[roadske]

Hi all,

Been reading this forum for the last 6 months since I started looking into purchasing either a Mercedes E or BMW 5 series. Figured its my turn to contribute a bit.

Quick intro
I live in Denmark where we pay about 175% extra tax on cars, so you essentially pay for 2-3 cars when you purchase one. Premium brands are therefore not that common, and the car we would decide to purchase would be one we would keep for at least 5 years. I looked into getting a new car as our current was simply too small now that we've got a child. (Mercedes CLA). The wife also insisted it be a sedan, as she simply doesn't like the look of stationcars (Lucky me!). After much consideration it quickly ended up being between the new Mercedes E class and the new BMW 5 series.

Why BMW 5 series?
The new E class was a very nice car and was the first one i test drove. The interior/exterior looks good, but no matter how I looked at it, it just didn't do it for me. The best way I can describe it is, it felt like I was getting into a large car to drive around in, where as the new BMW 5 was like putting on a nice fitted suit - once you get in, it wraps around you and becomes a part of you. I know this is completely a personal choice, so I won't go into detail more then that, but obviously there were many different reasons why it ended up being the 5 series.

Specs
BMW 5 series 530D
Black Sapphire
M sport
Aluminum exterior trim
M sport interior trim
Nav pro
Digital display
Harmon Kardon
Black Dakota with blue stitching
Parking assistant plus
2 zone climate
Head up display
Auto sport - paddles
Adaptive LED Icon
Ambient lightning
Heat in steering wheel / front / rear seats
Driving assistant plus
20" 759i rims
Tinted windows (Not from factory)

Waiting for M Performance exhaust/sound for 530D - should be available this summer

Delivery!
We got the car on monday afternoon - all ready to go. Its my first BMW, so I figured the intro would be long. It ended up taking just 20-30 minutes. All in all I think its very easy to use the iDrive system.

Thouhts so far
Oh my. The engine sound and power is simply phenomenal. I haven't really accelerated hard yet, but its just smooth as can be. I've never driven a diesel, but it really doesn't sound like one. The interior is also very very nicely put together. All in all its a real head-turned and I simply love driving it.

The one thing that surprises me the most, is the automated driving/cruise control. I really thought that it would be mostly a gimmick, and we mainly purchased that package to get all the security features, but already now after 2 days, I've been using it a lot. Its easy to turn on/off and seems to work really good with the Danish roads at least.

Attached a few photos. If you have questions, just let me know.