BMW 520d
A new, more grunty and efficient oil-burning engine makes the 520d even more attractive
What's new? z The diesel 5-series saloon gets a new third-generation common-rail turbo-diesel that pumps out 177hp _ 14hp more than before _ yet on paper claims even nicer fuel consumption figure of 16.4kpl on the combined cycle.
Its efficiency is helped by the electronic six-speed automatic with joystick lever previously found in the petrol 525i.
New inside are standard beige colour leather seats contrasted by black door trims and ceiling fabric.
The swivelling front headrests are replaced by ones that adjust head support by means of a push button.
Other cosmetic nano-updates include keyless-go, side mirror and door pavement illumination and 10-spoke alloys (replacing five spoke ones).
What's cool?
zCoolest thing about it is the hot oil-burner churning out 350Nm of torque _ 10Nm rise over the outgoing version _ from a lower 1,750rpm to a higher 3,000 (previously 2,000 to 2,750).
This fatter and flatter torque curve makes the car even more responsive to your right foot and virtually diminishes turbo lag.
To speed up from a crawl in the city require even less throttle action and highway overtaking is also more effortless.
No real surprise here considering the capabilities of the same engine that's fitted to the smaller 320d and the heavier X3 2.0d a few months earlier _ as the 520d weighs only about a hundred kilograms more than the diesel 3-series.
Fuel consumption is noticeably better with the real world average of 13.3kpl in the city and 16.6 on the highway.
The new interior tone of beige and black is way better than the cold, hard-looking grey of late.
And cancelling the need to get the remote key fob physically plugged in on the steering column is one of the ergonomic messes Bee-em has finally sorted out.
The unusual head rest adjustment system with a button is more effective (and presumably safer) at keeping the desired position of head support than ones that swivel fore and aft.
What's not?
zWhat has not been sorted and would never be until a model change comes along is the challenging i-Drive multi-function control.
The voice command is still dumb _ say CD and it would ask you to say a name instead of turning on the CD player and it switches on the telephone whenever we say radio into it.
For B99,000 price increase, one might expect an addition of DVD/TV on top of the CD changer, but nope.
That might not be a fair judgement, though, considering you already get a brand new engine.
Buy or bye?
zIf none of the goodness and rationalities we've written about this car and most other oil-burners have convinced you to even try one, then please take a good look at the fuel costs comparison we've worked for you on this page.
When taken into account current fuel prices, the diesel is way over 40% cheaper than conventional petrol per kilometre travelled.
Even when if you use B9.9 cheaper E10 gasohol (currently heavily subsidised for a few months more under the desperate government inflation fighting economic package) that would still come out at a dearer B2.88/km (versus B2.01 of diesel).
While it is difficult to foresee the fuel prices after the six-month special subsidy, we can anticipate a near-worse case scenario by using this year's peak fuel prices.
As shown in the table with diesel costing more than petrol, the diesel running cost is still much, much cheaper.
With a price tag of B3.699m, the 520d is perhaps the best buy executive saloon out there.
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