How much economy can you buy yourself with a budget of £5,000?

The twin spurs of global recession and eco concerns have seen car engine development race ahead in an unprecedented fashion over the last couple of years. Emissions and economy of petrol engines have raced ahead of course, but the diesel has really taken off, with the BMW units being right at the forefront of the race, from the incredible 70 mpg economy of the MINI One D to the mighty twin-turbo 535d.

In fact, nine times out of 10 any newish BMW you pass in the street will generally be emitting Rudolf Diesel’s giveaway rumble but it wasn’t always like that: BMW was a relatively late entrant to the diesel game, certainly in the UK market.

Rewind to the mid ’80s and your choice of diesel cars was limited to the rough old Sierra 2.3D, the Perkins-powered Maestro and of course the legions of Peugeots, Citroëns and Renaults. Further up the ladder you had the rattly MkII Golf, a couple of Audis, some taxi-spec Mercedes and that was it.
In Europe, it was rather different: BMW started producing its 2443cc straight-six turbo-diesel in 1982 with the E28 524td and in 1987 it became the world’s first electronically controlled diesel engine in the E30 324td.

Rated at 115 bhp, its specific power output was a long way off today’s high-tech oil-burners but it offered refinement a world away from the rattly VAG and PSA four-cylinders. BMW in the UK though, didn’t see a market for a diesel engine at the prestige end of the market and instead offered the 525e, a long-stroke, high torque 2.7-litre incarnation of the E28 5-Series biased towards economy.

UK buyers had to wait until 1993 to drive a diesel BMW, when the E36 325tds and E34 525tds were launched. It wasn’t until the late ’90s though that diesel sales in the premium market really took off and the E39 5-Series was offered with diesel power from the start, as was the E46 3-Series. Technology allowed genuinely sporting performance from diesel cars and when Jenson Button was busted in his 330d for doing 140 mph on a French Autoroute, the game was on.

Today of course, there’s a diesel version of every car in the range and the choice is yours as to whether you want economy or torque-laden performance. We’ve set ourselves a ceiling of five grand though, so what does that buy you?

For the complete buying guide including what to pay and technical specs see the January 2012 issue of Total BMW

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