Seat of Power
The latest member of the 5-series, BMW 520i Sport, highlights precision in driving dynamics and a powerful engine
It’s all about me. When I pick cars, it’s about what I want, what my needs are, what style I want to reflect. And rightfully so, since sitting or driving a car is a conscious decision to confine oneself in a limited space.
I’ve become even more picky recently, now that I’ve reached nine months of my pregnancy. As I sought to keep living an active lifestyle and pursuing my career while coping with the physical challenges of pregnancy, I compensated by finding more ways to pamper and comfort myself. Comfort became especially important to me when driving (yes, I still drive!) or riding a car. My husband, on the other hand, focused on safety. He wasn’t going to tolerate any safety risks when it came to our first pregnancy. The BMW 520i Sport ticked all the boxes of the car we could rely on and enjoy during this milestone in our lives.
First introduced in 1972, the BMW 5-series has become an iconic mid-size luxury sedan synonymous with driving pleasure while evoking luxury, sportiness, and practicality. The 520i Sport is an entry level variant of the 5-series, but it exudes elegance and boasts features that exceed expectations.
The 520i Sport is classy and immediately recognisable as a BMW. The exterior carries the classic BMW 5-series design language of having the signature BMW kidney grille as a centrepiece with curves and sleek lines that effortlessly transition from the front to the rear. The 520i Sport resembles a luxury 5-series sedan at first glance, but distinctive features give it a sportier, edgier look.
The 520i Sport’s twin kidney grille is slim and curves up on each side like two eyes that laterally connect to the LED headlights. The grille’s outward vertical curves create a sleek appearance, a design that I personally think looks more attractive than the busier looking pentagon or mesh patterns found in some of the Z4 or 3-series BMWs. The BMW’s hallmark kidney grille serves a functional purpose for managing air intake and air resistance. At a superficial level, the grille design has always been subject to strict scrutiny by car afficionados and consumers alike. While some of the recent design language for BMW’s other series have drawn criticism for veering too far away from its identity, the 520i Sport has drawn praise as embodying BMW’s capacity for great exterior designs.
The athletic appearance of the 520i Sport is supported by what’s under the hood. The 520i Sport is powered by a BMW Twin Power Turbo 4-Cylinder Petrol Engine that delivers 184 horsepower and a torque of 290 Nm. Long-time fans of the 5-series may be skeptical of having a mere 4-cylinder engine, but the 520i Sport drives and performs as if it had the power of a 6-cylinder engine. With its engine mated to an 8-Speed Automatic Steptronic Transmission, the 520i Sport accelerates effortlessly and can reach top speeds of around 235 km/h. The 520i Sport features a Servotronic system that adjusts steering to reduce effort based on the speed and road conditions. The variety of driving modes also modifies steering, transmission, and engine response based on the driver’s needs or demands (if you want to be more energy efficient, then switch to Eco Mode even if you have a stretch of highway where you can go at full speed with Sport Mode).
I got to fully enjoy the 520i Sport during my regular weekend trip to our family’s beach house outside Manila. I normally favor using SUVs for my beach house trips, but my husband insisted that I start taking sedans to have
a less bumpy ride ever since I started the third trimester of my pregnancy. The 520i Sport proved to be a versatile companion for my out-of-town trip.
Switching from Comfort Mode to Sport Mode, we tested the speed limits in the freeway (providing me with a dose of “safe” excitement that I yearned now that my outdoor sports activities have been limited by my pregnancy). Its MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension combine with impressive sound insulation to make the ride extremely quiet and stable even when the 520i Sport was running at high speed.
For a mid-size sedan, the interiors of the 520i Sport render the type of space and atmosphere similar to a chauffeur-driven luxury car. The rear side windows are equipped with mechanical roller sunblinds, and the temperature is maintained precisely to my liking with an automatic two-zone air conditioning system.
I had everything I needed to keep myself entertained for the two-hour trip, thanks to the technological features of the 520i Sport such as the Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, and HiFi loudspeaker system.
While I enjoyed being chauffeured in the 520i Sport, part of me wished I could do the long drive myself from Manila to our beach house. The times I drove the 520i Sport in the city felt like an adventure itself, even on short distances. Whether it’s negotiating narrow streets or overtaking vehicles on the highway, ease of steering and effortless acceleration make the 520i Sport a pleasure
The 520i Sport is an entry level variant of the 5-series, but it exudes elegance and boasts features that exceed expectations
to drive. It’s also apparent from the 520i Sport that the driver’s needs are anticipated and met.
The 520i Sport features the BMW iDrive System and BMW Live Cockpit Plus which allows the driver to easily view the instrument cluster and control the communication, navigation, audio, and climate systems. At the centre of the dashboard is a sleek 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that is intuitive to use.
Quite impressively, the powerful engine of the 520i Sport consumes a modest amount of fuel with fuel efficiency averaging 7.1 litres per 100 km for urban driving, 4.8 litres per 100 km for highway driving, and 5.6 litres per 100 km for combined urban/highway driving. To give context on how fuel efficient this is, most cars I’ve driven to our beach house (that have comparable body and tank sizes to the 520i Sport) require me to refuel on my drive back to Manila (this is for a trip that is around 120km each way). The 520i Sport only consumed half of its 68-litre tank capacity after riding it back and forth between Manila and our beach house in Batangas.
While I was preoccupied with comfort and style, the 520i Sport satisfied my husband’s primary requirement— that I ride a car which rated highly on safety. Overall, the 2021 BMW 5-series scored a perfect “10” for safety in the scorecard of US News & World Report (the safety score is based on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash test ratings and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety ratings). The 520i Sport includes basic safety features such as airbags, Anti-lock Braking System, automatic lock when driving away, and side impact protection. Added safety features include BMW’s well-known Dynamic Stability Control system which regulates the car’s speed based on driving style and road conditions, a crash sensor, and “follow-me-home” function which keeps the headlights on to illuminate my path while walking inside my home. The 520i Sport also has anti-theft safeguards such as the electronic vehicle immobiliser to prevent the engine from starting without the car’s distinct key. As an entry-level 5-series, the 520i Sport doesn’t include some of the safety features found in other BMW variants and other luxury cars such as the Lane Departure Warning System, Blind-Spot Detection System, and Front Parking Sensors.
When thinking about what “I” want in a sedan and what would satisfy “me”, the 520i Sport exceeded my expectations when it comes to luxury, performance, comfort, and safety. A few weeks from now, I would have to start thinking about a car that could also serve the needs of a baby and our growing family. Nonetheless, I see the 520i Sport as being versatile enough to join me in that new phase of my life. After all, the rear seats of the 520i Sport are equipped with ISOFIX Child Seat Tethers—the international standard for attachment points of child safe seats in cars. For a mid-sized sedan, the 520i Sport also has generous trunk space to carry all the gear usually entailed by traveling with an infant. Who said that parent-mobiles have to be boring and drab?