Real Road Test: BMW E28 525e - Can Economy be Entertaining?

Автокөліктер мен көлік құралдары

Or perhaps even both? I put a 1987 BMW 525e through its paces, to discover just why the 5-Series was held in such high regard. This one has a cleverly-tuned 2.7-litre straight six engine, designed for reconomy rather than power. A very interesting comparison with the Ford Granada of a recent video.
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Пікірлер: 618

  • @portnaluinge
    @portnaluinge3 жыл бұрын

    Ah, from an era when BMWs were an exercise in perfect proportions and understated design. How times have changed.

  • @herrfister1477

    @herrfister1477

    3 жыл бұрын

    Oh well!

  • @unrealeck

    @unrealeck

    3 жыл бұрын

    F90 M5. Understated, great looking proportions and extremely high performance.

  • 3 жыл бұрын

    @@unrealeck But dog Shit . Ive been driving BMW's for years . Sadly the new models are just rubbish .

  • @Knaeckebrotsaege

    @Knaeckebrotsaege

    3 жыл бұрын

    Dilemma... want to upvote but it's at 69 ... noice

  • @paulhunter123

    @paulhunter123

    2 жыл бұрын

    yeah now u dont even get a dip stick what progress

  • @khew1
    @khew13 жыл бұрын

    Can't beat the classic 'Hubnut pulling away from standstill and pushing his glasses up immediately' move. Should be your trademark 😁😂

  • @thevanillathriller2564

    @thevanillathriller2564

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hubatio kaine

  • @jonathandowling969
    @jonathandowling9693 жыл бұрын

    One of my all time favourite beemers of the 80s it’s a shame they don’t build them like this anymore, they just were better in every way in 80s and 90s. In my personal opinion

  • @CreRay
    @CreRay3 жыл бұрын

    The 525e was not so much an economy model, but rather an “efficiency” model, pitched to draw customers from Mercedes and alike, who preferred “sedate progress in comfort”. To that end the model had a more comfortable suspension setup, better insulated engine noise and were equipped rather austere much like the Mercedes models of its day. This example is an “owners preference”, spoilers wheels foglights etc. were not standard. The engine was not just bigger in capacity, but raised compression ratio, low friction pistons, tuned for low end performance (intake/exhaust system + camshaft), and even less stiff valve springs to reduce friction torque. The lowered rev limiter is there for a good reason! The final drive ratio is MUCH taller than the normal models. There was a terrific website about the eta models, it’s offline now unfortunately. As you’ve correctly noted, the model didn’t sell well and was discontinued after this. This example is of the 2nd series, the first series had slightly less power and a 4500rpm (opposed to 4750) redline. The was also an “eta” model of the e30, the 325e.

  • @habsom1406

    @habsom1406

    3 жыл бұрын

    Wow CreRay, you really know your 525e's sir!

  • @lewis72

    @lewis72

    3 жыл бұрын

    There often seems to be quite a few 525e s for sale on E-Bay though of all the E28s. There are 4 there right now !

  • @brianiswrong

    @brianiswrong

    3 жыл бұрын

    Wow All I remember is it had a taller final gear (and Iam not sure that was true)

  • @simonjames2855

    @simonjames2855

    3 жыл бұрын

    We only got the auto in the uk as the manual gearbox "groaned" at low revs due to the torque. It was considered not BMW enough for the uk. The e is from the greek eta meaning efficiency. Alot of e28 525e's were broken for the the crank (as was mine😮) when they were worthless a few years back for people to build 2.7 ltrs e30's making upto 210bhp with lots of torque. Alpina used the diesel crank.

  • @matty6848

    @matty6848

    3 жыл бұрын

    Wow thanks for the extra info. Is there any particular reason why this model/engine never took off?!?

  • @1pjodan
    @1pjodan3 жыл бұрын

    As someone who eats their dinner in the car at work. I really appreciate these 12pm uploads, thanks

  • @matty6848

    @matty6848

    3 жыл бұрын

    Lol I do exactly the same. I much prefer eating in privacy for some reason. Don’t know why but I can’t standing sitting with loads of people from work, eating my dinner!

  • @jonnycando

    @jonnycando

    3 жыл бұрын

    Matt Y With coronavirus it’s often a matter of going through the drive through, then take food to parking lot....put phone in holder and have your meal with KZread in the car....and everyone in the parking area are doing the same thing!

  • @matty6848

    @matty6848

    3 жыл бұрын

    John Garrison yes Joe same here. If I have a McDonald’s or BurgerKing I always use the drive thru. Plus I can eat more like a pig in my car and don’t have to watch my etiquette😂

  • @_B.M_
    @_B.M_3 жыл бұрын

    Who would have thought that the 'e' would be back 30 years later to represent a plug in hybrid!!

  • @illiteratebeef
    @illiteratebeef3 жыл бұрын

    "I've always wanted to drive this car, just for the wipers" Yeah, that's an immediate subscribe. Found you from Aging Wheels on Twitter.

  • @maxeaves
    @maxeaves3 жыл бұрын

    I am not into BMW's but this is a lovely classy machine. Enormous thumbs up to Hubnut for test driving this machine.

  • @matty6848

    @matty6848

    3 жыл бұрын

    Personally I much prefer the older BMWs. The modern BMWs are so boring and generic. At least back in the 80s and 90s they built cars that looked what you paid for. Now your average BMW just looks like a boring Vauxhall👎🏻

  • @360nastybusiness

    @360nastybusiness

    3 жыл бұрын

    Not into Bmw ? Not a true petrol head mate..

  • @owensteele1274

    @owensteele1274

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@matty6848 Same with some modern Jags. When the XF first appeared around 2008, I thought it was the same shape as the then-new Vectra. Or was it Vauxhall Sigman or something? Sorry. I'm so bored I forgot what it was LOL.

  • @cambridgemart2075

    @cambridgemart2075

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@360nastybusiness Sorry, but no; BMWs are something people 'aspire' to, like iPhones; petrol heads go for things like Alphas, Lancias (RIP, at least in the UK), and Subarus

  • @unixnerd23
    @unixnerd233 жыл бұрын

    I owned one of these twice, got it back from a mate years later. Just a wonderful drive, especially around town. Wish BMWs were still this nice and easy to work on.

  • @andyduggan7810
    @andyduggan7810 Жыл бұрын

    The owner of this car lives somewhere near me. Always nice to see it. Such great condition and such elegant styling compared to modern vehicles. Unusual colour for a 5-series too.

  • @JS-1983
    @JS-19833 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful car, love the look of those shark-nose BMW's, much better looking than those new ones with overgrown kidneys.

  • @germaineliew2012

    @germaineliew2012

    3 жыл бұрын

    Most BMW's up until the mid or late 2000's look moderately decent imo. Afterwards, the cars became fatter and the grilles become unreasonably large.

  • @AJT296

    @AJT296

    3 жыл бұрын

    Germaine Liew I believe that they started with the massive grills to suit the Chinese market as they like bling. Pretty much ruined the front of most of their range

  • @frothe42

    @frothe42

    3 жыл бұрын

    I think recent BMW models all look alike; shrunk or stretched, they all look the same.

  • @boundish1

    @boundish1

    3 жыл бұрын

    BMWs is so bloated now.

  • @frothe42

    @frothe42

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@boundish1 That and the fact that you cannot tell one model from another.

  • @bentullett6068
    @bentullett60683 жыл бұрын

    its nice to see a decent looking BMW. The styling on the older cars from the 1960's to early 2000's is so much better than the ugly new cars being made today.

  • @leepotter7422
    @leepotter74223 жыл бұрын

    I owned this very car a few years back ..I bid and bought it on eBay and travelled to London to pick it up from Wembley park ..couldn't believe my luck when I seen the condition of it... driving it back I noticed the last fifty miles it started using a lot more fuel and when I got home I discovered the fuel line that runs over the top of the engine had perished and it had been spraying petrol onto the exhaust manifold..miracle it survived .. beautiful reliable car

  • @MrRickp78

    @MrRickp78

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi Lee. I changed all the lines again recently just in case. Modern fuel plays havoc with them. Fitted Gates Barracuda hoses now. Also did the rear ones around the pump and filter. It really is a lovely car. I'm having a someone round today to do some paint correction and apply a protective coating.

  • @grantmcgowan8399
    @grantmcgowan83993 жыл бұрын

    So glad you got round to reviewing this lovely example of an E28. I had four of them, including a 525e. Very torquey car.. and switching to sport mode was good fun when needing to overtake! Happy times. Regret having to sell! Thank you Mr HubNut!

  • @fasthracing
    @fasthracing3 жыл бұрын

    True about economy and big engines. I did a trip 2 up around France in my 2012 Jag XK 5.0 V8 and it did 32 mpg over 1500 miles.

  • @fasthracing

    @fasthracing

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@glennpowell3444 A Belmont was always a poor choice.

  • @jfv65

    @jfv65

    3 жыл бұрын

    Renault did a very similar thing with their 1st gen. R5. They offered the frugal 5GTL that had a larger 1.4L engine that used an restrictive small carburetor, a tame torquey camshaft and tall gearing. It worked! Another fuel saving trick from the era of the first oil crisis (1973-ish) was to disable the 2nd stage of a vacume operated 2stage carburetor. In this BMW ETA you can also see this fuel saving influence on the instrument cluster, it has a big vacume guage to indicate if engine was guzzling or if it was running frugally.

  • @matty6848

    @matty6848

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glenn Powell yes so you end up flooring it every gear obviously killing the economy that they were built for!

  • @jfv65
    @jfv653 жыл бұрын

    Those ETA m20 engines were very popular for tuning. I believe they used the forged crank of the 524td engine. And the 2.7L was very powerfull if you would combine it with the high compression cylinder head of the e30 325i. Together with a properly tuned ECU his would make for an easy and reliable 200+hp engine. Alpina basically did this for their e30 C1-2,7L, other tuners like Hartge did similar setups.

  • @yingste

    @yingste

    3 жыл бұрын

    They didn't have the forged crank of the diesel but they did have the same stroke

  • @MartsGarage
    @MartsGarage3 жыл бұрын

    I like this one a lot. Yonks ago we had a 518i as our daily driver. It was a nice car. We christened it "The Dutchess" as it just made stately progress. It had a nice quality feel to it even though it was the bottom line model. It was C reg and on one outing to Cheltenham the kids pointed out it was the oldest car they had seen on the entire journey. Steel wheels and plastic hubcaps. I swapped on a set of alloys I got from the scrapyard for £30.

  • @abs83
    @abs833 жыл бұрын

    Fantastic car! (I’m extremely biased though as I own one myself) and a fantastic review as always from Hubnut! At the risk of being pedantic, the blanking plugs you mention for the windows are, in fact, a manual override. E28s with wind up windows had the crank mounted much higher up towards the electric mirror switch but still on the fabric portion of the door card. The plug can be removed if the power window fails and you use the socket in the tool kit to manually close it.

  • @WorksOnMyComputer

    @WorksOnMyComputer

    3 жыл бұрын

    Now that is a bit of smart engineering.

  • @busternineshoes
    @busternineshoes3 жыл бұрын

    My first BMW was a 1986 E30 320i. My current one is a F31 320d. You have made me want to sell the new car for an old one. I still regret selling my E34 525i. The best car I've ever driven. Still want an E24 635csi Highline though...

  • @paultaylor9652
    @paultaylor96523 жыл бұрын

    Lovely Jubbly, enjoyed that. No airbag, doesn't it look better.

  • @PhilOsGarage

    @PhilOsGarage

    3 жыл бұрын

    It does, but that one time you get to look really really closely at the steering wheel, you are glad the airbag is there.. (if you know what I mean)

  • @rohankiwi
    @rohankiwi3 жыл бұрын

    I used to have a 525ee which was a New Zealand only model. The extra e standing for executive. It had air conditioning, electric sunroof, electric Windows, premium sound system, sports steering wheel and lovely and I think unique woollen fabric seats and interior panels. Really was a lovely car. Very relaxing to drive but with a surprising turn of speed.

  • @heikkiremes5661
    @heikkiremes56613 жыл бұрын

    After seeing the new M4, the hideous grille I genuinely thought was a meme at first, I love to see a genuinely good looking BMW. The E28 is one of my favourites.

  • @matty6848

    @matty6848

    3 жыл бұрын

    Personally I can’t stand the 4 series. Such a pointless car, especially as the new 3 series is a great liking car.

  • @seancooke4127
    @seancooke41273 жыл бұрын

    I was very surprised that you felt comfortable in the rear with good headroom. Visibility seemed great too. True, the Ford Granada Ghia may have edged it for refinement but it is a larger vehicle overall. I truly believe that BMW engineers came pretty close to perfection with the 525e. Executive comfort, 6 cylinder smoothness and response, automatic transmission with manual economy. The paint is lovely and the interior is immaculate. A credit to a careful owner.

  • @volt8684
    @volt8684 Жыл бұрын

    Very desirable car in its day way beyond my means … didn’t stop me test driving one. That engine

  • @rinaldoacardi617
    @rinaldoacardi6173 жыл бұрын

    One of my favorite generations of BMW by far. Just love the styling.

  • @marvinwilson34
    @marvinwilson343 жыл бұрын

    Great car ,looking very sharp in red, had a few of these 20 or so years ago mostly rotten and loose to drive but even then they always looked something, never payed more the 2 or 3 hundred pounds for them, great days ,also the same thing applies to the ford Granada you tested from the same guy, I remember buying a gold 2.8 i Ghia x estate car in really okay condition for £400 to drive to Glastonbury festival in 1994 another great car ,unfortunately that rotted out round the bulkhead because of blocked drainage holes, so very well done to the owner for keeping these two great cars on the road.

  • @nitrorory
    @nitrorory3 жыл бұрын

    That e28 is gorgeous. Best car you’ve tested IMHO. I’d love to own that

  • @kenwyatt1076
    @kenwyatt10763 жыл бұрын

    You have brought back some delicious memories. I had one of these back in the day. Mine had the "525E" badge on the back and the E stood for Etta. Thank you. Ken

  • @BlueXonar
    @BlueXonar3 жыл бұрын

    Yay old BMW content! 😃 The spare wheel is indeed under the boot floor, but it is on the left hand side. You'd think having the interior lights in the middle of the roof would be good, but in reality they're useless. The inspection lights are almost always non-functional on these, they do whatever they please! The steering wheel is reach adjustment only and there isn't much travel. There is no height adjustment. The drivers seat should have height adjustment (sometimes jammed) which might go some way to explaining your issue with seeing the gauges, and the feeling of being too high up!

  • @justinreynolds2235
    @justinreynolds22353 жыл бұрын

    Memories!!! My dad owned a 525e for a short while. It was replaced by a Rover 827Si fastback.

  • @Chrankerstjerne
    @Chrankerstjerne3 жыл бұрын

    I had an 1986 e28 525i Automatic 10 years ago. Loved it! Excellent for long trips and still relatively fast, even at almost 25 years old.

  • @barstowtovegas8574
    @barstowtovegas85743 жыл бұрын

    Very supportive seats, they're always telling you how well you're doing while you're driving....

  • @dmodeboy
    @dmodeboy3 жыл бұрын

    "Passenger arc has a lovely swing on it". A phrase you would never hear anywhere else! Lovely car. Not a huge fam of BMWs but that's one I'd own 👍

  • @e28forever30
    @e28forever303 жыл бұрын

    I got myself a rust free Spanish E28 525i with the bulletproof M30 engine 4 years ago. Coolest car I ever owned, love it to bits.

  • @In_memory_of_Dad
    @In_memory_of_Dad3 жыл бұрын

    What a great car, you certainly did this one justice Ian. Incidentally I had a 1997 528i with a 5 speed box back in 2000 whilst living in the forest of dean and that was a wonderful car.

  • @Chipnolan6
    @Chipnolan63 жыл бұрын

    Steering wheel is elegant, very nice design.

  • @nickc4518
    @nickc45183 жыл бұрын

    Love these 5- Series. Thanks for this upload.

  • @garyhardwick8489
    @garyhardwick84893 жыл бұрын

    I always did like that particular 5-series of Beemer. Someone where I once worked had one and I loved it. Nice video as usual.

  • @grenvillephillips6998
    @grenvillephillips69983 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Richard - you are a credit to classic car custodianship.

  • @andrewhuxley4634
    @andrewhuxley46343 жыл бұрын

    I’ve had lots of e28s and the 525e is my favourite used last one as a daily driver for 10 years. The 525e I thought always had a sound of its own

  • @lesrogers7310
    @lesrogers73103 жыл бұрын

    I drove one of these back in the 80s. It was loaned to me while my own vehicle was in for repairs. It was in pretty poor condition bodywork wise, but excellent mechanically. It had a light at the bottom of the dash to tell you which gear you were in and changed automatically along with the gearbox. Pretty smart thing to have really. This one is a really nice example and is a real credit to it's owner.

  • @kaitlyn__L
    @kaitlyn__L3 жыл бұрын

    Dear Mr Hubnut: thank you for being so relaxing and chilled out. Plus, you put in the title the few times you do have an anger. I enjoy watching your videos at all times of day, but I must say you're wonderfully soporific when I'm so inclined. Your voice is well balanced against the engine noise, which I also find incredibly relaxing by itself. Wonderful to have an evening snooze to in an armchair to :) and then wake up a bit, have more tea, and enjoy hearing more car facts. I'll often put on your older videos on automatic play. So thank you! :D

  • @protestagain
    @protestagain3 жыл бұрын

    Back in those days, I drove those E28 524TD, with manual and automatic. Wonderful and responsive diesel and good memories.

  • @habsom1406
    @habsom14063 жыл бұрын

    Finally someone has done a video on the BMW e28 525e and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Had one of these for many years and it was so relaxing to drive with it's low revving, long stroke, big capacity, high torque, low friction engine and armchair like seats. It would return 25 mpg around town and upper 30's on a long run all with whisper quietness and silky smooth six cylinders. This chappie seems to review all the cars I've admired throughout my years with his honest, frank and sensible observations, I find myself agreeing with most of what he has to say. Really like the way the video is wrapped up at the end too with the zoom in to the grille and the 'copter view as the car drives off and you can hear the engine first ticking over and then the exhaust doing its stuff as he drives off. Great job, keep 'em coming I say. P.S. any chance you could review an E21?

  • @ads214
    @ads2143 жыл бұрын

    Honeslty mate, I don't know what it is but I find your videos both very interesting and extremely calming at the same time. They've actually been a great help to me over the last few months with all the stress of COVID. Keep it up. (PS if you're ever tempted to make it to Brisbane back in Aus one day I've got a poverty-spec Mk1 Golf 'Clipper' Cabriolet and a fully-optioned '88 Accord (yes I know you've already done the Aerodeck!) with your name on them.)

  • @jameswestwood
    @jameswestwood3 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful! 2.7 litre ETA engine lovely!! I had the M5 in 2001, it was lovely and absolute weapon. It appears this E28 has the M5 splitter on it too.

  • @alexnagel1580
    @alexnagel15803 жыл бұрын

    very impressed how fast the kick down was

  • @malcolmscott4150
    @malcolmscott41503 жыл бұрын

    Love the e28 5 series and 520i was my favourite for its silky smooth inline six - these cars saw the BMW brand take off in Australia and the 325e and 525e only came to Australia in ‘86 as we transitioned to unleaded fuel and this saw them as the only models until cats were fitted to other models - eta was designed for low down torque which Australia’s like

  • @richardcallison1637
    @richardcallison16373 жыл бұрын

    I really like that despite the view of the gauges. I could be quite happy wafting around in it. Very enjoyable video!👍

  • @kevinpatrickmacnutt
    @kevinpatrickmacnutt3 жыл бұрын

    In America these were called the 528e, but had the same 2.7 litre engine. I had an 1982, which was the first year the E28 was released and for that year the ETA was the only available version of the 5-series we could get in the US as the 533i did not reach these shores until 1983. Mine was lapis blue with blue interior and a 5 speed manual transmission. While my steering wheel was not quite as sporty, it did have front and rear power windows, air conditioning, a bank of warning lights above the rear view mirror and an early attempt at an on board computer. Sometime in the 1980's, the original owner installed a cell phone, however by the time I bought the car in 1994, the early style of cell phones were largely obsolete. I bought it with 141,000 miles on the odometer and sold it seven years late with a whopping 325,000 miles on it.

  • @maxeluy
    @maxeluy3 жыл бұрын

    Awesome car, i can see the refinement through the video! Very relaxing and also exciting car! Wonderful!

  • @TheFlyingBusman
    @TheFlyingBusman3 жыл бұрын

    Takes me back to my 325i E30. I revelled in wet roundabouts what with the LSD. Made going sideways such fun. Loved the glorious straight six soundtrack.

  • @frothe42
    @frothe423 жыл бұрын

    Spot on as usual, another smashing video!

  • @DoubleDeckerAnton
    @DoubleDeckerAnton3 жыл бұрын

    These 5 series have the strongest character, out of all 5 series generations.

  • @rich_edwards79
    @rich_edwards793 жыл бұрын

    Not a fan of modern BMWs or the kind of people who often drive them, but this is a lovely looking, beautifully preserved vehicle. I think it's the combination of the red paint, chrome and that shark nose that does it for me. And I miss velour interiors. I guess the far eastern markets (which seem to dictate car design now) don't like them, but I wish they'd bring them back! 75 looks great too, sitting over to the side :)

  • @nigelsandeman2642
    @nigelsandeman26423 жыл бұрын

    Had a couple of 520i versions, and absolutely adored them. I would have another one in a second.

  • @danielgower5531
    @danielgower55313 жыл бұрын

    So that's why BMWs go so fast, as their drivers can't see the speedo! :)

  • @CathodeRayNipplez
    @CathodeRayNipplez3 жыл бұрын

    Only one for sale here in Au, an 1984 E28 528i Executive Auto for £31,000.

  • @bri77uk1
    @bri77uk13 жыл бұрын

    Glorious. Love a BMW straight 6!

  • @rheinerftvideo2647
    @rheinerftvideo26473 жыл бұрын

    My father has been driving BMW 5 series since 1978 till today. As a solid family car for 10 years of usuage per model, it was never disappointing. Although the older BMW 6 cylinders engines 40 years ago had not been reliable at all and needed to be changed frequently...

  • @RichieRouge206
    @RichieRouge2063 жыл бұрын

    I adore this shape of 5-series, this and the E34 are by far the prettiest and classiest BMWs ever, love it in red too. Used to have friends who had an E-reg 525e and always loved its almost centre exhaust. Great test of a fab car - it’s got the classic 6 cylinder/automatic whine noise too. Sold.

  • @rodneyemmerich8828
    @rodneyemmerich88283 жыл бұрын

    Steering column adjust was for reach only, if I remember correctly

  • @jesperviktorsson8027

    @jesperviktorsson8027

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yep even the e34 is like that..

  • @rohankiwi

    @rohankiwi

    3 жыл бұрын

    And I'm pretty sure you can adjust the seat in a million ways

  • @jesperviktorsson8027

    @jesperviktorsson8027

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@rohankiwi well unless u got the sport seats ur kinda limited

  • @avocado71
    @avocado713 жыл бұрын

    Love the shape of these.

  • @nishilpatel1824
    @nishilpatel18243 жыл бұрын

    I used to own this car 10years ago. It’s beautiful and so pleased to see it again, in such good condition. 😍

  • @MrRickp78

    @MrRickp78

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hi. Interesting to hear you once owned this. I know two of the previous owners who had this since about 2012 I think. I bought it in 2017. Whereabouts are you in the country and how long did you have it etc? Thanks

  • @nishilpatel1824

    @nishilpatel1824

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@MrRickp78 Hi, I purchased this from the original owner in 2010 and owned it for around 18months. I took on a 2 secondment abroad so sold my cars. It only had 88k on the clock when I had it. I love the E28, particularly the 525e’s.

  • @nishilpatel1824

    @nishilpatel1824

    3 жыл бұрын

    I’m based in North West London. The chap that I sold it to lived up in the north of the country I believe.

  • @MrRickp78

    @MrRickp78

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@nishilpatel1824 thanks for your reply. Yes I bought it from near Cramlington and drove it nearly 200 miles home. Took a chance and booked a one way train ticket after work and got back about 2am! It had an annoying occasional starting issue that ended up being the gearbox speed sensors but simple fix. It really is a lovely car. Interesting to hear the original owner had it some 23 years! Thanks

  • @davidy80
    @davidy803 жыл бұрын

    I had an E28 520i back in the day, and it had a much larger steering wheel, so didn't have the issue with seeing the dials. It was also really quiet from what I remember, so I was surprised you found so much wind and road noise from this example. One of the many cars I wish I still owned.

  • @daniellee9015
    @daniellee90153 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant video Ian lovely old car pity they don't make them like that any more

  • @herrfister1477

    @herrfister1477

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes everything nowadays is complete shit. I often wonder why I don’t just end it all.

  • @BluffMunkey
    @BluffMunkey3 жыл бұрын

    Hubnut is currently doing the greatest hits of my youth. Last week's Granada (identical to one I had) and I also had the 2 litre straight six of this very model, and also one of my favourite cars that I ever owned. If I won the lottery, I wouldn't buy a supercar, I'd buy mint versions of what's currently appearing on 'Nut!

  • @mercmush
    @mercmush3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for another great review of another car from a golden era when different manufacturers actually offered different characteristics in their model line up. I was going to buy one of these as my second ever car but bought an 87 730iSE instead. What an expensive mistake that was!!

  • @danieleregoli812
    @danieleregoli8123 жыл бұрын

    What an absolutely delightful car to watch, drive and sit it as a passenger. You really can't fault it.

  • @MGBetts1
    @MGBetts13 жыл бұрын

    Fantastic wiper action! RHD as well 👍🏻

  • @ThePowerbloke
    @ThePowerbloke3 жыл бұрын

    The only BMW I have ever owned was a 2004 318i. It certainly was firmly planted on the road and just rode well. Here in Australia though parts are extremely expensive and dealers or anyone in fact prepared to service or do any work on them are few and far between.

  • @waynetetley584
    @waynetetley5843 жыл бұрын

    My favourite looking 5-series still looking good for its age. But I also liked the mk2 Granada. Lovely well made simplicity

  • 3 жыл бұрын

    These and E21 3 series are my favourite bimmers of all time! Amongst some very interesting cars up and down my road (and a helicopter casually parked in someone's drive, as you do) there's a lovely E24 6 Series parked up in a drive and collecting moss and bird bombs, it hasn't moved for years! I'd love to have the spare cash and and a smile winning enough to part it from its owner. Great review Ian, I absolutely love these cars and their oddly just off centre echausts! EDIT: What ever is C3PO up to though?! 😂

  • @timbre7999
    @timbre79993 жыл бұрын

    Really enjoyable, those older BMWs and this is a fine example of the breed.

  • @ginggur17
    @ginggur173 жыл бұрын

    Loved these.

  • @robenglish416
    @robenglish4163 жыл бұрын

    What a lovely specimen! A business administrator's car, would love one! Never sold in Sweden as far as I know, 518, 520, 523, 528 and 535! Didn't know they sold as automatic, seems to go against economy, even with lock up! Love the Bavarian strict interior, stereo should be Blaupunkt. Suddenly I am craving for Bratwurst and need to search AutoScout24 for a BMW525!

  • @darrellcoutinho805

    @darrellcoutinho805

    2 жыл бұрын

    For that authentic 1980's German vibe, you could also play Big in Japan by Alphaville whilst driving this car 😁

  • @philipdean5338
    @philipdean53383 жыл бұрын

    Truly liked that model you drove, had a E34 diesel few years ago, found it gutless but built like a Tank....

  • @gaddmeister
    @gaddmeister3 жыл бұрын

    Blooming heck! I lived 1.4 miles from the dealership that registered that car at that time. Happy days! A northerner now.

  • @wackyrc1394
    @wackyrc13943 жыл бұрын

    Magnificent in red, a sight to behold, thank you Sir!

  • @Perkelenaattori
    @Perkelenaattori3 жыл бұрын

    That used to be the economy mentality way back when. Instead of having a 35 hp 1.3 that you had to constantly hoon like mad to actually get anywhere, put a bigger engine that you don't have to.

  • @chrishart8548

    @chrishart8548

    3 жыл бұрын

    A thrashed 1.6 uses more than a 2 litre in a large car.

  • @Perkelenaattori

    @Perkelenaattori

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@chrishart8548 Yeah it really does. I had two Asconas or Cavaliers as you call them in the UK. One was a 1.6 and the other was a 2.0 and the 2 litre was definitely more economical because of this.

  • @mikeh2006

    @mikeh2006

    3 жыл бұрын

    Ive got a 1995 328i auto. I do 'use' the engine and it gets about 28mpg. However on a run 50/60mph I have seen 40mpg(just about).Tested using the correct method of course. Interesting the car actually underestimates its economy on the little computer thing. Showing 23mpg when its getting 28mpg.

  • @ProdigalPorcupine

    @ProdigalPorcupine

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Chris Hart - Dead right! I had a 1.6 focus Mk1 years ago. It went in to get some work done and they gave a me a Fiesta Mk6 Zetec 1.25 as a courtesy car. It was pretty poor on petrol, and when I looked up the fuel consumption figures, it was slightly worse than the Focus! A lighter car with a smaller engine using more fuel than a heavier 1.6! That was some achievement by Ford. I later bought a Mk6 Fiesta 1.4TDCi and that was great on fuel, and great fun to drive. I still love those Mk6s!

  • @gregculverwell
    @gregculverwell3 жыл бұрын

    I had an e34 535i. (manual), On the open road I could get 31 mpg while cruising between 75 & 85 mph. Admittedly it was at altitude of around 1600m which helps. The secret for me was to never touch the brake pedal and never slow down for corners.

  • @paultubby6878
    @paultubby68783 жыл бұрын

    Making me want one again. Used to Shen a gold one 10 years ago. Lovely car.

  • @zugbug1986
    @zugbug19863 жыл бұрын

    A very nice example. The colour almost matches the colour of the braces from the 80s loadsamoney brigade. Good review Ian.

  • @paultasker7788
    @paultasker77883 жыл бұрын

    We had E34 535i with the same velour seats. As a boy I sat in the back and both interior and ride were very comfortable. Lovely car but MPG was 19. Lovely engine sound

  • @scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain
    @scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain3 жыл бұрын

    Lovely example of a 525 what a lovely noise it makes

  • @PaulinesPastimes
    @PaulinesPastimes3 жыл бұрын

    Lovely. The best styling era. Cheers

  • @stephenjcuk7562
    @stephenjcuk75623 жыл бұрын

    The fully body coloured door mirrors were such an eighties thing. Just like stripes on an army uniform you could always tell the managers from the minions by this. They almost look to 'showy' on such an understated car.

  • @MrRickp78

    @MrRickp78

    3 жыл бұрын

    They would have been black originally but a previous owner painted them.

  • @stephenjcuk7562

    @stephenjcuk7562

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@MrRickp78 Cosmetically no bad thing. Being a minion I remember changing L wheels trims to GL ones on a new '93 Ford Mondeo. Maybe it's just me. BMWs have always had my respect but not my salary, 😊.

  • @chrisweddle2577
    @chrisweddle25773 жыл бұрын

    I had an E28 524d for a while. It was fun and pretty economical. I think that 3 spoke steering wheel might be an optional extra. The standard one might have been a bit bigger.

  • @frothe42

    @frothe42

    3 жыл бұрын

    I think you Could be correct!

  • @CreRay

    @CreRay

    3 жыл бұрын

    Correct, standard was a 4-spoke steering wheel, with the typical horn buttons in the spokes.

  • @chrisweddle2577

    @chrisweddle2577

    3 жыл бұрын

    I put that 3 spoke wheel on my E30 316i myself after finding it in a junkyard. Back when they still let you wander around junkyards.

  • @gilesgander155
    @gilesgander1553 жыл бұрын

    I had one of those, air con and 4 electric windows. Had a bigger and older style wheel that didn't obscure the gauges

  • @antiochiaadtaurum3786
    @antiochiaadtaurum37863 жыл бұрын

    I drove an E28 a few years back, a gypsy was selling it in the West of Ireland. Felt like I was driving into the bronx to find this machine to test drive it. But test drive it I did. When I opened the manual sunroof a ton of rust fell on my head. That was the sign I needed to negate the notion of reliving the gentleman of his BMW. Incidentally, comparing the E28 to a Granada is rather like comparing a BMW 3 series to a Ford Sierra. BMW E28 is a 5 series, that's the Sierra equipvalent. The Ford Granada aspired to the refinement of a 7 series BMW, one would be drawn to presume.

  • @kingkangaroobear112

    @kingkangaroobear112

    3 жыл бұрын

    top comments !

  • @nitrosilvia
    @nitrosilvia3 жыл бұрын

    My mate and i used to use the pistons from these eta engines with the rods from M20B20 to build 2.7 litre M20B25 for bmw e30s'. Basically got i nicely revving 2.7 lump.

  • @piratasdecordoba
    @piratasdecordoba3 жыл бұрын

    Back in the days a friend of mine had a 325i E30 convertible with all options converted to a 325e, IMHO the perfect combination. Still sad that I sold my 318i E30 Touring years ago, best looking car ever...

  • @zidiezid
    @zidiezid3 жыл бұрын

    Beautiful Car.....Thanks HubNut👊👍

  • @area51isreal71
    @area51isreal713 жыл бұрын

    I have always loved the look of these, any 5 series BMW. I lusted after them and started searching for one. Research showed the service costs, and the cost of fixing one that had not been serviced when it should have been. Scary enough for me to chicken out out buy a 3.5 litre Mitsubishi Magna instead. No BMW for sure, but it went well and handled great.......and I could afford to service it LOL.

  • @MrSudanPresident
    @MrSudanPresident3 жыл бұрын

    That car is very HubNut, could you possibly do a review on the E30 aswell please. My all time favourite car. Never driven or owned one but love it.

  • @HubNut

    @HubNut

    3 жыл бұрын

    There is an E30 test on the channel. Somewhere...

  • @MrSudanPresident

    @MrSudanPresident

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@HubNut i'll have look for it cheers bud 👍

  • @matthewlockwood9533
    @matthewlockwood95333 жыл бұрын

    What a lovely car I have an E39 but I'd like a review on the E12 that would be awesome!

  • @burkezillar
    @burkezillar3 жыл бұрын

    Even back in the 1980's, BMW's method of monitoring the speed was the use of road side speed cameras and/or the blue lights of a police car. Hence why they only give you a view of speed up to 20mph, and inexcess of 120mph.

  • @macgvrs
    @macgvrs3 жыл бұрын

    I had a 1973 BMW 2002. It was a very surprising little car. I seem to recall it being a four cylinder and did quite well fuel economy wise while being fairly quick. It also rode surprisingly well for a small car. A fun little car. I have a fondness for BMWs though I have heard reliability is a bit of an issue with some of them.

  • @aleshudek5323
    @aleshudek53233 жыл бұрын

    I had 525e it was lovely, torque like diesel. Also been upgraded with 525i e34 12v camshaft ❤

  • @Dingolfing
    @Dingolfing3 жыл бұрын

    E39s had a GM autobox which was one of the only things that let the cars down. Most automatic BMWs have brilliant ZF autoboxes like the one you drove and still do to this day.

  • @GoldenCroc

    @GoldenCroc

    3 жыл бұрын

    Wikipedia says most late model E39s used ZF though? I know my own 540i E39 1997 certainly had a ZF in it, and it worked very well.

  • @Dingolfing

    @Dingolfing

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@GoldenCroc Yes they switched away from the GM Strasbourg built box for very late cars IIRC. V8s had ZF boxes as GM rubbish could not take power. Most E39 slush had the GM box though and I know as i had a few of them. Had a few common problems such as slow reverse engagement as the reverse clutch hydraulic leaked and was a very slushy auto that as Hubnut found always wanted to kick down, even in the 530d which was very annoying as it didn't need to.

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