2005 BMW 525i Reviews

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the 2000, 2003, 2010 and 2015 BMW 5 Series sedan and wagon as a used buy.

Graham Smith reviews the BMW 5 Series from 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 as a used buy.

The BMW 5 Series is a medium-large German machine that’s aimed as much at the sports sedan market as at the buyers of luxury saloons.Older 5 Series are rather smaller inside than you might expect. That’s chiefly because it has rear-wheel drive and the engine is set well back in the bay, meaning the gearbox is beside your feet. Recent cars, since about 2004, are better off in this respect, but it’s still wise to try all seats for size.Handling is enhanced by the near-perfect weight distribution that’s the result of rear-wheel drive and the engine’s position. This is a car that feels just wonderful; seemingly the harder you drive at a bend the better it feels and responds.The really clever thing is that this sports handling is achieved without upsetting comfort. Some of the worst of Australian roads may catch it out at times, but it generally makes light work of rough surfaces.The great majority of BMW 5 Series sold in Australia are four-door sedans, but in recent years we seem to be joining our European cousins in choosing station wagons. Called ‘Touring’ wagons in BMW speak, these have a reasonable carrying capacity, though, as is often the way in the boutique-wagon class the slope of the rear end does restrict the entry of bulky objects.Engine performance is good, even from the models with relatively small capacity. The non-turbo straight-six with a relatively small size of 2.0 litres, but has enough performance for many owners. The silky smooth nature of the straight sixes is excellent.Big capacity BMW straight-sixes are some of our all-time favourite powerplants, providing effortless performance and a willingness to rev that’s delightful.Many recent BMWs have turbocharged four-cylinder units that have plenty of torque. Though the engineering to minimise turbo lag is impressive, they still don’t provide the near instantaneous response we have loved in BMW non-turbo engines for many decades.Rounding out the petrol engine range are superb V8 units. Big on power and torque they are much loved by enthusiastic drives. Their fuel consumption isn’t as high as you might anticipate as they are an excellent design.BMW Australia was one of the early adopters of turbo-diesel technology downunder. These have become increasingly popular over the years. Turbo lag is better than average, but can still be a pain at times. But once that lag has gone and you’re into the big-torque midrange, you will love the endless grunt they provide.Insurance can be expensive due to the cost of parts and the high status of trained repairers. So if you are moving up from a more mundane car to a BMW for the first time, shop around on premiums before becoming over-committed to the dream car.Spare parts and repairs are about average in price for a vehicle of this type and prestige rating.BMW is well represented in most major areas in Australia. Some factory-trained BMW mechanics have since left the company and set up independent repair shops. They don’t have the same factory contacts as the official dealers, but are often highly regarded by owners. This is certainly not a car for the amateur mechanic to attempt to work on.WHAT TO LOOK FORCheck on the insides of the front wheels and brake callipers for excessive brake-pad dust. That may be a sign of a hard driver.Make sure all electronic and electrical items are operating correctly. Use the owner’s handbook to make sure you find everything as these are among the most complex cars on the planet.Look over the car for body damage and previous repairs.Be sure the engine starts virtually immediately and idles smoothly from the moment it fires up, even when it’s stone cold.The engine should accelerate without hesitation and not blow smoke from the exhaust, no matter how hard it is worked.Automatic transmissions should change smoothly and, except for some changes on big throttle openings, should be all but impossible to feel.CAR BUYING TIPIf moving upmarket to a European car after a series of sensible low-cost Asian models make sure you budget for the high cost of servicing and repairs. 

At $89,000 is provides entree to a larger vehicle than the evergreen 3 Series and one that is more in keeping with the size Aussies have come to expect from a family sedan – the well heeled ones anyway.The small six develops 141kW of power and 245Nm of torque provided you fill the tank with high grade 98 RON petrol. It will take ordinary unleaded and any grade in between for that matter but with a slight loss of power as a result. Although BMW claims a 0-100km/h time of 8.7 seconds, it is not going to rock your world. Power delivery is generally adequate, but we had difficulty keeping up with an older turbo Forester for instance.A six-speed tiptronic transmission is standard which means you can leave it in D or change gears manually, but without the need for a clutch. There is also a sport setting that retards gear change points for more spirited driving.Safety is well catered for with eight airbags and a variety of electronic control systems designed to keep the car on the road, including ABS, DBC, DSC with ASC+T. The monitor brakes, stability and tyre traction. But the 5 Series scores only a four-star safety rating in European tests.Fuel economy is rated at 9.9L/100km from the 70-litre tank which should give the car a range of more than 600km on a single tank. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to run ours down.Inside it's large and comfortable. There's 46mm more rear legroom than the previous model, thanks to a 62mm longer wheelbase). The luggage compartment is also larger.The dash is dominated by wide computer screen with a large knob in the centre console that controls such functions as airconditioning and entertainment. It's an updated version of BMW's controversial iDrive system with colour-coding to make it easier to use.All 5 Series models come with "Active Steering" which varies the amount of steering effort required based on the driving conditions. At slow speeds only 1.7 turns are required from lock to lock, but at higher speeds a nominal three turns are needed.Automatic wipers and headlights are standard as is an auto-dimming rear vision mirror. We found the dimming effect combined with optional exterior anti-dazzle and the car's high- waisted sides reduced vision at night, leaving us uncertain of the location and distance to traffic around us.The 525i is well equipped with leather upholstery, individually climate aircondition- ing, electric seats (back and height adjustment only) and 16-inch alloy wheels.