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The king is dead, long live the king! Or so. Ever since BMW positioned itself as a sporty “upper middle class” with the E12, Bayern have been the measure of all things in this segment. An almost luxurious sedan in the four-door sedan segment, but always a little sportier than the others. It was no different with the E28. It was no different with the E34. And so on. And you were a role model. While Stuttgart was always associated with more businesslike comfort, the Bavarians were considered athletes. Then the people of Ingolstadt came and looked for their place in this trio. Since then it has been a three-way battle in the “upper middle class”. In the company car segment for frequent drivers and department heads. And the boundaries are becoming more and more blurred. Comfort and dynamism? Today we all have to deliver from the inside out anyway. So how do they differ? A special task for Bayern’s youngest star, the “new five” (G30). mein-auto-blog has already driven the new five-wheeler as the 530d xDrive and 540i sDrive. Test and driving report from Portugal:
Sports teacher in a suit
First test of the new BMW 530d xDrive and BMW 540i sDrive
Quick-Info: The market launch of the new five is on February 11, 2017 - it will have its official world premiere at the auto show in Detroit in early January. Starting price: € 45.200 for the 520d.
The first question: which one is the new one? If the generations F10 and G30, ie “the new one”, stand next to the old one, one wonders what has changed. It looks a bit as if the new model is armed with knives for a pistol duel. Sure, the headlights now go up to the kidneys and back, yes, something is different there. But is that enough? But if you look deeper, you will see the hard work that lies behind such a “transformation”. Looks like a fiver, but more modern. You can tell immediately which of the two is the younger. Develop the language of form without damaging the character. An incredibly complicated task. The most beautiful detail? The bonnet. Because the front end now works without a “caesarean scar”. This recently in vogue bad habit of visibly separating the front mask and the bonnet. The glaring horizontal gaps may result in lower repair costs in the crash test, because only the mask and not the hood have to be replaced in the event of slight damage - but it looks half-baked. Just compare the “noses”, the G30 looks like it has been lifted. Positive.
And even if you first guess boredom and laziness when it comes to design, the people of Munich have unpacked the very large cutlery under the tin. You have adhered to the golden principle of the “three more”. More dynamism, more efficiency, more features.
Fit thanks to diet
A good way to be more fit is diet. Always. Especially with cars. BMW speaks of 100 kilograms, which one lost thanks to clever lightweight construction. Without a carbon core like the seven and without a full aluminum shell. A lot of aluminum, but not only. Principle one and two, more efficiency and more dynamics can be influenced by the diet, 10% more power (eg: 540i) also help with the pure longitudinal dynamics. Brussels and fleet managers are pleased with 10% less consumption. And the environment.
Gadget on tour
BMW has been playing the digital trump card for a few years. The aim is to carve the integration of the digital lifestyle into the brand core as firmly as the dynamic approach has already done. The new five therefore comes with a whole host of innovations and a fine package of assistants and gizmos. However, at one point you shoot massively beyond the target.
Lost in the Gizmo Age
The fact that the car key is developing into a replacement cell phone is completely the wrong direction. A display in the key? The whole thing so big and misshapen that you get scared for your pocket? A gimmick. An outgrowth of: Something like that is possible, but nonsensical. Especially since all functions of the “display key” with its 2.2-inch touchscreen can also be used via BMW's own Connected Drive application. It can be charged via the inductive charging cradle in the center console or via its own USB port (sic!). But what if the cell phone is already in the shell? Then what do you do with the key? In his trouser pocket he brings bystanders into distress. No. Others had better ideas. The right solution? Presumably leaving the decision to the customer. Cell phone as a car key or car key as a replacement cell phone? Gesture control is also a feature, the non-existence of which would not raise any question of meaning. Turn the radio louder in the air by turning your finger? What was wrong with the simple rotary control? Fortunately, this option remains. So, here too, the hook.
HEY! How does he drive now?
Keys, assistants, weight - everything is not the primary factor when buying a BMW? Right. Let's get to the "how he drives".
First ride in the new BMW 530d xDrive
The good news: There is an attractive range of engines available at the start of the new five-series. So not these three-cylinder things, but real engines. Row six. The 530d drives up with a 265 hp three-liter six-cylinder. As an xDrive, the leasing calculator already has € 56.900. For the first time on offer: all-wheel drive, eight-speed automatic and three-liter turbo diesel WITH all-wheel steering. BMW calls the system “Integral Active Steering” and does not care about the easy understanding of the features. In principle - simplified - the rear axle now actively steers. At low speeds in opposite directions, at higher speeds in the same direction as the front axle. The effect on driving behavior? Not noticeable directly. You only feel one thing: the five-wheeler drives, once again, like a sports sedan, a whole size smaller. Of the almost five meters and at least 1.77 tons, nothing remains even on the winding alleys in Portugal. Seriously. Circle lightly, lively create the asphalt tango and let the business limousine dance. Oh - yes, BMW - wasn't that the brand that has “sheer driving pleasure” in its slogan?
The 265 PS diesel brings 620 happy Newton meters of power with it. This also puts a smile on the driver's face. Together with the ultra-fabulous 8-speed automatic - thanks go to ZF in Friedrichshafen - two play together here, whose symbiosis can serve as the benchmark for the rest of the automotive industry. In-line six-cylinder and the 8HP machine. The benchmark for the question of the best solution for a “classic drive train”.
The fact that BMW completely does without air suspension for the five-wheeler can be confusing. But after a day on tour with the 530d and 540i no more. What the brand's chassis developers put on the wheels with the propeller in the logo is impressive. Especially if you know just how well elsewhere Airmatic sorry, air suspension works. The balancing act between sensitive rolling and a jagged reaction to the desire to change direction - splendid. Sure, the check mark in the surcharge list of - as always - expensive options should then also be ticked for the SA number “2VA”, the “Adaptive Drive”. Thanks to active stabilizers, the chassis works with classic steel springs with a convincing directness.
First ride in the new BMW 540i sDrive
Let's talk about happiness. BMW only brought two engines to the international driving event in Portugal. Considering a very likely 518i with then only three cylinders, the six-in-a-row rejoiced in the first tests with the erotic timbre of classic engine construction. The gasoline engine, of course, a little more than the turbodiesel. The 540i sDrive in the “M Sport Package” is best heard from outside when the engine is started. A brief hiss escapes the trapezoidal tailpipes, a brief acoustic promise of performance. And he does it. 340 PS were once M values.
Smooth running, joyful turning behavior, successful promise of performance. The turbo petrol emphatically delivers what it promises on paper. The dry tuning of the chassis in the sport setting of the driving dynamics experience switch matches the relaxed dance through the rev range. How heavy should the five be? With the latest generation, optics may only have been a step for experts - but when it comes to driving dynamics, you are again the benchmark. The traction of the rear-wheel-drive sedan is impressive. Even damp and angled runs do not unsettle. The liver sausage-thick M steering wheel fits perfectly. Two or three curves and the business sedan speaks one language.
A comparison with a five-car without the option must show how large the share of all-wheel steering is in the delivered driving pleasure. The fact is: Despite the steel suspension, the “new one” can do exactly what the fiver was praised for 30 years ago: dynamism on one level slightly above the other. Without becoming uncomfortable because of it.
Infotainment and level 2
While gesture control and the clunky display key fail completely at the first contact, the large infotainment system can score as well as the extremely fast navigation and voice control. Natural language input is a real task for multimedia systems, but the latest generation of the “BMW Connected Drive” package with a 10.25 inch display masters this task impressively well. “Follow me, navigate me to…” and a fraction of a second later the correct destination is entered. That you can also transfer the data for navigation via mobile phone, the Connected App (eactually only "the BMW Connected") informs you in good time via a shortcut to the appointment calendar when you have to leave and you can also query a Microsoft Exchange server as a mail server in the vehicle - all just right steps into the future. But whether BMW drivers agree with the first step towards partially autonomous driving? Questionable. All the better that the integration of the “Driving Assistant Plus” has been implemented so free of annoying factors. BMW saves itself the option of being able to automatically pass speed limits on to the cruise control. You don't want to change the philosophy of BMW drivers. And so speed limits plus x km / h are possible at the push of a button, but only if the driver confirms this. This philosophy proves to be easy to implement on the autobahn. If you drive Tempomat 140 and the system recognizes an upcoming speed limit of e.g. 120 km / h, this is announced in advance in the head-up display and then accepted by pressing a button. But not just the 120 km / h, but the personal “goodwill plus” activated by the driver via the menu. (You surely know that 😉 speed limit plus 10)
Another special mention deserves the head-up display. This is clearly one of the best on the market today. Comprehensively adjustable in the options, pin sharp and with clear color components. That's what makes sense.
Model offer for the market launch
At the start, BMW will offer a four-cylinder petrol engine with 252 hp in the 530i, with and without all-wheel drive and a diesel four-cylinder in the 520d, also with or without all-wheel drive. The 520d develops 190 hp and 400 Nm! Above it are the two six-cylinder engines. Once as a diesel and 265 hp and once as a gasoline engine with 340 hp. The 530e iPerformance with a four-cylinder petrol engine and 252 hp system output thanks to E-Power is due to start as early as March. Here the Bavarians promise an electric range of 50 km and a standard consumption of 1.9 liters. Also from March there will be an “Efficient Dynamics Edition” of the 520d. Still 190 PS strong, but with a drag coefficient of 0.22 and a standard consumption of 3.9 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers! The offer will be rounded off for the time being by the 4.4 liter eight-cylinder with 462 hp and 650 Nm. The M550i xDrive should spurt to 4.0 km / h in 100 seconds. Prices for these variants have not yet been determined!
Conclusion
Maybe the design is not progressive enough. The rest of the case, which is mostly made of light metal (aluminum), is. BMW takes on the role of dynamic in the segment, again and as convincingly as possible. With the Gadget-Gizmo department of Munich, however, a more view of Swabia might be very helpful. The author could not get really warm with the path of Munichers in digitization and featurization. However, the fact that you can play so convincingly in this class with a steel undercarriage shows Bavaria's dominance in this sector. Oh - and a row six? Should you always treat yourself - take it, switch to the leasing calculator now ... or quickly trace it back to the gym.
[=” ” ]For whom the “new five” is the right choice:
Anyone who appreciates the dynamics, likes to drive actively and then has the freedom to pick up the six-pack even in the company car.
DATA BMW 530d xDrive
Price: € 56.900
Drive petrol engine: R6-cylinder diesel, 2.993 cc, 195 kW (265 PS), 620 Nm.
Electric drive: - / -
dimensions: 5 seats, L / W / H 4936, 2126, 1479 mm, weight 1770 kg, case no. 530 l,
Performance: 0-100 km / h 5,7 sec, top 250 km / h, standard consumption / CO2 5,4 l / 100 km / 128 g / km.