530i or 530d E90 Sport?

Turbo6

New member
My dad is considering replacing his E39 525i Motorsport for the E90.

How does the 530i (200kW) 05+ model stack up against a 530d. My dad loves the BMW straight 6 petrol engine so its his first choice. But if performance, durability, maintenance and servicing are more or less on par, he may consider the 530d instead seeing as it has better fuel consumption anyways.
 

P1000

///Member
Go test drive both. If you live at the coast, the petrol will probably have a slight advantage in terms of performance, other than that, it will be close in terms of maintenance. Fuel cost will be much lower in the diesel in real life conditions.
 

Nikhil

Honorary ///Member
P1000 said:
Go test drive both. If you live at the coast, the petrol will probably have a slight advantage in terms of performance, other than that, it will be close in terms of maintenance. Fuel cost will be much lower in the diesel in real life conditions.

+1000 lol:rollsmile:! I think with the bigger chassis the Diesel will be better suited due to all the torque that it makes.:thumbs:
 

Turbo6

New member
RAArmstrong said:
You mean the E60? :fencelook:

Yes that what I meant!:bangdesk: E60


P1000 said:
Go test drive both. If you live at the coast, the petrol will probably have a slight advantage in terms of performance, other than that, it will be close in terms of maintenance. Fuel cost will be much lower in the diesel in real life conditions.

I've driven a 530i right, and in my personal opinion the build quality on the E39 is just far more superior. The whole car feels much better put together.

The performance is stonking though. A 530i with 200kW really shifts! I'm not a fan of the diesel and neither is my dad but it also has decent power on paper and really excellent fuel economy but I have yet to drive one.
 

spawn616

New member
200kw and way under 400nm is cool

but projectshift can take the diesel to over 200kw and over 600nm while doing 6l per 100km

and then u run 100mm exhaust and strip interior and put semis......oh wait thats my dreams haha
 

RAArmstrong

///Member
Allow me to throw a small spanner in the works... Have you considered/driven the 520d?

I drove one recently and was pleasantly surprised by how well it performed! :fencelook:
 

Turbo6

New member
spawn616 said:
200kw and way under 400nm is cool

but projectshift can take the diesel to over 200kw and over 600nm while doing 6l per 100km

and then u run 100mm exhaust and strip interior and put semis......oh wait thats my dreams haha

Sounds like a cool dream! LOL!:thumbs:


RAArmstrong said:
Allow me to throw a small spanner in the works... Have you considered/driven the 520d?

I drove one recently and was pleasantly surprised by how well it performed! :fencelook:

My cousin has one and yes I have driven it. Its pokey, but no Bahnstormer. In my experience, big body small engine its never gonna last as long as a bigger engine. I also don't like the feel of the 4 pot. If it were my money I'd go for the 530i, I prefer the silky smooth six and these days the six is pretty light on fuel for a 3liter.
 

sash

///Member
I am probably a bit biased..., but for me the 530d is a perfect mix between power and consumption.

Your decision should be based on what you expect of a car, if prefer the rumble/roar of I6 and extra revs then a diesel wont work for you, power wise they are quite similar.., slightly modded i would say the diesel might make more power.

Consumption wise, the diesel will always be better, unless heavily modified.

Reliability for me all boils down to maintenance, if you take care of the vehicle you should not have major issues. Research problematic or troublesome areas of that specific motor and do preventative maintenance.
 

Turbo6

New member
Ok so we test drove the E60 530d, its really really good.

So good that we put an offer in on a black on black 07 Motorsport with 64,000kms and extended Motorplan to April 2014 or 100,000kms. If they give us a good trade in on the silver E39 Motorsport, we gonna do a deal!

Thanks for the feedback guys, looks like this time, diesel wins:thumbs:
 
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