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After driving all varieties of 5-series, this is the car that was unanimously voted the best buy. The 200 pound weight-savings over the more powerful 550i results in a car that feels more balanced, with a sportier feel and greater willingness to engage and conquer corners on the roads snaking down toward Death Valley?s floor, 282 feet below sea level. Even better, the 535i should be good for scampering to 60 mph in the mid-to-high five-second range, nearly running with the far more expensive 550i.
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As torquey as the 550i is, though, it is only marginally quicker than the 535i, and as the road bent deeper into the mountains, we noticed the additional weight in the nose more and more. For all the additional power of the V-8, the overtly sporting nature of the car in six-cylinder guise is spoiled. It feels surprisingly ponderous and much larger than the smaller-engined cars?still a gratifyingly fast and powerful four-door, but no longer a sports sedan.

The twin-turbo inline-six, quite frankly, renders the 550i obsolete, a tool for ignorant status seekers and those with a vendetta against Mother Earth. If that?s the way you feel, though, save yourself $10,000 and just turn on the pump at a gas station and lay the nozzle on the ground. In addition to the inline-six?s better feel and responses at the limit and better fuel economy, the 535i just barely trails the 550i in performance categories that matter on U.S. shores. Maybe on a German autobahn the additional power would come in handy at high speeds, but here, that ten grand would be better funneled into heated seats and the Sport package.

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The new six-cylinder engines make a big difference. The 3.0-liter six in the base 528i is indeed powerful, much like the old 535i. The 3.0-liter turbocharged six in the 535i continues to be cat quick, as it is in the 3 Series sedans and coupes, and returns fuel economy on the high side of 20 mph in you don?t punch the throttle too much. The 550i with the same V8 engine as last year adds a bit more power on top of the 535i, but frankly it may not be much and we expect 550i sales will shrink a bit as part of the 5 Series sales pie.

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