The latest incarnation of BMW’s new 5-Series sedan has undergone some significant styling and engineering changes. Wynter Murdoch reports

Since its introduction in 1972, German car maker BMW’s 5-Series has built a solid reputation as the backbone variant in the brand’s broad range of models, having sold more than 5,5-million units around the world.

Now in its sixth generation, the latest incarnation has undergone some significant styling and engineering changes, most notable among the latter developments being the incorporation of an eight-speed automatic gearbox as a standard feature across the line-up. The ’box has been mated to a choice of six engine options – two diesel fed and four petrol driven – each of which is new or which has been profoundly revised compared with the units that propel outgoing derivatives.

Though only two models at the launch last month in the Cape were available for assessment purposes – the 530d and the 535i – also available in the local range is the 520d, the 523i, the 528i and the 550i. Speculation is that a reconstituted M5 derivative will find its way into showrooms during the fourth quarter.

One of the foremost aspects of the new Five is that, to maximise economies of production, it shares a platform that is similar to the one developed for the 7-Series, 5-Series GT and forthcoming 6-Series.

As a result, the model has a wheelbase that BMW spokesmen say is the longest in its class – even if it remains about 100mm shorter than that of the Seven’s – endowing the car with a ride that, while composed and stable, adds elements of sumptuous refinement to high speed journeying.

In the petrol driven model, the comfort factor is supplemented by the quietness of the smooth-spinning, force-fed 3,0-litre engine – dual turbocharger technology in this instance having been replaced by a single, twin scroll unit which BMW dubs TwinPower – the plant barely ticking over at cruising speed thanks in part to the transmission’s tall gearing, which keeps revs in eighth at around the 2 000rpm mark to aid fuel economy and limit emissions.

Press the accelerator to the floor, however, and the straight six’s response is immediate – revs rise, the gearbox drops a couple of cogs, the exhaust soundtrack increases in intensity and, when the tach needle hits the 5 800 rpm mark, maximum power of 225kW is delivered down the drivetrain to the rear wheels.

BMW claims a 6,1 second time for the model over the 0-100km/h sprint, the equivalent of that managed by the old 540i. A better indication of the car’s real-world performance, however, is the 80-120km/h split, which the company puts at 5,9 seconds in fourth gear, aided significantly by the engine’s fat torque band – maximum twist effort of 400Nm on tap from 1 200 rpm to the 5 000 rpm mark. Top speed is limited to 250km/h, achieved in sixth rather than eighth because of the high gearing.

Comparatively, the diesel engined derivative – also a straight six but equipped with a turbocharger that features more familiar variable intake geometry – is no less quiet at cruising speed, but gruffer when revs reach the 4 000 rpm mark, when maximum power of 180kW goes down the drivetrain.

Left to its own devices with strong throttle input, the gearbox allows the engine to rev to 4 500 rpm before swapping cogs, ensuring that the unit remains in the meat of its power band following each shift.

Propulsion responses are so good that, off the line, the oil-burner is said to be just 0,1 second slower than the 535i to 100km/h, its shove-in-the-back progress aided by copious amounts of torque – 540Nm available between 1 750 and 3 000 rpm. Like that of its sibling, top speed is limited to 250km/h.

Agility is impressive for a large car. In sport mode, BMW’s typically firm damping in combination with Adaptive Drive – a R33 200 option on 530d, 535i and 550i models, and available only in lesser electronic damper control form as a R14 400 extra for 520d, 523i and 528i derivatives – does a supreme job of containing body roll, pitch and dive, the system designed to counteract forces that try to unsettle the car by monitoring speed, steering-wheel position and directional sway, adjusting anti-roll bars and dampers quickly and accurately and ensuring that suspension settings suit the character of the road surface. In comfort mode chassis compliance increases, heightening the sense of cosseting smoothness, all but the biggest of bumps and hollows capable of being soaked up with consummate ease.

Steering is accurate, though with a feel that takes a while to get used to. Comprising an electro-mechanical system instead of conventional hydraulic power assistance – the new technology having been incorporated as a fuel saving device, operating only on demand – it tends to disguise feedback from the wheels, lending a slightly artificial touch to aspects of the driving experience.

Incidentally, the rear suspension system – which, according to BMW spokesmen, is almost an exact copy of that used on the 7-Series – incorporates through optional Integrated Active Steering a rear directional function that sees the back wheels turn in the opposite direction to those at the front at speeds below 60km/h and in the same direction at higher speeds, altering the steering ratio in the interests of reducing the driver’s work rate during parking manoeuvres or increasing stability in fast cornering.

While the system is helpful – on the one hand reducing twirl effort in the parking lot and on the other aiming to promote security and comfort in quick corners – it is debatable whether it is worth the extra R19 500 it adds to the list price of each of the cars in the line-up. In my view, the system tends only to heighten the steering linkage’s artificial feel.

Brakes are good with excellent pedal action, each of the derivatives under assessment capable of pulling up quickly and in short distances despite the fact that their disc configurations differ, the 535i utilising 348mm x 36mm items at the front as opposed to the oil-burner’s 330mm x 24mm and, at the back, 345mm x 20mm against 330mm x 20mm. All models feature brake energy regeneration, part of BMW’s Efficient Dynamics programme that the company has introduced to help promote economy and reduce tailpipe emissions.

To my mind, economy is one of the major focal points of the new Five, epitomised from an aesthetic point of view as well as from a fuel saving perspective. Company spokesmen claim that all engines in the line-up – from the four-cylinder, 2,0-litre unit that drives the entry-level 520d to the V8 that powers the 550i – offer better performance than their predecessors did and use less fuel. Similarly, extravagance in design has been curtailed in favour of practicality.

As with exterior, the car’s cabin tends to support restraint, most of the features plainly functional but still of high quality – the easy to read gauges; the easy-to-operate knobs, buttons and stalks; the well-proportioned, leather-wrapped steering wheel; the soft touch fixtures…

However, if you want more from a hedonistic perspective, you can get it at a price.

For instance, while all models in the line-up have their seats shod in Dakota leather, an exclusive Nappa option is available for an extra R10 500. On that tack, if you want the driver’s and front passenger’s seats to incorporate massage functions, they will cost you an additional R34 100 to install in low end derivatives (520d, 523i and 528i); R22 800 in mid-range models (530d and 535i) and R8 200 at the top end (550i), the price calculated in accordance with each of the models’ existing infrastructure.

On the subject of infrastructure, the Five – which BMW spokesmen describe as being of monocoque design rather than of separate chassis and body structure characteristic of the predecessor – blends steel and aluminium in its construction, with many of its underpinnings crafted from alloys to reduce weight.

Front suspension comprises a double track control arm axle with a separate lower track arm level, while the rear system is of multi-link design. Standard features include anti-lock brakes, cornering brake control, dynamic stability and traction control. Inside, the extended wheelbase has allowed BMW to claim more shoulder and legroom in the rear – adding to the car’s appeal as a super-comfortable, four-seat tourer – but, for those in the market for more luggage space, be aware that at 520 litres, the new car’s boot capacity is slightly less than that of the class average.

That said, the car is refined, stylish and hard not to recommend as an accomplished, executive express that harnesses the intrinsic smoothness of Fives that have gone before.