BMW 520d Touring 2011 Review
A big luxury wagon priced below $100,000 sounds like a pretty good deal. How does BMW's 520d Touring measure up in reality?Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $92,800
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic paint $2000
Crash rating: NA
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 5.3
CO2 emissions (g/km): 139
Also consider:Mercedes-Benz E350 Estate, Volvo V70
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 2.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0
When it comes to serving the prestige/luxury wagon segment, nobody hedges its bets more effectively than BMW.
In addition to a range of SUVs (from new X1 that opens business below $45K through to the fast and furious X6M), the Bavarian marque continues to provide regular wagons as well. And it doesn’t stop there – BMW is also intent on filling another niche in the (well-heeled) family-friendly mix via the 5 Series GT maxi hatchback.
It would be a strange family indeed that didn’t find their needs catered for somewhere in the range.
Where regular wagons are concerned, the company’s two-pronged lineup is headed by the new 5 Series Touring offering a $138,900 (before on-roads) 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol version and a base four-cylinder turbodiesel sitting comfortably below $100,000.
The sub-$100K price for the 520d Touring gives BMW an advantage over Mercedes which, at this stage, offers the $108,150 E 250 CDI Avantgarde BlueEFFICIENCY and $138,100 3.5-litre V6 E350 Estate.
Once considered to be an automotive disappearing act in an astoundingly SUV-dominant era, the conventional wagon has disproved the naysayers with its continuing relevance. A decent proportion of new-car buyers are continuing to find station wagons suit their needs very nicely.
BMW’s new 5 Series Touring stands alongside its few competitors as a viable proposition for those who require the space, but don’t require the bulk of an SUV. A step up from the 3 Series Touring in terms of both passenger and luggage space, it expresses the same evolutionary design language as its sedan counterpart to avoid any workhorse connotations, while also offering a decent experience for the driver in terms of handling response and engine performance.
Our test car was the entry-level 520d four-cylinder turbodiesel version. The price (and performance) might be well below the 535i, but the 520d Touring presents pretty well. With a slinky body riding on snug-fitting, wheelarch-filling 17-inch alloys, it comes with a decent lineup of standard equipment including eight-speed auto transmission, automatic parking, rear-view camera, self-levelling rear suspension, satellite navigation, cruise control with braking function, head-up display, Bluetooth connectivity, power front seats and leather trim.
With a 2968mm wheelbase and an overall length a tad over 4.9 metres, the 5 Series Touring is bigger than its E60 predecessor, which shows up in both passenger and luggage space. All seats in place, it claims a commendable 560 litres of rear luggage space and opens up to 1670 litres with the three-way folding back seat laid flat.
The three-way split proves handy when loading up by allowing extra versatility when more than two passengers are on board. Unlike a conventional split-fold, it allows the choice of placing the luggage load-through on the centre, left or right-hand side of the car. On top of that, the 5 Series Touring gets a separate-opening rear window that enables loading of smaller items without needing to raise the tailgate.
All that said, the 5 Series Touring doesn’t, in practice, actually seem all that big. Packed to the max, it concedes space probably in part because the trimming-out of the side panels below the rear side windows affects usable loading width.
On the other hand the actual passenger compartment is a place to stretch out, thanks largely to the 5 Series having what BMW claims as the longest wheelbase in its class. It is longer overall, as well, than its Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate equivalent although it is quite a bit lower and slightly narrower.
To give another perspective, the 5 Series Touring is generally bigger (apart from slightly smaller width and height dimensions) than Holden’s Commodore Sportwagon.
Sitting aboard the 5 Series Touring there’s the usual BMW feel of slightly-sporty connotations with relatively low-slung, reasonably grippy seats and generous legroom front and rear. Long distances at the wheel prove to be comfortable and pleasurable.
The latest iteration if iDrive will be easily accommodated by BMW-familiar drivers but there’s the usual dearth of small load spaces. Even the double-flap centre console is cramped, and the glovebox is not much better.
Instruments and controls are intuitive enough, and the digital head-up display on the windscreen is handy and minimally distractive once accustomed to.
The 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel is tuned to the same level (135kW/380Nm) as in the 320d Touring so obviously there are some deficits due to the extra weight of the 5 Series.
It is slightly slower-accelerating than its 3 Series equivalent (8.3 seconds to 100km/h compared to 7.9 for the 320d Touring), although this is compensated by the slightly-better combined fuel consumption gifted by the eight-speed auto gearbox. A combined figure of 5.3L/100km is impressive for a reasonably swift, large luxury wagon and shows that new-generation regular autos can challenge even twin-clutch automated manuals for efficiency.
The lighter and smaller six-speed auto 320d Touring, by comparison, gives 5.4L/100km. CO2 emissions for the 520d are a bit better too, at 139g/km (142g/km for the 320d).
The bottom line is that the 520d Touring feels appropriately refined and responsive in regular, let’s-not-press-too-hard city and freeway driving, but is less enthusiastic when the accelerator is floored. It builds speed with a certain surety, but doesn’t exactly press occupants into their seatbacks.
BMW’s widely-used 2.0-litre diesel is smooth and muted to the point that it is close to undetectable on the open road. Only in low-speed or stationary situations where engine sound is reflected back to the car does the oil-burning chatter become noticeable – and then only minimally.
On-road refinement is on a par with what you’d expect too. Even without the optional four-wheel steering the 520d Touring combines an absorbent, comfortable ride with crisp turn-in and a sense of surefooted grip even on chopped-up roads. There’s enough torque from the engine to play a role in giving this big, 1.7-tonne wagon a balanced, overall sporty feel and the standard self-levelling rear suspension keeps it on an even keel regardless of the load being carried.
Runflat tyres provide some measure of security if a flat is sufffered on a dark, wet night but there remains some controversy over the ride quality compared with conventional tyres.
As of the time of going to press, BMW has not yet quoted an ANCAP safety rating for the 5 Series Touring, but it would be reasonable to expect a five-star figure given the rating applied to sedan versions.
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