Honey, I Shrunk the Seven: The sixth 5-series is almost a 7.
BY TONY QUIROGA, PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLIE MAGEE
February 2010
Before the controversial and oft-derided 7-series stormed onto the scene in 2001, the design of BMW’s flagship dictated the look of the rest of the sedans in the lineup. The 7’s design would trickle down to the smaller sedans with only a few alterations. The main difference was the size: Buyers could opt for small (3-series), medium (5-series), or large (7-series) versions of what looked like the same car. Some criticized this strategy and accused the brand of merely offering “sausages of different lengths,” another way of saying BMW’s design lacked variation and adequate differentiation between models. But when the 5-series and 3-series that followed the 2002 7-series were unveiled, it was a relief to see that, aside from a few 7-series cues, they’d been spared the paunchiness of the overwrought 7. The smaller the car, the less controversial its styling, which seemed to signal an end to the strategy of “sausages of different lengths.”
Now that BMW has launched a redesigned 7-series (for 2009) and a new, sixth-generation 5-series, it’s clear that the variable-length sausages are back. We’re envisioning someone at BMW headquarters saying, “Pull out zee shrink ray, Claus, it’s time to make zee 5er.” Indeed, the design presentation of the new 5-series largely consisted of BMW’s chief designer, Adrian van Hooydonk, pointing out the minor design differences between the 5 and the 7 in what seemed like an attempt to convince us that he does not, in fact, possess a shrink ray.
Making the 5-series a smaller 7-series is fine by us. Unlike the 5-series that preceded it, the new car’s styling is more conservative and elegant, more like the E39 5-series built from 1997 to 2003. The interior design is barely different from the new 7’s, and the plastics and leather feel, smell, and look like the materials used in the big sedan. Our 535i test car cruised the freeways around Lisbon, Portugal, with the poise, supple ride, and silent solidity of a 750i—not surprising considering that the 5-series’ platform and chassis are closely related to those of the bigger car.
As in the 7-series, the 5-series’ suspension has, for the first time, ditched front struts for a multilink setup. The rear wheels are managed by a new five-link independent suspension design borrowed from the 7-series. All of the electronic handling aids of the 7-series are offered on the 5-series as well. In the U.S., opting for the estimated $3500 Sport package yields “driving dynamics control,” which allows for a choice of four preselected settings (comfort, normal, sport, and sport plus) for throttle sensitivity, steering effort, shock stiffness, and transmission shift points. The automatically adjusting shocks are part of the Sport-package deal, as are active anti-roll bars that adjust to manage body roll. Sport-package models will also get a larger wheel-and-summer-tire package—standard versions get 18-by-8.0-inch wheels with 245/45R-18 all-season tires.
Our European-spec 535i didn’t have the U.S.-spec Sport package but was equipped with all of the computerized handling gizmos that would come in that package, plus “integral active steering,” which includes four-wheel steering. With or without active steering, all 5-series cars now have electrically assisted rack-and-pinion setups. BMW’s active-steering system changes the steering ratio according to vehicle speed and how far the driver turns the wheel, its goal being to reduce the amount the driver has to crank at the helm. What it does on the road is make the steering feel eerily fast on turn-in and often twitchy in midcorner as it doles out varying ratios despite a constant steering-angle input from the driver. Fortunately, active steering is a stand-alone option and therefore avoidable. For comparison purposes, we drove a car without that feature and found the steering predictable, although the effort from the new electric assist in either guise is a tad light for our tastes.
One disadvantage of being closely related to the 7-series shows up in the claimed curb weight—nearly 4100 pounds for a 535i and 4400 for a 550i automatic. Despite the use of aluminum in the doors, hood, trunk, and front fenders, the new 535i is 400 pounds heavier than its predecessor (according to BMW’s numbers). On our scales, however, a current-generation 535i manual weighed in at nearly 3900 pounds, so we’ll have to do a full road test to ascertain the severity of the 5’s weight gain. Overall length is up by two inches, and the wheelbase is now 116.9 inches long, an increase of 3.2 inches. The car might be a little bigger outside, but interior space is nearly unchanged. Even with the added bulk, the 5-series contentedly sluiced through the tight corners of the Estoril racetrack near Lisbon with the nimbleness of a lighter car.
Two models, the six-cylinder 535i and the V-8 550i, will be offered when the 5-series goes on sale here in June. We expect a small price increase over the 2010 models, with the 535i likely to start at about $54,000 and the 550i commanding at least $62,000. Early in 2011, a naturally aspirated 240-hp, 3.0-liter 528i will join the lineup, and at that time all-wheel drive will be added as an option for all three models.
Until the next M5 shows up sometime in 2011, the most powerful 5-series will be the twin-turbocharged 400-hp, 4.4-liter V-8 550i. Borrowed from the 750i, the twin-turbo V-8 makes 40 more horsepower than its naturally aspirated 4.8-liter V-8 predecessor. BMW estimates a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.0 seconds for both the six-speed-manual and eight-speed-automatic versions of the 550i, which is likely conservative.
Strangely, BMW calls its new single-turbo six-cylinder the TwinPower Turbo.
Powering the 535i is a new single-turbo inline-six that replaces last year’s twin-turbo six. Cleaner burning than the twin-turbo engine, the single-turbo six displaces 3.0 liters and puts out 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque. Through the use of Valvetronic variable valve lift, as well as variable valve timing and a twin-scroll turbocharger, BMW claims its new engine is more responsive than before and points to its 1200-rpm torque peak, 200 rpm lower than the twin-turbo’s. We couldn’t detect any turbo lag. There’s also no turbo whine, just the subtle snarl of the inline-six that grows less subtle as the engine approaches its 7000-rpm redline. BMW again estimates identical 0-to-60 times for automatic and manual versions, which should be in the low- to mid-fives.
Although a six-speed manual will be available, all of the test vehicles came bearing the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, which, when equipped with the Sport package, adds paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel. Benefiting acceleration and fuel economy is the eight-speed’s wider spread of ratios (first gear is shorter, eighth gear is taller) compared with the previous six-speed auto’s. We did notice that first gear is so short-lived that the transmission seems to stumble the one-to-two shift.
Should the driver stumble, the 5-series’ many safety systems are at the ready. In addition to stability and traction control, available safety equipment includes lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, night vision with pedestrian detection, radar-based automatic cruise control with collision warning and automatic braking, and auto-adjusting high-beams. Other optional niceties include automatic parallel parking, in which the car steers itself into a spot (Ford has a similar system on the 2010 Lincoln MKT), and a number of external cameras that provide the driver with a 360-degree view of the vehicle’s surroundings.
The great 5-series cars of the past have offered almost as much luxury as the 7-series but at a more manageable and sportier size. This latest iteration may have gained some weight, but it has also gained in refinement. And, despite the added mass, the sporty dynamics that have made the 5-series the sports car of its segment remain intact. BMW is back to selling its sausages in differing lengths, but damn if they aren’t tasty.
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