The updated BMW 520d gets more equipment and minor styling tweaks, we assess the improvements.
There's a lot of safety kit. The 520d gets eight airbags, full leather interiors, a sunroof, paddle shifters for the gearbox, electrically adjustable front seats with memory, electric steering adjustment, Bluetooth and USB support, fuel-saving engine stop-start system, iDrive and a rear-view camera. There's also an aux-in port, dual-zone automatic climate control and an electronic parking brake. We did wish BMW would offer a full-size spare wheel though.
This 520d is powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine that produces 181bhp and 38.8kgm of pulling power. This is channeled through the same fantastic eight-speed automatic gearbox, and as before, the shifts are quick and smooth.
The BMW’s engine lives up to the car’s billing of being fun to drive. It revs very easily, spins effortlessly (for a diesel), and power delivery is quick and snappy, no doubt helped by the gearbox. However, the noise that accompanies this performance is a bit too much for a luxury car in this segment, and we’d have liked more refinement. It is quite efficient though. On fuel economy, the 520d managed to return 10.3kpl in the city and its 70-litre tank means you can expect to go at least 700km between fill ups.