It’s a known thing that car prices, especially when it comes to premium brands are pretty much crazy in Australia. Sure, there are other countries where they are even bigger, but that doesn’t make things any better for the average Australian BMW fan. Well, we have sort-of good news for them then as the Germans will be bringing their cheapest 5 Series to the land down under starting this September.
Don’t expect it to be cheap though, as prices will start at AUD92,200 or $72,170 at today’s exchange rates. That price tag gets you a brand new executive sedan, powered by a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine making 184 PS and 290 Nm (214 lb-ft) of torque. Doesn’t seem like much but this is the lightest model the Germans are making these days in the 5 Series range and that helps out a lot when it comes to day to day usability. 0-62 mph takes 7.8 seconds and fuel consumption is rated at 5.9 l/100 km (around 40 mpg), at least according to the NEDC test cycle.
The standard car comes with quite a number of features included such as the Luxury Line exterior package that is also comprised of 18-inch light alloy wheels, LED headlights and fog-lights, keyless entry and start, ‘Dakota’ leather upholstery, electric front seat adjustment, Navigation Professional with 10.25-inch touchscreen display, 12-speaker sound system, DAB+ digital radio and wireless smartphone charging.
Things like Head-Up display, electrically adjustable steering column as well as active cruise control with stop/go function, front cross traffic warning, lane keeping assist and surround view camera system also come with the package. As you can already tell, despite the price, the cars will be quite well equipped but for those looking for more, BMW Australia will offer the 520i also in ‘Launch Edition’ guise, at just a bit under AUD100,000, AUD99,900 to be more precise. In this configuration you can choose between the Executive Package and the M Sport package for free.
