New Five's Tale

The all-new BMW 5 Series feels better to drive in every way. And you can choose to let it drive itself too!

- Shubhabrata Marmar

The seventh generation of the BMW 5 Series is here. It’s a hallowed car in BMW’s history and it’s always had to sit in the difficult spot between the altogether more sporty 3 Series and the instantly more luxurious 7. And straddling things is hard to do as a rule. Not that any of the previous 5 Series cars will lead you to believe this.

But when I see the new BMW 5 Series, the first thought I have is that it looks fresh. Not brand new, but definitely recently born. At the front, this begins with the new headlight cluster that creeps across the front and connects up with the kidney grille. The grille itself is wider and squatter –– a la 7er –– and it makes the front end more impressive and sharper. The detailed interior of the headlight units themselves, including the new daytime LEDs, help the impression of a more technical, more precise-looking car. If you walk to the back, you will notice a similarly efficiently drawn rear view with wider taillights and sculpting.

But what is truly interesting is the side body which on the whole does not appear to have received much work. But there is a subtle new crease which rises from the front wheel arch to the Hofmeister Kink that alters your perception of the side a lot more than it should.

All-new the car doesn’t look like, but spot the last-generation 5er on the road and it immediately looks a little plumper, a little older than the new car. Job done, I say.