BMW 5 Series Diesel range expands (520d & 535d)

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By Alborz Fallah | August 19th, 2010

BMW Australia has today announced the addition of the BMW 520d and 535d diesel variant to its 5 Series lineup.

To start the range the BMW 520d retails from $83,300* and features a four-cylinder turbo diesel that outputs 135 kW and 380 Nm of torque. This means a 0-100km/h time of 8.1 seconds whilst using just 5.2 litres of diesel per 100km. Interestingly the CO2 emissions are a ridiculously low 137 g/km.

New features on the 520d include 17″ alloy wheels, an eight-speed automatic transmission, electric power steering, Head Up Display and Park Distance Control (PDC) front and rear. The 520d also makes use of BMW EfficientDynamics technologies such as low rolling-resistance tyres, brake energy regeneration, and air vent control.

Moving up the range, the more expensive ($134,400) and more powerful 535d is powered by a straight six-cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine that develops 220 kW and a massive 600 Nm of torque. This gives an almost unbelievable 0-100km/h time of 5.7 seconds while using just 6.1 litres of diesel per 100km. CO2 emissions are marginally higher than the 520d at 162g/km of C02.

As well as all standard equipment on the 520d, the 535d also gains as standard: metallic paint, 18” alloy wheels, 8-speed sports automatic transmission with Steptronic, adaptive Bi-Xenon headlights including washer system, rear view camera, electric seat adjustment with driver’s seat memory function, sports leather steering wheel, Comfort Access System and 12-speaker HiFi system to name just a few.

BMW is bringing more and more diesel variants into Australia as 50% of its 2010 sales have been diesel powered cars (compared to 35% for the luxury market).

The 520d is already available and the 535d will land in dealerships in November.

Accountant

Wow 50% I think VW is 50/50 as well. Good stuff. We really need a better diesel variety in Australia.
Myron

Correct me if I am wrong, but is the top photo not of the outgoing 5 series?

Shak

Not outgoing. Its been replaced and killed.

Shak

Also on the 535i: By Twinpower, do they mean Twin Turbo, because with BMW’s naming conventions and their mix of TT and single turbo engines you never know nowadays.

Jon Leong

Its not twin Turbo. the new F10 535i uses the new N55B30 engine first introduce in 535i GT. It uses a single turbocharger with twin scroll technology.

The e60-535i, 335i and the 135i uses the older N54B30. This unit carry Twin Turbo but doesn’t have Valvetronic.

Stoney!

Actually the 600nm version is twin turbo…

Stoney!
delux

Diesel, not petrol.

Jon Leong

Dead, Berried and Cremated.

nickdl

That’s really stingy by BMW with the 520d. I know it’s the base model but for $83,000+ you’d expect electric seats, metallic paint and a reverse camera to be standard. They are in a $45,000 Falcon G6E!!!

Other than that nice cars with great engines.

The Realist

And LED tail lights can be found on $20K Toyota Corollas – what’s your point? Are Ford being cheap?

nickdl

LED tail lights, they’re a really great feature, jeez I’d pay $500 to put them on my Falcon.

Seriously how are LED tail lights at all useful to a car? At least a reverse camera and electric seats are of use to a driver.

http://www.greattrucksonline.com 4×4 Lifted Trucks

Good modifications in BMW
FB_1524401046

Last time I looked Ford still charged for metallic paint, at least in the early days of the FG G6E. They may have changed it since. If you want stingy, companies like Porsche charge even more!

nickdl

Look again mate…

laurie

Selecting white saves you a bit of money to get some other options actually looks nice in white

laurie

Devil’s Advocate

What gets me is that even “prestige” companies charge a considerable amount for metallic paint yet a more mainstream company like Mazda don’t charge for it at all, even on their cheapest car. Come to think of it, are there many other companies out there other than Mazda who don’t charge for metallic paint?

Shak

Many people have said this before. Mazda include the price of Metallic paint in the RRP of their cars. It has something to do with the figures that go to head office(or so i heard). When they say they dont charge, they dont charge any “extra” on top of the Driveaway price. It is all semantics.

WRONG,,,,,AGAIN!

WTF??

“ridiculously low 137 g/km”

Errrrrr, NO! UNDER 99g/km of CO2 is LOW

Stoney!

I think he meant ridiculously low for a 2 tonne car with a 3.0L engine…. and it is.

Stoney!

laurie

Went to see the 520d at Trivett BMW today would you believe $3600 for dealer-delivery charges in other words give it a wash WTF!!!!

laurie
http://Isuzu BarryHamburger

those fuel and power figures are spectacular
Chucky

Something that Caradvice forgot to point out is that the price of the 520d has increased from $76,000 to $83,000. Considering how much we get ripped off in this country by BMW and the fact that you are supposed to be saving over $5,000 in luxury car tax because of it’s low fuel consumption, I find this an outrage! I hope they lose sales because of this to teach them a lesson, because increasing the price of your base model by that much when it is already overpriced and the Aussi dollar is very strong against the Euro is uncalled for.

Devil’s Advocate

It is not just BMWs Chucky….
http://Tesla laurie

Yep chucky told them not interested may wait for a demo model down the track

http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/69858.gif Ricky

I’ll take my i45 over a 520d anyday. It’s 45 grand cheaper, yet more powerful and faster, has larger 18″ alloys, memory seats, and panaramic sunroof. Oh, and it looks a hell of a lot better too.

David

Ricky you are a retard! The BMW is light years ahead in terms of dynamics, technology and driving pleasure.

http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/69858.gif Ricky

Yeah, and it’s got a noisey and rough diesel under the bonnet. My petrol engine is far smoother and quieter. 148 kW versus the Beemer’s 135. Beemer does 0-100 in 8.1 seconds – the i45 can beat this. People in the US have clocked theirs at under 8 seconds.

Devil’s Advocate

So I guess when/if Hyundai release the i45 with their cracking R series diesel you will be bagging it out??? After all, it will have a “noisey (sic) and rough diesel under the bonnet”…

http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/69858.gif Ricky

The i45 will NEVER have a diesel. It’s a car designed for North America and Korea, where there is no interest in diesels. It won’t be sold in Europe.
Devil’s Advocate

I guess time will tell…..

HJP

Ricky, do you realise that you are comparing prestige BMW to cheap Hyundai, are you out of mind? It’s totally different class and different segment. And also it’s a diesel and you compared it with a petrol engine? Of course diesel sounds harsher but it is now much more refined than before. You may want to ditch your i45 after driving 5 Series. Let alone the new 5 Series, previous 5 Series still miles ahead than your Hyundai.
Igomi Watabi

They sold a diesel version of the Sonata, why would they not sell a diesel version of the i45?

Judging by what I’m hearing about the i45′s dismal dynamics, I don’t think I’d choose it over a bundle of other cars the same price, let alone if I had the cash to splash on a Beemer.

http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/69858.gif Ricky

Well that diesel Sonata was aimed at the European market, which failed. Hyundai learnt their lesson and they are basically ditching the Sonata in Europe. There will be an i40 with a diesel for Europe, but no i45 diesel.

Krish

Ricky, 0-100 and kw’s are only one measure of a cars performance. In my opinion, real world performance is more so measured by torque, as well the the ability for the vehicle to not only go quick in a straight line, but also how it handles around corners. If you were to put the beemer and the I45 side by side and race them around a track, I will guarantee you that the BMW would have the Hyundai for breakfast. The Hyundai is a great value for money family car, but if your budget for a sports luxury sedan was $80K-$90K, I am quite sure that the cars in your scope would be names like, Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. Dont get me wrong, all the cars I have just mentioned are very over priced in Aus, but comparing a Hyundai to a BMW in general just isn’t right. Hyundai is a vehicle that appeals to the masses, BMW is a vehicle that appeals to a specific target market, being the affluent, (or a small percentage of whom are just wankers ). If you wanted to do a fair comparison, try comparing the beemer to a Genesis. Essentially Hyundai’s answer to what Lexus is to Toyota.

bangel

And the i45 comes standard with mashmallow handling , yes no extra charge.
Devil’s Advocate

The i45 may have more power than the 520d (a huge 13Kw), but it is NOT faster. Hyundai quote 9.5 sec for 0-100, the 520d is quoted as 8.1. Not to mention it is well known that BMW are very conservative with thier performance figures. I am not very good at maths etc, but in my world 8.1 seconds is quicker than 9.5. This just demonstrates that power is not everything, torque and gearing have a lot to do with it as well. I would also hazard a guess that the BMW would absolutely slaughter the i45 even more in “real world” rolling acceleration by putting the extra 130Nm or so of torque and two extra gear ratios it has to good use.

It isn’t even worth mentioning the difference once you reach the first corner…….

Don’t get me wrong, the Hyundai i45 is great value for money and is more than half the car the 520d is (going by cost), however it still can’t get anywhere near the driving feel of a 5 series BMW. It is not regarded as one of the best 4 door sedans in the world by the majority of the motoring press for nothing…

http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/69858.gif Ricky

Where are you getting this 9.5 second figure from? Sounds way off to me. I don’t believe Hyundai publish the figure, but motoring magazines in the US have clocked it at much faster than that in the 0-60mph sprint. This is only equivalent to 96.5 km/h so it’s not directly comparable but gives one an idea.

Igomi Watabi

have a look at the road test in the latest Wheels.
laurie

Have you thought about resale value Ricky!!

laurie

http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/69858.gif Ricky

What about it? A $90,000 BMW will lose $10k per year in depreciation. What kind of resale value is THAT?
Charles

By my calculations that’s 11%. I guarantee you will lose at least that, if not more on the i45 over a 1 year period.

Igomi Watabi

pity, the diesel Sonata was judged by a couple of blokes I know here at the local dealer as the pick of the Sonata engines.

You’re right, the Czech-built i40 will be the Euro Sonata replacement. Doesn’t sound like they’re ditching the failed Sonata concept, more tailoring it to the demanding European market, rather than the American market, with their emphasis on soft ride over real dynamics.

And, I don’t know, sounds like the move to a Euro-built i40 over the Sonata/i45 is the result of the undercooked Sonata failing generally, rather than the diesel variant specifically, as you suggest.

What exactly are your objections to diesel engines, anyway. Your noisy and rough excuse is becoming increasingly irrelevant with modern diesels.

bangel

Time to read sept w##### mag sept i45 last in the comparo against the japanese , not mentioned in the same breath against BMW .
BillionaireBot

You can keep your i45, peasant. We don’t need your type ruining the BMW image for the rest of us.
http://www.facebook.com/peter.zaharis Peter Zaharis

I have to admit in some ways I agree with Ricky here.
Of course the i45 and the 5 series are competing in two different categories but I think the Korean brands will start to push some of the “up market” brands.
They are releasing good cars that are packed with features at reasonable prices. I was reading an article today about the BMW x1 that only comes with a single cd player and faux leather interior on their top line model. All of which you can upgrade but on options.
Now you compare that to the new Sportage where their top of the line is 20k less and comes with a lot more.
I think people will start looking at “bang for their buck” options.
I admit the way the BMW drives is light years ahead of the i45 but the question is will people really care? For ordinary people driving the thing will they really be able to tell the difference or will they be more interested in the extras that they will use everyday?
Now will this effect BMW sales? Probably not because people will still by a BMW simply because it is a BMW.
But I am hoping that maybe it will start to bite into sales and the more upmarket brands will reconsider some of the ridiculous things they charge you for and the amount they charge.
Golfschwein

If I could (and I can’t, sadly), I’d gladly go one of these 520ds in white with no options. Those are amazing figures for a car of this size, and the best looking Beemer for years.
Ralph

Ricky,

Get your hand off it and do some work.

Cheers,

Ralph