Need a BMW 5 Series replacement - any suggestions?

I have driven a manual BMW 520D SE since new in August 2006. I have been delighted with the car but would like to replace with something of equal quality and reliability.

I am keen to avoid cars with a hard ride, ridiculously large wheels or frightening fuel consumption. What do you recommend?

Asked on 14 February 2015 by GPS5

Answered by Honest John
Unfortunately, car manufacturers in general and particularly the Germans have been fitting ever bigger wheels with ever lower profile tyres to their cars. The Mazda 6 Skyactiv D 140 SE-L Nav is okay on 17-inch wheels with 55 profile tyres. And the Volvo S60 D4 with the new 2.0 litre 182PS DriveE engine on 17-inch wheels with 50 profile tyres is all right. But for the best fuel economy (I got 63mpg over 8000 miles), go for a BMW 320dED, which comes on 16-inch wheels with 60 profile tyres as standard. All of these have between 380 and 400Nm torque, so plenty of grunt as well.
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