Last summer I encouraged my father to buy a Mazda RX-8 to supplement his Lexus GS 400. Now the Lexus rarely leaves the garage, foiling my plans to buy the Mazda from him when he tires of it. He's simply not tiring of it like he did the 350Z last year.

But what if he could combine the best features of both cars? Why not a midsize luxury sedan with great handling and a stick? When he was in town recently I took him by the BMW dealer to check out the 545i with a six-speed manual. I also drove the same car with an automatic not long ago. This review covers both cars.

I reviewed a non-sport 530i automatic a couple of years ago. That review can be found here.

Both the six and eight have gained more horsepower for 2006, but this was hardly the car's weakest aspect.

So, does the 545i Sport manage to combine the strengths of a luxury sedan and a sports car?

Styling

I’m no fan of the 7-Series or Bangle’s gimmicky second effort, the Z4. The 5, however, works for me. Its complex surfaces are considerably more dynamic and flowing than the 7's. The headlamps have a strange shape—they might be likened to the eyes in ancient Egyptian portraits—but while the 7’s lamps suggested mass these suggest speed. The more restrained headlamps on the new 3 are also less successful, especially when viewed from the side.

At the rear the tail lamp outline continues the C-pillar’s downward sweep, risking a repeat of the 7’s no-no. However, this time a horizontal split between the white and red elements of the tail lamp’s lens continues the horizontal sweep of the strong character lines stamped into the car’s shoulders and thus prevents the eye from falling with that cutline.

Among the available wheels the 525's look crudely blocky and the 545's overly frilly, but the 530's wheels and those that attend all three cars' sport packages contain five or seven tapered spokes and look appropriately sporty.

The new 5's overall shape suggests speed, dynamic balance, and refinement. It looks especially good in silver, and a bit heavy in the rear in black. This design will stand the test of time much better than the 7 or especially the Z4. The new 3 Series' styling is better in some respects, not as good in others. For now the 5 (with proper rims) is my favorite BMW design.

The 5’s interior similarly avoids the mistakes within the 7. The iDrive is present, but its controls are simplified and the hood over its flat panel display is now far better integrated into the styling of the instrument panel. Where the symmetrical, standalone iDrive panel hood in the 7 lent the appearance of a second instrument binnacle, in the 5 it is asymmetrical and flows into the instrument binnacle. Mirroring the styling of the lower part of the instrument panel, it reinforces rather than detracts from BMW’s traditional cockpit-themed interior.

The door panels feature a pair of intersecting large radius arcs. One of these incorporates the door grab handle. This handle’s cross section is a hard edged for comfort. Even aesthetically the sharply defined edges of the door panels don’t quite mesh with the more organic forms of the instrument panel, but I’m picking nits here.

The 7’s controversial matte wood which lent the interior the character of fine Scandinavian furniture is not a choice with the 5. I liked it, but many did not. With the 5 interior trim choices are limited to “titanium,” a traditional brown glossy wooed, and a dark gray stained glossy maple. The first is standard with the six-cylinder models, the second with the eights.

When I first learned that the new 5 would get iDrive, I wondered how it would be packaged with a manual shifter. The answer: in the 5 the knob gets second billing to the shifter, which remains on the console even with the automatic transmission. This knob, four-way instead of eight-way, remains more complicated than conventional controls, but it’s a step in the right direction. (I’d still personally prefer conventional controls.) The seat controls return from the center console to the door, and remain simple to use (although those for the optional comfort seats might be another matter).

Overall the new interior is stylish yet both more conventional and more functionally and aesthetically successful than the 7's.

That said, I'd like more of the cockpit arrangement that used to typify BMWs, and most other interiors in this class are both more stylish and fitted with higher grade materials. This is probably the biggest negative of the car for many people.

Accommodations

Unlike in earlier BMWs, the instrument binnacle does not stick up high above the dash, affording a significantly more expansive view forward. I’ve long felt buried in BMW sedans’ interiors. With the new 5 the driving position approaches my ideal. The car is about as large as it can be without distancing the driver from the car. I personally feel more connected in the driver's seat of the new 3, but the 5 isn't too far off.

One of the BMWs I drove was fitted with a head-up display (HUD). Unfortunately, while a few subsidiary bits of info can be projected onto the windshield along with the vehicle's speed, engine speed is not among them. A HUD with a tach, as in the new Corvette, can be very helpful in a powerful car with a manual or manually-shiftable automatic, as you can then simultaneously monitor the road ahead and the approaching redline.

A second problem with the BMW's HUD: it was so low that the bottom of it was outside my view, and despite a thorough search of the instrument panel and iDrive menus I could find no way to adjust it. There must be a way, but no one else I asked could find it, either.

Though I find any 5-Series seat comfortable and supportive, I do prefer the sport seats included in the Sport Package and the aptly named "comfort seats." The latter include adjustable side bolsters, a feature included in the 3-Series Sport Package but not in that of the 5. At least not yet--it's almost a necessity given the wide range of human shapes and sizes. The bolsters of the 5's sport seats aren't too far apart, but given the option I'd adjust them closer in.

The rear seat is a less happy place. It is significantly roomier than in the old 5. In the past I’ve wondered whether the 5 was worth the extra money over the 3, as the difference in rear legroom between the two bordered on insignificant. Well, the difference is now significant. However, the rear passengers’ view forward is blocked by the front seats’ large headrests. I’m noticing this issue in more and more cars as sweeping rooflines force the rear seat cushion lower while safety concerns force headrests to grow. Thankfully the rear seat cushion is not so low that it fails to provide decent (though not great) thigh support. The new 5 can officially carry three people in its rear seat. The center position is high and narrow, however, so not even a child will be comfortable there. Also, carrying a fifth passenger denied the rear passenger the use of a large, comfortable fold-down armrest complete with cupholders. Heated seats are optional front and rear.

The high trunklid of the new 5 enables the trunk to grow from a tight 11 cubic feet to a much more competitive 14. Though most competitors continue to offer larger trunks, the 5’s is usefully regular in shape and can be further expanded with the option of folding rear seatbacks. Interior storage compartments are plentiful.

On the Road

The 545's glorious 325-horsepower 4.4-liter V8 is quite likely my favorite V8. It effortlessly accelerates the car at any reasonable speed with either transmission. It has a very broad powerband, is very smooth, and if anything is too quiet. I kept having to tell my father that he needed to upshift; left to himself we were often going down the road with the engine spinning 5000 RPM. The only reason I didn't have the same problem is that I make more use of the tach, while he tends to shift by ear. You see, this eight at 5000 sounds like its only spinning about 3000; the ear receives little hint that it's way past time for an upshift or two.

The same engine in the 6-Series is considerably louder and throatier. While I like the sound of the engine in the 5, the noises it makes in the 6 are considerably more invigorating without sounding crude. A similar exhaust should be included or at least available with the Sport Package on the 5.

I've sampled the 360-horsepower, 4.8-liter V8 that has replaced the 4.4 in the 750i. It's much the same, just with a bit more power. At legal speeds the additional power isn't readily evident; there was so much already. At high speeds there should be more of a difference.

The manual shifter in the 545 feels very light and smooth. It does not even remotely resemble the gritty rock crushers in the Mustang and Corvette, raising the question of why the shifters in those cars feel the way they do. While they have gotten better, they remain off the mark. Unlike some other low-effort shifters, the lack of effort does not make the shifter feel insubstantial or disconnected from what's going on. It is very similar to that in the 3. Part of me would like a bit more effort and notchiness, but by most standards this shifter is virtually perfect. Clutch effort is also surprisingly low for such a powerful car.

The automatic in the second car was very smooth and kicked down promptly. It is manually shiftable by moving the shifter back and forth, the most common method but my least favorite. No buttons on or paddles flanking the regular 5's steering wheel yet. The transmission reacts quickly but not immediately, a bit better than average in this regard.

I have never been enamored with the 5’s handling. It has always felt balanced, and behaved very well when pushed hard along a curvy road, but I never felt nearly as connected with the car as I did with the smaller, lighter, altogether less distant 3-Series (which itself could have been less distant in my book). The driving position was partly responsible, but the steering was the major culprit. Compared to the 3’s steering even the rack-and-pinion unit in six-cylinder 5-Series cars felt distant and imprecise. The recirculating ball system in the eight-cylinder 5s was even worse. I’m not saying these were bad systems—they were still significantly better than the average sedan’s—but I expected better from BMW.

For 2004 all 5s received rack-and-pinion steering. Both of the 2005 cars I drove for this review were equipped with the Sport Package, and thus with BMW's Active Steering. Many car magazines have criticized the Active Steering for behaving unpredictably in hard turns. I experienced no such issue, but I might have simply needed to drive the car longer. As it was, I have found both systems responsive, accurate, and fairly communicative. The Active Steering feels considerably quicker and heavier at low speeds, but this alone wouldn't justify the added complexity and cost. So in the end my verdict is still out on this system. If it were free I'd probably take it, and in the past I would have ordered the Sport Package regardless because of its other contents. But for 2006 the Active Steering is a $1,250 standalone option, so I'd likely pass.

With either system, I felt directly connected to what the car was doing much more than in earlier 5s . It was extraordinarily easy to push any 5, even the non-Sport but especially the Sport, hard through turns. The car consistently responded to steering inputs exactly as expected. Even after just a few minutes behind the wheel driving this car well became intuitive. It's all too easy to end up driving much more quickly than you think you are or intend to. Pay attention to the gauges!

In comparison, competing midsize luxury sedans often have similarly high limits and reasonably balanced handling, but their attitude alwaye seems more along the lines of "I'll do it if you ask me to" rather than "Come on, let's do it!" Their steering isn't as precise, their suspension isn't as composed, and driving them simply doesn't compare, at least not right now.

This said, the 6-Series suspension is considerably firmer than even that in the 545i Sport, such that when driving the latter (the automatic car) immediately after driving the former it felt almost soft. Suspension tuning more like that of the 6-Series would be welcome either as part of the Sport Package or as a standalone option.

The suspension on the new M5 is no doubt even stiffer than that in the 645Ci I drove. This is common practice, to pair ever stiffer engines with ever more powerful engines. But why must this be the case? Aren't 325 horsepower--360 this year--enough to warrant the M5's suspension tuning? After all, the previous M5 engine produced "only" 394 horsepower.

All this said, even with the M's suspension the 5 isn't going to feel like a sports car. You're sitting too high off the road in too large a car for that. For this reason you'll never find me comparing the handling of a sedan to a sports car--they are just totally different driving experiences. (Well, maybe I did say something like this in a past review, but I don't think so. If someone does find such an instance, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.)

What makes the 5's handling even more surprising is it occurs in conjunction with exceptional ride quality. Potholes and bumps are fluidly absorbed with negligible impact on the car’s trajectory. Only the worst produced even a hint of harshness. I generally ignored them, picking a line and letting the suspension do its job. Noise levels are very low.

When the Lexus LS first appeared its advantages in the areas of smoothness, quietness, and overall refinement shocked the German luxury car manufacturers. In the Lexus this smoothness came at the price of handling precision and driving enjoyment. BMW responded well to this challenge. For the past few years it has been the industry leader in simultaneously optimizing handling and ride quality. The new 5 takes this achievement to a new level, as it exceeds past 5s in driving enjoyment while at least matching Lexus in ride quality, quietness, and refinement--all without the cost, weight, and general complexity of an air suspension. Paying attention, Mercedes? Somehow the 5’s chassis feels both significantly more sporty and significantly more luxurious than that of the air-suspended E-Class.

BMW 5-Series Price Comparisons and Pricing

The two most popular comparisons (2006 550i, base to base, without rebates, adjusted for feature differences):

Audi A6 4.2: $8,400 less at MSRP, $7,800 less at invoice

Mercedes-Benz E500: $2,900 less at MSRP, $2,300 less at invoice

In other words, the BMW is the most expensive car in its class.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the 5-Series:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/5-Series.php

Last Words

The new 5 is better than I expected and a much better car than the already very good old 5 in just about every area. I hate to admit it as I never like to adhere to conventional wisdom, but the new 5 is likely the best sedan available for those who care about handling more than interior ambiance. The new 3-Series handles better still, but its six cannot compare to the 5's eight, and it's rear seat also comes up short if the people in the front seats are above average in height.

So why hasn't the 5 been winning all of the comparison tests? It's not the competition. I've driven the Infiniti M that has won a few. It's quick and roomy, but the ride quality is marginal and its handling isn't as intuitive or precise. I haven't driven the Audi A6 that has won others, but while it's interior is the best of the bunch other Audis I've driven have always handled like the nose-heavy cars they are.

Instead, I think the 5-Series lost the latest round of comparison tests because the magazines are unhappy about iDrive and, to a lesser extent, Bangle's sheetmetal and the Active Steering, and want to punish BMW for these disgressions.

The new 3 has been winning--but with it iDrive is optional.

Seems I've lost track of my father. Why hasn't he bought this car? Well, it seems he hasn't gotten his head around putting a stick shift and sport suspension in a midsize sedan. He seems to want to keep his sedan and his sports car separate, much like some people avoid letting the separate foods touch on their plate.

That, and I think he fears a BMW would prove unreliable. From what I've read, there's some basis to these fears.

I still think he should buy this car. Since he likes driving both a luxury sedan and a sports car, it seems the most logical thing to do.

A Note on BMW 5-Series Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a 545i rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in BMW 545i reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the 5-Series--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. For non-participants, this access will cost $24.95.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

If you're an Epinions member, and you want to receive an email alert from Epinions when I post a new review, click here.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Acura RL review
BMW 750i review
Cadillac STS review
Infiniti M35 review
Jaguar S-Type R review
Lexus GS review
Mercedes E-Class review
Amount Paid (US$): 50000
Model and Options: 545i 6-speed