530d M Sport Auto 4dr Saloon

Armchair on wheels....

I have the BMW 530 M Sport Auto, 16 plate. I do a fair amount of motorway mileage and find the car drives beautifully. Presently, I am getting 42 mpg which I think is very good for a 3 ltr engine. Previously, I had a 330 M Sport Estate and the step up to the 5 series is most noticeable in two areas. Firstly, the ride quality as the 5 series is so much more composed; where the 3 series bounces around the 5 series is steady and cosseting. Secondly, whilst I found the 3 series comfortable, the 5 series trumps it. The seats are deeper, there is more legroom and the driving position with the large centre console provides for a relaxing journey. Despite driving 300 or 400 miles a day sometimes, I still feel reasonably relaxed on my arrival home.
Now the negatives. The interior, is very conservative and lacks the wow factor of a Mercedes. The car comes with BMW's sat nav and idrive. I call the sat nav "Traffic hunter" as it's absolutely useless IMHO. It seems to seek out the worst traffic jams. It's hopelessly dated, in one instance taking me to a petrol station which had in the interim been redeveloped into a 10 storey block of flats. The radio is poor too; fiddly and difficult to store and find stations.
Finally, my experience of the local BMW dealers has been poor. Shoddy bodywork repairs, c***py dealership premises dissuade me from using them. Instead I used one of HJs recommended independents for a service.

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