China is a place where big cars like the Audi A6, Volvo S80 and BMW 5-Series aren’t big enough. That’s why you’ll find long wheelbase versions of these models sold there. At Auto Guangzhou 2010, BMW launched the latest variant of its China 5-Series range – the 520Li.
It’s a bit unusual for “20” to be stuck with “Li” but this formula of maximum car paired with minimum engine isn’t new – it’s something that works in Singapore as well. The LWB version of the F10 stretches the standard car’s wheelbase by 140 mm to measure 3,108 mm. By the way, that is longer than the F01 7-Series’ 3,070 mm wheelbase and not much shorter than the LWB Seven’s 3,210 mm. As you can see from the pic on the left, legroom is generous.
The “20” in the name lead this writer to think of the anemic four-cylinder in the 320i, but fortunately, a 2.5-litre inline-six resides in this entry level Five, paired to the usual 8-speed auto gearbox. The engine makes 177 hp and 230 Nm to lug 1.8 tonnes – 0-100 km/h is done in 9.7 seconds and top speed is 222 km/h. As comparison, our CKD 523i with 204 hp/250 Nm does 8.5 seconds and 234 km/h.
Of course, not every Chinese businessman will settle for a 520Li. Above this 418,600 yuan base model is the 523, 528 and 535, and all are Li variants. Do you think this formula of maximum car with minimum engine will work in Malaysia?
This is a great value for money choice.
Why BMW and Merc scared to launch long wheelbase of the E class and 5 series here?
In China, already got LWB E class. Same like the above LWB 5 series.
Why scared nobody will buy your 7 series and S class anymore kah?
Not that they scared people don’t want to buy a 7er or S-Klasse but the 5er L has no market in Malaysia. In China, the 7er, S-Klasse and A8 are all waay to pricey as I was informed.
cos your market too small la, scare you no money. China ppl so rich.
Not scare about 7/S class no ppl buy, scare you msian no money only. lol. such a tiny market. you have 2 local car brand, they got 90 local car brands.
of course they have 90 brand there’s 1.3 billion ppls or about 20% of the world popoulation, msia only about 27 mil.. and also, heddu asked why no lwb 5 series and E-class in msia, it’s becoz there’s no market here for the long wheel base 5er and E-class, ppl go straight and buy S-class and 7 series lar.. it’s in china that ppl wants the lwb versions of cheaper model.. aiya..
Mr. Paul, this car selling at 418k RMB only, 41.86 million yuan can buy mansion already
yea, i tot its Japanese yen
haha. with 41.86 million yuan , can buy khir toyo mansion already lol………
It’s actually 418,600 yuan, we made a mistake earlier
Thank’s god. It still BMW badge. Not Youngman or Great Wall or what ever……
it will works in malaysia. since there are people buy these cars for prestige and luxuriousness instead of performance. at least i knew people who drive E200 but has “E 300” on its back and some accessories from E300 to make it looks like one. same goes to bmw 5-series with exterior from M5 (tail light, bumper, etc. etc…)
Do you think this formula of maximum car with minimum engine will work in Malaysia? <– itu sudah pasti…
it will not work in malaysia, malaysia roads are either having too many slopes or too many man made obstacles that require frequent throttle-stop-throttle process. ended up lebih makan minyak
yes.. becoz it is malaysian dream to own bmw, audi and so on…
i don’t think this formula will work in Malaysia. Grey importer + cheap price = people will buy. This is the formula for bmw, merc and porsche buyer in Malaysia.
very nice if we could have this 5 CKDed in Malaysia..
Lol? Their size is smaller than those Americans, but need a bigger car? For what? Damn dumb idea to build all BMWs in China in LWB version.
You might come to your sense about it when you’re as tall as the northerners – Chinese
You don’t get it do you? The reason they build this car is because the existing 7er is waaaaaaaaay too expensive in China! That’s why they introduce this LWB version as it’s a bit cheaper. Same situation goes to Audi and Mercedes. In fact, there’s no doubt anyore because BMW actually have already build the E60 LWB long time ago…
If you think all Chinese are small then you haven’t met enough. I just met 3 mainlanders who are all 6’2″. And they’re not athletes. :-)
Anyway, LWB and spaciousness for them connotes luxury. Just like how some of us here like boxy vans like Alphard.
Very nice car… you should show us a proper side profile view with the doors closed… would be interesting to see whether the extra length ruins the looks of the car or makes it even sleeker.
http://paultan.org/2010/04/02/new-bmw-5-series-long-wheelbase-for-china/
Thanks Paul for the link…
Yes, car definitely looks good, maybe even better in LWB form.
I think it would sell well in Malaysia, the boss can stretch his legs while being chaufered around on weekdays and probably is still a great drive for the weekends, and not to mention extra room for the kids when they sit in the back.
Anybody being chauffeured in a BMW should have the car taken away from them. BMWs are meant to be driven. NOT CHAUFFEURED.
those that loves car, usually cannot afford a good car. lol.
Ehh!! Think la! If u got the money to hire a ‘chauffeur’ to drive u around KL, u sure are very rich la as u can afford to have a driver.. Why would u still buy a 520Li instead of a 760Li?
I personnelly think the 5 series is a little small. The Li sounds like a logical choice.
yups.. this would work perfectly, then you’ll see all the bimmers without the number series emblem.. or better still replaced with M emblem..
Wow !! very large interior space…but outer look no much difference
Li of whatever Germans will work in Malaysia. I would definitely prefer the Li rather than the standard one.
I don’t think it would be brought in as the wheelbase is longer than the std 7 series.
This will definately work.The smaller the engine the better,less road tax.
Of course it will be cheaper,and many people just want to buy the badge instead of performance.So yeah,it will definately work in Msia
Only the engine power is detuned lower, not the size….
This car still have 2.5L engine, i.e 2.5L roadtax structure!
I think it will work, because 2.0 to 2.4 seems to be well liked in the luxury car segment actually the 2.0 more than the 2.4.
Also now the trend is to offer close to 2.4 models luxury and options without having to buy the bigger engine. eg. camry G, civic ex or something
what are you talking about laa???
This 520 car still have 2.5L engine. Only the power is detuned lower.
Of course the price will be lower than 523 and 525
But nothing to do with smaller engine but extra accessories like your Camry example!
maximum car with minimum engine is something practiced by japanese car maker for some times eg honda camry 2.0 and toyota accord 2.0 no? of course it gonna work in bolehland mah..tat’s also why sedan sells better than hatchback here mah….also more legroom to play in the car with gal frens mah…
Honda Accord???
Toyota Camry???
Are you sure?
Honda Camry???
Toyota Accord???
Are you sure?
The previous generation bull-horn (gu kak) is more cantiq and supercool.
Do you think this formula of maximum car with minimum engine will work in Malaysia?
Of course.
41.86mil yuan? Wah, either the car in China is damm expensive or the yuan has devalued many fold the last time i checked….:)
I’m not sure but what I know, cars in China are all expensive, too expensive in fact. That’s why they release the 5er L because the 7er costs a suicide!
i think its prolly 40 wan ( ten thousand) yuan so 400k yuan? around RM200k?
your theory sounds very likely…good one!
Chauffeured car? sure why not. Afterall, its the brand that matters.
but for a Driver’s car, I personally think a D segment car should not have an engine smaller than 3.5L……(or at least a smaller displacement unit that is force fed.)
The joy of joys, one of my recent rental was a High spec 2010 Chevy Malibu with the optional Cadillac 3.6 V6. Talk about a sports car performance. 0-100 in about 6.5. Refressing after driving underpowered “rep” cars all the time here.
Chinese are freaking mad. big car, big house, big gate, big door, big painting…every damn thing is big.
i think it is a great idea for the concept of maximum size and minimum engine..it will work in malaysia as most of these luxury cars are bought by companies for their senior management staff and more often than not, they come with a driver as well..furthermore, with the bad road conditions and constant traffic jams in the kl area, it makes perfect sense to have the extra space at the rear to relax, lounge and/or do pretty much what you wish. whether it will be a good drive or not is a moot point as i found the 523i itself to be quite unresponsive, it can’t even move on a slight incline..but i digress since if i get the car, i would not be driving but the driver would so the pain is more tolerable. of course, as one of the reader pointed out, it is sacrilege to have someone else drives your beemer but if it is not really a good drive, then it is ok.
Bloody confusing. If it’s a 2.5l block, why can’t they just call it a 525 Li? I mean, that’s how they started the numbering system in the first place.
BMW is humble, when 2.5l, they say 520 only, whereas MB likes to talk big, so 1.8l, they say it is E200 or C230.
Where have u been laa?
Its been like this for some times already.
Marketing strategy. To price the car at different levels….
Few examples:
BMW
E46 323i (M52) = 2.5L (1998)
E46 320i (M54) = 2.2L (2001)
E46 318i (N46) = 2.0L (2004)
E60 523i (N52) = 2.5L (2006)
MB
W210 E240 (M112.914) = 2.6L (2000)
W211 E200K = 1.8L (2002)
W212 E200 CGI = 1.8L (2009)
W212 E250 CGI = 1.8L (2009)
Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year to you too.
I know they’ve been screwing around with the numbering for some time. Doesn’t mean I’ve grown to like it. :-)
the best “maximum car minimum engine’ car in europe is the Skoda Superb imo. should go check it out when in come here
418,600 = 195,460.42 MYR
http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=418%2C600&From=CNY&To=MYR
my goodness 0.0….no wonder every chinaman can drive bmw
Don’t tell me only now you know that China car market is more open than Malaysia?
i thought they still communista…that drives ferraris….nah i know they were open…but i didn’t know their car prices were cheaper….and not to forget they have cheaper petrol than us…..i think i would like to be communist now.
i think i still prefer the short wheelbase version as im more of the keen driver type instead of the keen being drived around type. =)
of course will work if it’s from foreign automakers
but if from proton bashers will bash it like crazy
even the socialism country sell car cheaper than democracy bolehland…
the minimum engine and maximum price already works here for the luxury brands i think. people will sacrifice engine for the car because of the brand. in the case of bmw, you can see there is quite a large amount of E60 520s happily running around. and in most cases, the 520 badge is removed i think …
E class in malaysia come with 1800 cc why not F10?
Let me ask you, do you like to have a big body with a skinny legs.
those 1800cc is turbocharged, giving performance near to a 2500cc NA engine
Well,….guys Proton did produce Proton Chancelor….& Perdana Limo or Executive…..kena kutuk kaw ….kaw ….but when BMW, Audi or Mercedes produce a long wheel base car the whole malaysian applaude and say hay why don’t BMW Malaysia introduce it in Malaysia…… Why the double standard ?? DSZ CEO Proton is working hard to pleased all malaysian. Semua mahu murah….kalau mahal sikit semua complain. That is malaysian mentality. I’m not working for Proton by the way…….
peace….
The car is selling very cheap. Converted 418,600.00 CNY to MYR it is only 195,468.04.
Malaysia Boleh!!!
i wouldnt mind if they didnt charge so much for that chancellor and perdana executive….don point me only…the guys of perak, selangor and many other states have changed to other cars to start with.
I don’t recommend buying BMW with the smallest engine option. I drove E39 2.2L (520) for 7 years. It struggles when accelerating and its fuel consumption is not better than the bigger engine model when driven hard. Downsizing with turbo like VW and Benz is much more acceptable and the way to go forward.
Let me guess, the car you have is a badly recond. unit.
Small engine large body = elevated stress level for the driver.
Applies to any makes, not just BMW.
malaysian cars are expensive as govt want to earn more.. 300% tax for imported cars.. ridiculous. even our own beloved national cars are expensive compared to sales in foreign country. govt will nvr satisfied of money.. maybe few more years they will increase the tax again.
with just marely RM200k for the 520Li, i again hv to “tiao” our government sky-high duty!
520.. why not 518 ha? hahah
520.. why not 518 ha? hahah, use crawl liao liddat