BMW has joined the likes of Audi and Mercedes-Benz by offering its 5 Series luxury sedan with turbo-diesel power. Available from December at a $2000 premium over the petrol 530i, the sedan-only 530d is powered by a 160kW/480Nm 3.0-litre inline six, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. While its performance approaches that of the similarly-equipped 530i via claimed 0-100km/h acceleration in 7.2 seconds, it returns average fuel consumption of a frugal 7.5L/100km. But will BMW's first oil-burning passenger car overcome the public's resistance to diesel-powered cars?