BMW 5 Series Sedan 2017 car review

The technology advancements within this vehicle are great.

The 540i was equipped to the nines with $5k worth of optional upgrades. Is it really necessary to have hand gesture control, display key and remote parking? Maybe not, but it’s an impressive feature to show off to your mates. Remote parking does make perfect sense, especially for a car of this size with large doors. Of course, I had to move the car forward remotely to allow all my passengers to get in comfortably and of course I had to use the touch screen remote to set the A/C, check my fuel gauge before I’d even entered the car! I’ll admit I was a little less familiar with the gesture controls which may take a little getting used to.

The ‘M’ badge and associated goodies are standard on the 540i. This includes dynamic suspension damper control, high gloss shadowline – whatever that means – M sport brakes, M exterior styling package, sport seats and more. Our test car had the added technology and comfort package, as well as a BMW Piano Black individual interior trim finish.

Driving this vehicle was a pleasure. BMW have carefully thought of so many little things such as a colour heads up display, giving you absolutely no reason to take your eyes off the road. The seat adjustment options came up on the central screen as soon as you moved your hand to the side of the seats and every area of the seat could be adjusted.

The car pretty much drives itself. You do have to maintain pressure to the lower part of the steering wheel, but it comes equipped with a very active lane keep assist, auto lights, wipers and active cruise control system.

In eco mode you could definitely feel the fuel savings due to the reduced power output. Hello sports mode though and all 250kW of 6-cylinder turbo goodness which was available on tap. The instrument display changed to reflect a more sporty nature and there was no shortage of power or exceptional handling thanks to the damper control.

The 5 Series is available in three models – base 520d, 530d and 540i – all of which have 8-speed transmissions, LED lights, comfort access keyless entry, run flat tyres, satellite navigation and heated front seats, plus so much more.