Driven: BMW 535i SE
PH puts more (unexpected) miles on 'der neue 5'
The safety car driver probably felt a bit sheepish after that incident, as I did on stepping off the aeroplane to find the pleasant little Friday afternoon hop over the channel I'd been contemplating (naturally with a stop for a decent bit of lunch at BMW's expense), had been morphed into a significant road trip by an unexpected extra hour in the air.
Still, even though it meant buying a toothbrush and wearing the same clothes two days running, I've always been seduced by the romance of a long drive so it wasn't all bad. (Not that the reality of French motorway facilities is necessarily that romantic, but you know what I mean.)
PH's car was to be a 535i, in Space Grey, with the new twin-scroll, single turbo version of BMW's 3.0 six-cylinder, and in SE trim which delivers a more impressive kit roster with every succeeding generation. The 535i costs £37k in standard SE guise but BMW's press fleet managers had managed to load the beast up with an impressive £14,305 of 'must have' extras.
With a few other gewgaws lobbed-in, that means I'd been handed the keys to a motor with a £52k price tag and probably the logarithmic capacity to drive itself home. But I couldn't find a button for that, which suited me fine.
Not that you'll find much stray switchgear on the Bimmer, as pretty much everything is automated or accessed through an iDrive unit whose functions are getting ever more complicated, yet which remains pleasingly intuitive to play with. I managed to use the nav system POIs and the integrated phone hook-up to find and make a reservation at a hotel in Tours on our way back to Blighty without pulling over, which may be old-hat to more seasoned iDrivers but made me feel quite smug.
It's always a delight to wind a BMW six up to the limiter, and doing so in the 535i will not disappoint, either from a performance perspective or the pleasing yowl the engine makes when pressed. But on a long run like this, it's just as delightful to enjoy the peace and quietude the new machine offers. The cabin may not be quite as tactile or engaging as a Jaguar XF, but it's unquestionably an extremely relaxing place to travel. The new 8-speed auto option makes a big difference while cruising too, offering almost imperceptible changes and adding to the sense of wafting refinement. (It has an impressive sport mode with paddle shifts too, but why bother on the autoroute?)
As our earlier report hinted, the car's plethora of electronic systems may have slightly marginalised the driver from some of the rawer thrills of conducting this latest iteration of the 5, for instance with regard to the feel of the electronic steering. But it's undoubtedly an athletic machine in spite of that, and spending a couple of days on a high-mileage road-trip is enough to prove the new version remains one of the world's truly great all-rounders.
But these options?
- Adaptive Drive - £2,200
- Dynamic package (special 19ins alloys, sports seats, exterior 'shadowline' effects and anthracite headlining) - £2,820
- 8-speed sport auto transmission - £1,605
- Active steering a- £1,300
- Visibility package (Adaptive Headlights, Xenon headlights, Headlight wash, Rain and High-beam Assistant) - £1,210
- Professional Multimedia package (Navigation system - BMW Professional Multimedia, Bluetooth telephone preparation with telematics, BMW Assist, BMW Online and Voice Control) - £1,960
- Head-Up display - £940
What is a "High beam assitant" anyway - is that in case you don't know when you're dazzling other cars?
3 series:
5 series:
next 3 series:
next 5 series:
you may be onto something there mate....just 30 years behind
i've seen a new one in the metal and it does look better than in the pics it seems, but i still don't like it's styling. maybe it will grow on me like the E60 once it has some Msport body trim on it? hmmm
Me, I'm a fan of that 5 series...
Is that £2,200 Dynamic Duo the version with 4WS & anti-roll? BMW's catchy titles all sound the same to me.
that said, was behind some biddy in a 318i new shape who was slowing down for seemingly no reason, then turned right. i was like...would have been nice if you indicated!! most bmw drivers i know use indicators (admittedly that's only about 3 people
)Does anyone know when Jag are freshening it up? Presumably they'll switch back to aluminium for the next one, but not for a few years?
Interestingly though, it had a toy that you don't mention in this article - little video cameras on the front corners pointing sideways to help you get out of junctions, that come up on the TV screen in the dash. Genius (or perhaps I'm just easily pleased).
personally, i am a firm believer in that "manual" driving is more enjoyable than having everything automated,
agree, £52k is a lot of money but it's no more than the competitors with a fully spec car.
Likewise BMWs most revered models all look identical from the '60s era 2002, E3 and E9 to the '70s shark-mouth era E12, E21, E23 & E28, then the clean lined 80s era E30, E34, E32, to the 90s E46, E39 and E38. Each of these generations looked pretty much identical to others of the same generation. You never hear people complaining about that, but you do hear lots of people complaining that the so called 'Bangle' designs from the '00s are terrible and that's when they quite deliberately set out to make them all look different and not "the same sausage in different lengths" simply to appease critics such as yourself. They found out you and your type are wrong and are now fixing that mistake by making them all look the same again.
Likewise BMWs most revered models all look identical from the '60s era 2002, E3 and E9 to the '70s shark-mouth era E12, E21, E23 & E28, then the clean lined 80s era E30, E34, E32, to the 90s E46, E39 and E38. Each of these generations looked pretty much identical to others of the same generation. You never hear people complaining about that, but you do hear lots of people complaining that the so called 'Bangle' designs from the '00s are terrible and that's when they quite deliberately set out to make them all look different and not "the same sausage in different lengths" simply to appease critics such as yourself. They found out you and your type are wrong and are now fixing that mistake by making them all look the same again.
The Golf was chosen as the only reasonable company car choices, at the time, were the A3 (too expensive for the spec I wanted), 1 series (too expensive and too small) and the Golf.... Now the list has other makes on it, much to my annoyance as I could have had an Octavia VRs....
Personally, I think it's the Polo that looks like the Golf
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