BMW 520d Sedan Review by Diesel Driver

The new 2011 BMW 520d featuring a four cylinder turbo diesel engine delivering 185 horsepower and 280 ft-lb of torque (380 Nm) with emission levels of 129g/km of CO2 and a combined fuel consumption of 5.2 liters per 100km is reviewed by the Diesel Driver. This is the first time that BMW offered an eight-speed automatic gearbox has been matted to a four-cylinder powered vehicle. Let’s see how well it performs on this excerpt below:

The last 10 km (6.2 miles) of the B9 took us to the French border near Lauterbourg mid afternoon. At that point, the BMW 520d was using 7.7 l/100 km (30.55 mpg) after a drive of 152 km (94.4 miles). Since, except for the very beginning, our maximum speed was limited most of the time to 120 km/h (every Autobahn had two lanes + emergency lane), we only achieved an average speed of 127.2 km/h (79 mph).

While the handling of the 520d was excellent and the performance was more than acceptable given the relatively small displacement (2-liter) four cylinder diesel, it was disappointing to see the final fuel economy numbers.   Compared to the drive from Munich to Frankfurt, where the 520d used 6.2 l/100 km (38 mpg), the fuel economy on the drive to Sélestat was 7.3 l/100 km (32.22 mpg), an 18% increase in fuel usage. Our average speed was 117.6 km/h (73 mph) on a total distance of 266 km (165.2 miles).

Compare this to the following numbers we’ve seen on previous trips. In 2009, Jonathan Spira achieved the same fuel economy in the larger and heavier BMW 730d on a drive to Portorož. His average speed on that trip was 113 km/h (70 mph). Earlier this year, Jonathan and I drove the far more powerful BMW 535d to Bratislava and, with an average speed of 111 km/h (69 mph), it used three percent less fuel (7.1 l/100 km or 34 mpg) than the BMW 520d!

Read full review at The Diesel Driver