As I came off Spaghetti Junction near Birmingham, the slip road for the M6 south was unsighted, which forced me to dive into it rather later than I would have liked. The situation perfectly demonstrated the handling of the 5 Series M Sport – though not in a facile, boy-racer way.
Because overhanging trees obscured the exit sign, there was limited time to make a decision and still make the exit safely. A huge chunk of the time was used checking the mirrors for a safe gap. Then, at the last moment, I turned the steering wheel, looking ahead for the middle of the corner. With the 5 Series M Sport, as with a genuine sport scar, provided you turn in late enough (which you won’t initially if you are used to conventional family saloons) you only have to move the wheel once. The steering has such a precise, direct response and clear weight that you aim for the corner, turn in once, pause, then let the steering lock off again and you have smoothly and rapidly passed through the corner. It is satisfying for a driving enthusiast at any time. In moments like this it makes life safer and less of a stress for all drivers, even if they don’t enjoy it.
That handling balance and involved steering also made the A303 and all the B roads off it around Dorset a huge amount of fun. In the wet or dry, it was hard to resist knocking the gear lever over to the left and flicking the sport button on. You instantly notice that the car then revs higher into each gear and the gear shift paddles on the steering wheel come into their own. As you swoosh through the twist and turns of an empty country road, your eyes are free to scan the horizon. There’s no need to look down because the steering wheel is telling you what the car is doing and your thumb and index finger can smoothly (almost imperceptibly) change up or down in a second.
.jpg)
It is such a shame that UK roads offer so few opportunities to safely swoosh along. Inevitably, a lot of testing time was spent on motorways, dual carriageway and in slow-moving traffic.
On the motorways, it can achieve MPG in the high 40s and the engine and wind noise are low. But the price you pay for having such a sporty-looking and well handling car is a slight road noise. Fit more conventional wheels, rather than M Sport alloys, or buy an SE and that problem will be gone.
What won’t be gone is the headache-inducing windscreen wipers. They make a distinct thump as they reach the top of their travel and in windy conditions create a tiring whirr. Two separate passengers commented on this seemingly minor detail, so if you get the chance to test drive in the wet, do so.
Behind a doddering Rover 25 on a B road, the car was smooth and quiet. There wasn’t a sense of the automatic gearbox wanting to leap over the car in front every time I touched the throttle, as there can be in some Audis. The gearbox, in fact, is among the best in the market in terms of interpreting throttle inputs smoothly into the right kind of power output. When I needed power to pull out in busy traffic, there was rarely a delay or ungainly surge as there is in so many 4 x 4s and MPVs. But, equally, if pootling in a village or town, it wasn’t flicking up and down between gears, gurgling uncomfortably until I pulled away.
The boot space and leg room (all round) make this a relatively practical car. The seats are averagely comfortable but highly adjustable, even for the tallest of drivers. But the quality of the build, the choice of leathers and the general look of the car meant it was one of the few cars that made me smile every time I went near it, let alone drove it.
What’s the market like?
There is a BMW 5 Series to suit all budgets and driving styles available on the used market. If you look at the earliest 5 and 6-year-old cars you can pick up 2.0 litre examples with around 60,000 miles for just under £7,000. Among 2-year-old cars, there are very few big petrol-powered models on the market (stock levels are nearly into single digits) but there are several hundred large diesels. The depreciation is steady and firm, with post-M.O.T. models being the stand-out bargains. Cars of that age with less than 20,000 miles are half the price of new models.
What else can this budget buy?
A 2-year-old used approved 320d is a £25,000 purchase, which makes an awful lot of cars available in the general sense. In terms of premium large family saloons that can also provide driver fun, however, the field is more limited. A Mercedes E-Class doesn’t give the same dynamic qualities, Lexus and Jaguar are not quite their in brand and build quality respectively, so it’s head to head with Audi’s 2.7 TDI S line, which is on average nearly £1,000 less. They achieve the same end but their means (driving style, ride and image) are different. The decision is yours.
Summary
One of the most desirable cars on the market, not just one of the most desirable saloon cars. Near-faultless build and technology combined with image and dynamic ability. Pick your specification wisely to suit your preferences, if you are to enjoy the experience as much as the price tag warrants.
By: Matthew Tumbridge