Following our story on the 1.6-liter turbocharged inline four-petrol for the BMW 5-Series and X3 in Greece on Wednesday, our Turkish friends Eren, Ilkan together with Tarık Akagün from Otomobil informed us that the in their home country, BMW has been offering the 5-Series with this smaller displacement unit since August of last year.
Marketed as the 520i (AT) in both countries, the tax-friendly base version of BMW’s mid-size sedan utilizes the same 170PS (168hp) and 250Nm (184 lb-ft) four-pot found in the much smaller 118i hatch, paired exclusively to an 8-speed automatic.
BMW quotes a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 8.7 seconds and a top speed of 226km/h (140mph), with a combined fuel consumption of 6.7l/100m (35.1 mpg US or 42.2 mpg UK) on the European cycle.
Otomobil had the opportunity to test BMW’s 0-100km/h claims and came up with 8.6 sec and 8.8 sec runs. The 184PS (181hp) 2.0-liter turbocharged four-equipped 520i that is also offered in these two markets completes the sprint in 7.9 sec (manufacture).
By John Halas
Shout out to all three tipsters!
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