BMW 5-Series M Sport Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: BMW 5-Series M Sport range
Prices: £32,320-£50,915- on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 15-18
Emissions: 184-274g/km
Performance: [530i] 0-60mph 6.7s / Max Speed 155mph
Fuel Consumption: [530d] (combined) 40.9mpg
Safety: Twin front, side & window airbags / ABS / DSC
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height 4841/2035/1468mm

STIFFENED COMPETITION

Our Rating: 7.9 / 10

With Tauter Springs And A More Aggressive Stance, The 5-Series M Sport Is Exactly What Many People Look For From A BMW. Steve Walker Reports…

Where other executive cars trade on their cosseting ride quality and hushed refinement, BMW’s 5-Series makes greater play of its sporting prowess. Even in the standard Five, the suspension is firmer than some world-weary execs would like and even in the latest facelifted form, the unorthodox styling has raised the odd bushy eyebrow. Then there’s the 5-Series M Sport, which takes the lively ride and the imposing styling to the next level. Inevitably, characteristics like these will jar with some in what has been a staunchly unadventurous market sector but they should also attract people who had previously viewed executive saloons as being a bit stuffy.

The executive saloon sector is full of cars that will float you up the motorway in eerie silence, encircle you with swathes of leather and astound you with an arsenal of cutting-edge gadgetry. The 5-Series is certainly one of these. When a twisty B-road beckons, however, few of the current executive crop can perform with the agility and sharpness of a Five and none can match the added dynamic dimension that the M Sport trim level brings to the party.

It might seem expensive to some, priced around £3,000 more (depending on the model) than an equivalent SE, but the 5-Series M Sport is a substantial package. Buyers can expect M Aerodynamic body styling, M Sports suspension, a high-gloss shadow line, M Sports steering wheel, sports seats, an M gear knob, M Sports door sill kick plates, M interior trim and anthracite headlining.

The biggest chunk of that additional cost is accounted for by the M Sports suspension. It’s a set-up that’s not a million miles away from that found in the 507bhp M5 super saloon and it lowers the car by 15mm. Suspension links and bushes are shared with the M5 and they serve to bolster the car’s already well-honed handling. It’s claimed that ride comfort doesn’t suffer as a result of the M Sport pack’s implementation but while this may be the case on good road surfaces, any imperfections in tarmac are definitely transmitted more strongly to the driver in an M Sport compared to an SE.

The rest of the M Sport model’s accoutrements serve a largely cosmetic purpose, although there are, we’re told, certain aerodynamic benefits to be gleaned from the restyled front bumper with its wider air-intake. Side sills running the car’s length flare out from those ‘flame-surfaced’ door panels and the window surrounds are divested of their chrome edging. At the back, the rear-bumper takes on a different shape from that on the standard car and includes rear-parking sensors, while the crowning glory is the set of 18-inch M Light alloy wheels that do a good job of packing the 5-Series’ arches.

The M Sport package is available with all of the mainstream5-Series Saloon and Touring engine options although the price premium required increases as you descend the range because fewer of the M Sport features are already included as standard. The 5-Series’ engines are amongst its strongest suits and they are all capable of living up to the M Sport model’s high-performance billing. Buyers who can only just about scrape together the requisite funds to get into a 5-Series will be looking at a 520d M Sport for £30,320 or more likely a 523i M Sport for £32,320. In the past, entry-level Fives have been seriously truncated affairs, designed to tempt the badge snobs who’d rather drive a bargain basement BMW than a fully-loaded Ford but the 523i M Sport is a far more rounded package. With this 190bhp engine 0-60mph takes 8.2 seconds and combined fuel consumption of over 38mpg is very good for a car of this size.

From here on up, we get into the more powerful six cylinder units. The 218bhp 525i has 6.3s acceleration and the 272bhp 530i matches that. This kind of performance married to the upgraded M Sport suspension is a failsafe recipe for fun. The 540i M Sport takes just 6.1s to reach 60mph, returns nearly 27mpg. The 550i M Sport makes sixty in just 5.2s. Both these V8 models are seriously quick executive saloons with that right-hand pedal unleashing wave upon wave of brute pow