2006 BMW 530d 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. 

All the other 5-Series are petrol powered but this one could be the best of a good bunch for all round, everyday driving.It also backs up as a competent luxury sports sedan offering superb dynamics and perform- ance if you choose to go there. Straight six, 3.0-litre alloy diesel engine offers V8 performance and four cylinder economy. Has massive amount of readily accessible torque (480Nm) facilitating surprising turn of speed from a standstill through the mid-range to the top end. Power is 160kW. Sounds like a petrol six (when you can hear it) Best economy with mixed driving is 7.5 litres/100km. Cutting edge engine technology features DOHC design with 24 valves, high pressure fuel injection with multi jet nozzles and refined turbo. Passes Euro 4 emissions regulations. Engineers went to great lengths to save engine weight. Steptronic six speed auto has all the answers. Never gets caught out and offers sequential change mode. Love the active steering that alters its gear ratio according to road speed - the best of both worlds. Brimful of luxury equipment but plenty of options available. Leather, climate control, premium audio, electric driver's seat adjustment and adaptive headlights included in package. Safety matches luxury with eight air bags, multiple electronic controls including ESP and all the other acronyms. Fabulous thing to drive, really rocks when you want it to go. Rips through corners with flat stance, dives deep under brakes. Accommodation for five inside and a large boot too. Becoming accustomed to whacky I-Drive controller for electronic functions. Styling grows on you. It's been around long enough for people to appreciate it for being avant garde. Costs $113,500 _ a lot of pesos but it's one of those cars you could buy and still be happily driving in 10 or 15 years.VERDICTEverything it's cracked up to be _ great performer, light sipper, stable, luxurious, safe. The wheels even look good.    

It is staggering news in a luxury class where customers are paying at least $92,900 to drive away in a new Five and $114,500 — or more — for the new diesel pin-up.Few of these buyers would be worried about the price of petrol, or how much they spend on their star new car.Yet more and more of them — BMW Australia says its 20 per cent prediction could be conservative — are taking the diesel road.BMW says they are attracted by the obvious fuel economy and the extended pump-to-pump refuelling range, but also by the growing refinement in the company's diesel engines.That refinement, it says, comes in everything from the engine noise to all-round performance.It is not the only carmaker finding extra friends with diesel.Peugeot and Mercedes have done well in a limited way with diesels in the past, but things are picking up and even Jaguar is doing a diesel in its S-Type — a direct rival to the Five."It is slowly catching on. But it is already an overwhelming success in our X5," BMW Australia managing director Franz Sauter says.BMW has a huge hit in Europe with its 3-Series diesels, which are sold for performance as much as economy, and it trumpets the technical work on the 530d.The 530d 3.0-litre motor is a classic BMW inline six, with a turbocharger to force-feed it.The car can accelerate to 100km/h in a respectable 7.2 seconds, thanks to 160kW and 480Nm in a flat plateau from 1750 to 2750 revs.The diesel motor is never going to match the 8000-plus rev range of the M3 and M5 supercars, but it is more flexible than a diesel truck and its redline is in the 4000 range.To put the 530d in perspective, the sporty 530i cuts only a 6.7-second time from 0-100km/h, so few people will notice the difference.And the D-car feels stronger in a way, because it gets its pace from torque. That means you can feel a solid push from just above idle speed.Fuel economy is obviously a big plus with the 530d, and BMW says its combined test figure is 7.5 litres/100km with a 900km-plus range between refuels."Fuel consumption is comparable to a much smaller, less powerful car," Sauter says.But the D-car is still a Five, which means all the usual BMW luxury equipment and safety gear.So it has a "smart" airbag package with front, side and head bags, dynamic stability control, traction control and anti-skid brakes with dynamic control for maximum stopping power.Obviously it has power steering, auto airconditioning, alloy wheels and BMW's latest iDrive computer system, automatic headlamps, rain-sensor wipers, leather upholstery, 10-speaker sound, power windows and mirrors.Options include an M Sport package with 18-inch alloys, spoilers and sports suspension.ON THE ROADThe 530d is one of the nicer-driving cars we have had through the test garage. It is low-key, no-stress, enjoyable and effective.It takes a bit of adjustment after driving some of BMW's high-revving sports sedans, but it is surprisingly quick. And it does the job without forcing you to think like a racer.Everyone on our test team, except one, has come to like the latest new-age diesels because they are pacey, refined and make sense.You don't have to be anti-social or aggressive, because a diesel does the job with monster torque and that means you always have plenty of thrust. So a stoplight run can be surprisingly quick.It helps to have a classy six-speed automatic behind the engine, with touch-change control for manual driving, but the engine itself is impressive, with lightweight construction, hi-tech electronics and even a 17:1 compression ratio with a redline beyond 5000 revs.The economy is great. We got an easy 8.4 litres/100km with some spirited driving. Long-distance highway work would probably take the figure down into the six-something range.That means more than 1000km between fuel stops, though we can't understand why a litre of diesel often costs more than the same sip of premium unleaded.The 530d is surprisingly responsive. Diesels usually take plenty of winding up, but the turbodiesel in the Five has solid response and gets going from low revs.You can definitely wind it out between corners and the power is good enough to make it feel like a proper BMW sports sedan.The engine is the best turbodiesel we have tried. It does not have the all-out surge of some of Benz's big motors, or the economy of some of the smaller French diesels, but it is an engine that will continue to win many friends.The rest of the 530d is as good as any Five, though we continue to dislike the iDrive computer controller.It is tough to find direct rivals to the 530d, but all the Euro brands will eventually bring their full diesel range to Australia. The current E-Series Benz is not as refined, but the Audi A6 quattro is a sweet car.The test car came close to $140,000, with extra gear including adaptive cornering lamps. We enjoyed the equipment in the sports pack but were less impressed by the turning lamps and the sunroof.Still, the Five is a good car and the diesel engine gives it a new edge.THE BOTTOM LINEProof, and plenty of it, that driving a diesel can be more than just a fuel economy choice for long-distance trips.78/100