Can the best get better?
06-02-2003, 03:55 PM
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May 18, 2003
Reviews
BMW 5-Series
by Andrew Frankel of The Sunday Times
Can the best get better?
There is no harder act to follow in the automotive world than the BMW 5-series. It is so good that the Five has been acclaimed best executive car by What Car? magazine for seven years on the trot, winning a lifetime achievement award on the most recent occasion.
Pity then all those rivals who, since 1996, have tried to beat it. Pity even more those BMW engineers charged with producing a car not simply a little better but one that will define its class for the next seven years.
The recent omens are not good. Mercedes has at last produced an E-class that is significantly superior to the old Five. Then there?s BMW?s new flagship, the visually challenging 7-series. Even when launched in 2001 the Seven never looked likely to trouble the Mercedes S-class and now it has been bettered by the new Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ.
Even so, if you like the way the latest Five looks ? and I am indifferent to its distinctive styling ? there?s no questioning the legitimacy of BMW?s engineering-led approach. It?s slightly bigger than before but up to 165lb lighter, while its engines produce more power, use less fuel and emit lower levels of harmful emissions.
Three variants will be available when the car goes on sale in the UK in September, all powered by straight sixes: the 2.2 litre 170bhp 520i, the 3 litre 231bhp 530i and the 218bhp turbodiesel 530d. A 333bhp 4.4 litre V8 545i is due to appear in October, followed a few weeks later by the 192bhp 525i. The fourth-generation M5 super-saloon, with its 500bhp V10, is a couple of years away.
Expect the 520i to cost around ?25,000 in basic form while the 530i will retail for about ?30,000.
As before, Sport and Special Equipment (SE) specifications will also be available.
Presenting the new Five as the most technologically advanced car in its class, BMW makes much of its use of aluminium in the frontal structure, both to keep the pounds off and to maintain an even weight distribution for better handling. As with the controversial 7-series, the car?s main electronic systems, from entertainment and telephony to navigation and climate, are all controlled by the computerised iDrive via a single rotary switch between the front seats. The theory is that it reins in the confusing proliferation of switches on modern high-tech dashboards, though its practical success is open to question. Much simplified over its big sister?s infuriatingly labyrinthine system, iDrive works well enough in the Five but remains inferior to Audi?s class-leading MMI (multimedia interface).
Active steering, a world first, will be offered as a option. It not only varies the steering ratio according to speed ? so it?s responsive about town and stable on the motorway ? it also detects a skid and steers into the slide, regardless of what your hands are doing with the wheel.
Driver and passengers occupy one of BMW?s best cabins in years. Modern, functional and attractive, there?s a little more room in the back too (though still not as much as an E-class offers).
Only the two 3 litre cars were available at the launch and for the first time in any model range I?ve driven, the diesel was the one to choose, even disregarding its financial advantages. Official figures say it?s a shade slower than its petrol-powered stablemate, which proves only that statistics can be misleading. On a test track against a stopwatch the 530i might well reach 62mph in 6.9 rather than 7.1sec but we don?t drive that way. Of much more importance is what happens when you put your foot down in any given gear and while the 530d has 13 fewer horsepower it has 65% more torque, which means, in reality, it would blow the 530i off the road.
Sadly, such standards are not quite matched by its chassis. The ride has been improved over the outgoing car but it can still be upset by transverse ridges. And when you pressed on, the active steering, fitted to all the cars at the launch, lacked some of the reassuring feel that made the old Five such a delight on a winding road. Reasonable chassis balance, good grip and unflappable composure mean it is still one of the best-handling cars in the class, but this is no longer an area in which it is unrivalled.
So who now makes the best executive car in the world? It can only be BMW or Mercedes and it?s an agonisingly close call. Buy the E-class for its superior ride, roomy cabin, better steering and traditional looks; choose the BMW for its superlative power train, better build quality and classy interior. I still prefer the BMW but only by the smallest margin.
Which is only a victory of sorts for the Munich marque. The last two 5-series generations were landmarks in saloon car development but this one is simply not a standard setter of that sort. It?s a capable and effective car but behind all the technology it is also a less remarkable one.
Will this Five rule the roost in seven years? I would be surprised.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model BMW 530d
Engine type Six cylinders in line, 2993cc
Power/Torque 218bhp at 4000rpm/369 lb ft at 2000rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Tyres 225/55 WR16
Acceleration 0 to 62mph: 7.1sec
Top speed 152mph
Fuel/CO2 40.9 mpg (combined)/184g/km
Price ?30,000 (approx)
Verdict Very good but no longer great
Rating
Reviews
BMW 5-Series
by Andrew Frankel of The Sunday Times
Can the best get better?
There is no harder act to follow in the automotive world than the BMW 5-series. It is so good that the Five has been acclaimed best executive car by What Car? magazine for seven years on the trot, winning a lifetime achievement award on the most recent occasion.
Pity then all those rivals who, since 1996, have tried to beat it. Pity even more those BMW engineers charged with producing a car not simply a little better but one that will define its class for the next seven years.
The recent omens are not good. Mercedes has at last produced an E-class that is significantly superior to the old Five. Then there?s BMW?s new flagship, the visually challenging 7-series. Even when launched in 2001 the Seven never looked likely to trouble the Mercedes S-class and now it has been bettered by the new Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ.
Even so, if you like the way the latest Five looks ? and I am indifferent to its distinctive styling ? there?s no questioning the legitimacy of BMW?s engineering-led approach. It?s slightly bigger than before but up to 165lb lighter, while its engines produce more power, use less fuel and emit lower levels of harmful emissions.
Three variants will be available when the car goes on sale in the UK in September, all powered by straight sixes: the 2.2 litre 170bhp 520i, the 3 litre 231bhp 530i and the 218bhp turbodiesel 530d. A 333bhp 4.4 litre V8 545i is due to appear in October, followed a few weeks later by the 192bhp 525i. The fourth-generation M5 super-saloon, with its 500bhp V10, is a couple of years away.
Expect the 520i to cost around ?25,000 in basic form while the 530i will retail for about ?30,000.
As before, Sport and Special Equipment (SE) specifications will also be available.
Presenting the new Five as the most technologically advanced car in its class, BMW makes much of its use of aluminium in the frontal structure, both to keep the pounds off and to maintain an even weight distribution for better handling. As with the controversial 7-series, the car?s main electronic systems, from entertainment and telephony to navigation and climate, are all controlled by the computerised iDrive via a single rotary switch between the front seats. The theory is that it reins in the confusing proliferation of switches on modern high-tech dashboards, though its practical success is open to question. Much simplified over its big sister?s infuriatingly labyrinthine system, iDrive works well enough in the Five but remains inferior to Audi?s class-leading MMI (multimedia interface).
Active steering, a world first, will be offered as a option. It not only varies the steering ratio according to speed ? so it?s responsive about town and stable on the motorway ? it also detects a skid and steers into the slide, regardless of what your hands are doing with the wheel.
Driver and passengers occupy one of BMW?s best cabins in years. Modern, functional and attractive, there?s a little more room in the back too (though still not as much as an E-class offers).
Only the two 3 litre cars were available at the launch and for the first time in any model range I?ve driven, the diesel was the one to choose, even disregarding its financial advantages. Official figures say it?s a shade slower than its petrol-powered stablemate, which proves only that statistics can be misleading. On a test track against a stopwatch the 530i might well reach 62mph in 6.9 rather than 7.1sec but we don?t drive that way. Of much more importance is what happens when you put your foot down in any given gear and while the 530d has 13 fewer horsepower it has 65% more torque, which means, in reality, it would blow the 530i off the road.
Sadly, such standards are not quite matched by its chassis. The ride has been improved over the outgoing car but it can still be upset by transverse ridges. And when you pressed on, the active steering, fitted to all the cars at the launch, lacked some of the reassuring feel that made the old Five such a delight on a winding road. Reasonable chassis balance, good grip and unflappable composure mean it is still one of the best-handling cars in the class, but this is no longer an area in which it is unrivalled.
So who now makes the best executive car in the world? It can only be BMW or Mercedes and it?s an agonisingly close call. Buy the E-class for its superior ride, roomy cabin, better steering and traditional looks; choose the BMW for its superlative power train, better build quality and classy interior. I still prefer the BMW but only by the smallest margin.
Which is only a victory of sorts for the Munich marque. The last two 5-series generations were landmarks in saloon car development but this one is simply not a standard setter of that sort. It?s a capable and effective car but behind all the technology it is also a less remarkable one.
Will this Five rule the roost in seven years? I would be surprised.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model BMW 530d
Engine type Six cylinders in line, 2993cc
Power/Torque 218bhp at 4000rpm/369 lb ft at 2000rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Tyres 225/55 WR16
Acceleration 0 to 62mph: 7.1sec
Top speed 152mph
Fuel/CO2 40.9 mpg (combined)/184g/km
Price ?30,000 (approx)
Verdict Very good but no longer great
Rating
