Andrew Chesterton road tests and reviews the BMW 5 Series with specs, fuel consumption and verdict at its Australian launch.
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BWM reckons its all-new, seventh-generation 5 Series is so packed with technology, it’s actually more like a mini 7 Series, the brand’s true flagship sedan.
And that means we should take a closer look at one. And they tell me that, if I hit this button here, my car should be starting.
And they tell me, if i hit this button here, one should be turning up any second now.
Ah, and here it is now
BMW’s 5 Series is now 45 years old, and this all-new model arrives in four distinct flavours, with a fifth - an incoming M5 performance sedan - still some way off. For now, though, the range kicks off with the 520d, before stepping up what BMW hopes to be the big seller of the range, the 530i - both of which get four-cylinder engines. Next up is biggest diesel, the 530d, before the range tops out with the petrol-powered 540i - both of which get six-cylinder engines. And every 5 Series is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard.
Be warned though, there’s been some pretty serious price increases right across the line up, ranging from $9,000 on the entry-level model to a whopping $19,245 on the 540i. BMW justifies the hikes by pointing to an increase in standard inclusions across the range.
Ok, so the whole self-parking thing is actually a cost option, part of BMW’s innovations package, which includes, this display key, which allows you to manoeuvre the car out of tight parking spots without you having to be in it, and it allows you to set the climate control before you get in. It also includes a gesture control system, which gives you some basic control over the stereo functions without you having to touch any of the buttons, and thats a $1,600 package.
But there’s plenty of cool standard kit, too. Regardless of the trim level. Now we’re in the top-spec diesel, the 530D, so the interior is swimming in Nappa leather, the dash awash with beautiful materials and woodgrain highlight and this cool 12.3-inch digital screen in the driver’s binnacle.
Every 5 Series also gets a head up display that pairs with a camera that reads street signs as you pass them and beams that info onto the screen, leather trim and adjustable drive modes that allow you to alter the weight of the steering and the response of the throttle, while the more expensive models include dynamic dampers and an adaptive mode that blends driver inputs with navigation data to set up the car for corners even as you approach them, which is clever technology.
Every 5 Series also gets what BMW is calling its personal co-pilot, which is basically a set of tricky systems that work with the active cruise control and allow the car to be driven completely autonomous for spells of 30 seconds. Now it’s not quite as advanced as some of its competitors systems - it cant change lanes for example - but if you;re out on a country road or on a highway, it will stay within its lane, turn around corners and keep up with the traffic, even if they stop in front of you.
But theres probably a reason BMW is focussing so heavily on all the technology stuff, and that’s because there’s nothing particularly revolutionary about the way this car drives. Not that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and don’t get me wrong, it does everything you could ask of a car in this bracket. Its smooth and quiet, the new chassis has done nothing to dampen engagement when you start to ask a little more of it, and it’s generally a nice and luxurious experience. But then so was the old car.
Now keep in mind we’ve tested three cars, two petrols and one diesel, and not for very long, so we’ll wait until we spend more time in one to make a definitive verdict.
But what they have done is pour all that technology into it, and so much so that they refer to it as less of a 5 Series, and more of a mini 7 Series, and I guess in a way it kind of is. They also consider it the step between now and the future, and what they mean by that is a future where you can do this…. for more than 30 seconds.
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