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2012 528i xDrive: real-life fuel consumption?

18K views 40 replies 14 participants last post by  kayaker21 
#1 ·
Hello guys, my first post here:)

After having enjoyed the legendary 6-cylinder 3 liter gasoline engine in my E46 330i, time has come to use a more comfortable and - shall I say - weather-proof xDrive vehicle in a larger body of the 2012 528i. As you know, this is the first 528i with the "down-sized" engine (N20 2-liter with TwinPower). I had a difficult time making my mind to pick it, but the BMW-published specs and a test drive finally convinced me...

Now I have mixed feelings about my decision; yes the TwinPower turbo does perform as advertised when pressed, but at a cost of fuel efficiency waaay less than the advertised 7.0-7.2 (mixed regime). I only did some 2k kms so far, so it might as well improve - but currently I cannot go below 8.9-9.1 l/100km (even though I do not press too hard on the factory-new engine). Is this normal? What are other 528i xDrive owners' experience?

Yes - it certainly is a bit underpowered, but frankly I sort of recognized and accepted it from the start. My dream xDrive 5-er would be the 550i or 535d, but - due to some ridiculous import duty regulations here in Poland - cars with engines exceeding the 2 litre stroke are terribly expensive. So - being 58 years old - I decided for comfort and safety at the cost of power, hoping at least it would need less fuel that those 3+ liter ones do... Oh well - now, can anyone here advise whether it'd be wise to chip-tune this already stressed little engine?!!

So, a question to anyone having the 2012 BMW 528i xDrive: what your real-life fuel consumption is? You may state l/100km or mpg - no problem for me :)

TIA,

Piotr
 
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#3 ·
I have a round trip of 60 miles (96.5 Km) per day in a 50% mix of stop start (lots of traffic lights) and toll roads with a max speed of 75 mph (120 Kph). Although I have the 2WD version it may help that I get around 27 to 28 mpg (US), 8.7 litres/100 Km to 8.4 litres/100 km. Temperatures are around 20 to 40 deg C so car warms up a lot faster than it probably does in Poland. (I think my maths is correct for the conversion).
 
#10 ·
That has to be near the best fuel economy in the world!! I tried doing that with the new 328xi loaner I had for a week. No go. Mind you it was very cold in Toronto for the past week. I could never get better than 12l/100km. I gotta go to a warmer climate.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Thanks, Whitby. Yes - it's now minus 15C in Poland, so that must add to my consumption. Also, on a motorway I usually do at least 140 kmh; most of the time 160 and up to 180 when overtaking. All these should explain a lot, but....

... I used to push my old good 330i (E46) even harder (up to 220 kmh regularly on motorways, frequent full-pedal accelerations) and it only used 0.5 liters per 100 km more. True - it was lighter and RWD, but with the 6-cylinder engine!

Oh well... I'm getting older, so perhaps the bigger AWD 5-er is more appropriate now - but I sure miss the 3-liter. The new downsized N20 TwinPower is certainly nice, but I only have chosen it over the 535iX basing on the economy figures! Which now prove badly wrong....
 
#5 ·
I don't know.... but I've always thought it's pointless to compare fuel consumption data from car to car. Each one of us has dramatically different commute routes and driving styles - the very things which affect fuel consumption. So unless you want us to give you a ballpark, say whether the car burns 10 or 15 l/100 km/h, it is likely that you did not get any responses because it does not really lead to anything (and most of North American 5-series owners simply don't give a **** LOL - our fuel is 3-4 times cheaper than yours in relation to the avg. income, and the income of 5-series owners is far from average to begin with). And you know that stated consumption by the manufacturer is pure BS. So you always add 30% on top of what they say, anyway. You did not even state whether you commute on highways or in the city... and me knowing your neck of the woods quite well, I suspect you drive purely in the city (Poland has no highways really). And even if we knew if it's hwy or city, one highway is completely different from another. One sits in a constant morning and afternoon jam and averages 30 km/h while one flows at 100-120 kmh. So you can tell how this is really a waste of time. I think, based on what you said, your MPG is great and you have no reasons to worry. And yes, I personally never believed that a 4-banger would save that much fuel over the much more civilized 6-cyl engine (just like the BS ASS technology does not lead to significant savings either). My .02. Check my sig if you want to start collecting your own data and compare it later to see if your own engine remains healthy.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Thanks yogi - you are right about the fuel cost difference between the US and EU, and many other things. But I did state in my second post I'm not talking urban economy (would be worthless); also in my first post I quoted the BMW's 7.0-7.2 l/100km figure which is the supposed mixed usage. I mainly do long distance trips, as I work at home and do not commute - and yes, we do have some good motorways which I'm also using even if they do not comprise the shortest possible route to my destination... My average trip distance is some 500 kms.

But of course - all I'm expecting from this discussion here is some ballpark for me to compare. Thanks!

Piotr
 
#11 ·
7l/100 km. That would be 33 US MPG in a 5 series for mixed use driving. (Imperial Gallons are bigger so the result is 40 mpg.) Now I would love to see BMW prove that one out in "mixed driving". A Honda Civic is listed at 6.4 l/100 km in mixed driving. Of course the disclaimer is actual experience will vary with conditions and driving style. Sure.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Oh, and on another (more optimistic) note:

Before I even considered the downsized engine, I read lots of reviews of the 2012 528i - and one thing they had in common: everybody stressed how much worse it sounds compared to the I6-er. Well, to me it's not that bad at all - it's very quiet inside the car (even at high revs), and it certainly lacks that bass roar of the N5x - but frankly, the low frequency noise can be quite fatiguing during a long distance trip (I'm speaking from experience - my 330i was the classic 6-cylinder bimmer, with its classic sound too).

Not sure how much the nice exhaust sound my 528iX has is due to the M-package I have, but anyway - the sound is the least of a problem...

Piotr
 
#9 ·
Real life fuel consumption is a mystery to me. I have a 2012 535xi and a 2007 328xi Coupe. I live in Toronto which is a heavily congested city. My trip to work is partially on a highway partially on busy streets, but generally I can avoid heavy stop and go traffic. My 535xi hovers around 12-13 l/100 km - in heavy traffic could be as high as 15 l/100 or more - my car is modified with an engine tune from Burger Motor Sports. My 328xi uses about 14 l/100 km (my son drives this one). I drove a 2013 328xi with the new 2.0 litre turbo for a week. Could never get better than 13l/100km. The only way I can get good gas mileage is as follows:

Long, uninterrupted drives on the highway - somewhere around 100-120 km/hour, then I can use maybe 8l/100 km on the highway - maybe. If you are experiencing 9l/100 km, I think it is great.
 
#12 ·
OK guys - thank you so much for your valuable input! And yes, it does make me feel better about my car :)

My expectations have probably been too high (or low - pun intended) due to my previous car being really extremely economical, considering my driving style...

Cheers,

Piotr
 
#14 · (Edited)
Any links, please, Peter? What I'm thinking about is this:

http://www.speed-buster.de/en/chiptuning-box-bmw-528i-f10/f11-180-kw-245-ps/a-10109572/

- ever heard of it?

I had the same doubts, and went for the F11 535i xdrive here in the Netherlands. Only driven 2k kilometers and averaging 12.6 l/100. Usually driving 150 kmh. Maybe it makes you feel better about your car!
I am leasing it and the company pays the fuel bill; mpg does not really matter
One thing I am still uneasy about is that my oil temperature gauge never shows more than the left-half middle mark (95C here, or 195F in the US version, if not mistaken); is it normal? What are your oil temperatures in winter (Netherlands is warmer than Poland, but close)? In my previous BMW I only had a water temperature indicator that - once the engine warmed up which was quick - always stood perfectly upright (it didn't care for my actual driving "load" or the ambient temperature, so it was a bit of too perfect to be true)...

Piotr
 
#15 ·
Also - to add to my question about your oil temp readings - is there a way to read the water temperature in the F10?

TIA

Piotr
 
#18 ·
Doesn't move too much.
Thanks Peter for all your helpful info and links - but regarding the above quote, could I ask you to elaborate please? :) I get it that the pointer doesn't move much regardless of the ambient temperature, and this would be my experience too - but what value is it actually showing?

TIA,

Piotr
 
#19 ·
Currently I'm averaging 23 MPG in my 2013 528i xDrive. It's cold here, so I am curious to see if my mileage improves this summer when I'm not using the heated seats, heated steering wheel, etc.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I'd just like to add my 2 cents worth:
Car manufacturers like to base their FE on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings which are grossly inaccurate as the tests are carried out in the Labs whilst real word driving shows a different results.

Read this article :http://www.wheels.ca/feature/whats-a-fuel-rating-worth-when-its-wrong/

Since 2009 I've dumped all my gassers for Diesels and have not looked back.

My 2010 335d consistently give me 7.6L/100KM even though I drive it hard on the Toronto highways and streets which are often conjested. I wished BMW would bring in the F10 (535D) soon.

My ML350BT gets a respectable 10L/100KM and my VW Jetta TDI 6.0L/100KM on the same routes.

BTW, on Fuelly.com there are 3 F10 528xi that are getting between 8.4 ~ 11.1 L/100KM:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/bmw/528xi/2012
 
#22 ·
#23 ·
You're damn ride about the gov's evil plot to repair the budget by chasing drivers like me :( Pure nonsense, but what can you do?

:)

Cheers

Piotr
 
#24 ·
I'll Add some data points for you...
Starting with a loaner 2013 528 xdrive I had for almost 5 weeks
I was getting 9.1 litres per hundred km in aggressive Eco mode driving

In normal, I didn't care driving, I was getting it to 11.2

I own a 550 xdrive 2012 if that matters, with Dinan stage 2
In normal for me driving, I get 13.1
In aggressive attempts to save fuel I can get as low as 11.2
In I don't care mode, it climbs to over 15

I have a 26km daily drive each direction, about 50 percent calculated with google maps is highway driving at 120km/h. I do a decent amounts of stop and go for the next half

When the 550 Idles its l/100 will l climb pretty fast. And see numbers like 18 to 20
When I had th 528 it would push towards 15 in good stop and go

My opinion about the auto stat stop is its not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, except in traffic. I found that almost in all cases it would turn off the engine and back on within 1 second and this made th fuel consumption climb, like it was not designed fora cycle that quick.

If I had ASS off when in heavy stop and go, it seemed to produce better fuel economy, not dramatic but noticble

The exception to ass was if you hit all the lights right, and had to wait at all of them, which in our city is pretty hard has the lights are timed and seem to even take into account traffic density to get a decent flow for traffic.

All the numbers I quoted are based on the internal fuel consumption computer

Btw, I don't mind the 528 performance at all either. But frankly I didn't see a big enough money saving on fuel for me to be driven to buy it over a 550, but again, it drove very respectfully and if there was a bigger money difference I would have been happy in the 528
 
#25 · (Edited)
Thank you, @bmguy, for this first-hand experience write-up!

I agree completely with your points on the ASS - when active, it takes sort of a skill to watch the traffic lights and the car in front of you, and either slow down earlier and coast (with your foot on the brake pedal) so that just before you'd need to come to a halt, the lights would change - or, should the situation look like it's going to be a longer wait, get close to the preceding car in a smooth, one go and only then depress the pedal completely (I hope you know what I mean - sorry for my English:)).

As to the 528ix' performance - I also agree that it's quite good. When pressed hard, the car accelerates almost as easily as my old good E46 330i, even though the 5-er is almost 400 kgs heavier.

One thing I don't like so much though is how low the rpm can drop with the AT; with my driving style it's often necessary to manually shift a couple of gears up when the moment comes for quick overtaking or avoiding collision. I can feel the engine laboring at too low rpm if I don't do that, and before the AT reacts - shouldn't be that way in a car of this class. Of course, this is just some 100 Nm lacking - but the BMW engineers seem fixed at making the engine rev as slow as possible - regardless on that engine size (and "natural" torque).

One thing in your post made me interested - are you saying it makes sense to drive aggressively and in ECO Pro mode? Could you elaborate, please?

TIA,

Piotr
 
#26 · (Edited)
Thank you, @bmguy, for this first-hand experience write-up!

I agree completely with your points on the ASS - when active, it takes sort of a skill to watch the traffic lights and the car in front of you, and either slow down earlier and coast (with your foot on the brake pedal) so that just before you'd need to come to a halt, the lights would change - or, should the situation look like it's going to be a longer wait, get close to the preceding car in a smooth, one go and only then depress the pedal completely (I hope you know what I mean - sorry for my English:)).

As to the 528ix' performance - I also agree that it's quite good. When pressed hard, the car accelerates almost as easily as my old good E46 330i, even though the 5-er is almost 400 kgs heavier.

One thing I don't like so much though is how low the rpm can drop with the AT; with my driving style it's often necessary to manually shift a couple of gears up when the moment comes for quick overtaking and alike. I can almost feel the engine laboring at too low rpm if I don't do that, and before the AT reacts - shouldn't be that way in a car of this class. Of course, one can always stick to SPORT mode which will not allow such low rpm, but - apart from those moments - it might be unnecessary, and certainly does increase the consumption.

One thing in your post made me interested - are you saying it makes sense to drive aggressively and in ECO Pro mode? Could you elaborate, please?

TIA,

Piotr
Sorry the "drive aggressively" for Eco mode maybe doesn't translate the same... It's a common English term that can mean several things, but in this case I meant to "try very hard" to drive like Eco mode likes you to... Hope that clears it up a little... Your English is very good so need to apologize...

It does seem like the transmission tuning is very much in favour of fuel savings so holding gears and early shifting up a gear is normal for this car.

I drive a 550 with the sport transmission, and in sport mode the shifts are tuned very nice for zipping in and out of traffic, however it disables the 8 th gear which I wish it would not as I still do hiway driving and would like it if the 8 th gear would kick in after a sustained travel in 7

Great cars, it my second BMW, I had an m6 convertible before this, fantastic car, but not like my 550 ... I sold it expecting to buy an i8 when it was available but I think it may be more money that I want, or even can spend on a car... Wish I had kept the m6 in the mean time... That cars v10 would drink gas like some of my closest friends drink a vodka! (If you know what I mean :) )

Enjoy the car....
 
#28 ·
SO "driving aggressively in ECO mode" means to religiously stick to the ECO mode driving manners.

Point Taken. :thumbup:
If you have not had a chance to do this - its like watching paint dry... once should really give it a try. My opinion on eco mode is there is so much work for the driver to do to keep the acceleration curve efficient and braking/coasting etc that it feels like going to to a job you hate every morning.... I would gladly take a second job at a drive-through if needed to find a few bucks just to stay out of eco-pro mode.

(not because of the power loss etc, but just the amount of work and thought I the driver have to provided to make eco-pro work, it should be a way more active technology and do more things on its own. Such as smoothing out the acceleration curve as a simple example)
 
#29 · (Edited)
As I mentioned in another thread, now that I started to use my 528ix "normally" (after the short break-in period), my average is even higher at 9.4 l/100km. This is 10% city, 90% outside - of which less than half is motorways (up to 200, but usually 160-180 kmh), more than half- regular single line roads with heavy traffic (lots of overtaking with full acceleration; 140km/h).

So, it's more or less the same as my good old I6 330i would take; the only comfort being that the F10 is considerably heavier, so the N54 I had in the E46 would probably need more that that....

PS. The other advantage is of course what I mentioned in this thread's OP - the N20 F10 is at least 25% less expensive here, than otherwise identical F10 with over the 2.0l engine stroke.
 
#30 · (Edited)
OK guys - so having now over 5,000 km on the clock, I'm happy to inform you that - considering how big and heavy the F10 is (compared to my previous vehicle - the 330i E46) - with the same aggressive driving style it is just a little less gas-thirsty... With the 330i, I used to get some 9.5 l/100km (24.76 MPG) long time average (with some 25% city - 75% highway distribution). My N20 528xi can go as low as 7.4 l/100km (31.79 MPG)!

But of course - doing given amount of work requires certain amount of energy, and even the BMW Twinpower turbo is not going to change the laws of physics; as an example I can quote the consumption during a 2 hour long motorway driving at 190-200 km/h: it's as low (or high?) as 11 l/100km (21.38 MPG). How about that?
 
#31 ·
I thought I would update you on some numbers I was able to achieve on my 550xi for the purpose of comparing. I have the Dinan stage II flash also if that matters to the fuel use

I just completed a 600 km trip 300 each way with some very minor idling at the USA/Canada border and then back home

The cars reported fuel use at the end of the trip was 9.9L/100 the average speed was 122km/h

The outside air temp was -5 degrees for the whole 6 hour trip give or take 2 degrees.

I did pass a few cars here and there and at times I did manage to get the car up to speeds I will not post here.

At the end of the day I was pretty happy with the 9.9
 
#32 ·
Nice!

I wonder what your average would be with some 25% of city traffic?

But overall, I do miss some power margin with my 4-cylinder bimmer; I always believed any device - be it a car or a hi-fi amplifier - performs best if not pushed to the max; my car is unfortunately - yours doesn't need to be. This is why you paid more for it, after all :)
 
#33 · (Edited)
Well the truth is I wanted I 535 but once I added the features I wanted the cost difference was so small to move the 550 that I just did it... fuel is still very affordable here in Alberta and Canada in general (but not as cheap as the USA).

I had an MB ML320cdi for a winter car before this and a M6 for the summers so the 550 was a good compromise of a 6 cylinder diesel and a 10 cylinder petro engine! (the M6 had me almost buy my own gas station half way to the office to save a few bucks)

My drive today is (I'm guessing) about 65% at most and maybe as low as 50% city driving and I'm getting the 12.8 so I would guess 11.5 approx if the city driving we to drop to 25 percent... I would however have no way to test this as that would mean changing were I live to get more freeway driving so I would be limited to guessing only...

This is my first v8 - as I have always had v4/v6, gas and the v6 diesel and the one time I had the V10 gas. The biggest two benefits I see to the v8 are the feeling of acceleration and as you also noted my comfort with the engine working less and hence should last me longer...


I had a month long trip in Europe the summer of 2011 and I had a nissan path finder for a rental - and I can tell you if I lived in Europe I would for sure be owning a 4 cylinder.. that is some crazy costs for fuel. My cousin had a newer A6 v4 and when I borrowed it was an excellent power delivery. I would not have any issues with a v4 in Europe based on capital cost differences, fuel costs and frankly far superior road system so that merging etc on high speed doesn't require as much power to get it to the same speed as the traffic your merging into (based on Canadian freeway designs, some USA cities have done a way better job on this - we Canadians just don't have enough people to build the kinds of roads I have seen in Europe and the USA but some of cities are just as congested)....


At the end of the day, love the car you have - they make so many different kids because there is so many different needs....
 
#34 ·
After putting on 1100 miles in my 2012 528i XDrive, I have tracked 28.5 (avg number between my idrive log and my pencil and paper log) MPG driving mostly highway in the Feb - April time frame in CT USA. Avg temp was around 36 F I believe for this time. The MPG was the key factor in choosing this model over a 535 or a 550. Premium, technology, cold weather pkges.
 
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