|
2004 BMW 5 Series
|
| Along Twain's Hudson |
|
| Updated |
Jun 10, 2004 22:28:14 |
| Rating |
 67 ( -10 -14.92% ) | | Author | Tara Baukus Mello |
|
|
Description:
2004 BMW 5 Series
Along Twain's Hudson
Writer's Notes
Test Car:
2004 BMW 530i
MSRP Range:
$37,600 - $55,800
MPG: 20/30
Top 5 Reasons To Like The New 5 Series:
5. No more cramped rear seat passengers now with two-inches more leg room
4. Many features of the 7 Series at a little more than half the price
3. Impress your friends by squeezing into an impossible small parallel parking spot thanks to Active Steering
2. A 325 horsepower, 4.4-liter V-8 engine
1. New Sequential Manual Gearbox with paddle shifts lets you pretend you are Juan Pablo Montoya
But as is typical with BMW, what's most exciting about the 2004 5 Series is what can't be seen---the features that make a Bimmer live up to its brand image as the "ultimate driving machine."
Comments or suggestions about this review? Send an e-mail to: editor@autobytel.com
Autobytel Inc. operates the popular automotive websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com, and Autosite.com.
xxx
The view of the Hudson River from the hilltop was breathtaking. It was easy to see why author Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, chose the location for a home-it has been said that he fell in love with the beauty of the land and its close proximity to New York City (about 45 minutes by today's standards) allowed for easy entertaining of guests from all over the world.
On this day, however, the gusty wind was creating waves in the Hudson River and the high humidity made the air feel as if I were inside a sauna, not on the grounds of Tappan Hill, a mansion on the Clemens property that hosts weddings and corporate events. Hurricane Isabel was blowing its way up the East Coast and my hosts from BMW were worried the weather would put a kink in the driving route they had planned for the following day. For the moment, however, worries were put aside as we dined in this lovely, historical setting.
Dinner table talk turned to cars quickly and it wasn't long before the conversation settled on the new BMW 5 Series. Our host, Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO of BMW North America, was reluctant to give too much away before we were able to get behind the wheel ourselves the next morning.
"Let's just say that the new 5 Series will make you feel like Juan Pablo (Montoya) in the twisties and like a chauffeur in the straights," Purves said.
While such a goal might seem a bit high for BMW, such characteristics are essential if BMW is to produce a vehicle that will be a strong competitor to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which was redesigned in 2002. It's a crucial step in its product planning strategy, which includes the goal of snatching the title of the world's best-selling luxury automaker away from Mercedes-Benz.
While the 5 Series is not the company's highest volume vehicle in the U.S., it does represent about 25 percent of BMW's worldwide profits, making its success important to the company's bottom line. Known for its unique advertising and movie-like Internet films, BMW allocated $40 million to the 5 Series' advertising budget. Among the traditional television ads, it also took the unique step of launching a contest to find "the ultimate driver" in conjunction with the Speed Channel.
The contest began in the spring, with entrants submitting a 100-word essay on why they should be The Ultimate Driver. 25 semi-finalists were invited to the BMW Performance Center in North Carolina, where three finalists were selected. The finalists then flew to Germany, where they drove the new 5 Series on the Nurburgring track with a world champion race driver. The 30-minute show, which began airing in September, showcases the test-drive experiences of the trio of non-professional drivers. My test drive experience through the Hudson River Valley wasn't nearly as exciting as a trip to the famed Nurburgring, but it provided ample time to drive the 2004 BMW 5 Series in nearly every situation an American owner would experience.
I got my first good look at the new 5 Series outside BMW North American headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey before breakfast. Despite the blustery weather the evening before, Hurricane Isabel had slowed enough to provide a pleasant, albeit gray, day. A row of 5 Series vehicles wound its way along the main entrance and I stopped alongside a dark Mystic Blue model for a close-up inspection. The exterior styling now echoes the design characteristics of the larger 7 Series and Z4 that BMW chief designer Chris Bangle refers to as "shark-like." The styling cues, which were controversial when BMW first unveiled the redesigned 7 Series two years ago, are now far more appealing to the eye. It's a feat that is due in part to becoming more accustomed to the design with time, but it's also the result of the lines being not quite as radical as they are on the 5 Series' larger sibling.
But as is typical with BMW, what's most exciting about the 2004 5 Series is what can't be seen---the features that make a Bimmer live up to its brand image as the "ultimate driving machine." In this redesign, the fifth generation for the mid-size sedan, there's a lot of what's "underneath" to talk about---a new engine, three new gearboxes, innovations in steering and suspension---and that's just hitting the highlights.
For 2004, the 525i and 530i, remain equipped with their 2.5- and 3.0-liter inline, six-cylinder engines, producing 184 and 225 horsepower respectively. New for this year is the 545i model designation, which comes equipped with a 4.4-liter V-8 engine that produces 325 horsepower at 6100 rpm and 330 lb.-ft. of torque at 3600 rpm. All the engines are mated to new, six-speed transmissions, with the manual transmission as standard equipment. Like other current BMW models, the new, optional, six-speed automatic transmission is the Steptronic variety, allowing a manual-shift mode.
New to the line is a six-speed sequential manual gearbox (SMG), which offers paddle-style shifting without the use of a clutch. While considered a manual transmission, the SMG offers a "drive" mode, where shifting is automatic. The SMG is optional on all models and available only when the Sport Package is ordered.
My test drive was in a 530i (the 545i model and the SMG transmission were both unavailable due to delayed production) and my dark blue steed was sure-footed on the road, yet nimble. The front suspension is now entirely aluminum and features rack-and-pinion steering, an upgrade from the recirculating-ball-type steering used in the last generation. As I've come to expect from BMW, the new 5 Series was extremely responsive in every situation I put it in and could not handle any better. At least that's what I thought until I traded cars with another journalist and got behind the wheel of a 5 Series equipped with BMW's latest technological innovation, Active Steering.
Active Steering uses electromechanical means to change the steering ratio depending on driving speed and conditions. This is more than the feature that is often described as speed sensitive steering and wildly different from the steering experience in the 2004 5 Series without this feature. At slow speeds, active steering turns the front wheels much further than you would expect based on your steering input. As a result, getting out of a tight parking spot and making a U-turn are a snap. When driving at higher speeds, active steering, however, works completely opposite. A quick lane change or other sharp turn of the steering wheel results in the wheels turning less than in a non-active steering vehicle, resulting in the car remaining more stable in potentially disastrous situations, such as emergency lane changes or under slippery road conditions.
Other technological features of the 2004 BMW 5 Series include the latest version of Dynamic Stability Control and Dynamic Traction Control, which improves traction in situations such as driving in sand, gravel or in deep snow.
Active Steering and Active Roll Stabilization are sold as part of the sport package, a $3,300 option, which includes sport wheels, run-flat performance tires and 12-way power front sport seats. The Active Steering function feels a bit odd at slow speeds, because the driver's steering input is far less than what one expects, but when I drove two 5 Series (one with the feature and one without) back-to-back on a short cone course, the improvement in handling at higher speeds was impressive. I was able to make simulated emergency lane changes and sharp turns with far greater ease and the car (which tracks quite nicely without the feature) was even more precise. While it's easy to see the benefits of such a system, I can't help but wonder what will happen when the owner of a 5 Series with such a system gets behind the wheel of another vehicle, such as another family car or a rental. One sharp corner at a bit too high of a speed could result in a big surprise.
Other technological features of the 2004 BMW 5 Series include the latest version of Dynamic Stability Control and Dynamic Traction Control, which improves traction in situations such as driving in sand, gravel or in deep snow. A flat tire monitor is now standard on all 5 Series models, which includes both a visual and audible warning when tire pressure drops by 30 percent or more. Adaptive brake lights, a carryover technology from the 7 Series, illuminate more brightly under heavy braking or when the anti-lock brakes are activated. Operation of the iDrive system has been simplified, but it still lacks the intuitiveness needed to get the desired result on the first try.
Despite the technological wizardry, the 2004 BMW 5 Series not at all like driving the latest electronic gadget, thanks to an interior cabin that envelopes its occupants in a swath of comfort. The upholstery is an inviting series of soft contours that draws the body in, cradling it gently, while contrasting finish accents the door handles and pulls. 10-way power front seats are standard, as is a memory feature for the driver's seat, which incorporates seating, steering wheel and exterior mirror position. Thanks to the redesigned exterior, rear seat passengers will appreciate the additional room, especially the nearly two inches of additional space for the legs.
A car can't be classified in the mid-size luxury segment without having a plethora of comfort and convenience features and the 2004 BMW 5 Series embraces the concept of comfort on convenience widely. The automatic climate control system, for example, takes into account every possible action that might cause an occupant to want to change the system and does it automatically. Just a two examples include: a bi-directional solar sensor that takes the position of the sun (and the heat associated with it) into account, adjusting the interior cooling accordingly and the automatic recirculation control feature which specifically senses diesel exhaust, adjusting the cabin air. Rain sensing windshield wipers, keyless entry with memory, courtesy lights, power tile/telescope steering wheel and a built-in, three-function garage door opener, are all standard.
New options include active cruise control, park distance control, Xenon adaptive headlights and a head-up display. Active cruise control uses a radar sensor at the vehicle's front to maintain a set distance from the vehicle in front of it by either accelerating or decelerating. Park distance control uses ultrasonic sensors in the front and rear to warn of obstacles that may not be in the driver's view.
For 2004, the Xenon headlights now adapt to the road and the vehicle in order to provide better night visibility. Using an electronic control system and small motors, the headlights actually steer with the front wheels, responding to both steering inputs and the vehicle's speed to improve the view around curves in the road or when taking a corner. The headlights also have a self-leveling feature, which corrects the aim of the headlights based on whether the vehicle is accelerating or braking, as well as when there is a heavier load.
Later in the model year, a head-up display will be offered in models equipped with the optional navigation system. The display projects an image from the top of the instrument panel, positioned in the driver's line of sight near the end of the hood. The system allows the driver to select the information to be displayed, as well as the brightness of the display.
It was a lot to take in as I headed south along the Hudson and back toward the land that Mark Twain loved. With the new 5 Series taking such an "active" role (Active Steering, Active Stabilization, Adaptive Cruise Control), it seemed that there was far less required of me in my role as the driver. Perhaps that means there's far more time to enjoy the drive.
---Story by Tara Baukus Mello
© 2002, Tara Baukus Mello, All Rights Reserved. |
| Similar news: | - BMW's Earnings Rise on X3 SUV, 6-Series - Luxury automaker BMW AG said its earnings rose 7.6 percent in the third quarter, boosted by new models such as the X3 sport utility vehicle and the 6-series coupe.
- German automaker BMW's profit up 18 per cent, adds 2,000 workers - FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Luxury automaker BMW's profit rose 18 per cent in the second quarter from a year ago as new models like the X3 sport utility vehicle and 6-Series coupe helped drive sales, the company said Wednesday.
- Kodak Adjusts 2003, 2004 Profit Lower - Eastman Kodak Co. on Wednesdayrestated its profit lower for 2003 and 2004 as a result ofaccounting adjustments for income tax and pensions, but saidthe change did not affect its revenue or "financial strength."
| | Find all news similar on 2004 BMW 5 Series |
|
