2014 BMW 520d auto estate- MPG !!!

[IceBoy]

Hi All,

I have had the use of a virtually brand new (9k on clock) BMW 520d Msport auto, for the last 2 weeks.

I was actually thinking of changing to this car next year to replace my daily hack. Probably go for a 2013 model.

Anyway, mixed driving 50% local, 25% dual carriage ways and 25% motorway, all at sensible speeds has returned........35mpg!

I was expecting 50mpg+.

As a comparison my E320cdi - estate - auto, 2004 returns 36mpg.

So is there something wrong with this particular car??

IceBoy

[Pickled Piper]

My saloon gets 37 to 45 in mixed driving. They get better as the engine loosens up with use. Yours was the heavier estate.

I have read about people getting 50+ but assume that is with a well run in vehicle and cruising all day at a steady speed.

[GroundEffect]

That's about what you should get with your driving style.

The reason it's the same as your 10 year old Merc is that the emissions regs for NOx are so stringent now (hello VW) that they make the mpg even worse...

[Wills2]

No way would you get 50mpg with that driving profile, 75% motorway then yes but not 50% urban.

[jjr1]

Wills2 said:

No way would you get 50mpg with that driving profile, 75% motorway then yes but not 50% urban.

This is absolutely true. Diesels and town work don't mix but get them out on a motorway and they are very miserly.

[PTF]

I have a 2009 325d auto and so far it's doing 45 mpg according to the OBC with 50% dual carriageways, 30% A/B roads and 20% local journeys and town.

I take it fairly steady with only a little hooning.

When i first got it i drove like a granny and got 50 mpg, but it was hard work.

One thing i've noticed is that there's very little difference in mpg between cruising at 60mph on the motorway compared to 80mph. 60mph delivers a little over 50 mpg, but 80mph only seems to drop that to around 45mpg.

[cerb4.5lee]

I found when I had my 2009 520d estate was that because the actual car was pretty heavy(even unloaded) the 4 pot diesel has to work hard to cope with its weight, although I did used to see around 42 mpg on a 44 mile a day commute.

I think for something like a 5 series estate you are better off with a bigger and more gutsy engine working less hard because apart from motorway cruising that 4 pot diesel engine isn't really up to the task for me.

[kmpowell]

Cold weather also hammers MPG on diesels. If the temp is anywhere from 0-5deg then expect a c10% reduction in the usual figure.

[rsbmw]

I've got a 2014 saloon, my average is 44.5 with most of my driving being a cross country A/B road 30 mile commute, with plenty of start/stop through towns. On a run it will push 60mpg, very rarely is a journey below 40mpg.

[Prizam]

I really don't understand why anyone would bother with a diesel. 10 year old 4.5V8 auto here, getting an average of 22MPG over simaler driving mix. But i'm not going slowly. And i have my bum heated and massaged.

[AC43]

IceBoy said:

Is there something wrong with this particular car?

No, the engine always sounds like that, sorry.

[MrBarry123]

AC43 said:

IceBoy said:

Is there something wrong with this particular car?

No, the engine always sounds like that, sorry.

[cerb4.5lee]

AC43 said:

IceBoy said:

Is there something wrong with this particular car?

No, the engine always sounds like that, sorry.

Its a shame they are so noisy and unrefined and on top of that if they don't offer decent MPG(only redeeming feature)...then its enough to lose the will to live, I wanted to smash my 2.0d engine to bits most days and that was giving me 42mpg...

Its a lousy engine for certain...I found walking more rewarding

[harrykul]

I get rubbish mpg on mine (2015) too. 40.1 is the best I've got, and it took a journey from Cambridge to Cairnryan to achieve that! Pants.

[hornetrider]

Every time I slightly waver and consider poking pins in my eyes (buying a diesel) I read one of these threads and think 27 point something out of my V8 isn't so bad after all.

[J4CKO]

Prizam said:

I really don't understand why anyone would bother with a diesel. 10 year old 4.5V8 auto here, getting an average of 22MPG over simaler driving mix. But i'm not going slowly. And i have my bum heated and massaged.

Well, I follow that doctrine but most 2 litre diesels will double that economy so the fuel cost is half over a years.

It does fall down a bit though as diesels are more expensive to buy as a rule and have a greater propensity for expensive failures.

I think there is an utter terror at paying for fuel or doing less than 30 mpg out there and all the other costs are brushed aside.

Then you get people driving more than they should, doing really short journies.

But the fact remains, diesels are much better on fuel, but it doesn't follow that they are cheaper to run if you take the whole cost into account, I knopw someone who spends 20 odd grand every couple of years to buy a diesel Audi to do 8k a year then trades it in for half that which, if money was such an issue, why not just buy a cheaper car ?

[harrykul]

J4CKO said:

I knopw someone who spends 20 odd grand every couple of years to buy a diesel Audi to do 8k a year then trades it in for half that which, if money was such an issue, why not just buy a cheaper car ?

So many people about like that- what an odd mindset! I sometimes wonder what they would think if they actually wrote some numbers down on paper showing what they are doing...

[WestyCarl]

I've got the SE version and have an average of 41mpg. This can vary from 30ish up to 50mpg on a long run.

[J4CKO]

harrykul said:

J4CKO said:

I knopw someone who spends 20 odd grand every couple of years to buy a diesel Audi to do 8k a year then trades it in for half that which, if money was such an issue, why not just buy a cheaper car ?

So many people about like that- what an odd mindset! I sometimes wonder what they would think if they actually wrote some numbers down on paper showing what they are doing...

I was talking to someone who when I pointed out a specific supermini as a possible candidate that they couldn't buy that as It had the "expensive tax" which is apparently £130, surely when spending eight grand on a car, your whole decision shouldn't be on whether it costs £11 a month in tax.

Then complains as car bought struggles with hills due to the woefully underpowered engine.

Someone else doing 70 miles each way, 4 hours a day in the car, £20 a day in diesel agonizing over various models with the highest theoretical MPG, just perhaps look for a job nearer home, or move house ?

A bloke I know complaining about being skint, says he has to take a USB stick to his daughter 100 miles away at Uni, throws a sickie, does the 200 mile round trip but doesn't think of using the internet to send said files ?

Lot of logic around fuel consumption and prices, little about anything else in some cases.

[Ares]

IceBoy said:

Hi All,

I have had the use of a virtually brand new (9k on clock) BMW 520d Msport auto, for the last 2 weeks.

I was actually thinking of changing to this car next year to replace my daily hack. Probably go for a 2013 model.

Anyway, mixed driving 50% local, 25% dual carriage ways and 25% motorway, all at sensible speeds has returned........35mpg!

I was expecting 50mpg+.

As a comparison my E320cdi - estate - auto, 2004 returns 36mpg.

So is there something wrong with this particular car??

IceBoy

Biggest factor there is how you drive during your 50% local. If you accelerate hard, brake hard etc, then you will shatter any decent mpg. Round town/school run/shop run/sat in traffic driving I get c40. That rises to 50 on a motorway run.

If I have a few days of nailing it, driving it hard, using max acceleration etc etc, that figure can plummet - near half if I've been using all available HP


Ditto the Mrs' MINI. When I drive it, same roads, same conditions, I get 20% less mpg than she gets.