2007 BMW 520d Reviews

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the 2000, 2003, 2010 and 2015 BMW 5 Series sedan and wagon as a used buy.

Graham Smith reviews the BMW 5 Series from 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 as a used buy.

The BMW 5 Series is a medium-large German machine that’s aimed as much at the sports sedan market as at the buyers of luxury saloons.Older 5 Series are rather smaller inside than you might expect. That’s chiefly because it has rear-wheel drive and the engine is set well back in the bay, meaning the gearbox is beside your feet. Recent cars, since about 2004, are better off in this respect, but it’s still wise to try all seats for size.Handling is enhanced by the near-perfect weight distribution that’s the result of rear-wheel drive and the engine’s position. This is a car that feels just wonderful; seemingly the harder you drive at a bend the better it feels and responds.The really clever thing is that this sports handling is achieved without upsetting comfort. Some of the worst of Australian roads may catch it out at times, but it generally makes light work of rough surfaces.The great majority of BMW 5 Series sold in Australia are four-door sedans, but in recent years we seem to be joining our European cousins in choosing station wagons. Called ‘Touring’ wagons in BMW speak, these have a reasonable carrying capacity, though, as is often the way in the boutique-wagon class the slope of the rear end does restrict the entry of bulky objects.Engine performance is good, even from the models with relatively small capacity. The non-turbo straight-six with a relatively small size of 2.0 litres, but has enough performance for many owners. The silky smooth nature of the straight sixes is excellent.Big capacity BMW straight-sixes are some of our all-time favourite powerplants, providing effortless performance and a willingness to rev that’s delightful.Many recent BMWs have turbocharged four-cylinder units that have plenty of torque. Though the engineering to minimise turbo lag is impressive, they still don’t provide the near instantaneous response we have loved in BMW non-turbo engines for many decades.Rounding out the petrol engine range are superb V8 units. Big on power and torque they are much loved by enthusiastic drives. Their fuel consumption isn’t as high as you might anticipate as they are an excellent design.BMW Australia was one of the early adopters of turbo-diesel technology downunder. These have become increasingly popular over the years. Turbo lag is better than average, but can still be a pain at times. But once that lag has gone and you’re into the big-torque midrange, you will love the endless grunt they provide.Insurance can be expensive due to the cost of parts and the high status of trained repairers. So if you are moving up from a more mundane car to a BMW for the first time, shop around on premiums before becoming over-committed to the dream car.Spare parts and repairs are about average in price for a vehicle of this type and prestige rating.BMW is well represented in most major areas in Australia. Some factory-trained BMW mechanics have since left the company and set up independent repair shops. They don’t have the same factory contacts as the official dealers, but are often highly regarded by owners. This is certainly not a car for the amateur mechanic to attempt to work on.WHAT TO LOOK FORCheck on the insides of the front wheels and brake callipers for excessive brake-pad dust. That may be a sign of a hard driver.Make sure all electronic and electrical items are operating correctly. Use the owner’s handbook to make sure you find everything as these are among the most complex cars on the planet.Look over the car for body damage and previous repairs.Be sure the engine starts virtually immediately and idles smoothly from the moment it fires up, even when it’s stone cold.The engine should accelerate without hesitation and not blow smoke from the exhaust, no matter how hard it is worked.Automatic transmissions should change smoothly and, except for some changes on big throttle openings, should be all but impossible to feel.CAR BUYING TIPIf moving upmarket to a European car after a series of sensible low-cost Asian models make sure you budget for the high cost of servicing and repairs. 

Since the introduction of diesel-powered vehicles began with the introduction of the X5 in 2003, BMW diesels have risen from just 671 vehicles to 3342 or 21 per cent of total sales.In some models, such as the X5, it represents up to 70 per cent of sales.Now BMW has added its first four-cylinder diesel engine to the X3 and 5 Series to bring its total diesel models to seven.And, for the first time, they are the entry level vehicles in their range.The X3 2.0d costs $62,900 and the 520d $79,900.They join the 120d ($48,000), 320d ($56,700), 530d ($115,000), X3 3.0d ($75,900) and X5 3.0d ($96,300) with the most powerful diesel model, the 200kW/565Nm twin-turbo X5 3.0sd arriving early next year costing $102,800.In Europe, BMW offers diesels in every model range except the Z4, including a new twin-turbo 210kW 645d coupe and convertible.However, BMW Group Australia public relations and corporate communications manager Toni Andreevski said he could not foresee a 6 or 7 Series diesel coming to Australia as it was not what customers wanted.The third-generation two-litre turbo diesel engine powering the X3 and 5 Series is a lightweight unit with an all-alloy block and cylinder head.It produces 125kW of power and 320Nm of torque and on the national launch, along dusty roads in the Victorian wine district, the engine proved a worthy addition to the dynamic BMW range. Being lightweight, yet torquey, it does not make them nose heavy nor do they seem to be outweighed by the cars, even the 1750kg X3.There was no dramatic understeer, while oversteer could be easily provoked past the corner's apex with a judicious amount of throttle, thanks to the torque on tap.Fuel economy for the X3 is claimed to be 7litres/100km, but we recorded about 8l/100km on the launch, while the 520d is claimed to be 6.1 and we recorded 7.1.They are still good figures considering the vigorous driving they copped on the launch.BMW also claims the emissions from the vehicles are just 162g/km for the 520d and 185g/km for the X3 thanks to a particulate filter on the exhaust.The engines are also particularly quiet and smooth, even at idle with the bonnet up.There is the usual clattery sound, but it is not as loud or obnoxious as some other diesels because they are fitted with two balance shafts.A few revs brings the noise down even further and, surprisingly, when given full throttle there is not the usual disharmonious double-sound.Instead, there is a muted, almost V8 burble.Both vehicles are mated to six-speed automatic transmissions, which are smooth and fast in auto or manual sequential mode.The X3 comes with the same level of specification and equipment as the 2.5si petrol model which includes front and rear parking sensors, stability control, hill descent, six airbags, leather seats, rain sensing wipers, auto headlights, cruise control and more.The 520d comes with eight airbags, Dakota leather, control display with colour monitor, USB connection for iPod and more.  

Some people can recite all 50 American states alphabetically, others every rugby league premier side since 1908. There are rumours of a person who knows the second verse of the national anthem;  though surely this is incredible.If you really want to bore at an international level, though, try learning every variant of BMW.In past half decade this carsguider alone has driven almost 50 of the blue-and-white-badged models from the puny and pointless 118i to the future-is-here Hydrogen 7.The latest two to reach us; though not even yet the last due this year; happens to be, in their way, the best the Bavarian has offered in 2007.'Best' not because they're the quickest or necessarily the most desirable. Rather because by the mad-money standards of the marque,  they're affordable and sensible both economically and ecologically.And they provide decent dollops of the 'sheer driving pleasure' BMW goes on about in the ads.The entry level models in their respective ranges, the X3 2.0d SUV and 520d sedan both use the same updated and highly effective four cylinder turbo diesel.BMW's junior diesel is a gem. Just as the 3-litre six cylinder version challenges the bigger of the marque's own petrol engines; the 2-litre four potter takes it right up to the smaller capacity petrol sixes.The third-generation all-alloy unit produces 125kW at 4000rpm and a hugely handy 340Nm from as low as 1,750rpm. Compared with the former engine, it offers a 20kg weight saving, a power boost of 10kW and a fuel saving of 10 per cent, while emitting 185 gram of Co2 per kilometre.From January it will also be available in the 120d and 320d. In X3 form, though, it represents the best metal-for-the-money package BMW offer here.That is, of course, skewed by Australia's deranged tariff regime under which the behemoth X5 3.0d starts $30K under the same-engined 5 Series sedan.Even so, in this package the X3 begins to look like more than a shrink-wrapped and cut-rate X5, a criticism that's dogged BMW's medium SUV since its inception.This new sense of legitimacy is helped by the $62,900 tag, which puts it at a significant remove from the bullying bigger brother. It's a price point that's almost reasonable, one that could conceivably tempt punters who go for top end Japanese SUVs.While flirting with the options list is a bit like taking a high class call girl to a casino; ruinous and expensive, the 2.0d gets by just fine without gratuitous embellishments such M-Sports kit et al.It gets by even better because like the 520d in standard form, it's free of the runflat tyres that BMW insists are the best thing since internal combustion but which every New South Welshmen with dental fillings dreads for their rigid ride on our rubbish roads.If the X3's cabin is starting to look a bit dated the driving experience remains clicks ahead of any comparable vehicle.Such body roll as there is in this tall, 1750kg BMW informs rather than distract during cornering. In default mode, the X3's permanent all-wheel-drive provides a 40/60 torque split, but will shove it all to one end or the other in extremis.It's hard to imagine any such contingency this side of certifiable behaviour, with a dynamic stability and traction control program that reacts with calm authority even on such loose surfaces as we encountered.It's a measure of the unbearable lightness of steering these days that some found the BMW's just a bit heavy. In fact, it's meaningfully weighted and entirely appropriate to an SUV that designed for driverly gratification before all else.Me? I'd much rather have a 320d wagon if such a thing was to be had here. Yet even an avowed loather of SUVs could roam the X3's natural suburban habitat without feeling a complete turncoat.And if the X3's performance/economy equation is good (a 9.6 second 0-100km/h sprint time meets 9.7 litres per 100km combined cycle) the 520d gets more of both out of the same engine.A 'proper' BMW, with the rear wheels driven and the weight distribution about even, it takes about five Kms of B-road driving before you wonder why the 523i costs $5,000 more.At 8.6 seconds, the 520d is almost half-a-sec quicker to 100km/h from halt. At 6.1 litres per 100km, it cruises 3.2 litres per 100 k more economically.If progression off the mark isn't exactly linear; the turbo's split second hesitancy feels longer when turning into traffic, the mid-range rush more than compensates. When spooled up, progress in this allegedly lesser 5 Series is seriously sharp, to the extent that you'll want to re-check speed when entering a corner. So composed is this chassis that you're almost always travelling faster then it feels.Quixotically the base 16s and optional 19-inch M kit tyres are conventional jobbies, while the intermediate 17s and 18s are runflats. Stay with the standard-fit rubber (the 5 Series has a temporary use spare anyway) and be reminded why BMWs remain the keen steerer's choice of the prestige Germans.There might be nine variants of the 5 Series alone, but the base model provides a good reason not to bother learning about the others.Snapshot BMW 520Dprice: $79,900engine: 2.0L/4-cylinderturbo diesel; 125kw/340Nmeconomy: 6.1L/100km (claimed)transmission: 6-speed auto BMW X3 2.0Dprice: $69,200engine: 2.0L/4-cylinderturbo diesel; 125kW/340Nmeconomy: 7L/100km (claimed)transmission: 6-speed auto BMW 520D: a flirtatious beginning