525 Diesel BMW 2016 review

[ugene425]

Dear readers,

I am about to buy the above estate. I was looking at the 520 D but the spec on the 525 D is very good. Hence why I am looking at buying it.

Has anyone here owned one? Coming from owning a 4.0D X5 (which I’ll sell) I think I’ll enjoy the better fuel economy.

From what I understand on the F11, the 525 D has a twin turbo, the 520 has a single turbo. Any reviews on here would be most welcome. I have three kids so the extra poke on those long journeys would be most welcome.

Thank you 😊

[d_a_n1979]

Same N47 twin turbo engine I've got in my 2015 F31 325D M Sport

You need to ensure its been well serviced & maintained with regular oil changes

They're a superb engine IMO; it suits my F31 really well...

However, personally. If I were going for an F11, I'd want the 530D. It suits the car much better, again, IMO

But if you do go for the 525D give it a solid test drive and ensure that it runs smoothly and that the ZF8 goes through the gears as smoothly as they should

[ugene425]

Thank you for your post.

The 530D I think would be somewhat wasted on me as I’m trying to save a bit on the economy/car insurance too. The 525 seems to be in the middle and has enough poke to cart a family of five around on long journeys without my wallet always taking a hit at the pumps etc.

The car I’m buying does have a full service history and will have a new service (oil filter etc) and fresh MOT prior to buying. 36,000 miles for a 2014 plate - pretty good for under £20k I think.

[bolide]

I'd go for a later 530D which has been driven consistently. 36k in nearly 10 years is a bit odd. How many times has it been serviced?

[ugene425]

It’s been serviced 7-8 times all with BMW.

530D would be too uneconomical for me I think. I’ve been advised it is thirsty.

[d_a_n1979]

ugene425 said:

It’s been serviced 7-8 times all with BMW.

530D would be too uneconomical for me I think. I’ve been advised it is thirsty.

My 730D would do around 25 normal driving and an easy 40+ on the motorway

The F11 is a heavier car to the F31; the 2.0D lump will work well; but the 5 series deserves the refinement & smoothness of the N57 IMO

[smashy]

Ugene fwiw my F30 30d was always sleightly better economy wise than my N47120d

on 700 mile travelling around Cornwall round trips for example my N47 120d averaged 44mpg both times. My F30 330d twice was 45 and 46 mpG ,even my current car an F30 335d did it in 44mpg same as the 120D

Edited by smashy on Sunday 6th August 15:39

[d_a_n1979]

smashy said:

Ugene fwiw my F30 30d was always sleightly better economy wise than my N47120d

on 700 mile travelling around Cornwall round trips for example my N47 120d averaged 44mpg both times. My F30 330d twice was 45 and 46 mpG ,even my current car an F30 335d did it in 44mpg same as the 120D

Edited by smashy on Sunday 6th August 15:39

That's good going...

My 325D managed 49MPG on the road trip to and from the Highlands... No idea what it does around town though; we only do low miles, so never worry about economy

[bigdom]

ugene425 said:

Thank you for your post.

The 530D I think would be somewhat wasted on me as I’m trying to save a bit on the economy/car insurance too. The 525 seems to be in the middle and has enough poke to cart a family of five around on long journeys without my wallet always taking a hit at the pumps etc.

The car I’m buying does have a full service history and will have a new service (oil filter etc) and fresh MOT prior to buying. 36,000 miles for a 2014 plate - pretty good for under £20k I think.

That's seems really quite toppy in terms of purchase price. The difference in MPG between that and the 530d of that era is about 4mpg, I don't believe you'll see much saving on a 525d over the 530d on running costs, both will be mid to late 40's. Both comfortably better than an x5 40d, my mates sees about 30mpg in his.

[ucb]

Long term average on my F11 530d LCI is 42mpg (over approx 50k miles)

Short journeys and being more aggressive with the throttle will see it down to 32mpg, but I've seen over 50mpg on a slow long dual carriageway run

[bigdom]

My father man has just had to stop driving (86). Over the years, he had gone for progressively slower cars than he had had in the past, last 20 years predominantly in BMW's.

He's just sold his 2019 G30 2L diesel (longest time he had ever owned a car). Average of 47.3mpg over 34k miles