2010 BMW 535i

BMW has set the new 5-series a formidable challenge by making it much more of a luxury car

Published on May 25, 2010 07:00:00 AM

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The new three-litre straight-six under the hood is a collection of some of BMW’s best high-tech features, all roped together in one fine package. This engine features Valvetronic, direct injection and a new high-tech twin-scroll turbocharger. There’s a new Valvetronic adjuster that reduces inertia and reaction times to one-tenth of what they used to be, direct injection allows the motor to make simply huge amounts of torque at absurdly low engine speeds, there’s 41kgm of twist from just 1200rpm, and BMW’s use of a single turbo divided into twin scrolls delivers instant responses.

Caress the throttle and the motor feels as smooth and as well-balanced as only a straight-six can. The hard-working ZF eight-speed auto clicks up a couple or three gears as soon as you lift off the throttle pedal, and the battery gets topped up on overrun, indicated just below the tachometer. But flatten the accelerator after you’ve made sure you have a big enough gap ahead of you and the gearbox snaps the motor to attention, the tachometer needle popping up like a jack-in-the-box. Take-off is very strong, the rear wheels spinning all the way in first, even with traction control on, BMW allowing for a little slip to improve traction of the line.

Acceleration from rest takes you to 100kph in one seamless rush. Three seconds, 7000rpm, second gear, count to three again and you’re past 100kph. Yes, that’s 100kph in 6.1 seconds. Keep the throttle pinned down another six seconds and you’ll snarl past 140kph! The pace is devastating – you go from a cruising speed of 110kph to 150kph in under seven seconds if you flatten the throttle.

What makes all this power so accessible is that this car comes with the sport version of the automatic, which is even faster in Sport and Sport+. And the lovely paddle shifts help you chop up the power in an instant. While very high gearing and regenerative braking help, this is still a 300bhp motor. However, 6.5kpl is not bad in the city, though you can expect things to go swiftly south if you begin to use the throttle indiscriminately.