Sunday, February 12, 2017

BMW 5-Series G30

With the arrival of the new-generation BMW 5-Series G30, they're on the roll of creating a new kind of executive sedan that promises the next-generation of driving pleasure for the next generation of drivers from around the world because of its next-generation technology embodied to its well-sculpted design that meets the demands of today. So, what's it all about?

2017 BMW 5-Series

First, let's take a look on the new model's design and while the previous model looked promising but a tad too much to bear for a post-Bangle Bimmer, the new design looks more a miniaturized 7-Series with the 4-Series's rear view on it, making it even more interesting to look at compared to the next luxury car in its class parked in the office lot. It maybe more sophisticated to look at but as time passed by, it's going to be as less interesting as an Audi A6.

2017 BMW 5-Series interior
2017 BMW 5-Series interior

On the plus side, the interior is a basic improvement compared to the previous model which reminds you of most BMWs of the past. Looking at the new dashboard inspired from the modern BMW 7-Series, you can see that it's either great or just becoming the template for future BMW interiors for the next few years and let me tell you, while waiting for future Bimmers to use such interior as seen here, you're free to toy around its wide array of gadgets whatever you like before setting off. There's even a rear seat massager that relaxes you as you ride along as well. How convenient for a first-class interior that delivers the same experience as riding first-class on an airplane.

Yes, now that the new 5-Series comes with gesture control apart from the voice control, touchscreen, and the iDrive controller, everything feels like you're in a Mission Impossible movie except that you're not Ethan Hunt or any other IMF agent per se. However, it takes a lot of mastery to get a grip on this gesture part.

Appreciate the congrats on the new interior, but let's move on because there are some important things to check on the new 5-Series.

2017 BMW 5-Series

The new BMW 5-Series features a new powerhouse cast of engine choices with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology and these new engines is as fresh as a cast of a remake of a classic TV show. There's a 2.0L 4-cylinder petrol, a 6-cylinder 3.0L petrol, a 2.0L 4-cylinder diesel, a 6-cylinder 3.0L diesel, and more to come in the lineup later this year, including the new 530e iPerformance PHEV that comes with the 3.0L petrol engine mated to an electric motor that produces a total output of 252PS of power, and the flagship M550i xDrive, the most powerful in the normal 5-Series as of time being, with the 4.4L V8 Twin Turbo engine producing 462PS of power and 650Nm of torque. Depending on the variant, they can be fitted with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed Steptronic gearbox, which is uncanny by most speedo boys elsewhere.

That's almost everything you need to know but behind the engine choices lies the improved chassis and suspension of the new 5-Series and for BMW, they've spent lots of man hours perfecting its dynamics inside and out and the result is a more comfortable, sturdier, and a sharper experience unlike the previous model. Plus, they've even done the SYNTAK technology to reduce powertrain noise and that's good too.

For the first time in the new 5-Series, the brand new Adaptive Drive system, which combines Dynamic Damper Control with Dynamic Drive active roll stabilisation, for a better ride unlike the previous one and get this, the anti-roll bars in this new model are now no longer actuated hydraulically but by means of electric swivel motors. Sounds like magic for the drivers but the way it handles is not really half bad when they try it.

Because the 5-Series has evolved into a luxury car that meets the demands of today, it's been incorporated with the latest driver assistance systems ranging from Active Cruise Control with incorporating speed restrictions, hazard preview based on car-to-car communication, side collision protection and automatic lane-change, evasion aid, steering and laine control assistant, and more safety tech that are too much to bear in this post and whatever BMW did to this new model is becoming more of an autonomous car rather than being a BMW that wants to be driven by almost anyone. Autonomous driving...isn't that something speedo boys in their anoraks should be running back to their mommies? Whatever that is, that tech made them look bleak on the public roads.

The new BMW 5-Series starts at 45,200 Euros MSRP including taxes and delivery charges and while this is more expensive than today's Mercedes-Benz E-Class, this is still a 7-Series in E-Class budget, so it's a fair value for the new-generation model. Know this, many will appreciate the new 5-Series for its next-generation technology that incorporated the embodiment of its superiority, one puzzling question that worries a certain driver is that when the new 5-Series is here now, ready for tomorrow, will its technological masterpiece become a burden for its "freude am fahren" slogan? Only time will tell...

Photo: BMW AG

No comments: