BMW 520d SE review 2011
By Steve Hewitt, 19th October 2010
Despite my misgivings about diesels, even an obsessive compulsive petrol head like myself must admit that diesel technology has become the undisputed king of low cost, long distance journeys.
With rising fuel costs, increasing government car taxation (in an effort to save the planet of course) and the big bad global recession, private owners and businesses are being forced to find ways to reduce the cost of motoring.
In response to the economic and environmental changes, boffins in Munich have been busy working on the latest F10 shape version of the 520d in the hope that it will carry on the mantle of its predecessors as the best 4-cylinder diesel in its class.
Normally I'd be inclined to overlook the base spec model of any car, however this oil-burner is of major importance to both BMW and its corporate customers.
At the media launch presentation in the Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre, 5-Series Product Manager Michelle Roberts revealed that last year over 70% of the 10,000-odd e60 shape 5-Series sold were the 520d variant and 5,253 of them were corporate sales - considerably more than those of their counterpart in the Audi A6 and Mercedes E-Class camp.
On paper, it seems that this variant will not disappoint either. It is now quicker at the 0-62 mph sprint at 8.1 seconds (0.2 seconds faster than the e60 520d); more economical with a combined consumption of 57.6 mpg (up 2.2 mpg on the e60 520d) and greener with CO2 emissions now in band D at 129g/km. This is really not bad when you consider that the car is both bigger and heavier than the outgoing model.
The good news for prospective buyers doesn't stop there either: as a deal-sweetener, BMW is also including full leather and Bluetooth connectivity as standard, as well as Parking Distance Control and two-zone automatic air conditioning. This all amounts, by BMWs pricing to £2,230 worth of extra value in additional standard equipment and quite remarkably with all this gear, the new model has only seen a £20 gain in on the road price at £28,045.
A quick glance at the spec sheet of our test model revealed that the tested car was fitted with some £5,605 worth of additional extras including sports seats, sports leather wheel, usb audio interface, the business advanced media package, 18" alloys and variable damper control which adjusts suspension stiffness to one of three settings for comfort, normal and sports. There's a whole myriad of other options available including 8 speed automatic gearbox (£1495), parking assist (£560), four-wheel steering (£1300), night vision with pedestrian detection (£1480) that lets you drive like Michael Knight with your lights off and lane change warning (£460) so that you can cut up other cars with complete precision. Get carried away with the order form and you will quickly see the car prices reach extraordinary levels, which no amount of low fuel consumption will ever recuperate.
The good news is that one could easily become accustomed with the standard spec.
Visually, the e60 5 series was a true "Marmite car" with its Chris Bangle-inspired design cues. Love it or hate it, the design certainly got people talking and probably contributed to it being the best selling 5 series ever made.
Old-school BMW aficianados may see the new 5 as a throw-back to more traditional and conservative styling; of a type that is historically associated with the brand.
The cabin has ridiculous amounts of space but with a high and wide driver-facing central console and the same high door edges of old, the driver feels cocooned in his own special section of the cabin.
The central console is so big that operating the revised iDrive controller feels like I'm getting dangerously close to my passengers personal space. The 7" screen which it controls feels far away, on the outermost edges of my peripheral vision. I was always a fan of the old iDrive system and this revised version complete with shortcuts for common tasks is even better - certainly more preferable than the touch screen systems like the one in Jaguar's XF, which requires the fingers of a child and far too much "eyes off the road" concentration to use.
With key in pocket I hit the start button and commenced our 96-mile test-route along Oxfordshire's finest A and B class roads.
We drove down a section of bumpy private lanes, out of the eco-centre with comfort-mode engaged.
The damping system was soaking up most of the bumps with relative ease so I decided to increase our speed. As we reached the exit I remembered a well-disguised speed bump at the exit at about the same time as we reach the point where there was no use braking. With teeth clenched and eyes half-shut to prepare for a sharp head banging off the roof, suspension wrecking impact there was virtually nothing - no drama, no discomfort, no sump lying on the road. Phew...
Travelling along twisting A-roads with some gusto the car felt smooth and competent.
You still are aware that it‘s a big, heavy car and these qualities manifest themselves in the form of a degree of body-roll when you enter corners and there's also some understeer that accompanies aggressive high-speed turning but this can be corrected by turning in gently before a bend - you can shift the weight to the outside edge before powering through the bend at a good pace.
In sport mode, body roll is reduced significantly, steering tightened and the throttle is made more sensitive. Despite the heightened steering-sensitivity in sport mode, one can see that a noticeable downside of the improved economy is the presence of the EfficientDynamics electric power steering. Whilst perfectly weighted and delightfully accurate at translating the driver inputs, the same cannot be said about the responses coming back from the road to the driver. Ultimately, it‘s an issue that won't bother many drivers (in fact many would prefer it) but the more enthusiastic driver will never truly feel truly involved.
Peak torque of 380Nm is reached at the traditional figure of 1750 rpm and will stay at that level until 2750 rpm and provided you don't mind the gear changes, the light and easy-thrown feel of the 6-speed manual gearbox allows you to keep the engine in that sweet spot for maximum acceleration. However, slowing down under hard braking you are quickly reminded of the extra weight - keeping to a smoother pace, the brake pedal feels wonderfully progressive with none of the 'head through windscreen' hypersensitivities associated with other vehicles of this class.
My session of spirited driving had led to a combined figure on the computer of 46.7 mpg after some 50 miles and that's not bad considering that was over twisty A-road terrain. Settling back into some urban driving revealed the added economy benefits of the engine cutting auto stop-start at traffic lights. Maybe it's an emotional stigma from my days of TVR ownership but I have never felt confident in a car starting quickly, especially not when it's out of my control and at busy traffic lights.
Despite this, the system works very well and my best efforts to beat it with fast clutch and gearstick movement only resulted in my passenger melodramatically complaining of whiplash and making me look like a learner driver with kangaroo petrol. The Optimum Shift Indicator is a great addition (though ludicrously present in the latest M3), frequently advising me to change up, down or hold for best fuel efficiency - my only criticism is that it is hard to find and read on the dash especially in changing traffic conditions where it will prove most effective.
Settling onto a section of the M6 outside Oxford revealed an relaxed and effortless side, fourth gear acceleration from 50-75 takes 6.9 seconds but even 50-70 in sixth gear was perfectly adequate for the changing traffic conditions. There is a certain amount of low-resistance run-flat tyre noise, nothing out of the ordinary and easily disguised with a bit of music. It's safe to say that this is the driving environment this car was built for: easy to drive, comfortable and economical it is the perfect executive transportation tool for long journeys.
This car is actually the archetypal transportation tool but not what I would call an 'ultimate driving machine'. Whilst definitely best in class in terms of passenger space, acceleration and fuel economy, it lacks those important elements which stir a sense of emotion or connection between man and machine.
Sitting in the drivers seat, I imagined that I should be wearing a suit and thinking about my destination rather than enjoying the journey, whilst my subconscious executive mind secretly plots my renaissance-esque mid-life crisis complete with roadster and baseball cap. There is no real excitement, no external styling that will make people talk and no interior theatricals or intricacies that make you think "Wow! I can't wait to show this to my friends".
If you want a more complete package and can compromise on losing some space, I would spend a little more time looking at the stunningly beautiful 6-cylinder diesel Jaguar XF. However if you need a saloon with enough room for the family, capable of commuting huge distances every day with maximum efficiency or are being offered a 520d as a company car, then you honestly won't get any better but if I were you, I'd make sure that I had a hot hatch, a coupe or a roadster to help inject a healthy portion of driving thrills at the weekends.
