Immediately’s BMW 5 Sequence doesn’t have the identical mission assertion because it did a decade or two in the past. For years, the German automaker’s center sedan was designed to be absolutely the sharpest device within the luxurious automotive shed. Its steering was excellent, its trip was crisp and its engines have been punchy. Briefly, it was meant to be essentially the most rewarding sports activities sedan that cash might purchase. And for years — significantly over the course of the E39 glory days — that’s precisely what it was.
Someplace alongside the way in which, the 5 Sequence’ foremost goal shifted because the sedan morphed right into a rolling showcase of BMW’s technological know-how, even when that meant the precise driving expertise was numbed and dumbed to match the shifting tastes of luxurious automotive consumers. Factor is, as a lot as fanatics bemoan the consequences that cutting-edge expertise has had on the texture behind the wheel, the very fact of the matter is that the 2021 BMW 540i is a really pleasurable automotive to drive, and it’s measurably the perfect mainstream 5er that has ever rolled down the road.
The 2021 BMW 5 Sequence represents a significant refresh on the final clean-sheet redesign that we first examined in 2017. The sharp ends have been restyled, making it just a little over an inch longer than earlier than. The kidney grille is now one conjoined piece as a substitute of two and extra distinguished for 2021, however fortunately not comically so like the newest 4 Sequence. The headlights have additionally been pinched and pulled extra taut.
Our tester regarded stately in white, solely barely livened up with Y-spoke wheels with crimson calipers. The 5 Sequence stays distinguished, however not over-the-top, like a few of BMW’s crossovers.
Inside, the angles and types are a bit extra extreme than the earlier 5 Sequence, however the total look is calmer than the decadent, and admittedly nicer, Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Most will say the Mercedes is extra luxurious in its presentation, whereas the Bimmer is extra refined.
Twin 12.3-inch shows dominate the dashboard, one straight in entrance of the driving force delivering need-to-know information in between digital speedometer and tachometer gauges that change in design primarily based on the driving mode. The opposite is within the middle working BMW’s newest iDrive 7 infotainment system. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are commonplace, as is navigation. There are actual tactile buttons for the local weather management and audio system, together with the automaker’s well-known management knob on the middle console with accompanying menu buttons.
You’ll be able to learn all about iDrive 7 right here, however in brief, there are nonetheless a whole lot of layers but it surely’s largely logical in structure and comparatively easy to study. We particularly admire that it may be managed by way of each the touchscreen and the wheel-shaped knob.
Apart from the primping and prodding in and out, the large information for the 2021 540i is a mild-hybrid powertrain that comes with a 48-volt electrical system. The little electrical motor provides just a little greater than 10 horsepower to the automotive’s score of 335 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, so the overwhelming majority of thrust is offered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine. These ponies are despatched to the rear, or, as was the case with our 540i xDrive check automotive, all 4 wheels by way of an eight-speed automated transmission.
BMW quotes a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds for the 2021 540i xDrive (three tenths faster than the rear-drive model), which is kind of good. That’s about the identical because the earlier non-hybridized model, however we discovered that the additional push from the electrical motor smoothed out the general really feel of the turbocharged powertrain, significantly proper off the road, and earlier than and after gearshifts. There are steering wheel shift paddles and a handbook mode for the transmission, however the digital brains are so good within the default and Sport modes that they aren’t actually wanted.
The delicate hybrid powertrain helps the 2021 540i xDrive’s gas economic system enhance to 23 mpg metropolis, 31 mpg freeway and 26 mpg mixed. In comparison with the non-hybrid 2020 mannequin, that’s 1 mpg higher within the metropolis and mixed rankings and two higher on the freeway. It’s additionally 1 mpg higher than the Mercedes-Benz E 450 4Matic’s freeway score and higher than a comparable Audi A6’s rankings throughout the board, making the BMW a phase chief in gas effectivity. It’s additionally value noting that the much less highly effective 530i xDrive’s EPA rankings of 23 metropolis and 32 freeway imply there’s no nice sacrifice to the additional energy of the 540i’s six-cylinder engine.
The 2021 5 Sequence’ trip is easy and refined. We by no means hit a bump that upset the chassis, and it stays commendably flat by way of onerous corners. The sedan tackles corners and maintains bearing in a method that can please fanatics, but received’t depart them or their passengers feeling queasy throughout aggressive maneuvers. Its steering supplied correct, substantial suggestions that we discovered feels rewarding and interesting when hustled at velocity however overly gentle the remainder of the time. It might not transfer its driver in the identical method because the E39 or E60 vintages did, however in comparison with its present-day friends, the 2021 5 Sequence’ manners are largely with out fault.
We did discover fault with the newest era of BMW’s driver help options, nevertheless. The automated cruise management system works nicely, holding (and adjustable) distance even down to an entire cease, however BMW’s Lively Lane Protecting Assistant trails that of its rivals. In our week-long expertise, the 5 Sequence tended to pogo from one facet of the lane to the opposite and oftentimes simply disengaged totally, even on comparatively straight roads with clear traces and markers. After a lot fiddling and irritation, we turned it off.
The 2021 540i xDrive begins at $62,745. That’s a $2,300 premium for all-wheel drive, and $5,250 greater than the lesser 530i xDrive. If we have been spending our personal cash, we’d be joyful to stint on a number of choices to get the 540i over the 530i. There’s additionally the 523-horsepower M550i xDrive for $77,795 in addition to the 530e plug-in hybrid that begins at $58,195 or $60,495 with all-wheel drive. We have since examined that model as nicely, however other than its spectacular gas effectivity, its added weight and complexity dim the driving expertise, and its trunk quantity is severely lowered. The 540i is certainly the higher 5er to focus on.
Pricing for the comparable Mercedes-Benz E 450 4Matic sedan is principally equal to the 540i, and in line with historical past, the Audi A6 undercuts them each by a number of thousand. In fact, only a few of those luxurious sedans are ever offered with none choices, and pricing rises dramatically with just some clicks of the mouse. An instance like our check automotive, blessed with the M Sport bundle, driving aids and some packages will price round $75,000.
Apart from a number of nitpicks, we actually loved our time within the 2021 540i xDrive. When this sedan is at its greatest, it’s the excellent bridge between the three and seven Sequence, combining energy with the precise stability of agility and luxurious options. If push have been to come back to shove, we’d choose an E-Class over the 5er, however we’d utterly perceive if somebody have been to choose the extra refined contact of the BMW over Mercedes’ barely extra ostentatious tackle German luxurious.
The 2021 5 Sequence is just not what it was once, due to course it isn’t and neither is anything. What’s is, although, is a grown-up, state-of-the-art and state-of-the-times sedan with all of the bells and whistles. Easy, comfy, fast and serene, however only a notch beneath the prettier E-Class on our luxurious chart.
Associated Video:
