520i badge makes a return to Malaysia

The badge 520i makes a return to the 5-series stablemate after a long hiatus following the introduction of the detuned 2.5L in the 523i variant of E60 some years back. But the return of the entry level 5-series badge was not accompanied by puny power and torque figure, hence rest assured your F10 5-series will still move, even faster in fact!

The F10 520i Malaysian introduction was accompanied by the 528i M Sport, as well as an enhanced 520d. The gasoline version (520i and 528i M Sport) are both powered by the latest BMW TwinPower turbo technology with the capacity of 2.0L. The new engine features twin-scroll turbocharging, VALVETRONIC variable valve control and Double-VANOS variable camshaft control. For 520i application, the powertrain produced a much respected 184bhp@5000-6250rpm and 270Nm@1250-4500rpm of power and torque. The engine catapult the 520i to 100 km/h in mere 8.0 seconds and to a 226 km/h of top speed. Now that is unheard before in 520i!

The F10 528i M Sport gets the same engine in different state of tune. In this state, it produced 245bhp@5000-6500rpm and 350Nm@1250-4800rpm. The much higher power and torque output results in a much faster car than the 520i, where the 100km/h sprint can be done in 6.3 seconds, and top speed 250 km/h. The difference in performance is very obvious as both cars weigh nearly the same (because the engine is the same). The 520i is  1,685kg while the 528i version is just 10kg more. More detail after the jump.

Despite the apparent high performance attained by the new engine, both version still return a respectable fuel efficiency. The 520i return 6.4L/100km in the average cycle and emits 149g/km of CO2. The 528i M Sport emits 158g/km of CO2 and return 6.8L/100km of fuel consumption rate in mixed cycle.

The new variants of F10 are also equipped with a series of innovation aligned with BMW EfficientDynamics philosophy. As such, all of these new versions comes standard with Brake Energy Regeneration, EPS and 8-speed autotransmission. To further state the intent of EfficientDynamics, Auto Start/Stop function is installed too. The driving "mode" has been suitably upgraded too, with Driving Experience Control button that capable in altering vehicle accelerator, engine, steering, transmission, suspension and traction control system. The pre-set mode include Comfort, Comfort +, Sport, Sport + and ECO Pro.

The 520i is priced at RM358,800 (without insurance) and the 528i M Sport comes at RM409,800 (without insurance). Both price figures include BSRI package.