18 Aug 03
The 520i SE, the entry-level model in the new 5-Series range, is priced at £25,455, and that's before you add in leather seats, an auto gearbox, metallic paint, electric front seats with lumbar support, a multi-CD player and other features you'd expect in a prestige executive car - even floor mats come at extra cost, let alone niceties like parking sensors, satellite navigation, bi-xenon headlights, headlamp washers and BMW's clever new adaptive headlights which can 'see' around corners. But it's a big jump to the 530i SE (£30,995, with only metallic paint and parking sensors as additional kit) and the 330d SE (£30,950), at least until the 525i and 520d arrive later in the year, and the 520i is the likely contender for many a company car list with its 219g/km carbon dioxide emissions and 31.4mpg fuel economy. It's probable that it will be one of the best-selling models in the range. And never underestimate the pulling power of the BMW badge; many motorists take an entry-level Five over a fully-specced Mondeo or Vectra without hesitation, and keep coming back for more.
The starting price gives you the familiar 2171cc straight-six, delivering 170bhp and 210Nm (155lb ft) of torque. Acceleration from 0-60mph takes 9 seconds, and top speed is 143mph. Technical highlights include BMW's bi-VANOS infinitely-variable camshaft adjustment, which alters valve opening times for exhaust gas recirculation, to boost combustion efficiency and reduce fuel consumption and emissions; maximum torque is enhanced between 3500 and 4500rpm, the crucial rev range for spirited everyday road driving. This engine is matched with a six-speed manual gearbox (a six-speed auto is optional); newly developed for this 5-Series range, the sixth gear is essentially an overdrive gear for relaxed high-speed cruising, with top speed achieved in sixth.
The clinching factor in choosing a Five, however, is likely to be its looks: its Chris Bangle-designed exterior is distinctive and striking. More resolved than the Seven, with many of that car's most extreme touches smoothed off and toned down, it is arguably the first of BMW's large saloons to (successfully) be a modernising force in its sector - previous Fives have been rather conservative, and the latest Seven just too controversial. In a time when many companies in this market have gone retro-mad (Jaguar), and yet others turn out cautious evolutions rather than radical overhauls (Mercedes, Audi), BMW's insistence on looking to the future and doing something different is laudable. In the case of the Five, it works. This is a car that looks as good parked up on the street as it does in action, from its upturned wraparound headlights to its 7-Series-style thick boot lid: it is an imposing car of substance, without being bombastic or over-the-top.
