2011 BMW 535i Reviews

THE sixth-generation 5 Series Touring comes with six BMW firsts and includes features not even found in the 7 Series. For the first time since 1997 a 5 Series Touring arrives costing less than $100,000. Other BMW firsts are a diesel variant, 20/40/20 rear seat split, an optional digital radio, split tailgate and standard inclusion of an auto-parking feature, which is not even available in the 7 Series as the flagship has hydraulic, not electric steering.The Touring completes the upgraded 5 Series range which also includes the GT.PRICEThe diesel-powered 520d Touring arrives at $92,800, saving about $5000 on the luxury tax because its fuel economy of 5.3L/100km is well under the 7L/100km threshold. It comes standard with head-up display, adaptive headlights and most of the features available in the 7 Series.The petrol-powered 535i Touring starts at $138,900 and adds 18-inch wheels, gearshift paddles, auto tailgate, keyless access, rear sun blinds, fully adjustable electric seats, ambient lighting, Bi-Xenon headlights, a better hi-fi and high beam assist.DESIGNAn obvious highlight of the Touring is its wagon area. It comes with a split tailgate where the top glass half opens remotely with the keyfob and the cargo cover folds back electronically or the whole tailgate can open as one unit. In the 535i, the tailgate also opens remotely.The 560 litres of cargo space increases to 590L with the rear seats tilted forward or 1670L with the rear seats folded almost flat. The rear seats can also be folded down in three variations thanks to the 20/40/20 split, allowing four occupants with a set of skis stored down the middle.In the front, it is similar to the sedan with a driver-oriented dashboard.Outside, the diesel and petrol models can be distinguished by the larger front air dam on the 535i and by the twin tailpipes on either side of the 535i and together on the left on the 520d.TECHNOLOGYThe 520d diesel engine produces 135kW of power and 380Nm of torque, but most importantly sips fuel at just 5.3L/100km and emits 139g of CO2 per kilometre.The omnipresent twinscroll turbo engine in the 535i Touring has the same power (225kW) and torque (400Nm) as in the sedan and is faster than the 540i wagon it replaces. Economy is 8.5L/100km with 197g/km of CO2.Fuel savings are achieved through a variety of means including use of lightweight aluminium in panels and chassis; electric power steering that uses energy from the engine only when steering rather than hydraulic which uses energy from the engine all the time; eight-speed transmission; air flaps behind the kidney grille that close to quickly heat the engine on start-up and open for better aerodynamics on the highway; low rolling resistance tyres; and battery charging only when decelerating.Technology abounds in the wagons including the standard addition of parking assistance for automatic parallel parking, iPhone and iPod Integration, optional Bluetooth internet on the wide-screen navigation system, and digital radio which can be ordered now.In May, BMW will also offer an "Office" infotainment package that will integrate email, calendar, notes and text message functions from a mobile phone. It will even read aloud the text of emails and text messages when stationary.SAFETYEuro NCAP has awarded a maximum five-star safety rating, thanks to a pedestrian-friendly bonnet and a raft of safety features. The wagons have not yet been tested for an ANCAP safety rating. There is also the usual swag of passive safety gear and active driver aids.Optional safety features include adaptive cruise control with a semi-automatic emergency braking function to avoid rear-end collisions, cameras that monitor road speed signs and show them on a head-up display on the windscreen in front of the driver, lane departure warning and night vision.DRIVINGBMW launched the wagons with a drive through rural Victoria over narrow, bumpy roads that the vehicles took in their stride. Key to their sure-footing is the aluminium double wishbone front axle and integral rear axle air suspension with self-levelling that adjusts for loads. It is so good, you can easily forget you are driving a wagon, rather than a sedan. For better stability, the 6.5cm longer wagon now has an 8cm longer wheelbase measuring 2.97m, the same as the sedan.Diesel buyers can also option stiffer and lower M sport suspension or Dynamic Damper Control suspension in which each wheel adjusts to road conditions 400 times a second. The 535i also comes with an M Sport option and DDC with adaptive drive to reduce body roll. The dynamic suspension easily accounted for rough shoulders when we had to get two wheels off the road on narrow roads to allow oncoming vehicles to pass.The standard speed-variable electric steering feels a little artificial, while the optional Integral Active Steering will take time to get used to. It allows the rear wheels to steer in the opposite direction by 2.5 degrees under 60km/h and in the same direction over 60km/h. This reduces the turning circle by 50cm at slow speeds and creates stable lane-changing at highway speeds.As expected, the three-litre straight-six engine is a high-revving delight, but the diesel is the surprise package. Despite being just a two-litre four-cylinder, it gallops along quietly and efficiently with no-fuss acceleration. The eight-speed transmission is so smooth the changes are almost imperceptible.VERDICTA diesel variant in this sleek and stylish wagon package will reel in buyers who prefer a car-like experience without sacrificing the load-carrying practicality of an SUV.BMW 5 SERIES TOURINGPrice: $92,800 (520d), $138,900 (535i)Engine: 2.0L, 4-cylinder diesel; 3.0-litre straight-six petrolPower: 135kW (520d), 225kW (535i)Torque: 380Nm (520d), 400Nm (535i)Economy (L/100km): 5.3 (520d), 8.5 (535i)CO2 (g/km): 139 (520d), 197 (535i)

FOR the man who designed it, the present BMW 5 Series marked a high point in his thinking about cars. He had taken BMW in a fresh direction and already shocked observers with his radical redrawing of the larger 7 Series sedan, then pushed the boundaries with the Z4 sports car. But the 5 that appeared seven years ago was cutting edge.“The 5 Series uses a type of convex and concavity that no other car out there approaches,'' he said, referring to the signature curves of his style called flame surfacing. “If I was asked what is the most avant-garde car on the road right now, from any car-maker, I would say the 5 Series.''That was four years ago and the designer, Chris Bangle, was visiting Australia to defend his approach. It needed defending because BMW's studio chief had been pilloried by brand loyalists everywhere for what he had done. They even went so far as to set up a website to vent their anger.After more than a decade at the top, Bangle left the company a year ago and his designs are gradually being superseded. The 7 Series launched last year abandoned radicalism for something more conservative, while the latest Z4 evolves the previous design so that it is attractive, rather than challenging.However, cars with some sort of flame surfacing are everywhere because those ideas, in some form or other, have influenced virtually every vehicle during the past decade. It's a moot point whether Bangle was the originator of this style or merely its high priest. Like other designers, car designers tend to move en masse in one direction.However, sharp creases along the sides of cars and concave sections in doors, to cite two examples of the style, have become the everyday language of vehicle sheet metal. It's one reason, as its defenders point out, the Bangle 5 Series still looks modern. It's also the reason the new one, which goes on sale next month, has some recognisable Bangle ingredients, including a prominent crease along its flanks. In car design, the past decade's paradigm has yet to be replaced by anything else.As with previous versions of the 5 Series -- this is the sixth generation -- the new one is a core BMW model that must work as a traditional family vehicle at one of the end of the line-up and as performance sedan at the other. Spy footage of the new M5, the go-fast version, is already circulating on the web.In this respect, it has something in common with the Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons built here. And, like them, it's being usurped by the popularity of SUVs. BMW's large luxury off-roader, the X5, has outsold its sedan equivalent at least two to one every year here since it was launched. Despite the boom in the vehicle market and the way luxury imports have become increasingly better value, sales of the 5 have been flat.The new one, which goes on sale next month, is unlikely to change that even though -- dollar for dollar -- it moves the bar up a notch on equipment, safety and efficiency over the present car. The trend towards SUVs appears unstoppable.Unlike the Bangle car, this generation has few attention-grabbing ingredients and most of the technology has already appeared elsewhere. However, crucially, unlike the Bangle car, it delivers on the badge promise. This is no longer art for art's sake.The price of being at the cutting edge was something that failed as a design on several levels. On the outside, Bangle's fancy curves generated some successful features -- the eagle-eye headlights, for example -- but the obsession with complex surfaces made the car appear bloated.It also lacked overall coherence. The bonnet, cabin and rear could have been drawn by three different studios. The new car is bigger but doesn't look it. The surfaces are tauter and the proportions more harmonious. The droopy face of the Bangle car has been replaced by something more alert.Inside, the Bangle 5 broke every rule in the BMW book. Chief among them was its abandonment of the cockpit-style thinking that had become a hallmark of BMW cabins, where the centre console is angled towards the driver. Instead, it alienated the driver with every dashboard surface sloping down and away. Thanks to this, some controls are difficult to operate and even the door handles are awkwardly positioned. BMW's rivals were cock-a-hoop.Throw in the appalling first-generation iDrive control system, brittle plastics and an almost total absence of storage spots for a phone, wallet and so on, and it didn't matter how good the car was to drive. I hated being in the Bangle 5.With the new car, it's back to business as usual. The materials are better, with pleasing aluminium highlights on the wood trim and more tactile plastics for buttons and knobs. The control locations make sense and are angled so the driver can see them. There are even a few places to stash stuff. Welcome home.When BMW launched the latest 7 Series, it ditched iDrive version one and replaced it with something unrecognisable: version two. It is logical to use and owes nothing to its predecessor. It's in this car, of course.On the launch drive early this month, only one model -- the 535i -- was available to sample but it could be the pick of the range. BMW has developed the 3.0-litre turbocharged straight six-cylinder engine that debuted a few years ago in the 335i, and combined fuel injection with turbocharging for the first time. The new unit ditches one of the two turbochargers and replaces it with a single twin-scroll turbo with two input streams from the engine's exhaust.The result is a splendid powerplant that pulls strongly from low revs -- peak torque of 400Nm arrives at just 1200rpm -- for easygoing pace. It's also quiet most of the time, without the industrial soundtrack of some turbo engines, but when you lean on the throttle it emits a lovely, creamy snarl. There's an absence of lag or surge, two unwanted traits of turbo engines, and it steps off the mark respectably quickly to reach 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.Adding the turbo 535i to the line-up means the range has been reorganised. The non-turbo 530i has been dropped, along with the smaller 2.5-litre six-cylinder engines in the 525i and 523i.The entry-level six-cylinder is now the 528i, with a 190kW 3.0-litre straight six and a starting price just below $100,000. This looks like a good deal compared with the outgoing model. The only V8 is a 300kW turbocharged 4.4-litre in the 550i. BMW will offer a four-cylinder diesel later in the 520d and probably a six-cylinder 530d as well.As well as better specification -- BMW's excellent head-up display is now standard, for example -- they all get a new eight-speed automatic transmission, which doesn't make a wrong move.Underneath this car is the suspension from the 7 Series and the test examples were fitted with the full suite of BMW handling tricks, which include active dampers and active anti-roll bars, plus rear-wheel steering. With these (expensive) extras it feels tight and planted on the road, with typical BMW suppleness to the suspension.It's a well-judged sporting drive experience for this category, without the rawness of smaller Beemers but with enough involvement when the roads tighten and twist. I suspect that even without the extras, that essential quality will be present. In addition, luxury and comfort levels are high. First impressions of the ride quality were very favourable, while road and tyre noise are well suppressed for good interior quietness.If you don't go offroad then the new 5 should give you pause for thought. If you are shopping for a luxury family conveyance and can do without a high 'n' mighty driving position, then the new 5 is better to drive than its SUV equivalent and leaves you wanting nothing.And I like this 5 a lot more than the Bangle car, which is all the better for not being a design statement. As the saying goes, I don't know much about art but I know what I like.BMW 535i - $128,900VEHICLE: Luxury sedanENGINE: 3.0-litre turbocharged straight six-cylinderOUTPUTS: 225kW at 5800rpm and 400Nm at 1200rpmTRANSMISSION: Eight-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive