7TH PLAYS SEVEN

The excellent new 5 Series looks set to be a formidable player in its segment (and simultaneously ask pertinent questions of BMW’S flagship saloon)

IN a luxury market that’s dominated by the presence of the Mercedes-benz S-class, the BMW 7 Series carves a distinctive path. It’s all things to all people: comfortable yet dynamic; luxurious yet unostentatious; spacious enough without looking bloated.

But now, as I’m driving the new 5 Series along the spectacular N247 skirting Portugal’s coastline west of the capital, Lisbon, I can’t help but wonder whether the new executive sedan won’t hurt the big saloon’s sales. The G30 5 Series incorporates the technologies first seen on the Seven, but in a package that’s cheaper, less expensive to run and less damaging to its owner’s wallet come resale. Make no mistake, in tough economic times, those factors are persuasive enough to sway buyers in favour of smaller vehicles, even in the luxury-car market.

More than two million examples of the current, sixth-generation 5 Series have found homes, so it’s understandable that BMW has chosen to stick to a winning formula. Don’t be fooled by the derivative exterior design, however; under the skin, this is as advanced as the carmaker gets.

Despite being larger – it now measures nearly five metres long and the wheelbase nudges three metres – and better equipped, the G30 is up to 100 kg lighter model to model. It’s also BMW’S most aerodynamically efficient car, registering as low as 0,22 Cd.

That figure is the result of a rigorous approach to direct airflow more efficiently, and detail enhancements such as active air flap control on the louvres in the radiator and creatively named Air Curtains and Air Breathers that cut turbulence in the wheelarches. Contributing to the weight loss are lightweight materials such as aluminium and magnesium. The doors, for example, are made of the former and weigh just 6 kg each, while the boot lid tips the scale at just 4,2 kg. An adroit natural fibre called kenaf that lines the boot lid shaves off 0,5 kg, and all that, combined with reworked turbocharged diesel and petrol engines that run cleaner and quieter, makes the new 5 Series as efficient as the