A five-star driving experience

Walk up to the new BMW 5 Series and it automatically unlocks the doors and rolls out a light carpet as part of an orchestrated light show. When you take your seat, the digital welcome continues with a start-up animation and personal greeting on the infotainment display.

The theatrical start-up sequence works with the key fob or a digital key stored on a smartphone, the latter using ultra-wideband technology (UWB), which lessens the risk of relay attacks, used by thieves to intercept the radio signal. It is part of a wealth of digital innovations in the new, eighth-generation 5 Series that has arrived in South Africa.

The German executive sedan also boasts more space, a fully vegan interior and, for the first time, a full electric model. Though it has grown in size, the big sedan comes with hi-tech help to guide it safely into bays. A standard parking assistant automatically steers it into a parking slot, while a reversing assistant stores the steering movements on the route last driven forwards and then automatically steers the car in reverse out of the bay.

In particularly tight spaces, the driver can remote-park the car from outside using an iPhone. A restyle sees the new 5 Series adopting what BMW describes as “a reduced design language” that emphasises sporty elegance and presence. As per the recent trend at BMW, the snout bears a supersized kidney grille that is optionally illuminated, as in the 7 Series. The enlarged 5 Series offers stretch-out room in the luxurious cabin and the boot swallows a generous 520l of retail therapy. It is the German brand’s first model to feature a fully vegan interior as standard. Synthetic leather-like material covers the seats, dashboard, and door panels, as well as the steering wheel for the first time.

For non-vegans, Merino leather upholstery is available in several bicolour variants. Inside, the sedan blends business-class elegance with hi tech, including a new curved display that integrates a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch infotainment system sup-porting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The digitised cockpit also has fewer buttons, as well as ambient lighting changes depending on what is happening inside the car.

The voice-activated BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant reacts to natural language to control a larger array of features than before, including adjusting the electric seats and starting the parking assistant. A touch of glamour is provided by the crystal gear selector and iDrive controller between the front seats. A flashy feature inherited from the 7 Series is the optional Interaction Bar, a colour-changing faceted surface running across the dashboard that serves as a touch control for the air-conditioning and the hazard lights.

BMW has partnered with gaming platform AirConsole to bring in-car gaming to the new 5 Series. Using their smartphone as a controller, it allows the driver and passengers to play games on the car’s screen while the vehicle is stationary — to help pass the time while waiting for the vehicle to charge, for example. The new Five is available for the first time in an all-electric model called the i5, with traditional diesel power remaining on offer in the 520d.

A second, less powerful i5 eDrive40 electric model will soon join the lineup. For now, the electric i5 is available as the high-performance M60 xDrive with all-wheel drive and twin electric motors that silently thrust the business sedan from 0-100km/h in a sportscar-like 3.8 seconds and on to a 230km/h top speed.

The battery can charge from 10-80% in 30 minutes on a DC fast charger and gives the car a driving range of up to 516km. With a home charger, a full top-up takes around four hours and 15 minutes. The rear-wheel drive 520d is more modestly powered than its electric stablemate, but the turbodiesel engine and mild-hybrid system propels it from 0-100 in a respectably swift 7.3 seconds, and it sips fuel at the rate of just 5.6l per 100km. The i5 comes standard with adaptive suspension and rear-wheel steering to maximise ride quality and sharp handling in all driving conditions, with these features available as optional extras on the 520d.