For a while, BMW had lost the plot. The Bavarian automaker’s malaise started in 2012 with the introduction of the (F30) 3-series, the first 3-series that tipped the scale harder for luxury than sport. Non-enthusiasts were pleased: To them, the blue and white Roundel is a symbol of luxury, not sport, and the coveted badge was finally available on a car that drove like a Buick. Dyed in the wool enthusiasts (like myself) had their faith shattered: BMW was no longer the premier purveyor of sport. As soggy suspensions and lifeless steering spread throughout the model range, enthusiasts who valued soulful sports sedans had to search long and hard to find a diamond in BMW’s modern model range.
But in 2018, I refound sport, humor and joie du vivre in a BMW—the X3 M40i of all models! The X3 M40i mixed athleticism, sound, feel and punch to produce a vehicle that drove better than the sum of its parts. My hope for modern BMWs was rekindled. Could all of the brand’s new models deliver unbridled driving pleasure? The recently refreshed (G30) 5-series is my first chance to find out.
Here in my hand is the fob for a 2018 530i Sport Line. (Sport Line is the base trim level for the 5-series.) As best as I can tell, my 530i has been frugally ordered: The 2.0l turbo engine, base non-adjustable suspension and standard 18″ wheels all “come for free.” The upgrades I can spot are the Dakota leather seats and the Convenience and Premium packages ($1,400 and $1,250, respectively) that bundle niceties like keyless entry, heated seats, power tailgate, head-up display, WiFi, gesture control and enhanced cell phone connectivity. If I’ve won my game of “I Spy”, then my 530i’s MSRP is a smidge less than $60k.
Slipping into the cabin, I immediately notice BMW’s updated infotainment system and HVAC button layout. I’ve seen iDrive 6.0 in my test drives of the current 7-series and X3, but those drives were so short that I ignored the system and I just focused on the driving. Today will be my first extended sit-down with iDrive 6.0. At first blush, it appears responsive, crisp and clear. BMW has found a good balance of virtual controls and physical buttons, and physical buttons are present for all the features I need at a fingertip. Flanking the shifter are the drive modes, the electronic parking brake and the iDrive controller. Below the air vents are the long lines of radio and HVAC controls. The cabin layout is clean and functional but doesn’t have much pizzaz in design or materials.
The acceptable but not exceptional materials may be explained by the modest optioning of this 530i. Disappointing in the 530i is the middling feel of the Dakota leather and the uninspired trim. Piano black plastic is met with equally plasticy lacquered wood. (The controls and leather can be upgraded to premium materials for a price.) Bending the “there-ain’t-no-luxury-in-a-base-BMW” rule are the supremely comfortable and cosseting front seats and the handsome steering wheel. Budget buyers can take solace that the build quality remains top-notch on all cars. Everything I pull, push, or prod is solid and squeak-free.
A press of the start button brings the 530i’s engine to life. It takes less than a half-mile of neighborhood driving to prove my thesis wrong: BMW has not put spark, sport and spirit back into all of its cars. The 530i feels built for luxury by isolation rather than fun through good vibrations. In the city, 530i drives in near silence. There is no wind noise, and the tire noise is no louder than the AC fan. The engine can be heard in hushed tones, but I am convinced that its sound is intentionally present in the cabin to give aural clues about the car’s efforts and pace. The 530i is one of the most hushed cars I’ve driven. Has BMW built a Lexus?
While it is clear that the 530i is not intended for sport, I disregard reason and point the Roundel on the car’s nose at Wildcat Canyon Road. Like windblown waves pounding an ocean-going vessel, Wildcat Canyon’s tight twists crash again and again on the BMW’s bow. The 530i may be numb, but it dispatches 25 mph corners well beyond the posted speed limit and keeps a commendably neutral cornering balance with modest body roll. BMW wrote the book on sports sedans, and the company still knows how to conquer a corner.
The 530i’s front end is well matched to its quick steering. I use minimal hand movement to hustle the BMW through the turns without ever provoking protest or understeer from the front tires.
Less well matched is the four-cylinder engine to the rear axle grip. The engine doesn’t have enough torque to test the traction of the rear tires. The 530i still feels rear-wheel driven (it is), but it won’t smoke the rear tires under my leadened right foot. In the smaller BMW 330i, the 2.0l turbo is the little-engine-that-could and feels genuinely fast when flogged. The 530i burdens the engine with an additional 300 lbs of metal, rubber and foam, slowing the car and isolating me from the speed. Buyers wanting a spritely 5-series should consider the six and eight-cylinder engines.
(I got to drive a 530e, the plug-in hybrid version of the 530i, at the 2018 BMW Ultimate Driving Experience. When worked vigorously on an autocross course, the 530e was an understeering roly-poly pig. The 530i is a better-behaved animal on a mountain road, but I suspect it too would pitch itself into a pigsty on an autocross.)
Wildcat Canyon Road degrades as I cross the county line. The tight twists remain, but the pavement is lumpier than a dorm mattress. The 530i remains comfortable over this uneven ground. The car shelters me from the large impacts, and the body nautically bobs up and down as I traverse potholes and heaves. The car’s course through the corners is uncorrupted by the road’s fisticuffs, but the biggest bumps provoke a hint of float from the (non-adjustable) suspension. On the ride and handling scale of (0) Luxobarge to (10) Lotus Elise, the 530i scores about a (4). The tuning is right on target for a comfort-oriented, base-suspension 5-series.
(The Cadillac CT6‘s magnetic ride suspension was just as comfortable and much better composed over this blistered portion of Wildcat Canyon, and the CT6 had actual road feel. The bigger engine CT6 was quicker than the 530i, but its AWD robbed it of the steer-by-throttle balance found in the 530i. While the driver’s choice of the two cars is the CT6, neither car really shares my enthusiasm for back-road romps.)
Wildcat Canyon Road dumps me at the mouth of Bear Creek Road, whose sweeping strokes loosely trace the eastern shore of the Briones Reservoir. Bear Creek’s long straightaways let the 530i build up a head of steam, which the car then carries through the broad, flowing corners. On one particularly broken straightaway, the 530i sops up a series of hard kicks from the pavement with the ease of white bread mopping yoke off my breakfast plate. In the rippled sweepers where my M3 feels flinty and nervous, the 530i is rock solid. The 530i is not the better sports car, but there are real-world benefits to compliant suspensions!
Firm and fadeless brakes bring me to a halt in the heart of hilly ranch country. I turn off the engine and shoot exterior photography of the 530i. What a bland car! The 530i’s long hood lacks any character lines and ultimately droops down towards the bumper. Large unsightly fender gaps frame the 18″ wheels and tires (245/45 Hankook Ventus S1 noble2 all-season run-flats). Tacked behind the front wheels are air vents that look like hockey-stick blades. They are a feeble attempt to spice up a Breyers vanilla design.
Executive sedans should have large trunks, but the power liftgate opens to reveal a deep yet surprisingly narrow boot. The suspension packaging and enclosed trunk hinges have robbed a foot of space from both sides of the trunk. Usually, there is extra storage or a spare tire hidden under the trunk floor, but I can’t find a way to lift the floor in the 530i.
I am pleased that the rear door handles are equipped for keyless locking and unlocking. Parents like me start and end their journeys by loading children into car seats. The backbench is cushy, comfortable and has generous legroom, but the headroom is just adequate. BMW scalloped a recess into the headliner for extra airspace, but my recently cropped coiffure nearly touches the headliner. 6′ 0″ and taller adults will end up slouching.
I get back in the driver’s seat and blitz home on Bear Creek. The all-star player on the 530i’s drivetrain is the transmission. BMW has always had a great 8-speed automatic, and in the 2018 5-series, it is especially well-tuned in manual mode. Upshifts and downshifts are immediate, and there is even a slight pat on the back when an upshift is hammered home. My M3’s (tired) DCT is less precise and no more rewarding. No wonder the current M5 uses this automatic too. Could some of the M division’s transmission programming for the M5 have trickled down to the 530i?
Early in the afternoon, my family of three loads into the 530i for a trip to wine country. As someone unfamiliar with iDrive 6.0, voice control is the fastest way to enter the winery’s address and adjust the navigation volume. The BMW figures out my commands on the first try. My route is presented on the crisp navigation screen and the full-color head-up display. I like how BMW uses the HUD to help me navigate intersections and highway junctions, but it’s highly disappointing that the display disappears when I don polarized sunglasses.
iDrive 6.0 has at least six modes of interaction: dash and steering buttons, rotary knob, trackpad, touch screen, voice control and air gestures. As an iDrive OG, it is the rotary knob that I am most used to. I like how iDrive 6.0 gives me a sneak preview of each menu item’s contents when I scroll to an item with the rotary knob. Of all the modes of interaction, air gestures are the worst. Spinning my finger in the air to raise the volume is plain silly, and the car frequently misses my gestures. It is easier—and quicker!—to use the physical buttons on the steering wheel or dash.
I find the 530i less convincing on the highway than it is in town. The dome of silence is pierced by wind noise above 45 mph, and the car’s quick steering feels nervous. Finding that I must continuously correct the car’s course with minute steering inputs. Wind or alignment may be at fault, but I think the rack could be slowed a little to match the character of the car. The highway ride is generally smooth, only disturbed by little episodes of light chop.
The modest four-cylinder engine and nets better than 30 mpg (as reported by the trip computer) on the cruise to the country. In Eco mode, I like how the car how makes a game of its sailing mode by reporting the miles sailed so far in the gauge cluster. (Sailing puts the car into neutral on downhill slopes to save fuel.) Both Eco and Sports modes of the 5-series are customizable, so the driver has two easily accessible presents that he can tailor to his tastes. Previously, you had to buy an M car if you wanted such flexibility.
Our wine tasting is a success. The cabs and syrahs are big and full-bodied. The BMW seems right at home in the vineyard parking lot. Wine tasting appears to be a mature person’s version of bar hopping; for its comfort and pace, our silverback 530i would be a clear choice for a couple in their golden years.
The next evening I take the 530i out for errands, sampling the car on streets I use in my daily commute. It turns out the small engine is ample for the city after all. The 530i wafts through the city, effortlessly pulsing down the road when I breathe on the throttle. The steering is light, the seats are cushy, and the ride is supple. Berkeley’s worst pavement is made comfortable in the 530i, where the only penalty for the bad tarmac is an increased rumble from the tires and, finally, some sensation of rubber interacting with the road through the steering and seat. Relaxed city cruising is where the 530i is in its element.
BMW’s 5-series used to be a hoon’s hero, with the E39 M5 being an item of lust for gearheads who love V8s, smokey drifts, and tastefully toned styling. I’d hoped to find that classic spirit in the current 5-series, but to look at the 530i as a dulled and muted sports sedan is to miss the point: BMW has a different audience in mind. The quiet, comfortable and effortless, the 530i has gone whole-hog on luxury and come out as one of the best executive limos you could hope for.
Mike's Steering Column 