Many regard the BMW 5-Series as the best sedan for the performance driver, period. It’s large enough to be luxurious, yet still compact enough to be agile. No other sedan offers as wide a choice of powertrains. Four engines are available, ranging from 184 to 394 horsepower. (Only two of these engines, the small six and the regular V8, are available in the wagon.) Unique among sedans, a manual is actually available with both eight-cylinder models. Personally, I’m inclined to go with a less powerful engine so that I can push the car hard without shattering the speed limit. This suggested the mid-level 530i, with the same 225 horsepower 3.0 liter six I loved in the Z3 and 330 paired with a five-speed manual, might be my ideal car. To find out, I took one for a drive.

BMW 5-Series Reliability

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Styling and Accommodations

The current 5 is attractive without being striking. It’s been a classic since the day it was introduced. Twenty years from now it will still look “right.” If you want striking, wait for the next generation car due in a year or so, but be warned that that it might also be ugly.

The interior is also classic BMW, with a generally clean design, a tall instrument binnacle, the center stack canted towards the driver, and seat leather so hard it feels much like the high quality vinyl on the dash. That said, with each generation BMW interiors get less sporty and more luxurious, such that the current interior feels more luxurious than sporty. This is especially the case when equipped with the wood trim, as in the car I drove. Metallic trim is also available, but especially in lighter shades it cheapens the whole interior without making it feel any sportier. Overall, the interior design is quite pleasant, but lacks excitement.

The 530 is available with three different front seats. The standard seat is your usual hard yet fairly supportive German seat. The sport package, on the car I drove, includes the same basic seat with larger side bolsters and an adjustable thigh support. This is the best seat for those who like to drive aggressively, because it will actually hold you in place in hard turns. Finally, a highly adjustable “comfort seat” is a $1,200 option. Unique among seats, the top half of the seatback adjusts separately from the bottom half. This is especially useful for the front seat passenger. I drove a 540 with such seats a couple of years ago, and if memory serves they are softer than the others. I distinctly remember a large, extremely comfortable headrest and thinking at the time that they were the most comfortable seats I’d ever sat in. Sadly, you cannot order the sport seat for the driver and the comfort seat for the passenger.

I often have issues with the driving position in BMW sedans, and the 5 proved even more problematic than most. Because of the high dash and bodysides I feel a bit more buried in car than I’d like to. Even with the telescoping wheel all the way forward, the shifter and pedals were a bit of a stretch. Despite the tall instrument binnacle the instruments are strangely small. None of this is a deal killer, but I expected better. The cheaper 3-Series is superior in all three areas.

The rear seat makes me wonder if the 5 is worth the extra money over the 3, as it’s not significantly roomier than the rear seat in the smaller car except in shoulder room. Actually, according to the stats the two cars are virtually identical in terms of room for heads and legs, both front and rear. In both rear seat legroom and headroom are both just adequate for my 5ֽ” self, and the cushion is a bit too low to provide thigh support.

The similarity continues to the trunk, which is not significantly larger than the smallish trunk in the 3. On the plus side, a fold-down rear seat is a $475 option. While this feature is standard on most Korean sedans, it can be very useful, and most competitors don’t even offer it.

The wagon is a different story, offering considerably more cargo room than the 3-Series wagon (though still less than any competitor). A more convincing case can be made for the 5 wagon than the 5 sedan, especially since the 3-Series wagon is only available with the small six. Why is neither wagon available with the 3.0? That would seem the best all-around engine, especially with the 5, so I’m personally baffled.

The doors close with less of a luxury sound and feel than much of the competition. The rear doors can require a good slam to close. I suspect this will change with the 2004.

On the Road

For a solid push in the back, the eight is the way to go. That said, the 3.0 six accelerates plenty fast, even if it doesn’t feel all that powerful once out of first gear because power delivery is so smooth and the car is so quiet. In every area but cheap thrills this engine delivers. With the manual it provides the right amount of power to make the car fun to drive at legal speeds. You have to work the gears a bit, but you never have to flog the engine--the right balance in my mind. As in other applications, this six sounds wonderful, with its voice muffled just enough to keep it in character with a luxury sedan. My only issue with this engine is that the gas pedal provides very little resistance, such that it feels like those in arcades. An artifact of drive-by-wire? The clackety sound it made at the top and bottom of its travel didn't help here.

I had additional issues with the manual transmission. In the usual BMW fashion, reverse is to the left of first. No huge problems here, except that I had trouble snagging second quickly on my way into a turn, as the stick would shoot past the 1-2 axis into a dead end opposite R. I drove a manual 3-Series the same day, and did not have this problem with that car. So it’s either unique to the 5, or to the particular 5 I drove.

Aside from the second on the fly issue, the shifter could be more precise, as there is a small amount of slop in the mechanism. The throws are also a bit on the long side. Sure, there are much worse shifters out there (any Audi, for example). But I expect better from BMW. Something like the shifter in every Z3 I’ve driven.

The same goes for the steering, which is softer and slower than I expected, and would prefer. It seemed especially vague on center. Though the current 3’s steering has been criticized by the press, it is better than that in the 5. Frankly, even the steering in the X5 was better, falling between the 3 and 5 in precision and feedback.

The 540’s steering should be even less precise, at it uses a recirculating ball system rather than the 530’s rack-and-pinion, as the more modern system couldn’t be packaged with the eight. I haven’t driven the two back-to-back, so I cannot personally say.

How can a sedan with these faults still win just about every comparison test? Well, it’s about the chassis, stupid. The 5’s chassis flat out feels great, and the harder you push it the better it feels. It’s not just the extreme balance and composure of the chassis. It’s a certain alive quality that makes you feel one with the car. The quality follows from the way the chassis precisely reacts to inputs from both the steering and the throttle, and from the way it transmits detailed information about the road through the seat of your pants.

In too many current cars the chassis is tuned for such a high level of stability that it doesn’t react at all to throttle inputs. Consequently, the car feels dead. I once drove a mid-80s 535 a thousand miles from Virginia to Chicago, and really got to know that car on the backroads of West Virginia and southeastern Ohio. Once you’ve had a chance to really push a 5 over some seriously twisty roads, the car’s faults no longer matter. You fall in love.

Sure, it’d be even better if the steering were as communicative and the shifter as precise as the chassis. But the chassis is key. When you can drive a car from the seat of your pants, the other controls become less important.

Magically, the communicative nature of the chassis does not come at the expense of ride, even with the sport suspension that comes with the Sport Package. Sure, you don’t get that magic carpet feeling you do in a Lexus. But the car rides largely undisturbed over moderate to large road imperfections. Somehow, the details are filtered through to the seat of your pants, while the large stuff is soaked up.

Aside from the engine, and then only when you dip into the throttle, this is a very quiet car, substantially quieter than the smaller 3 and somewhat quieter than the German competition. Ultimately, the ride quality and noise level most distinguish the 5 from the smaller and cheaper 3. It may not be much roomier, and it doesn’t handle as well, but it feels like the more luxurious, more substantial car that it is.

Pricing

BMWs are expensive cars, and the 5 is no exception. The 530i I drove had $8,325 worth of options, bringing the sticker to $48,420. Cutting a few of the less essential options can cut that to $45,000 or so, but this is still a lot of money considering the amount of room inside. A roomier, more powerful, all-wheel-drive Audi A6 2.7T and a better equipped (though automatic only) Lexus GS 300 both run over a grand less. (Equip the 530 up to the level of the GS with SportDesign Package and the gap grows to about $4,000.) The closest domestic competition, the Cadillac CTS, comes in at about $8,000 less.

Is the 530 worth the extra money? That depends. The Audi is roomier and more stylish. The Lexus feels more luxurious. The Cadillac looks sportier. But none of these has a chassis like the BMW (though the Cadillac comes closest). How much is the best chassis worth to you?

Even if it’s worth a great deal, there’s still the 3 to contend with, and this in my mind in the 530’s strongest competition. It doesn’t ride quite as well, but it’s nearly as roomy, it handles better, and it costs about $6,000 less in 330 form. (Go for the 325, which has less power but is also lighter than the 530, and the gap exceeds ten grand.) Ultimately, as much as I enjoy driving the 5, I enjoy the 3 more, and it’s cheaper.

Last Words

Though the excellent chassis is somewhat let down by the steering and shifter, the largest problem this car faces is that the less expensive 3 is nearly as roomy and handles better. If the smoother, quieter ride and more substantial feel of the 5 are worth the extra money to you, then go for it. It’s just not the way I’d go.

There are some special cases that make the choice of a 5 more clear cut. First, if you want the cheap thrills that come with the torque of a V8, as it’s not available in the 3. If you want a sedan with a V8 and a manual transmission, a 5 is your only choice. Second, you may carry three people in the back seat often, and the 5 has more shoulder room than the 3. Third, on the wagon side the 5 wagon has much more cargo room than the 3 wagon.

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Amount Paid (US$): 48,420
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: 530i, sport and premium packages