BMW 5 Series Range : FIVE STAR TREATMENT

Just as the E60 generation of the 5 Series starts to get a bit easier on the eye, BMW has gone and updated it. Andy Enright reports

Hindsight is a perk not afforded to road testers. When BMWs E60 generation 5 Series was launched in 2003, and Ill level with you here, most of us thought it was way too radical to succeed. It looked like nothing else on sale and many commentators thought that the flame-surfaced styling and jarring lines just flat didnt work. Fast forward three years and its hard to think of another executive car that looks better. 

The Audi A6 and the Mercedes E-Class certainly dont rival the 5 Series in the styling department. Perhaps Chris Bangle, the man behind this design language, was right. He certainly took the flack well from a largely conservative press.

It turns out we were wrong to scoff at his penmanship. After a faltering start, 5 Series sales lit the burners and took off, 2006 marking a record year with 19,600 cars sold. Recently, theres been a visual tweak to the range, improvements to the engines and the introduction of a Touring version of the M5 to keep things ticking over. In most classes of car, the gap between the best and the next best isnt actually that great. 

Not here. If youre a serious driver, the BMW 5 Series takes all of its key rivals out back and gives them a good shoeing. Mercedes E-Class? Too soft. Audi A6? Too big and too vague. 

Jaguar S-TYPE? Poor consistency of control weights. Lexus GS? Next! Taken in isolation, any of these cars would seem like a good steer. Drive one back to back with a 5 Series and you see where the expertise lies in the chassis development, where BMW has leaned on its competition heritage, where those weeks pounding round the Nurburgring have paid dividends. BMW has introduced a regenerative braking system that uses the engine deceleration under braking to charge the battery. 

This means that the alternator has less to do in normal driving conditions which, in turn, means a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions of around 7 per cent. All nine engines in the 5 Series range have been revised to offer better power and economy, while a revised six-speed auto box has also been introduced. Buyers of 550i, 540i, 530i, 535d and 530d models can opt for the Automatic Sports Transmission which has wheel-mounted paddles for even sharper changes.

"Despite its high-tech touches, theres something refreshingly old-school about the BMW 5 Series"

The once radical shape of the 5 Series has now matured nicely into a discreet but smart piece of design. In a bid to keep things fresh, BMW has made a few small changes to the latest car. At the front, the headlights and indicators are now clear glass while the kidney grille sits flush with the bumper. The air duct in the rear valance has been revised while the side sill gets an additional contour line and horizontal LEDs are used in the rear light cluster. 

Inside, the door panels and window switches have been redesigned and theres now eight freely programmable favourites buttons on the dashboard so that drivers dont have to use the infernal iDrive control system quite so much. Theres also an optional Lane Departure warning system offered. The 5 Series remains a big but not bulky car. The saloon gets decent space up front with slightly below average rear leg room and a 520-litre boot. 

Measuring 4.48m in length, the Touring estate features a 535-litre load capacity with the 60/40 split folding rear seats in place and a hefty 1,650 litres with the seats folded down. Theres also a split bootlid with the rear window opening separately for the easy loading of small items. Customers can also opt for a fully-automatic tailgate operation with a press on the key fob opening the hatch and simultaneously retracting the boot load cover. 

The basic model line up doesnt look a whole lot different these days but there are subtle improvements right across the range. Power outputs have been teased upwards, examples being the 523i that now makes 190bhp (up 13bhp on its predecessor), the 535d which is now good for 286bhp (up 14bhp), the 525d thats now packing 197bhp (up a hefty 20bhp) and the 520d that now offers 177bhp (up from 163bhp). Prices start at just under £28,000 for the 520d SE and head north in the mainstream range to just over £50,000 for the 550i M Sport Touring. Mainstream isnt enough for some customers, however, and theyll want the M treatment. 

The M5 saloon is still for sale but its now augmented by the 507bhp M5 Touring estate, priced at £68,495. This model can even be specified with the BMW Individual High End Audio system that features sixteen speakers which handle the eardrum-perforating 825 watt capacity. As youd expect with such a varied model range, cost of ownership is really what you make of it. Nobody buys a 4. 

8-litre eight-cylinder BMW 550i and expects it to be inexpensive to run but economy has improved across the board with even this 367bhp behemoth averaging 25.9mpg (up by two per cent). Opt for something like a 525d and youre buying a car that knocks on the door of 200bhp, will average over 45mpg and depreciates only marginally slower than gold bullion. The big petrol-engined (non-M) 5 Series models suffer heavier depreciation than the diesels. 

Try 52 per cent after three years for the 535d versus 39 per cent for the 540i. One thing to watch for is the temptation to blow big money on options, skewing these figures somewhat. The dynamic appeal of the 5 Series is, however, reflected in the insurance valuations and even a relatively modest 523i gets saddled with a Group 17 rating, two groups higher than a broadly comparable Saab 9-5. Opt for an M5 and youre looking at Group 20 insurance commensurate with its supercar-slaying performance. 

At 167 pence per mile, the ability to hunt down Ferraris and Lamborghinis while seating five, nevertheless represents rather good value. The 5 Series remains a very good car, quite rightly the go-to choice in this market sector for the keen driver. There are still factors that will put some off. The styling doesnt suit the more conservative palate, the iDrive infotainment system is infuriatingly obstreperous and the appeal of the BMW is a little macho for some. 

Look beyond these issues and theres a very complete car with a model range that offers true breadth and depth. Aside from the jaw-dropping M5, its the diesel models which draw most plaudits and the 535d is, and I dont use this term lightly, a work of genius. Even the entry-level diesel, the 520d, has enough about it to set that brilliant chassis alive. Despite its high-tech touches, theres something refreshingly old-school about the BMW 5 Series. 

Maybe its the reliance on the classic front engine, rear drive layout or the reliance on driving enjoyment selling the car. Whatever it is, we like it.