What’s hot?
- EfficientDynamics emissions of 119g/km without the eco/budget stigma…
- …and the corresponding benefit of a company car tax rate of just 18% and £30 (Group C) vehicle excise duty.
- Those benefits are shared even by the automatic transmission version of this car.
All the performance and tax busting emissions carry through to the automatic - More than adequate real world performance backed up by 184hp and an 8.1 second 0-62mph sprint time.
- And you can have all this performance and company car tax-busting emissions in desirable M Sport trim…
- …now enhanced further by range updates in the styling department such as door mirror indicator repeaters, a lower air intake, LED light strips in the rear lights and more wheel and paint options.
- Plus interior tweaks such as chrome highlights, better storage and better cup holders.
- The previously optional Business Navigation is now standard, even for the 520d…
- …while every model gets BMW Emergency call for the duration of its life, a nice backup in the event of mishap.
- The suspension has been smoothed slightly over the previous 520d, making it more compliant on UK roads.
What’s not?
- You pay almost £3k for the M Sport looks, while the standard 520d, from £31,530, is still handsome.
- BMW’s canny options list is still seductive and expensive, but you knew that already.
- It’ll take an expert to spot that this is a revised BMW 5 Series: it’s a mid-life facelift, not a radical departure.
- As you might predict, the real world, combined mpg is more likely to be around 45-50 mpg than the claimed 62.8mpg.
- You’re going to blend in with all the other 5 Series M Sports out there, despite the LED rear lights.
