[Guest Test Driver] Portugal 1000-kilometer Deep Test Drive-BMW5 Diesel Touring Travel Edition_Use car, Use car

[Guest Test Driver] Portugal 1000-kilometer Deep Test Drive-BMW5 Diesel Touring Travel Edition

EllisHugh

August 15, 2024

Catalogue

Lisbon Sixt picked up the car, but accidentally upgraded by surprise.
BMW520dTouring is not that kind of amazing, but wise aura.
Not sacrificing the sense of thread for the sake of practicality is the wisdom of the 5-series travel version designer.
It is said that BMW has two weaknesses: interior manufacturing stereo, really?
With a mileage of 1000 kilometers, feel the advantages and disadvantages of 520d
Lisboa-Sintra-Tomar-Porto-Roca
520dTouring, practicality first, exercise later.
My own summary, the subjectivity of objectivity

Spring Festival holiday in 2020
I chose Portugal as my holiday destination.
By Lisbon
Travel along Highway A1 to Porto
And then return to Lisbon from the other side.
Such a journey by train can be basically feasible.
But car rental will be more convenient, time-saving and cost-effective.
As early as when I was writing my own strategy.
It has been decided to book a car at the car rental platform.
It is different from the choice of Golf in Germany last year.
This time, I chose a BMW as a travel car.
BMW 520d Touring .

BMW 5BI 5 Series Intermediate sedan
520 represents the emission of 1995cc
D stands for diesel diesel engine
Touring represents the station wagon of BMW.
As far as we know, China is not keen on diesel engines.
The diesel version of BMW popular in Europe is not introduced.
However, in Portugal itself,
Car rental, however, can only choose the diesel version.
Then it makes sense.
Try the diesel version of the 5-series station wagon!

Lisbon Sixt picked up the car, but accidentally upgraded by surprise.

With a 15-day itinerary, it only takes seven days to write a car. In fact, it takes only seven days to rent a car on the domestic car rental platform and choose the Sixt that has been used all the time. I originally booked the BMW X2 as a travel car. After arriving at the store, because I had to be dispatched from another store, it was automatically upgraded to BMW 520d Touring, and I only made a profit by driving a new car of three thousand companies.

According to my own itinerary, after picking up the car, I drove directly to Sintra Sintra, 138km away. (this article is not a travel note, but there will be another post to report on it.) it began a 7-day deep test drive of 1000 kilometers.

BMW520dTouring is not that kind of amazing, but wise aura.

Yes, there is no shortage of 5 series in our country, which is not amazing at all, but if it is the travel version of Touring, the choice of a few people always feel a bit more personality, self-confidence with disdain for others’ perception, and a different wisdom aura.

The Touring version and the Saloon version are in the rear of the car, and the front face is the same.
The same horizontal headlights, in which there are LED headlights (common in China, but high-end in Europe), the front bars are the same, and the family-style air intake grille makes this 5 look quite energetic. (it can only be written in this way that the BMW 5-Series, which is common in our motherland, does sometimes make people aesthetically numb.)

As mentioned earlier, the beauty of the Touring version lies in the tail, but the tail of the travel version is the most difficult part of the design. The concept of station wagons has long been popular in Europe and America, and the United States is more like the ancestor of station wagons, which was originally born for the migration of many citizens across states and provinces. As early as the 1960s and 1990s, products seemed to favor the latter in terms of beauty to practicality. the initial concept was that since customers pursue more practicality, it should not be a problem to sacrifice a little bit of beauty, and this concept has changed with the times. In the late 1990s, Volkswagen and Audi developed the direction of “the most beautiful station wagon”, which sublimated the concept of station wagon and pursued a more balanced design concept. To be both beautiful and practical, it has been proved from the entry of another model, the Shooting Brake hunting car, that in the general broad customer base, a small number of people will pursue more personalized models to match themselves.
In this group of individual people, the use of travel version of the practical function is actually not much, more is to highlight the personal attitude towards life.

Not sacrificing the sense of thread for the sake of practicality is the wisdom of the 5-series travel version designer.

The side lines of the 520d Touring, which are not bloated for practicality, are still BMW’s lines.
With the 5-series iconic taillights, it is cleverly and comfortably connected with the side and back waistline to the rear. On the one hand, it can be seen from the taillights that it is the BMW 5, and on the other hand, the large hatchback layout of the travel version does not destroy the special consistency of the 5 series.

The length of the car, which is a little more than 4.9 meters, looks like a BMW-style slender as a whole. Of course, in the German brands of the country of cars, the old competitors, such as Audi’s A6 Avant and Mercedes-Benz’s E-Estate, are not weak. This battle may exist forever, but only the proportion of their respective markets has changed.

It is said that BMW has two weaknesses: interior manufacturing stereo, really?

I have always been a philanthropist when it comes to cars. My concept is that any brand has a reason worthy of our respect, however, every brand also has something missing. I like to appreciate rather than dig at my shortcomings.

When I entered this 520d, it was basically the same as the domestic 5 series, but the language was converted into English. The first feeling is that it is a very BMW. I really do not think there is anything wrong with the construction, but it is relatively common and simple in terms of materials. There will be a lot of plastic, which is actually acceptable. After all, this one is a car rental and it is not necessary to have a comprehensive high-end configuration.

On the whole, the ergonomics is reasonable, the size and strength of the steering wheel is moderate, and the position of the piece is handy. BMW’s 8-speed electronic transmission lever has always been well received and the position is also in place. The dashboard is a modern popular 12.3inch LCD screen, while the central control has another 10.25inch tactile display screen, which is used to control the setting of the car. But this rental car does not have CarPlay, which is a little strange, as far as we know, there should be, but it does not show up after the connection.

The seat is comfortable, the design is a little simple, and so is the back seat, and the location space is just enough.
The 520d system connected with Bluetooth on the phone can listen to music, but this 520d does not upgrade the sound, the effect is really not very ideal, just like the legend.

With a mileage of 1000 kilometers, feel the advantages and disadvantages of 520d

People’s first impression of BMW is still in the big feeling of “riding a Mercedes-Benz and driving a BMW”. In fact, times have changed. Mercedes-Benz is as easy to drive as now, and BMW is as comfortable now.

When I got this 520d, I had no time to appreciate and understand it at all. According to my own schedule, I was already on my way on the highway, and there were still three destinations ahead.
Portugal is the westernmost part of Europe, Lisbon is close to the coastline, there are many Rain Water in the coastal waters, the car has drizzled, and when it gets on the highway, it slowly turns into heavy rain.

Driving a medium and large sedan like the 520d, it’s no big deal on a rainy day, but it would be better with an X Drive.
Portugal’s roads, mostly built on mountains, part of the coast, winding, there are wide and straight sections, but also ups and downs of the two-lane mountain road, very interesting, no wonder BMW put the new M235i media test drive here!

It is said that the start of 520d is clean and neat, but it does not belong to a strong sense of push. 1995cc equipped with Twin Power diesel turbocharged engine, 190hp and 400Nm torque, 0-100km is 7.5s, not very impressive data, driving on the highway is also a mid-stream team. Instant acceleration still feels powerful, but not for a long time. The acceleration linearity falls back quickly, which is the high torsion characteristic of diesel engines.

Always 20T, exhaust is quiet, basically quiet, high-speed and stable, constant-speed cruise is easy to use, everything is in your hands.
Like many rival cars of the same class, it provides different driving control electronic programs, Comfort comfort, Sport sports, Individual customization and so on. I change according to the road conditions on the highway, but it is not too obvious, and the conversion mode is also synchronized with the instrument display to increase the look and feel. I think it is set for the fun of driving control, while the actual acceleration and faster response is more visual than actual, with a little improvement. But don’t expect too much.

Lisboa-Sintra-Tomar-Porto-Roca

In the total distance of 1000 kilometers, there are highways and mountain roads, and is the mountain road competent for this 4.9-meter station wagon?
BMW always gives people the impression of excellent manipulation, which is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and I am no exception. However, on my return trip to Tomar, I tried sports mode for a while in a narrow, winding environment, which was not bad, but not as good as I had expected.

The steering wheel has a good sense of road response, clear direction, comfortable return force, the ideal of turning the corner, and sharp gear up and down with a pick. Although it is not a double clutch, the ZF8 speed gearbox is really good, which I have already learned in my Maserati.
The suspension is awesome, the overturning is not very obvious, and there is a kind of solid feeling, however, there is always a feeling that it is a little less than perfect. Compared with the same door 3-series 4-series, the 5-series Touring is still slightly less smart, not because of the length of nearly 5 meters, Maserati has the same length, it feels smart. I think it’s because of the difference in the aerodynamic data of the tail of the Touring, plus the fact that it’s not X Drive.

And long-distance driving 318 km to Porto, the seat support comfortable, do not feel tired, the road is wide and narrow, generally overtaking is OK, but not outstanding.
In fact, the 520d control is not bad, but the comprehensive 20T diesel engine, without X Drive, nearly 5m Touring version of the body, and the old rival’s A6 Avant,E Class Estate performance is the same, it is difficult to win.
Another complaint is that this 520d has a small turning radius and is not as crisp as its rivals in these narrow roads in Europe.

520dTouring, practicality first, exercise later.

If Mercedes-Benz belongs to elegance and Audi belongs to avantgarde technology, then BMW should be a sport.

The 5-Series Touring of BMW, if it is 550d or 540i, is sports plus practical, while this 520d, I will define it as practical plus sports. During my trip, I visited several cities with two 28-inch suitcases and a push case. The rear of the 520d Touring is really powerful, with a capacity of 570L.

In terms of use and experience, 520d is not the kind of luxury and elegance, but simple and wise. Compared with the domestic 5 series, the European version still feels solid, and the workmanship seems to be about the same, but the feel is still a little different.

My own summary, the subjectivity of objectivity

I can say bluntly that I will not pay for this 520d.
The main reasons are:
1. Like everyone else, I am not interested in diesel engines.
2, no objection to 20T, but not interested in 20T with less than 200 horsepower.
Therefore, if you like the 5-series Touring version, if there is a requirement for speed, it is recommended that 525i or 530i or above, in order to enjoy the nature of BMW.

520d undoubtedly has a price advantage, and the same practicality, the best function is to save fuel, so daily commuting is also a good choice.
For the opponents of the 5-series, or the traditional Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and so on, these two happen to be owned by me before, so I know more about the opponent than the 5-series, so I come to the above conclusion.

A little personal opinion is also part of my journey. Although I am not a BMW fan, I respect the BMW brand very much. I also visited BMW headquarters in Munich and saw a lot of great history. Like many famous car brands, there are always stories about the rise of small factories.

In fact, those who like BMW already have a great enough brand. BMW has fought for many years and has already let its customers share all the sense of honor. However, what they owe is that not all customers can understand the automobile culture and philosophy advocated by BMW. Some people still have a superficial understanding of the “Sport Car sports car”. Only those car owners who really understand BMW will be immortal.

Thank you for watching.
I’m from the Automobile House Forum, the Red Man Hall.
AM pig 63. Kevin Yeung
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See you in the next episode.
Once again, Thanks!

If you are free, you can take a look at my travels to Portugal, which is divided into six articles. I have written two articles so far! Thank you for your support!