First Drive: 2014 BMW 5 Series And 5 Series GT

It’s a hackneyed old expression I know, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but in lieu of BMW’s lavish styling efforts and frustrating niche explorations lately, I think there’s cause to celebrate the restraint in this particular 5 Series lifecycle improvement (LCI). The word ‘subtle’ doesn’t even begin to broach the subject, but BMW will no doubt call it something German, like ‘precise’.

I travelled up to Jo’Burg for the day to sample the latest 5 Series range and as I arrived I was hard pressed to discern the new 5 Series from BMW’s own crew/support cars gathered in the parking lot. BMW have hardly changed anything aesthetically, but that’s because they say they’ve concentrated their efforts on the nuts and bolts of the car. After a quick tutorial on what’s been tweaked, it’s easier to discern the differences.

The safe and steady 5 Series has sold over 6.3 million units over the years and the sixth generation introduced three and a half years ago has been the most successful of the lot. The range includes the regular Sedan, a Touring estate model, which we don’t get, and the one we all love to hate, but BMW S.A. are still persisting with, the Gran Turismo.

Stylistically, the Bavarian manufacturer is adamant there is a different structure to the lower air intake, while at the back there is an additional crease on the sedan’s rear apron. They also say the headlights and taillights are now more sharply contoured than before, giving the 5 Series some extra charisma because xenon headlights are now standard across all models, with adaptive LED headlights being an option.

The Gran Turismo model has also had some plastic surgery. Quite a lot in fact, and from a rear perspective it does look noticeably different. A lot more X6 than before perhaps and it looks lower and closer to the ground. The tweaks to the 5 Series GT also endow it with 60-litres more boot space which takes it up to 500-litres overall.

The 5 Series LCI also gets its side indicators built into the wing mirrors, a new raft of alloy wheel designs and, as you might imagine, a plethora of new upholstery colours and interior trims to choose from. Most of these changes a barely discernible, but what I did notice on the inside of the 5 Series is the larger iDrive controller, which is touch sensitive like an iPhone, a larger central command screen and a more sculpted dashboard with some extra storage compartments and cup holders.

The BMW ‘Luxury Line’ and ‘Modern Line’ packages we’re familiar with from the 1 Series and 3 Series are newly introduced to the 5 Series line-up, along with the M Sport option which can make even the scurrilous diesel look a bit like the M5. More importantly, the engines are all updated to be cleaner, more efficient and with even more performance. Diesel models get nitrogen oxide-reducing BMW BluePerformance technology as standard and because of that, all the engine variants already meet the stipulations of the EU6 exhaust gas emission standard not due to come into force until September 2014.

The entry-level 4-cylinder diesel variant, the 520d (with 135 kW, 4.5 l/100 km and 119 g/km CO2), joins an even more powerful 550i, which produces 330 kW and 650 Nm from its 4.4-litre V8, as the most substantial engine upgrades. The V8 will sprint to 100 km/h in just 4.6 seconds and still only consume 8.6 ;/100 km at a cruise, which is thoroughly impressive. The regular range of petrol and diesel engines remains, which includes the 520i (135 kW), 528i (180 kW), 535i (225 kW) together with the 530d (190 kW) and 535d (230 kW). The BMW 5 Series GT is only available with a choice of two petrol engines, the 535i and 550i, or two diesel engines, the 520d and 530d.

I got to sample a very sweet 535d sedan on the launch drive, followed by a 535i GT. The diesel sedan showed brilliant, smooth torque delivery and deft body control at any sort of speed. A stunningly good car. Jumping into the petrol GT version later in the day merely proved just how much it lacks in both departments. The engine revs cleanly but isn’t as satisfying as the torquey diesel and the GT is still unable to control its tall, wallowing body as precisely as the sedan does. I still haven’t found an argument for the GT over a regular sedan.

Nevertheless, these ‘precise’ modifications to the 5 Series design, engine variation, interior, available equipment and new generation of BMW ConnectedDrive technology, may not be as vast as the recent refresh of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but they manage to raise the appeal of the BMW 5 Series model family just that one notch higher still.

Pricing includes a 5-year/100 000 km service plan.

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