An Italian tryst with BMW’s new 5-series

It was a surreal and otherworldly sight. Like seeing Stonehenge in the flesh for the first time, our group of Asian journalists gaped in awe at the seemingly never-ending row of sparkling new BMW 5-series sedans, parked side by side with millimetric perfection, their rooftops shimmering with the heatwave from the blazing Sardinian sun.

We were divided into two groups, with the luckier ones getting the stint behind the wheel almost immediately. The other half had to go through a series of technical presentations, after which the two groups swapped places.

The driving stint was no walk in the park. What awaited us was a sprawling patch of tarmac lined with orange cones where we could put the new mid-sized BMW through its paces. The first exercise was designed to demonstrate the new 5-series’ innovative Active Steering system as well as the German marque’s renowned handling prowess.

The next driving exercise involved the car’s run-flat tire technology. The rear tires were completely deflated and we were made to drive the car through another cone-marked course. Amazingly, the 18" Michelin Pilot Run-Flat tires stayed on the rim despite our most exaggerated steering inputs. The rear of the car would threaten to swing wide but the car’s Dynamic Stability Control would arrest the slide and keep the car going in the right direction. Fantastic!

However, these two driving exercises were nothing compared to what we had the next day. Shortly after breakfast we checked out of the Hotel Forte Village — which seemed like a sprawling Spanish villa for the rich and famous — and took off for close to half a day’s driving in a variety of Sardinian roads ranging from charming centuries-old cobblestone city streets to arrow-straight high-speed autostradas to breathtaking sinuous cliff-side two-lane blacktop that overlooked the sea. I had a silver 530i at my disposal, and this had to be the closest thing to automotive heaven for this diehard car lover.

In just about every driving situation, the new 5-series thoroughly impressed. In urban crawl with tiny Fiats squeezing in by mere inches on all sides, the Bimmer was purring in utter contentment, its engine barely audible, the suspension soaking up the otherwise harsh cobblestone surface.

With not much driving to be done, I played with the car’s iDrive controller, a large shuttle/jog knob mounted between the front seats that controls most of the car’s secondary operations like climate control, audio system, navigation, etc. The iDrive was criticized when it first appeared in the current 7-series for being too unintuitive and complicated to operate. The version in the new 5-series, however, has had its menu functions reduced to four instead of eight to make it simpler in operation.

As I got out of the city and into provincial towns with names like Siliqua, Narcao and Villaperuccio, and where roads were good and traffic was light, I got to play with the new 5-series’ equally new 6-speed Steptronic automatic transmission whose up- and downshifts may be performed via steering wheel-mounted buttons. I marvelled at the car’s programmable head-up display, whose projected digital images (and their brightness) may be varied depending on the driver’s preferences.

On the winding mountainside roads, BMW’s legendary road-holding came to the fore. Start with a fabulously well-tuned all-aluminum strut front/multi-link rear suspension, add a perfect 50:50 front:rear weight distribution (courtesy of an aluminum front body structure ingeniously mated to the rest of the steel body), then add the aforementioned Active Steering that electronically varies steering ratios and the amount of power assist, and you’ve got a sport sedan that can carve apexes as precisely as any true-blue sports car. Shifting up and down via the steering wheel-mounted buttons, I attacked corner after corner in my best Juan Pablo Montoya imitation.

"Motor" is BMW’s middle name, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed whenever I had to call on the thoroughbreds from Bavaria. The 530i boasts a high-performance 3.0-liter 24-valve inline-6 engine with Double-VANOS, BMW’s high-tech infinitely variable camshaft adjustment system that monitors driving conditions and adjusts accordingly. The result? 231 bhp at 5900 rpm and 300 Nm of torque at a low 3500 rpm for the 530i.

I also had the chance to drive the diesel-powered variant, the 530d (which is the range-topper in the Philippines and has a retail price of P4.65 million). This variant boasts a 3.0-liter 24-valve straight-6 with state-of-the-art common rail technology. This engine can singlehandedly change the way the world perceives diesel engines with its uncanny smoothness, quietness and, last but far from least, sheer power. The 530d’s motor generates 218 bhp and a whopping 500 Nm of torque at an ultra-low 2000 rpm. To put this overachieving powerplant in perspective, the Ford Expeditionís humongous V8 develops only 395 Nm of torque at a much higher 3450 rpm. Incredible!

Mated to a standard 6-speed manual transmission (all new 5-series models come with 6-speed gearboxes, manual or automatic), the 530d can easily move from a standstill in 2nd gear with nary a quiver from the engine. I tried to short shift it all the way to 6th gear (50 kph in 6th gear!) but the vast reserves of torque simply pulled the car along with no complaint whatsoever.

Of course, there are a thousand and one other advanced features and innovations that the new 5-series brings with it. (The press kit’s technical highlights alone took up more than 60 pages.) However, short of devoting this whole section to this magnificent car, suffice to say that the new 5-series is definitely worth a close look, both for prospective buyers and lovers of technology alike. Its understatedly aggressive and sporty styling that manages to retain that hard-to-achieve aura of snootiness and elitism is just the icing on this Bavarian cake. The new 5-series is easily one of the finest, if not the best, mid-sized sedans in the world. (Note: Prices of the locally available gasoline-engined 5-series are as follows - P3.66 million for the 520i and P 4.37 million for the 525i.)