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#1
Hi All TAINs
My new Blue Beast has arrived. Let the pictures do the talking first
Many Thanks for the congrats and I will now embark upon the actual ownership review.
I was invited for the launch of the new 5 series in mid October. It was a gala event on a lazy Sunday afternoon at the Mahalaxmi Race Course Turf Club. The new 5 was unveiled amongst great fanfare and it was truly an amazing piece of engineering. My love story with the 5 goes way back 1997 when I was working abroad and always dreamt of owning one. The new 5 was captivating and I instant longed to have one. However, once I saw the price list my enthusiasm died down.
At the launch I met many of the Infinity execs as well as their director and as the discussion topic strayed to the special offers on the outgoing 5. Everyone is aware that the car market is currently on a slow track and any sale is a good one. The very next day Winston Dias (Infinity Sales Executive) showed up to my office with the 525d for a test drive. I was considering the 520d nevertheless decided to test the 525d. Dimensionally the 520 and 525 are the same. The engine power and torque is higher and the 525d is more feature rich. We also reviewed the various features of the 525d and the major differences w.r.t. the 520d. Featurewise the 525d provides Navigation and a large screen (one of the most important points for me as I am now used to having the Navigation system). It also has the paddle shifters which is fun to use on long drives. After the test drive my conclusion was if I go for the 5 it has to be the 525 or 530. 530 was out of budget so the only choice left was the 525d.
This time I was clear that I will go for the 5 only and no wavering on this decision. Since this was the outgoing model choices of colors were limited. The only criteria from my end was the interiors which should be Oyster. Any dark outer shade would be fine. Fortunately there was one car in Deep Sea Blue with Oyster/Black interiors and I was hooked on. Then came the call on the buy back price of my 328i. The initial offer given was not good, so I chose not to proceed on the 5 and got going with my work. Nevertheless Winston used to call me up frequently and then he gave me an option of park and sell. This means I need to give the car to the dealer who will exhibit it in his showroom for a couple of days. This generally gives a better resale price and I decided to give it a try. The attempt was successful and I got close to my expectations for the 328i. the deal was finalised and we moved ahead to close the 525d.
All the paper work was done with extreme efficiency and speed and true to their word the car was delivered on Sunday. The actual process took only 3 days which included payment of Octroi, PDI and registration. Hats off to Infinity was manging the whole process with smoothness and efficiency.
On Sunday morning we went to take delivery at about 10.30am. All the paperwork was ready and the customary pooja and photographs were completed. By 11.30am I was out of the showroom in my gleaming blue beast. It was a dream come true for me and I was in the 7th heaven.
True to its claim the 525d is extremely silent from inside and runs with an amazing agility. The pickup is great (although slower than the 328i) but the fit and finish is truly world class. The seating position is electrically adjustable for the driver and front passenger and also has memory settings. I am still exploring the various features. The European model I understand has more features which is sadly missing in the Indian version. Nevertheless it is a great buy especially with the special discounts offered for returning customers. The car is huge and I am being careful while maneuvering in the crowded Mumbai roads. It will take me a couple of days to get acustomed to the size. Despite the size its turning radius is very good. I have still not got an opportunity to take it on the highway and hopefully should be able to do it this weekend.
What I love about this car is its large airy interiors and the quality of the materials used. While I was a little skeptical about the Deep Sea Blue, my worries vanished once I saw it gleaming a ready for delivery.
I have driven the car for only about 80kms till and only one word describes it - FANTASTIC. The car glides through speed breakers as if they dont exist and the best description which my son gave was - "This car's ride is so smooth that grandmother (my mother) went of to sleep for the first time in any car". This happened yesterday afternoon when we were returning home after a not so heavy lunch. It is truly a great car to drive.
The 525d has been provided with a remote control for the audio system. It is a boon especially if one is being chauffered in the car. It is also a great tool for my children to control the type of music to listen to.
I will post in more experiences as I clock in more km.
I have posted many pictures at the start of this review and I am hoping to get a feedback from fellow TAINs.
My new Blue Beast has arrived. Let the pictures do the talking first
Many Thanks for the congrats and I will now embark upon the actual ownership review.
I was invited for the launch of the new 5 series in mid October. It was a gala event on a lazy Sunday afternoon at the Mahalaxmi Race Course Turf Club. The new 5 was unveiled amongst great fanfare and it was truly an amazing piece of engineering. My love story with the 5 goes way back 1997 when I was working abroad and always dreamt of owning one. The new 5 was captivating and I instant longed to have one. However, once I saw the price list my enthusiasm died down.
At the launch I met many of the Infinity execs as well as their director and as the discussion topic strayed to the special offers on the outgoing 5. Everyone is aware that the car market is currently on a slow track and any sale is a good one. The very next day Winston Dias (Infinity Sales Executive) showed up to my office with the 525d for a test drive. I was considering the 520d nevertheless decided to test the 525d. Dimensionally the 520 and 525 are the same. The engine power and torque is higher and the 525d is more feature rich. We also reviewed the various features of the 525d and the major differences w.r.t. the 520d. Featurewise the 525d provides Navigation and a large screen (one of the most important points for me as I am now used to having the Navigation system). It also has the paddle shifters which is fun to use on long drives. After the test drive my conclusion was if I go for the 5 it has to be the 525 or 530. 530 was out of budget so the only choice left was the 525d.
This time I was clear that I will go for the 5 only and no wavering on this decision. Since this was the outgoing model choices of colors were limited. The only criteria from my end was the interiors which should be Oyster. Any dark outer shade would be fine. Fortunately there was one car in Deep Sea Blue with Oyster/Black interiors and I was hooked on. Then came the call on the buy back price of my 328i. The initial offer given was not good, so I chose not to proceed on the 5 and got going with my work. Nevertheless Winston used to call me up frequently and then he gave me an option of park and sell. This means I need to give the car to the dealer who will exhibit it in his showroom for a couple of days. This generally gives a better resale price and I decided to give it a try. The attempt was successful and I got close to my expectations for the 328i. the deal was finalised and we moved ahead to close the 525d.
All the paper work was done with extreme efficiency and speed and true to their word the car was delivered on Sunday. The actual process took only 3 days which included payment of Octroi, PDI and registration. Hats off to Infinity was manging the whole process with smoothness and efficiency.
On Sunday morning we went to take delivery at about 10.30am. All the paperwork was ready and the customary pooja and photographs were completed. By 11.30am I was out of the showroom in my gleaming blue beast. It was a dream come true for me and I was in the 7th heaven.
True to its claim the 525d is extremely silent from inside and runs with an amazing agility. The pickup is great (although slower than the 328i) but the fit and finish is truly world class. The seating position is electrically adjustable for the driver and front passenger and also has memory settings. I am still exploring the various features. The European model I understand has more features which is sadly missing in the Indian version. Nevertheless it is a great buy especially with the special discounts offered for returning customers. The car is huge and I am being careful while maneuvering in the crowded Mumbai roads. It will take me a couple of days to get acustomed to the size. Despite the size its turning radius is very good. I have still not got an opportunity to take it on the highway and hopefully should be able to do it this weekend.
What I love about this car is its large airy interiors and the quality of the materials used. While I was a little skeptical about the Deep Sea Blue, my worries vanished once I saw it gleaming a ready for delivery.
I have driven the car for only about 80kms till and only one word describes it - FANTASTIC. The car glides through speed breakers as if they dont exist and the best description which my son gave was - "This car's ride is so smooth that grandmother (my mother) went of to sleep for the first time in any car". This happened yesterday afternoon when we were returning home after a not so heavy lunch. It is truly a great car to drive.
The 525d has been provided with a remote control for the audio system. It is a boon especially if one is being chauffered in the car. It is also a great tool for my children to control the type of music to listen to.
I will post in more experiences as I clock in more km.
I have posted many pictures at the start of this review and I am hoping to get a feedback from fellow TAINs.
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