,000 kms is double than that of the 5 yrs/2,00,000 kms, and not worth it, in my opinion.

I would like to state that I am in no way connected to Infinity Cars, however I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude & thanks to Infinity Cars and in particular to the GM Mr. Amit Motwani, Salman & Faisal, who were very courteous & efficient. They even gave me complimentary car cover, original rubber mats and an original key cover.

Things I like
• Fantastic driving dynamics
• 360 degree camera makes parking a breeze
• Wireless Apple CarPlay
• 16 speaker Harman Kardon speaker system
• Cabin Insulation is excellent, can barely hear the engine when cruising at 80 km/h
• Wireless phone charging
• 4-zone Airconditioning which cools really well
• iDrive 7.0 which is very responsive

Things that I miss/dislike
• Cooled & heated front seats
• Lumbar adjustments for front seats
• Massage function for Driver
• Conventional style Tacho & Speedometer
• Split Rear Seats
• Doors feel quite lighter when compared to the Passat
• Spare donut eats into boot space
• Adaptive Cruise Control

Features added to the new 5 series launched in June 2021
• 12.3” central touch display replacing the 10.25” central touch display
• Reversing Assistant (remembers last 50m of the drive when done under 36 km/hr)
• BMW Laser Headlights (only on M series)
• Wireless Android Auto

Safety
The car has front airbags, side airbags, head airbags & knee airbag. Plus it has ABS, Brake Assist, DSC, DTC which stabilises the car under all conditions.

The LED Adaptive Headlights are very useful when driving in the dark; the beam automatically switches between low & high beam depending on the oncoming traffic which is sensed by a camera mounted on the front windshield.


LED Adaptive Headlights

Kms at the time of writing the review
As of date, I have driven 2694 kms.

Usage Pattern
Approx 120 – 180 kms per week, with occasional longer drives once a month. Due to the covid situation, we have not travelled beyond Pune. Hopefully the situation will change in due course and we will be able to go on longer drives.

Exterior Styling
The car is well proportioned and l personally like the aggressive front. The crease lines contours on the car are just right. Pretty much a timeless design, in my opinion.

Build Quality, Fit & Finish
The build quality, exterior fit & finish is excellent with very even panel gaps. One would expect that from the BMW stable.

Wheels & tyres
I got Michelin Primacy XP Run Flat tyres 245/45/R18 100Y. Before buying the car, I had a lot of apprehensions about Run Flat Tyres; however I got wheel & tyre replacement as my insurance package. After driving the car (mostly in Comfort mode), I am happy with the tyres. I am sure that if regular tyres were fitted, the ride would be more pliant.

Interior Design
The interiors are plush with the top of the dashboard in soft touch Sensatec (artificial leather). The beige seats have Dakota leather with special stitching & piping. The bottom part of the dash is also in soft touch as are the door panels. I love the way the dash is tilted towards the driver. The ambient lighting looks classy and there are 6 colours that you can chose and the intensity of the lighting can also be adjusted to your liking.











Interior Space & Comfort
Interior space is good. With the driver’s seat adjusted to my driving position a 6’ person can sit comfortably in the rear. It is quite easy to adjust your driving position and the use the memory setting. The front seats are wide and comfortable. The rear seat is wide enough for 3 persons but the middle passenger has the floor hump and the centre console in the way. The centre armrest in the rear seat contains cup holders. 3-point seatbelts are provided for three passengers in the rear.

A large sunroof is provided.

Driving Position, Controls & iDrive
The driving position is good, one is seated a bit low (when compared to the Passat). The front seats are electrically powered with driver’s seat having 2 memory settings. The steering wheel is electrically adjustable for reach & rake. The memory setting once saved adjusts the seat, steering wheel & side view mirrors to the individual settings.

One has to get adjusted to the long bonnet, it took me a few drives to judge the front end of the car. Till then I was extra careful in keeping safe distance in the front.

Visibility & Mirrors
The rear view mirror is virtually frameless & is auto dimming. The side rear view mirrors are adequately sized. The driver’s side mirror is auto dimming and the passenger side mirror has a auto dip function to show the kerb when the car is put into reverse to help when parallel parking.

Airconditioning & Cooling
The 4-zone climate control is super, the car cools quite fast. Blower speed adjustment is touch controlled and individual for driver & front passenger, the temperature can be adjusted with the rotary knobs. One nifty feature is that you can turn off the passenger side blower if you are driving alone in the car.

Audio System & Sound Quality
The Harman/Kardon 16 speaker sound system is super and 600W of power with surround sound, which is customized for the vehicle. There is a tweeter & midrange in each of the four doors and on either side of the rear parcel shelf, plus another Tweeter & midrange in the centre of the dashboard, in front of the touch control display. This adds to 14 speakers. There are 2 subwoofers under each front seat. Total of 16 speakers with 600W of power. If BMW had provided the Bowers & Wilkins speakers, the sound would have been even better.


Speaker in the Dash - Tweeter & Midrange


Speakers in the Front Door - Tweeter & Midrange


Speakers in the Rear Door - Tweeter & Midrange


Speakers in the Rear Parcel Shelf - Tweeter & Midrange

The Gesture Control is quite nice and works well most of the time. The BMW Virtual assistant is a gimmick and has very limited functions like playing a particular radio station, increasing/decreasing the volume and a few others.

My car came with wireless Apple CarPlay and I am very happy with it, since I use an iPhone. The newer cars have wireless Android Auto as well. Hopefully, the global update for iDrive 7.0 will have Android Auto.

Interior Storage & Boot Space
There is a small storage compartment on the right side of the steering wheel, mainly for small items like wallet, etc. The glove compartment is average in size and has a damped opening and is felt lined.

The central console has a compartment forward of the iDrive Controller. This is opened by pushing the lid in front of the iDrive controller. Inside is the wireless charging base for mobile phones, cigarette lighter and cup holders and one ashtray. The front & rear door pockets can hold a 1L plastic bottle and maps and are felt lined on the inner vertical side.

The boot space is reasonable and has the spare donut tyre housed in a molded box. The box along with the tyre can be removed to increase the boot space for airport runs. The boot & doors can be opened by waving one’s foot under the rear bumper.

Engine Performance/NVH
Being a diesel, the initial torque is great. The engine is rated at 190 BHP / 400 Nm, which for my driving style is more than adequate. There is a slight lag when you floor the accelerator, but the surge of power that the twin-turbo delivers is surreal and brings a smile to your face. I was offered the 530i M Sport but chose the 520d as diesels have better economy.

I was pleasantly surprised by the average fuel economy to Pune & back, 17+ km/l and 18+ km/l respectively. The BMW engine has 20 BHP & 50 Nm more than the Passat’s 170 HP & 350 Nm ratings. The fuel economy is much better than what I have averaged in the Passat (16+ & 17+). Guess it is due to the twin turbo in the BMW.

The car is very easy to drive despite being nearly 5.0 m long. However, one has to crawl over speed breakers, else you will scrape the belly.

Last month (June 2021) I made another trip to Pune and managed to cross the 200 kms running in period. On the way back, I left Pune at 6:30 am and sedately drove back to Mumbai. Achieved an average of 23.0 km/l over the 168.7 km drive. That’s amazing economy!

We took a short mid-week break to Lonavala and the car returned similar figures on the return trip to Mumbai.

The fuel economy ex-works is 14.6 km/l (at present).


Fuel Economy - Ex Works

The NVH levels are excellent, one can hardly hear the engine when driving at speeds upto 120 km/hr, there is slight road noise when driving at high speeds on concrete roads like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. On smooth tarmac, the car is very quiet. I have not driven the car beyond 120 km/hr.

Gearbox
The ZF gearbox is an absolute joy. Being used to the lightening quick DSG of the Passat, I am very impressed with the way BMW has tuned the ZF gearbox. The gearshifts are very smooth, and barely noticeable.

The drive modes Eco Pro, Comfort & Sports alter the engine and chassis characteristics as the car has adaptive suspension.

• In Eco Pro –mode, the car coasts and the air conditioning reduces a bit
• In Comfort mode, the car coasts but retains full air conditioning
• In Sports (Sports+) mode, the adaptive suspension stiffens up and the gearbox holds onto the gears longer. Road imperfections are easily felt in this mode, specially at low speeds.

Most of the time, I have driven the car in Comfort mode, switching to Sports mode on the Mumbai – Pune Expressway for short periods of time. Since I generally drive within the stated speed limits and prefer sedate/defensive driving, the Comfort mode is more than adequate for me.

The Paddle Shift work very well too. Have tried it on a few occasions, however I prefer to drive in Comfort mode.


Gear Selector & iDrive Controller

Braking
The braking is excellent, with no perceptible fading. The brake lights flash on hard braking.

Ground Clearance
One needs to be extremely careful and come to a crawl when driving over speed breakers, there is tendency for the car to bottom out, more so if there are 4-5 persons in the car. The almost 3.0m wheelbase also contributes to the bottoming of the car. I did manage to scrape the bottom on 2-3 occasions after taking delivery as I was used to the Passat; have learnt my lesson the hard way. I understand that the ground clearance specified is 158 mm.

Wipers
The wipers are automatic with 4 step sensitivity and cover the windscreen well.

Steering
The steering wheel is chunky and great to hold. At low speeds one cannot feel the size of the car as the steering feels very light. However, it nicely weighs up as the speed increases. In sports mode, the steering gets a bit harder. The controls on the left side are for Cruise Control & Speed Limiter and the right side controls the volume, up / down, next / back & phone (Siri).


Steering Wheel Controls - Left


Steering Wheel Controls - Right

iDrive 7.0
The iDrive 7.0 is fantastic, very comprehensive and the digital instrument cluster & central console have very good resolution. BMW has added a neat touch to these displays – the external colour of the car is displayed. You can see, my car is Imperial Blue colour, which is shown on the displays. Waiting for the upgrade to the iDrive, which has been announced by BMW but not yet assigned to my car. Hopefully more features will be added, including Android Auto.


Welcome Screen


Home Screen


Instrument Display - Standby Mode


Instrument Display with Map

Acknowledgements
Huge thanks to the Mods, specially GTO for guiding me to write my first comprehensive ownership post. Their untiring efforts in ensuring that posts follow guidelines and have quality content, which is beneficial to the entire fraternity.

[mobike008]

Congratulations on your 520D and welcome to the BMW family.

The diesel variants have always fared well in India compared to the petrol counterparts as we are addicted to the higher torques (I was also a victim of that for a long period ) but, currently owning a petrol car and it opened my eyes to what petrol engines can do. Btw, I even have the exact same blue shade (Pythonic Blue). At least that's how the color looks to me in pictures.

Beige interiors have always been popular in luxury cars and does suit that blue exterior shade a lot. In my opinion, even better than the Cognac interiors.

Nice to hear the great deal that you got and congrats again and enjoy this beauty for a long time in future!

[RedTerrano]

Many congratulations on the latest addition to your stable.
She is a real beauty. Looking forward to your travelogues with lots of pics of her in action

Some of the pics you shared show her in non blue panels.
Are those stickers put on to protect the paint or something?

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by rpunwani

Background

I owned a 2012 VW Passat Highline 2.0 TDi and I was thoroughly enjoying the car.

Congratulations on the Bimmer rpunwani! These blue BMWs are enough to make me go weak in the knees for some reason. I think the 5 Series is one of the best cars BMW has ever made and you should comfortably see yourself munching more than 1L KMs easily.

Just out of curiosity, how much of a difference is it to drive than the Passat (performance & dynamics wise). I know the Passat is just a tad bit shorter, narrower and comes with a bit less power.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Some of the pics you shared show her in non blue panels.
Are those stickers put on to protect the paint or something?

Yes, those are manufacturer wrapping to prevent any damage to the cars while they are being transported. IIRC, nowadays, almost every car wears them when being shipped from factory to dealer.

[androdev]

Congratulations. It's a truly worthy successor to your Passat in one of the best colours from BMW stable.

Originally Posted by rpunwani

...Meantime, I test drove the E Class & A6 – none matched the driving experience of the 520d....

VW to BMW upgrade is a well-trodden path and always reminds me of this song :-)

The long and winding road that leads to your door
Will never disappear, I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door

- The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[itwasntme]

Beautiful especially in that stunning colour! Many congratulations.

When we were looking for an upgrade (from my Octavia TSI) between October 2019 - April 2020, we were offered various BS-IV 520D at heavy discounts. They looked amazing but I wanted a turbo-petrol and ultimately bought the 330i.

Till date whenever we see a 5 elegantly cruising along, my wife turns to me and asks "remind me why we chose the 3 over the 5" :-).

[CEF_Beasts]

Congrats on the 520d, in a lovely shade of blue!

[gt3t0uring]

Congratulations! I actually prefer the pre-LCI than the LCI model. The headlights and grille look so much more proportioned. Beautiful colour combination as well!

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Congratulations on your 520D and welcome to the BMW family.

Btw, I even have the exact same blue shade (Pythonic Blue). At least that's how the color looks to me in pictures.

I have the Imperial Blue Metallic colour. I will post some more pictures of the exterior in a few days.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Many congratulations on the latest addition to your stable.
She is a real beauty. Looking forward to your travelogues with lots of pics of her in action

Some of the pics you shared show her in non blue panels.
Are those stickers put on to protect the paint or something?

These are protective films which are removed after sale of the car and before delivery.

Originally Posted by akash_v12

Just out of curiosity, how much of a difference is it to drive than the Passat (performance & dynamics wise). I know the Passat is just a tad bit shorter, narrower and comes with a bit less power.

There is a huge difference in the drive:-
a. The Bimmer is a RWD and the Passat is a FWD - the car steers very well a high speeds

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

Thank you very much GTO !

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Beautiful especially in that stunning colour! Many congratulations.

When we were looking for an upgrade (from my Octavia TSI) between October 2019 - April 2020, we were offered various BS-IV 520D at heavy discounts. They looked amazing but I wanted a turbo-petrol and ultimately bought the 330i.

Till date whenever we see a 5 elegantly cruising along, my wife turns to me and asks "remind me why we chose the 3 over the 5" :-).

I also looked at the 3 Gran Limousine initially but ended up with the 5 series at aprice cheaper than the 3 series

[84.monsoon]

Congratulations, the car looks awesome! It is a fantastic upgrade to the Passat.

On your comment on the door thud being lighter than the Passat, remember the BMW G30 uses aluminum alloys extensively in the body panels. This makes the doors stronger yet lighter. It helps reduce the weight and emissions overall and helps the car to eek out greater acceleration, as well as further lowers the center of gravity, from the same chassis.

[theqca]

Interesting review - thanks for sharing. The car looks lovely!

Any thoughts about the low ground clearance?

I remember my honda some years ago had a similar issue with almost every single speed breaker in Bombay and there were times when you'd hear the thud even if you tried hard to keep it in mind to slow down - I think that thud hurt my heart more than it hurt the car.

[TN20CQ5187]

Congratulations! The car looks fantastic, especially in this shade of Blue! Well written review as well.

The full digital tachometer looks good in pictures, but how is it on road? During day time driving. I for one not a great fan of the digital tachometer as well.

Happy infinite miles!

Thanks

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by theqca

Interesting review - thanks for sharing. The car looks lovely!

Any thoughts about the low ground clearance?

I remember my honda some years ago had a similar issue with almost every single speed breaker in Bombay and there were times when you'd hear the thud even if you tried hard to keep it in mind to slow down - I think that thud hurt my heart more than it hurt the car.

I have the G30 530i and have driven over a fair share of bad roads. The GC has never been much of a bother. I would recommend not to take the ground clearance numbers published by many manufacturers at face value. A relative has the 2016 Camry hybrid, which, on paper has much higher groud clearance but when loaded with 2-3 passengers scrapes most medium to large sized speed breakers in Chennai. The BMW has a much more robust suspension which does not sag on loading. The only times I have had issues on the BMW is when encountering those steep driveway ramps that start abruptly off the road. The car tends to rub it's nose at the start point.

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

On your comment on the door thud being lighter than the Passat, remember the BMW G30 uses aluminum alloys extensively in the body panels. This makes the doors stronger yet lighter. It helps reduce the weight and emissions overall and helps the car to eek out greater acceleration, as well as further lowers the center of gravity, from the same chassis.

Thanks, yes BMW makes the door panels & trunk panels from high strength aluminium alloy to reduce weight

Originally Posted by theqca

Interesting review - thanks for sharing. The car looks lovely!

Any thoughts about the low ground clearance?

Thanks, as mentioned one has to be very careful & come to a crawl over speed breakers. The long wheelbase also contributes to scraping of the belly.

Originally Posted by TN20CQ5187

Congratulations! The car looks fantastic, especially in this shade of Blue! Well written review as well.

The full digital tachometer looks good in pictures, but how is it on road? During day time driving. I for one not a great fan of the digital tachometer as well.

Happy infinite miles!

Thanks

Thanks, the digital instr ument cluster is very clear under all conditions. Over time I have grown to accept the present reverse tacho; though I wish BMW updates the software and brings back the conventional tacho. I am ok to let go of the map display in the instrument cluster.