9 February 2011
New car report; Back to the future
Many BMW enthusiasts were disappointed back in 2003 when the last E39 5 Series rolled off the production line to be replaced by the Chris Bangle designed E60 model.
The E39 was touted by many as BMW’s finest and picked up numerous awards and accolades throughout its seven year life cycle, being described by many as the best car in the world.
It was the benchmark upper-medium luxury sedan and was praised for excellent handling, refined ride, outstanding build quality, great range of engines and elegant design.
The replacement E60 5 Series launched in 2003 was contentious in design, had strangely weighted electronic steering, a hard ride and an i-Drive system that many buyers found confusing.
Sure, the E60 improved along the way and the styling grew on us, but only the dyed in the wool BMW fan would have rated it alongside the E39 in its day.
The new 5 Series, codenamed F10, has instant appeal
Refined and comfortable, with top notch build quality, classic BMW lines and outstanding driving dynamics, it's a safe bet that BMW will need to be extending their trophy cabinet thanks to the latest 5 Series.
Our test car was the range-topping (until the M5 arrives) 550i. With 300kW of power and 600Nm of torque, the 4.4 litre twin turbo V8 sprints from 0 to 100km/h in just 5 seconds flat, with a combined fuel consumption quoted at 10.4L/100km. The rear wheels are driven through a slick-shifting 8 speed ZF automatic transmission, as fitted to the entire range.
Other engine options include a pair of 3.0 litre straight sixes in the form of a 190kW 528i and 225kW TwinPower Turbo 535i, with a couple of diesels arriving later in the year with the four cylinder 520d and a 535d six.
Our 550i came with an impressive list of standard equipment as well as an extensive array of added options.
Standard equipment includes Dynamic Driving Control which allows the driver to shift from Normal to Sport, where the engine and transmission mapping becomes sharper and the steering and chassis tighten up. There’s also a Sport + mode which is more suited to track use than country cruising.
The latest version of BMW’s i-Drive is a doddle to use, enabling even the most technically challenged user to scroll around the large colour screen with geek-like proficiency.
Electric glass sunroof, comfort access, Xenon headlamps, Navigation system, voice control, head-up display, rear view camera, Bluetooth and a variety of other creature comforts make for an impressive standard package .
Our test car was also fitted with some hi-tech, high-cost options
Adaptive Drive utilises FlexRay, a high-speed data transfer system that networks sensors, control units and stabilisers. The sensors monitor vehicle speed, steering-wheel position and the pitch and yaw forces. Using this data, the system precisely adjusts the stabilisers and the dampers, changing their settings quickly and accurately. This counteracts the forces that cause the body to roll or sway. Nice, but at almost $7,500, you could probably live without it.
Then there was Park Assistant, Lane change warning, Lane deviation warning, Satin chrome, Surround View, Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go feature and numerous other goodies. We liked most of them.
When the driver sets the cruise control, all that’s really needed is to steer the car. It ensures that you follow at a safe distance, slows you down to a standstill when the traffic stops and moves off when the traffic does.
Park Assistant selects your parking space and steers the car back into it. Surround view lets you see every nook and cranny around the car when manoeuvring in tight spots.
No question, it’s a good car; a great one even. But it will lighten your wallet by $173,000, or with the $27,510 worth of options as fitted to our test car, tipping it over the $200,000 mark.
Whether you’d choose the entire array of extras that BMW fitted to our test car for demonstration purposes is doubtful.
For city use we’d go for the Active Cruise Control, Surround View and Park Assistant. These three can be had for under $7,000, keeping the sticker price under $180,000, if that’s where your budget tops out.