BMW has made significant improvements to the current 5-Series that could see it take an even stronger hold on the fleet market.
Emissions for the new 520d EfficientDynamics model have fallen below the vital 120g/km mark to bring the cost of company car tax down further.
At 119g/km, this new 184bhp 2.0-litre diesel model now falls in to the 13% BIK tax band. This means that anyone on the 20% tax rate will pay £67.51 per month for the car, while if you're paying 40% tax you will pay £135.02 in company car tax. For private buyers this low emissions figure means an annual tax bill of £30. At the same time fuel economy for this latest model is an impressive 62.8mpg.
All this talk of improved running costs hasn't diminished the 5-Series' performance figures though and it will still hit the benchmark 62mph mark in 8.2 seconds.
The big improvements have come with the addition of eco technology like stop/start, brake energy regeneration, gear shift indicator, low-rolling resistance tyres and streamline-deign alloys. It also comes with a new system called ECO-PRO mode. This is activated by the driver and alters the engine and throttle response as well as the automatic gear change times.
This upgraded 5-Series model goes on sale in September with prices starting at £30,435.
As well as this improved eco focus from BMW, a number of other models in the 5-Series line-up are set to get improved engines. First will be the introduction of the 520i with 184bhp and 528i producing 245bhp using a new four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol engine. In the 525d the old six-cylinder is replaced by a four-cylinder twin-turbo 2.0-litre engine to help improve consumption. Finally the top diesel engines from the 530d and 535d have also been upgraded for better economy.
There have been further changes across the 5-Series range with Drive Performance Control now as standard. This allows drivers to choose between Comfort, Sport and Sport+ settings and alters the throttle response and car settings accordingly.
At the same time all four- and six-cylinder models get the ECOR PRO mode found on the latest EfficientDynamics version.