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Introduction BMW 5 Series: The Magician among Business Sedans

Changing lanes with a glance in the mirror, driving with hands in your lap, and looking smaller than you are – the new BMW 5 Series can perform all these tricks.

 

The new 5 Series comes with two electric motors - here the top model i5 M60 xDrive with 601 hp. | Photo: Daniel Kraus/BMW
The new 5 Series comes with two electric motors - here the top model i5 M60 xDrive with 601 hp. | Photo: Daniel Kraus/BMW
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Visually, it also performs a trick: the camouflaged test cars gave the impression that the new 5 Series is more compact than its predecessor, but the opposite is true: compared to its predecessor, it has grown in length by 97 millimeters to 5,060, in width by 32 millimeters to 1,900, and in height by 36 millimeters to 1,515. The wheelbase has been stretched by 20 millimeters to 2,995 millimeters, resulting in 16 mm more legroom in the rear. Unfortunately, the rear seat could not be pushed back any further because the space is needed for the electric motor. Project manager Andreas Holzinger understands our criticism of the once again increased dimensions and immediately provides the reasons for the continued growth.

Stricter crash norms keep pushing cars to grow

Height had to be increased because of the battery in the floor and the length results from increasingly stringent crash and safety standards, as Holzinger explains: The grille must ideally dive downwards in the event of an accident, for which an "empty space" under the hood must be provided. Another example of this type: the stress on the lower legs in a crash is becoming increasingly important, which also needs to be structurally considered. We take a seat and feel nicely cushioned - or in other words, if you want more space, you'll find more room in the shorter Skoda Superb – while the 5 Series has always been slim fit – not tight, but it's never been a ballroom either. This fits well with the crisp handling, which some of our colleagues have already experienced in camouflaged prototypes. And as expected, this should also feel "more compact" than a length of 5.06 meters might suggest.

 

The new 5 Series excels at suspensions

To be brief: It does! According to Holzinger, BMW has refined the suspensions and now offers 3.5 variants: Standard is a steel suspension, optionally an eight-millimeter lowered sport steel suspension, both without adjustable damping. The plug-ins and electric models come with adaptive suspension, steel at the front and air suspension at the rear, including rear-wheel steering with up to 2.5 degrees of deflection. Only 2.5 degrees? More would have made the 5 Series into a "forklift," jokes Holzinger. The 0.5 refers to the adaptive sport suspension with 48-volt anti-roll stabilization in the preliminary top model i5 M60 xDrive. Compared to this, even an M4 feels "nervous" on the road! After several thousand kilometers, Holzinger and his colleagues confirm the impressions of some of our colleagues: the i5 40i and M60 xDrive stick to the road like boards, even in undulating curves with poor surfaces, whereby the M60 is said to handle even more confidently and coolly due to its more complex suspension.

The two electric motors are controlled via the wheel slip limitation (ARB) close to the actuator, with crisper springs and active dampers, slightly more camber on the axles, and electronic roll stabilization. BMW has equipped the driving dynamics software with additional computing units, which coordinate the air suspension at the rear axle, dampers, and stabilizers lightning-fast, allowing only a brief bounce even over nasty bumps before the i5 M60 continues stiff as a board. This is why it avoids drifting escapades or an ultra-light rear end like the Mustang Mach-E. In overly fast corners, it dissipates energy like the i7 over an outer front wheel that whistles and sends up smoke signals. Additionally, the weights have been kept somewhat in check: the i40 weighs around 2.1 tons, the M60 xDrive around 2.3 tons, and the combustion-engine models remain well below the critical two-ton mark.

 

One look is enough: Spooky lane change!

And the lane change with a look in the exterior mirror? "Dani did a great job with that," says Holzinger, who drove from Munich to Como in Italy. "Dani" is Daniela Kern and she is officially the "Head of Functional Design and Integration of Automated Driving." In the 5 Series, you also first activate the Assist Plus mode using the steering wheel button. Then the steering wheel lights up green in the display, but here it means for the first time: Hands off the wheel! If you dare… Instead of the capacitive steering wheel for monitoring, cameras now check the eyes. If you are driving faster than vehicles in front of you and the sensors detect a gap - which must be large enough - in the adjacent lane, it offers a lane change on the display. And it does so in time, before the car has to brake - "exactly when I would check myself," says Holzinger happily. Then just look in the corresponding exterior mirror and the 5 Series changes lanes! It offers this twice with large gaps. If you don't react, it withdraws its offer. You can still initiate the lane change by tapping the turn signal lever. If you brake or steer onto an exit, Assist Plus hands control back to the driver. The whole system works on highways up to a speed of 130 km/h. And so far, it is only permitted in Germany, the USA, and Canada. After BMW handed over an appropriate model to the authorities for review, they made the legally required lane available within six months(!). According to Holzinger, there were two reasons for this: First, the authorities were impressed with the functionality, and second, Germany once again needs real "industry firsts."

A minor downside: Despite an active driving orientation, the new 5 Series requires more traffic space again, making it even more cumbersome in the city despite its active driving orientation. More size generally means more material, air resistance, weight, and cost, although BMW is counteracting this well with lightweight materials and sophisticated technology... nevertheless, the doors here still close with perfectly solid precision.

Bicycle in the trunk? It works!

Many buttons and controls have also been removed from the 5 Series, keyword BMW Curved Display: The fully digital display unit consists of a 12.3-inch information display and a 14.9-inch control display. The steering wheel, which is flattened at the bottom, has also been newly designed, its control elements now provide haptic feedback, and the gear selector on the center console has been redesigned. Known from the 7 Series are the "Interaction Bar" and the hidden air vents. In terms of quality, the 5 Series finds a good synthesis between the minimalism of the Tesla Model 3 and the occasionally opulent 7 Series. It did not adopt the 7 Series' flimsy ski through-pass; instead, the middle part of the rear seat bench can be folded down. Some of the length growth benefited the trunk, which offers 494 liters in the electric version and 520 liters in the combustion versions, including a deep cable compartment below. A "frunk" was not desired here either. Holzinger has already tested this as well: You can now fit a bicycle flat into the trunk without having to remove the front wheel.

For BMW, the "fully vegan interior" including the "leather steering wheel" is completely new, which also feels nice with synthetic leather. The Veganza seat surfaces feel leather-like and also look like leather, which is not entirely true for the real wood veneer: It could also be a convincingly fake one like in the Renault Kangoo, where they also simulate "open-pored."

Motor-wise, the i5 starts with the eDrive technology of the now fifth generation in two variants: The top model is the BMW i5 M60 xDrive, whose power consumption BMW states as 18.6 to 20.6 kWh/100 km combined according to WLTP. Absolutely not really economical, but relatively speaking it is. Because here, 442 kW (in old currency: 601 hp) are unleashed on all four wheels. The "basis" is the i5 eDrive40, whose power consumption the Bavarians state as a combined 15.9 to 19.5 kWh/100 km according to WLTP. It is also no child of sorrow: Its electric motor drives the rear wheels and generates a maximum output of 250 kW/340 hp and a maximum torque of up to 430 Nm with Sport Boost or Launch Control function. Its top speed is limited to 193 km/h –this odd value is the maximum that the electric motor in the 40er model can achieve in terms of RPM, as Holzinger explains to us.

Like at Stellantis: "Max Range" reduces power and comfort, but offers up to 25% more range

The battery offers a usable energy content of 81.2 kWh. Besides the electric motors, the latest version of the adaptive recuperation and an intelligent combination of heat pump technology also contribute to the decent ranges: The respective WLTP values are 455 to 516 kilometers for the BMW i5 M60 xDrive and 477 to 582 kilometers for the BMW i5 eDrive40. With the new "Max Range" function, the range can be increased by up to 25 percent if needed by limiting power and speed and deactivating comfort functions.

Charging is up to 205 kW – that's strong for 400 volts, but not a benchmark 

AC charging works as standard with up to 11 kW and optionally with up to 22 kW. DC can be charged with a power of up to 205 kW. This allows the battery charge level in the i5 to be increased from 10 to 80 percent in around 30 minutes – though they’ve yet to set new benchmarks in this area. Prices are also available: The 520i starts at 57,550 euros (about 48,361 euros net), the i5 eDrive40 at 70,200 euros (about 58,991 euros). The market launch in Germany starts on 21.10.2023.

What does this mean?

The new 5 Series once again makes a big leap forward and remains extremely competent in driving. Great that you now have the choice between four types of drive, including two electric models. It's just a shame that it has grown so much in all dimensions compared to its predecessor. It would have been bold to take a few centimeters off all around and sell that as progress. Much more competence on much less traffic area. The 5 Series, once the most compact of the upper mid-range, would be predestined here to turn the "ever-growing" spiral.

Translated automatically from German.
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