Bmw 523i
The 523i May Be The First Rung On The Five Series Ladder But, Thanks To New Valvetronic Technology, Buyers Wont Be Harbouring Any Inferiority Complexes. Jonathan Crouch Reports
The
BMW Five Series is a car that enjoys a stellar reputation but the entry level versions werent always the most wonderful choices in the range. Quite what BMW were thinking of when they plumbed a 1.8-litre engine that generated a feeble 105bhp into a Five only they know. Fortunately things have changed since the days when buying an entry level model in a BMW range labelled you as nothing more than the most grubbing badge snob.
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The latest
BMW 523i is a car that may prop up the Five Series range but these days its a lot more than an ego prop.
The 523i is a development of the now deleted 520i which formed the entry-level point for the current Five Series range when it was launched in 2003. This was powered by a respectable 2.2-litre 170bhp six cylinder engine that, though no slouch, still struggled to break the rest to sixty sprint in ten seconds and had to be worked hard to extract its full potential. At first glance, with only 4bhp more on top, the 523i looks to be little different but thats before you drive it.
The rest to sixty figure, down from 9.7s to 8.5s, gives a pointer to the gains that BMWs Valvetronic technology has been able to make to this new 2497cc petrol engine made extensively from lightweight materials such as magnesium and aluminium. At the same time, fuel consumption is nearly 10% better at 33.
2mpg on the combined cycle. Compared to the 520i, torque has been increased by 20Nm (+9%) with 95% of the engines maximum torque of 230Nm available between 2,000rpm to 5,000rpm. Maximum speed is 146mph, up 8mph. Its all enough to make you wonder about the validity of paying over £1,500 more for the 525i, which features a more highly tuned version of this 2.
5-litre engine developing 215bhp. This gets you to sixty a second quicker, manages 4mph more flat out and offers just 20Nm more of torque. Small beer, even for a BMW driver. Prices for the 523i start at £26,665 for the SE, rising to £29,825 for the Sport.
If you want the Touring estate, the prices are respectively £28,690 and £31,850. For equivalent 525i models in comparison, youll be paying from£28,240 in saloon form. Whichever model you choose, you get a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, while a six-speed automatic with a Steptronic manual-style change option is available at extra cost. Only 525i buyers however, can also specify BMWs more advanced Sequential Manual Gearbox, a transmission which claims to offer the best of both worlds.
"The BMW 523i is a car suffused with intelligence."
What 523i buyers can expect to find is DSC+, a development of the already accomplished Dynamic Stability Control system featured on every BMW model. DSC+ adds five features to the standard DSC: Brake Standby, Rain Brake Support, Hill Start Assist, Fading Compensation and Soft Stop. Rain Brake Support realises the onset of rain (through a screen sensor or use of the wipers) and wipes residue off the brake discs in preparation for use. Hill Start Assist allows a manual transmission car to pull away smoothly on a gradient without rolling backwards by maintaining brake pressure for the short time taken to apply the accelerator after releasing the foot or handbrake. Fading Compensation removes the danger of brake fade when the brakes get hot by automatically applying them harder without extra pressure from the driver.
Brake Standby shortens stopping distances by priming the brakes if the driver lifts off the accelerator sharply in preparation for an emergency stop. The result is a car that has already commenced the stopping process in an emergency situation by the time the driver applies the brake. Soft Stop, meanwhile, allows the car to come to a perfectly smooth halt by releasing a small proportion of the braking pressure at the end of the braking cycle. Otherwise, its the familiar Five Series recipe.
If you havent tried the latest version, youll find that interior accommodation has been improved, especially in the back. Whereas rear legroom used to be a serious Five Series issue, its now a key asset. Headroom is only matched by the
Volvo S80, so two rear
seat passengers should have no complaints. The centre berth is rather hard and narrow, coming at the expense of the outer two seats but for most people most of the time its a compromise theyll be willing to pay.
The rest of the cabin is similarly pragmatic. The controversial iDrive control system has been refined in order to make it far easier to use than in the 7 Series and is backed up by more conventional knobs and switches on the fascia. The fiddly electronic handbrake system used by its big brother has also been replaced, in this instance by a conventional manual one. Much thought has gone into the way electronic systems blend with good old manual ones.
BMW have taken the notion that electronics should aid rather than replace manual systems and the active steering system is a good example. Rather than developing the sort of pure drive-by-wire systems that often isolate the driver from road feedback, BMW has instead developed a set-up that maintains a link between the front wheels and the steering wheel but which adjusts the power assistance dependent upon speed and yaw rate. This arrangement is networked to the DSC+ system, reducing the interventions it has to make. The BMW 523i is a car suffused with intelligence.
The advertising strapline that BMW used to introduce the Five Series range, Everything we know about the car. In a car may sound a little overblown when considering the entry-level car, but evidence of the Munich companys deep understanding in this market sector is everywhere. The new Valvetronic engine certainly provides a strong counter for the argument that diesel power is the way to go in a Five. With more power, stronger torque and improved fuel consumption, its a convincing proposition.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: BMW 523i range
PRICES: £26,665 - £31,850
INSURANCE GROUP: 16
CO2 EMISSIONS: 205g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 8.5s / Max Speed 146mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 33.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and window airbags / ABS / DSC
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 4841/2035/1468mm
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