First Drive Review
A confession: We neglected to try the manual-shift mode for the eight-speed automatic while driving the 2014 BMW 535d, which comes online as part of the 5-series’ 2014 refresh. That sort of thing will happen when you have 413 lb-ft of torque flowing from 1500 to 3000 rpm, and the 255 horsepower peak comes at 4000 rpm. So smooth and quiet is the inline six-cylinder turbocharged 3.0-liter that we often forgot it was a diesel. That could have turned out badly if we'd been called on to refuel our test car, but the 30 mpg combined EPA mileage and the 18.5-gallon fuel tank will take you more than 550 miles. You probably can stretch that range on long trips, since the highway rating is 38 mpg.
We've often made the case for diesel. You can count us as fans of the inherently balanced inline-six, a configuration also found in the gasoline-burning 535i, with 302 horsepower and an EPA combined rating of 24 mpg using the same automatic. It's the only transmission offered with the diesel, although the gas model offers a manual. By the EPA's reckoning, the fuel-economy differential over five years tilts in the diesel's favor by $1500. Which is exactly the price spread: $56,025 for the 535i, $57,525 for the 535d. So it's a wash; that is, if you agree to follow the assumptions used by the EPA for its exercise which say that fuel costs won't vary in the next 60 months and premium gas costs more than diesel. You may choose, however, to live in the real world.
Figure 5.6 seconds to 60 mph for rear-drive models, and another 0.1 second for all-wheel-drive cars. That brings us to another apt 5-series comparison: The ActiveHybrid 5, for which BMW charges $62,325 and which we scooted to 60 in 5.6 seconds, has an EPA combined rating of 26 mpg (23 city/30 highway). Again, a shout out to diesel.
BMW uses the same TwinPower Turbo label for all forced-induction mills, regardless of whether there are two turbos, a single twin-scroll, or, as in this “advanced diesel,” a single turbocharger with variable inlet geometry. (A 376-hp 5-series diesel sold in Europe called the M550d—see our drive here—uses three pinwheels, but BMW North America says the U.S. market is “not ready” for a diesel car with M badges, even those of the M Performance subbrand.) In practical terms, the 535d feels no slower than its six-cylinder stablemates, and its copious torque delivers instant response when you need to hit that hole in city traffic or pull uphill out of a mountain switchback. And, again, it’s quiet. In Seattle traffic, every time we heard diesel clatter it turned out there was a heavy-duty pickup truck nearby.
We also drove in the hills around Bellingham, Washington, where the 535d handles, steers, and brakes as you’d expect—so like other 5-series sedans. The curb weight—presumably including the tank of Blue Performance exhaust after-treatment fluid the dealer will refill at oil-change intervals—is 5 or 10 pounds lighter than a 535i. Add $2300 and 150 pounds for the xDrive all-wheel drive, and the extensive options list includes everything you could get with the gasoline six except that clutch pedal. (A fully loaded AWD diesel 5 crests the $90,000 mark.) Nor will the diesel show up in the Gran Turismo body, although the idea does make us pine for a diesel wagon. Instead, we'll get the X5 SUV with this engine but only with xDrive. As for the 535d, it’s the model to get if you want an efficient 5er.
