E39mad Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 (edited) This week have returned from a month in Southern Spain which we drove with our dog in the 520d MHT touring. Day 1. 10 Jan. Bollington, Cheshire to Abbeyville France. Started at 7am and 3 degree temp which unusually dropped as we headed south. Surprisingly no hold ups in the UK as went over the Staffordshire Moorlands to pick up the A50 to the M1. Got to Chunnel at midday with one stop and managed to get on an earlier train despite not having a flexible ticket. Day 2. Abbeyville to Angouleme. Started with -6 temps which didn't get above zero until 1pm between Le Mans and Tours. Lots of snow around from the day before but roads dry and clear. Started using the Driving Assistant Professional to it's fullest capacity. That is radar cruise control with autonomous steering. You have to keep pressure on the steering wheel...not all the time...but a little keeps it happy. It works superbly and takes some weight off the drive which I do solely due to the wife's long covid. Even better when you indicate the cars cameras check and move you out to overtake or back into the inside lane. Extremely clever stuff. Mpg 57. Day 3. Angouleme to Burgos. Another cold start and rather boring from Bordeaux across Les Landes. But what an epic contrast once over the border. Seriously mountainous and lost count of the number of tunnels and bridges. Some of the tunnels over 3 km long uphill! Burgos is beautiful and Europe's 5th highest city at 865 metres. Despite all the climbing the car did 54 mpg. Day 4: Burgos to Nerja. An epic day driving down the middle of Spain. There are serious mountains before Madrid and you climb to 1000 metres and snow covered peaks. The stretch from just before Jaen past Granada and down to the coast are just wonderful roads. Even going through Madrid was simple and easy. Biggest distance of the four days so put my foot down however I would say I was an average speed man in Spain with plenty of others going well in excess of my speed. Averaged 72.5 mph this with economy of 52.6mpg. Return journey: Day 1: leave just after 8am in 15 degree heat and get on the fabulous and recently built motorway which runs along the whole of the Mediterranean coast. You go through numerous tunnels and viaducts before heading north towards Granada and Jaen. Words cannot describe how fabulous this road is. Within an hour you climb from the coast to 1000 metres and see the snow covered tops of the Sierra Nevada. Mpg at this stage is unsurprisingly low at 38. After the mountains around Jaen it is relatively flat all the way to Madrid. The ongoing farmers protest meant the motorway was blocked and we spent 20 mins queuing before an unintended explore of a few towns and roads. Back on the motorway and through the centre of Madrid which was busy but flowed consistently at the 50mph limit. Out the other end towards Burgos and you climb to 1100 meters - that's higher than Snowdon! - and unsurprisingly the temp plummets to 2 degrees and sleet hits the car. Down the other side the motorway traffic stops due to a multi car crash. We are stopped for 30 mins whilst the emergency services and recovery trucks attend. They, unlike the UK, open the motorway quickly by moving the crashed cars to the side. There were two accidents one of which had an X2 of which the front end was unrecognisable. The gritter trucks were out and these all carried snow ploughs on the front. A lot of climbing meant mpg of around 50 that day Day 2: Burgos to Angouleme. Another day of fabulous Spanish Roads. We fill up with diesel at under £1.40 a litre and head for the Biscay coast and the French border. A stop after about 2 hours shows almost 65mpg at an average of 66 mph. Unbelievable for a big fully laden wagon! No hold ups this day. Day 3: Angouleme to Berck About 400 miles done mostly on autonomous radar cruise control. We fill up in Berck after 770 miles since Burgos and 80 miles reportedly left in the tank. An 850 mile effective range. Beat that in your EV! The dog enjoyed the beach Day 4. Berck to Cheshire Only 50 mins to the chunnel and we manage to get on earlier crossing by an hour. Only 3 carriages of cars on that crossing. Back in the UK and what strikes you immediately is the weight of traffic and lack of lane discipline. Queued for the Dartford tunnel and the M1 was solid traffic in the rain all the way to the A50. Horrible conditions and so busy that never managed once to get into the inside lane...what a contrast from the previous three days. Home safely after collective 3500 miles. The 5 touring is a brilliant cross continent express. Fast efficient and with additional tech to make it easier and a pleasure. We are already talking about going back but maybe for 2 months rather than 1. Edited February 17 by E39mad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Impressive trip, was it a hassle taking the dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E39mad Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 3 hours ago, duncan-uk said: Impressive trip, was it a hassle taking the dog? Not really, more costly than hassle. Due to the dumb Brexit you now need to get a vet's certificate before you travel which costs about £200 and then you need to go a vet to verify that the dog has taken a worming pill within 5 days of the return which cost us about 70 Euros as is a largish dog at 30kg. The Eurotunnel system of checking the pet in is very easy and quick. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 So a french vet at calais? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve VH Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 A big milage from Cheshire to Spain, and back, would the Portsmouth to Billbao crossing not make for an easier journey? The five series, every model, since the E12 has always been the bona fide cross country express motor, mopping up the motorway miles with contemptuous ease. Did you find a big improvement between your F11, and the G31. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I cant think of anything worse than the ferry for 24hrs! Sometimes the journey is part of the experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E39mad Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 On 21/02/2024 at 14:23, duncan-uk said: So a french vet at calais? No - had it done in Nerja just before we left. The vets around Calais will charge a fortune!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E39mad Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 (edited) 5 hours ago, Steve VH said: A big milage from Cheshire to Spain, and back, would the Portsmouth to Billbao crossing not make for an easier journey? The five series, every model, since the E12 has always been the bona fide cross country express motor, mopping up the motorway miles with contemptuous ease. Did you find a big improvement between your F11, and the G31. The Spanish Ferries don't run in December and January. They also have very few cabins that allow dogs. They have metal kennels but we wouldn't put our dog through that being on a ship alone for up to 36 hours. We could have done the return via Ferry but maybe next time if can get him in a cabin. Yes there is an improvement in most things in the G31 over the previous F11. Ride is one of them in that the G31 is more compliant and does not crash so much on uneven road surfaces. Not had any tramlining in the G31. The tech obviously is much better especially Android Auto and in our case the optional Driving Assistance Professional. I would say that the G31 520d MHT is 15 to 20% more efficient than my old N47 none stop start 520d. Overall am delighted with the "upgrade". Edited February 22 by E39mad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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