2020 BMW 520d G30 M Sport - Bluestone Metallic - 0-60 MPG
Discussion
Thought I’d start a Reader’s Cars thread for my newly purchased car, number 25 in my car history after recently parting ways with my B9 Audi S5 Sportback
Despite its capabilities I rarely got to use the performance, to the point where I didn’t feel the running costs were justified for me and started to lose interest in it. A fantastic car overall that I will surely miss, especially the noise, but the right decision for me.
I thought hard about what I might want to replace it with and had the following criteria:
-Better on fuel, otherwise it was not worth changing.
-Comfier ride, roads around here like most places have become worse than ever.
-Luxurious/Executive style – Or sales rep, depending on how you look at it.
-A touch cheaper, to get something back from the S5.
-I prefer German cars, so my focus was on Audi, BMW & Mercedes.
For my budget, which crept admittedly, I whittled it down to:
-2020ish on Audi A6 Saloons – I wanted an S Line with Virtual Cockpit as a minimum, there weren’t many about though and most were barren of spec. Was a bit of a non-starter.
-2020ish on Mercedes C Class – AMG, The final facelifted models with the nicer interior technology and front lights.
-2019ish on Mercedes E Class – AMG, Full widescreen displays rare at the price point and the standard dials are not pretty.
-2020ish on BMW G20 3 Series – M Sport, all came with the tech I wanted which was good but most had nil options and were probably ex fleet cars which could be a lottery. Not many about either.
-2017 on BMW G30 5 Series – M Sport, was prepared to have the first iteration for the right price but budget creep unlocked a select few with the mild facelift that came 2020 on before the full LCI which was quite a bit dearer.
Per the thread title, I decided to go for a BMW G30 5 series. From what I learned whilst looking, the first 2017 iteration has a digital dash and iDrive 6:
However In late 2019/2020 this was replaced with the more modern cockpit style digital dash and iDrive 7:
This might seem minor, but as well as the visual and functional improvements in the cockpit, the iDrive tech such as Apple Car Play is standard in the latter without the need for retrofitting.
Additionally, the later ones switched to the MHEV assisted engine, more on that later.
I was predominantly looking at the 20d engine as 6 cylinders weren’t in budget and I didn’t expect the 20i to be great on fuel. The PHEV would actually be great for my usage but don’t fancy one out of warranty. Additionally most have no spec.
After a frustrating search and missing out on a few (thankfully, worse!) cars, I’ve ended up with a 2020 520D M Sport.
The V5 States:
-That it is Blue. It isn’t….well, a little bit. It’s grey to most eyes.
-That it is a Diesel-Electric ‘Alternative Fuel Vehicle’!
Spec highlights:
-2.0D MHEV 190 RWD
-Bluestone Metallic
-M Sport Package
-Sun Protection Glazing
-Harman/Kardon Logic 7 Surround Sound System
-Individual High-gloss Satin Chrome
-Black Dakota Leather with blue contrast stitching
-664M 19” Alloy wheels in black (factory specced)
-iDrive 7 and the accompanying newer style virtual cockpit
At first I thought the black bits had been added, but decoding the vin has confirmed not so. It was all specced from new, including the wheels. The My BMW app also shows it as presented today. I wasn’t sure on the wheels but after seeing it in person I think its suits the car, especially with all the other black trim.
It was on slightly higher miles at 56k than I would have liked, but the condition inside and out along with the full BMW history, premium tyres and respectable ‘Since Factory’ MPG of 51 said a lot for the previous ownership. The price was also good, at least I think.
The drive is sublime – I think the 5 series is a really well rounded platform and actually owned an E60 530d some years back, fantastic car. I technically owned an E39 530i too, albeit for a day. It’s my 6th BMW overall.
The interior is gorgeous, looks and feels brand new, the tech is great and the sound system is next level. The Audi had Bang & Olufsen but it wasn’t patch on this, very impressed.
Seats are very comfortable and have a lovely blue stitching and M Performance colours subtly on show:
I’ve peaked at 61mpg on a motorway journey, averaged 59mpg across 200 country miles and have covered a whopping 750 miles on my first tank of fuel with an estimated 30 left in the range! It’s a far cry from my previous car in terms of economy, offset slightly by the fact it still has the premium car tax for another couple of years, that I had literally just stopped paying.
The MHEV has been fascinating. At first I understood it to be a Stop/Start you can’t turn off (button is removed!) but it’s a lot more than that.
Sport mode:
Drives exactly the same as a normal diesel in Sport mode, start stop is disabled. Sport ‘Individual’ allows you to customise the settings to ‘Comfort’ – This is my default mode as I’m, probably needlessly, concerned about repeated engine stop/starting.
Comfort mode:
The Start/Stop is enabled, as is intelligent coasting. This is pretty incredible – It uses maps, the camera and your proximity to cars in front and when appropriate puts the gearbox in neutral and actually turns off the engine. Across the first 750 miles, the engine was completely off for about 50 of them. It was particularly good on long downhill country lanes on the south coast. The two features combined means as you approach traffic lights and start to slow, the engine will turn off and you can adjust the brake pressure to roll to a stop. It means that the engine is off for far longer than it would be otherwise. If you let off on approach to a roundabout it will only coast if it makes sense to, otherwise it will engine brake/regen as normal so you hit the roundabout at optimum speed.
Eco Pro mode:
As above but more extreme, the throttle response is dulled so much I don’t think I’ll use it often.
Up to 10BHP from the motor assist is available under full acceleration, which I noticed changes the inner section of the speedometer blue when active. There is no ability to drive on purely electric, even slowly.
The engine seems powerful enough for most scenarios – obviously not a patch on what I’ve gotten used to but 99% of the time it doesn’t matter. The car is equipped with a ZF8 auto, just like the S5 – superb box, even smoother with whatever tune BMW have placed on it for the diesel. Refinement inside is top notch, the diesel can hardly be heard.
One thing that does take some getting used to is the combination of a mild regen with a gearbox – Lifting off the throttle entirely its sometimes a little harsher than you’d expect, so I tend to drive it more like an EV whereby a lift my foot off the throttle more gradually.
Since buying it, the weather has been dismal so I have very limited photos and its in need of a clean, but here are a few to kick it off.
The ambient lighting makes for a very cool interior at night:
So far I’ve done:
-A good interior clean, including several rounds of gently stripping all the crap that gets sprayed all over used cars. Dr Leather wipes on the seats worked great.
-New Bosch Aerotwin wipers, after two rounds of…you guessed it, stripping all the crap they sprayed on the windscreen.
-Some basic Carly coding – Default start mode set to Sport Individual, adjusted mirror dip strength, etc.
-Added 10 Litres of AdBlue, now has 16L which should last me 2 years.
-Bought a 'Gledring' Boot liner and matching all weather Mats
-...To go with genuine BMW roof bars and bike attachments for me E-MTB
And on the to do list:
-There is a broken slat on the kidney grill. The supplying garage failed to order the right part, instead delivering to me the massive ‘active grill’ part that sits behind it. I’ve ordered them direct from BMW and will be charging it back.
-Considering the facelift G30 rear lights – There are genuine options that require coding or aftermarket ones that don’t. On the fence might not bother.
-There is a small part of the interior trim that has lifted – seems common, on the hunt for a replacement part otherwise I’ll strip it back and wrap it in a similar material.
Thanks for reading
Despite its capabilities I rarely got to use the performance, to the point where I didn’t feel the running costs were justified for me and started to lose interest in it. A fantastic car overall that I will surely miss, especially the noise, but the right decision for me.
I thought hard about what I might want to replace it with and had the following criteria:
-Better on fuel, otherwise it was not worth changing.
-Comfier ride, roads around here like most places have become worse than ever.
-Luxurious/Executive style – Or sales rep, depending on how you look at it.
-A touch cheaper, to get something back from the S5.
-I prefer German cars, so my focus was on Audi, BMW & Mercedes.
For my budget, which crept admittedly, I whittled it down to:
-2020ish on Audi A6 Saloons – I wanted an S Line with Virtual Cockpit as a minimum, there weren’t many about though and most were barren of spec. Was a bit of a non-starter.
-2020ish on Mercedes C Class – AMG, The final facelifted models with the nicer interior technology and front lights.
-2019ish on Mercedes E Class – AMG, Full widescreen displays rare at the price point and the standard dials are not pretty.
-2020ish on BMW G20 3 Series – M Sport, all came with the tech I wanted which was good but most had nil options and were probably ex fleet cars which could be a lottery. Not many about either.
-2017 on BMW G30 5 Series – M Sport, was prepared to have the first iteration for the right price but budget creep unlocked a select few with the mild facelift that came 2020 on before the full LCI which was quite a bit dearer.
Per the thread title, I decided to go for a BMW G30 5 series. From what I learned whilst looking, the first 2017 iteration has a digital dash and iDrive 6:
However In late 2019/2020 this was replaced with the more modern cockpit style digital dash and iDrive 7:
This might seem minor, but as well as the visual and functional improvements in the cockpit, the iDrive tech such as Apple Car Play is standard in the latter without the need for retrofitting.
Additionally, the later ones switched to the MHEV assisted engine, more on that later.
I was predominantly looking at the 20d engine as 6 cylinders weren’t in budget and I didn’t expect the 20i to be great on fuel. The PHEV would actually be great for my usage but don’t fancy one out of warranty. Additionally most have no spec.
After a frustrating search and missing out on a few (thankfully, worse!) cars, I’ve ended up with a 2020 520D M Sport.
The V5 States:
-That it is Blue. It isn’t….well, a little bit. It’s grey to most eyes.
-That it is a Diesel-Electric ‘Alternative Fuel Vehicle’!
Spec highlights:
-2.0D MHEV 190 RWD
-Bluestone Metallic
-M Sport Package
-Sun Protection Glazing
-Harman/Kardon Logic 7 Surround Sound System
-Individual High-gloss Satin Chrome
-Black Dakota Leather with blue contrast stitching
-664M 19” Alloy wheels in black (factory specced)
-iDrive 7 and the accompanying newer style virtual cockpit
At first I thought the black bits had been added, but decoding the vin has confirmed not so. It was all specced from new, including the wheels. The My BMW app also shows it as presented today. I wasn’t sure on the wheels but after seeing it in person I think its suits the car, especially with all the other black trim.
It was on slightly higher miles at 56k than I would have liked, but the condition inside and out along with the full BMW history, premium tyres and respectable ‘Since Factory’ MPG of 51 said a lot for the previous ownership. The price was also good, at least I think.
The drive is sublime – I think the 5 series is a really well rounded platform and actually owned an E60 530d some years back, fantastic car. I technically owned an E39 530i too, albeit for a day. It’s my 6th BMW overall.
The interior is gorgeous, looks and feels brand new, the tech is great and the sound system is next level. The Audi had Bang & Olufsen but it wasn’t patch on this, very impressed.
Seats are very comfortable and have a lovely blue stitching and M Performance colours subtly on show:
I’ve peaked at 61mpg on a motorway journey, averaged 59mpg across 200 country miles and have covered a whopping 750 miles on my first tank of fuel with an estimated 30 left in the range! It’s a far cry from my previous car in terms of economy, offset slightly by the fact it still has the premium car tax for another couple of years, that I had literally just stopped paying.
The MHEV has been fascinating. At first I understood it to be a Stop/Start you can’t turn off (button is removed!) but it’s a lot more than that.
Sport mode:
Drives exactly the same as a normal diesel in Sport mode, start stop is disabled. Sport ‘Individual’ allows you to customise the settings to ‘Comfort’ – This is my default mode as I’m, probably needlessly, concerned about repeated engine stop/starting.
Comfort mode:
The Start/Stop is enabled, as is intelligent coasting. This is pretty incredible – It uses maps, the camera and your proximity to cars in front and when appropriate puts the gearbox in neutral and actually turns off the engine. Across the first 750 miles, the engine was completely off for about 50 of them. It was particularly good on long downhill country lanes on the south coast. The two features combined means as you approach traffic lights and start to slow, the engine will turn off and you can adjust the brake pressure to roll to a stop. It means that the engine is off for far longer than it would be otherwise. If you let off on approach to a roundabout it will only coast if it makes sense to, otherwise it will engine brake/regen as normal so you hit the roundabout at optimum speed.
Eco Pro mode:
As above but more extreme, the throttle response is dulled so much I don’t think I’ll use it often.
Up to 10BHP from the motor assist is available under full acceleration, which I noticed changes the inner section of the speedometer blue when active. There is no ability to drive on purely electric, even slowly.
The engine seems powerful enough for most scenarios – obviously not a patch on what I’ve gotten used to but 99% of the time it doesn’t matter. The car is equipped with a ZF8 auto, just like the S5 – superb box, even smoother with whatever tune BMW have placed on it for the diesel. Refinement inside is top notch, the diesel can hardly be heard.
One thing that does take some getting used to is the combination of a mild regen with a gearbox – Lifting off the throttle entirely its sometimes a little harsher than you’d expect, so I tend to drive it more like an EV whereby a lift my foot off the throttle more gradually.
Since buying it, the weather has been dismal so I have very limited photos and its in need of a clean, but here are a few to kick it off.
The ambient lighting makes for a very cool interior at night:
So far I’ve done:
-A good interior clean, including several rounds of gently stripping all the crap that gets sprayed all over used cars. Dr Leather wipes on the seats worked great.
-New Bosch Aerotwin wipers, after two rounds of…you guessed it, stripping all the crap they sprayed on the windscreen.
-Some basic Carly coding – Default start mode set to Sport Individual, adjusted mirror dip strength, etc.
-Added 10 Litres of AdBlue, now has 16L which should last me 2 years.
-Bought a 'Gledring' Boot liner and matching all weather Mats
-...To go with genuine BMW roof bars and bike attachments for me E-MTB
And on the to do list:
-There is a broken slat on the kidney grill. The supplying garage failed to order the right part, instead delivering to me the massive ‘active grill’ part that sits behind it. I’ve ordered them direct from BMW and will be charging it back.
-Considering the facelift G30 rear lights – There are genuine options that require coding or aftermarket ones that don’t. On the fence might not bother.
-There is a small part of the interior trim that has lifted – seems common, on the hunt for a replacement part otherwise I’ll strip it back and wrap it in a similar material.
Thanks for reading
Edited by joropug on Friday 8th March 22:41
Cheers folks!
Yes the MPG has astounded me - I had an F30 320d manual which would just pip this on a run but even around town this is better otherwise.
What’s hilarious to me is the worst MPG I can seem to get on my ‘normal routes’ is 40, whereby the best MPG I ever saw in my last car was 38!
I’m driving it mostly in sport individual so aside from the up to 10bhp motor assist , it should in theory be pretty similar to the non MHEV version.
Yes the MPG has astounded me - I had an F30 320d manual which would just pip this on a run but even around town this is better otherwise.
What’s hilarious to me is the worst MPG I can seem to get on my ‘normal routes’ is 40, whereby the best MPG I ever saw in my last car was 38!
I’m driving it mostly in sport individual so aside from the up to 10bhp motor assist , it should in theory be pretty similar to the non MHEV version.
) a few weeks ago and it was a lovely comfortable and quiet car. Now you’ve explained the MHEV, it also makes sense why it kept cutting out approaching traffic lights!Cheers!
For the windows I used two rounds of autoglym car polish - the trick is to really apply hard pressure when putting it on , it then dries and comes off easy with a microfibre.
Yeah the MHEV thing is pretty nifty although I’m in Sport Individual most of the time. It can catch you out, when you expect the car to slow down for a tight turn and it doesn’t.
For the windows I used two rounds of autoglym car polish - the trick is to really apply hard pressure when putting it on , it then dries and comes off easy with a microfibre.
Yeah the MHEV thing is pretty nifty although I’m in Sport Individual most of the time. It can catch you out, when you expect the car to slow down for a tight turn and it doesn’t.
I've had a 2019 520d Touring for nearly three years now, as a perfect all rounder I think it's pretty much unbeatable.
Very refined, high spec, great at lugging stuff about, quick enough for everyday use, average 44mpg daily driving and 67mpg on long motorway runs.
The only thing I would think of replacing it with would be a 540 Touring but there's not many about and those that are seem to be quite low spec, I'd really want the comfort access again.
The other thing is I much prefer the round dial dash, that later style just looks so cluttered up with needless information, and that really puts me off the newer model.
Very refined, high spec, great at lugging stuff about, quick enough for everyday use, average 44mpg daily driving and 67mpg on long motorway runs.
The only thing I would think of replacing it with would be a 540 Touring but there's not many about and those that are seem to be quite low spec, I'd really want the comfort access again.
The other thing is I much prefer the round dial dash, that later style just looks so cluttered up with needless information, and that really puts me off the newer model.
stevep944 said:
I've had a 2019 520d Touring for nearly three years now, as a perfect all rounder I think it's pretty much unbeatable.
Very refined, high spec, great at lugging stuff about, quick enough for everyday use, average 44mpg daily driving and 67mpg on long motorway runs.
The only thing I would think of replacing it with would be a 540 Touring but there's not many about and those that are seem to be quite low spec, I'd really want the comfort access again.
The other thing is I much prefer the round dial dash, that later style just looks so cluttered up with needless information, and that really puts me off the newer model.
There’s always reduced mode - can still have the map in the middle if you wish. If you hit BC it brings up full mode for 15s or so. Very refined, high spec, great at lugging stuff about, quick enough for everyday use, average 44mpg daily driving and 67mpg on long motorway runs.
The only thing I would think of replacing it with would be a 540 Touring but there's not many about and those that are seem to be quite low spec, I'd really want the comfort access again.
The other thing is I much prefer the round dial dash, that later style just looks so cluttered up with needless information, and that really puts me off the newer model.
Agree virtual cockpits, once you have them, feels odd being without them. I had the Audi virtual cockpit before this which was pretty good too.
v8notbrave said:
Surprised at your mpg, I have g31 520d non-mhev, not sport so skinny tyres and can't get above 45mpg even driving like a saint! Good write up
Seems unusual. I have a G31 530d RWD M Sport (20" wheels) and regularly get 50-55mpg on a run at 70mph - dropping to low 40s in city / urban areas.Maybe check your tyre pressures?
Nice car OP - mine is a late 2019, but pre-LCI, so got the digital dash. I'm also considering LCI rear lights. I did this on my pre-LCI F31 and it was fairly straightforward with the OEM wiring you get with it. But it did require coding.
Seems like you don't get a loom with G's, but might need to change pin outputs and the gutter stripping.
https://www.torqen.uk/brands/bmw-oem/77129-bmw-ori...
Stillstand said:
Seems unusual. I have a G31 530d RWD M Sport (20" wheels) and regularly get 50-55mpg on a run at 70mph - dropping to low 40s in city / urban areas.
Maybe check your tyre pressures?
Nice car OP - mine is a late 2019, but pre-LCI, so got the digital dash. I'm also considering LCI rear lights. I did this on my pre-LCI F31 and it was fairly straightforward with the OEM wiring you get with it. But it did require coding.
Seems like you don't get a loom with G's, but might need to change pin outputs and the gutter stripping.
https://www.torqen.uk/brands/bmw-oem/77129-bmw-ori...
Yeah I’ve been looking at the options. Someone on eBay with a lot of feedback does an all in package supply fit and code for £1000 but it’s a lot. If it was just the parts I’d do it then remove to recoup some of it when I sold the car , wouldn’t want to have it coded twice. Maybe check your tyre pressures?
Nice car OP - mine is a late 2019, but pre-LCI, so got the digital dash. I'm also considering LCI rear lights. I did this on my pre-LCI F31 and it was fairly straightforward with the OEM wiring you get with it. But it did require coding.
Seems like you don't get a loom with G's, but might need to change pin outputs and the gutter stripping.
https://www.torqen.uk/brands/bmw-oem/77129-bmw-ori...
The aftermarket ones look good but did see a video online where someone had flickering (probably the voltage check and can be coded out by Carly ) but more concerning, water ingress.
OEM:
Finally! Got to do my first wash on the car.
1) Bluestone Metallic is an absolute doddle to wash - My area has such hard water, dark cars are a nightmare.
2) The wheels are boss level hard however, knees hurt.
As you always do after a first wash, I noticed a couple of small imperfections and have a touch up stick ready to deploy. One bumper corner could do with a polish otherwise it's tip top condition.
As an aside the My BMW app generated this lovely Dull Men's Club infographic for me. Journey permissions weren't enabled the whole month but paints a pretty good picture. Achieving over 70mpg on a motorway journey was a particular highlight.
1) Bluestone Metallic is an absolute doddle to wash - My area has such hard water, dark cars are a nightmare.
2) The wheels are boss level hard however, knees hurt.
As you always do after a first wash, I noticed a couple of small imperfections and have a touch up stick ready to deploy. One bumper corner could do with a polish otherwise it's tip top condition.
As an aside the My BMW app generated this lovely Dull Men's Club infographic for me. Journey permissions weren't enabled the whole month but paints a pretty good picture. Achieving over 70mpg on a motorway journey was a particular highlight.
d_a_n1979 said:
That looks a superb car; lovely colour too...
Cheers! Yes really pleased with the colour, definitely see some blue in the right light but otherwise its a perfect shade of grey for my liking. Had some quotes for the rear light retrofit - it's a bit rich for my liking so won't go for that. Will consider aftermarket in the future but happy the way it is.
Lovely 5 series, and a great colour! Intended to buy a Bluestone G31 myself but the dealer I had an enquiry with sold it instead of coming back to me when it was prepped for photos.
Ended up with a white one with a better spec and had it for 2 years this month. Agree with the thread comments, such a lovely place to be, refined, comfortable and a great all rounder. 20d is far better than people would have you believe.
Ended up with a white one with a better spec and had it for 2 years this month. Agree with the thread comments, such a lovely place to be, refined, comfortable and a great all rounder. 20d is far better than people would have you believe.
Thanks for the comments. Agree the 2.0d is plentiful really, it never feels overly sluggish and the gearbox keeps the torque optimal.
Today I had a OEM BMW ICAM2 retrofit completed. Very pleased with the outcome, was completed by G A Retrofits in Southampton seemed very knowledgable and responsive to enquiries, thumbs up from me.
It’s actually BMW who supply these retrofit kits, with the OEM parts - the installer then just tells the car through coding a camera is installed.
Before
After
Tow Hitch mode also coded in - zoomed in
Today I had a OEM BMW ICAM2 retrofit completed. Very pleased with the outcome, was completed by G A Retrofits in Southampton seemed very knowledgable and responsive to enquiries, thumbs up from me.
It’s actually BMW who supply these retrofit kits, with the OEM parts - the installer then just tells the car through coding a camera is installed.
Before
After
Tow Hitch mode also coded in - zoomed in
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