A wet February afternoon in Portugal, a decidedly slick Estoril racetrack glistening just beyond the windshield, and a red flag fluttering in the pitlane that speaks of a foreign journo in the kitty litter… My first foray with the new BMW 5 Series is about to get very interesting…
The launch of the sixth-generation BMW 5 Series range has to be one of the most important in the company’s history, given this model’s historically difficult brief of striking a balance between post-board meeting de-stress refinement, as well as the beguiling agility for which the marque is famed.
In truth none of the previous 5 Series models, as impressive as they may have been, ever managed to completely master this balance – erring more towards dynamic handling than sheer waft-factor. In fact, it has to be said that such a balance is nigh-on impossible to achieve in any car – but the 5 Series was always the one to come closest when compared to such rivals as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6. But comfort and refinement are just about the last things on my mind at present…
The track marshal gestures to the me to pilot the 530d from the holding area to the pitlane, but just then his two-way radio crackles and a brief stream of mildly-ruffled German chatter causes him to quickly replace the traffic cone in front of the gently-idling Beemer, before walking up to the window to apologetically explain that one of the foreign journalists is being dug out of the gravel at the track’s notoriously tricky Curva 3 – that experience, naturally, does nothing to calm my frazzled nerves. What it does do, however, is give me a bit more time to evaluate the new 5 Series a bit more.
By now we’ve all seen pictures of the new 5 Series and, much like its predecessor, its styling has managed to polarize opinion yet again. It would’ve been a very tall order for BMW to make the new car look any more radical than the hawk-nosed E60 and also somewhat defeating of the new car’s brief – to offer greater space and refinement than any 5 Series before. Sharing some of its architecture with the 7 Series means that the new 5 is an appreciably larger car than its predecessor, measuring almost 5 metres in length. The upshot of this is commodious interior space that gives the E-Class a run for its money and a long platform for a suitably coupé-esque, swept-back roofline. There are definite hints of 3 Series about the nose (especially the lightly-scalloped headlamps, toned-down take on the twin-kidney grille and quartet of character lines that sweep from the bonnet into the flanks) and some 7 Series about the taillights. The F10’s overall design is both coherent and suitably upmarket, but will it age as well as the E60’s?… Oh, wait. Here comes the marshal again.
Apparently it’s taking a bit longer to extricate the beached 535i and we’ll have to wait a bit longer.
So, engine off. Nervous glance to my co-pilot and attempt to ignore the braying tones of a female journalist who’s just finished her laps and is now broadcasting to all present that the track is incredibly greasy – the pulse rate now goes from light rumba to 13 000 bpm German techno. I try to distract myself by taking in the facia, which features a hangdown section angled towards the driver in a nostalgic nod to 5 Series models of old. There’s no denying the quality of fixtures and materials, and the layout of the various driver aids and infotainment systems is quite logical.
The cabin is also well insulated against road noise, but thankfully not to the extent that is drowns out of engine’s straight-six snarl under hard acceleration. The 3,0-litre straight-six turbodiesel engine develops a hearty 180 kW 4 000 r/min and 540 N.m of torque from just 1 750 r/min, and thanks to a raft of EfficientDynamics features and a delightfully smooth-shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox it consumes a claimed 6,3 l/100 km on the combined cycle – pretty impressive for a car when you factor in a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 6,3 seconds and a top whack of 250 km/h… Ah, now I’m being ushered into the pit lane and told to follow the pace car for two laps. Here goes…
The chap in the 535i pace car is appears no to be too fussed about taking things gradually, and while I make no claims to being a hot shoe I do have to press on to catch him at the second turn. The diesel engine serves up a good dollop of torque and forward progress is suitably rapid, while the gearbox never becomes confused or bogs the engine down when trying to get on the power when exiting a corner. With the car’s chassis management system in “Sport”, the suspension feels supple and effortlessly reins in the car’s substantial frame with hardly any drama or body-roll. The Active Steering system fitted to the 530d I’m piloting reacts swiftly and accurately to inputs.
It’s easy to place the car exactly where I want it to go. It does feel a little light and artificial compared with the helms of previous Fives, but everything is composed and the track’s sodden surface doesn’t appear to affect this car’s grip… Yet.
Despite its size, the 5 Series is proving to be quite accomplished when pushed on tight, twisting sections of track. The previous warning of the greasy track surface is almost a memory when it strikes without warning… On the uphill corkscrew dubbed Gancho, our guide decides to press on again and steps the tail out before spearing into that sharp tenth turn. Piling on the gas, and obviously with the dynamic chassis control in “Sport+” with DSC doing nothing more than illuminating a yellow light on the facia, the pace car driver suddenly wags the executive saloon’s tail before spectacularly pirouetting on a slick section of track to face me…
Good brakes… The 5 Series has very good brakes.
Having skidded to halt, the driver then beamed a sheepish grin, raised his hand in a “my bad!” gesture and then continued with our tour of the track. In the chap’s defence, turn 10 was remarkably treacherous and my first unaccompanied lap also saw the 530d wag its tail there when planting the throttle pedal out of the turn, even at moderate speeds. The pace car driver’s spot of track ballet was incentive enough for me to leave the car in its “Sport” setting. Thankfully, the system’s interaction with the traction control is not overly obtrusive – just cutting the power a smidge when traction begins to break, allowing you to regain your composure shortly after the 530d does.
So while the new 5 Series does manage to retain some of its dynamic DNA it has grown up and gained a good deal of refinement. Does the shift in the dynamics/comfort balance arm this car with the attributes needed to rise above its rivals? That’s a question that will be answered, along with the publication of more technical details, indicative pricing and much more in CAR magazine’s BMW 5 Series driving impression, which will appear in the April 2010 issue.