2024 BMW 5 Series Review: Five for Fighting (Mercedes-Benz and Audi)

BMW's engines have long been standard-bearers for internal combustion — there's a reason the company's middle name is "Motor" — and the new 530i keeps that legacy alive. It may displace just two liters and pack just four cylinders, but Bavarian magic helps the motor crank out 255 horsepower and 295 lb-ft, the latter available as early as 1,600 rpm.

Combined with the nigh-omnipresent, always-excellent ZF eight-speed automatic — which offers up both paddle-shift manual control and a solid Sport mode — the engine is ample enough to blast through traffic in the manner so beloved by every New Jersey Bimmer driver. It feels plenty quick once the inline-four is on the boil, even if it can't quite match the immediacy of an electric motor. Granted, it's not the most charismatic engine — direct-injection turbocharged inline-fours rarely are — but while it's more coarse than an inline-six or a V8, it's only noticeable at full throttle.

The 530i is nearly 900 pounds lighter than its electric i5 eDrive40i equivalent, and you can feel the difference after just a turn or two. While the eDrive carries its weight low, there's no masking the sheer amount of extra mass being tossed about; even if the two versions will likely post similar results on the skidpad, the weight difference makes the 530i feel more nimble and chuckable.

That said, you're not going to confuse it with any sort of M5 — past, present, or future. While turn-in is quick and the steering direct, it doesn't offer much in the way of feedback. And even with the M sport suspension option found on my testers, it feels a little soft, though not to the extent of making the ride too pillowy or boat-like;

It's a better fit for long hauls, especially with its ample range. The trip computer read 520 miles with a full tank when I climbed in, and considering how efficient BMW's engines tend to be on the highway, I wouldn't be surprised if you could squeeze 600 miles out of a tank with cruise control or a gentle foot.

Bottom line: if you're not ready, willing or able to go EV, the 530i remains a solid midsize luxury sedan choice.

If you want refinement from your 5er, though, the electric models are the way to go. The rear-wheel-drive i5 eDrive40i has but one motor, but it matches the 530i's 295 lb-ft and betters its horsepower output, spitting out 335 ponies. (Of course, power doesn't come free; the i5 eDrive40i's starting price of $67,795 is about nine grand over the 530i's.)

It feels far like a more appropriate powertrain for a luxury sedan, though, due to two reasons. First, the instant power delivery of the electric motor makes it much more responsive the majority of the time, giving it the sort of authoritative shove that would feel right at home in a Rolls-Royce. Second, the electric motor is far more refined and quiet in action. With windows shut and the climate control running gently, you could probably converse in whispers with someone in the back seat of the i5.

With the climate control off and the windows down, the eDrive40i showed 231 miles of range remaining with 80 percent in the battery, which should equate to around 289 miles with a full charge based on my simple back-of-the-napkin math. (Turning on the climate control would drop that to 273, based on my estimates.)

Much as the carmaker has often done with its power figures, BMW has apparently taken to significantly underrating the range its EVs are capable of; in independent testing from the likes of Car and Driver and Consumer Reports, the i4 and iX have shown themselves capable of going noticeably farther than the Bavarians would have you believe. I'd wager that the i5 could hold its own against the likes of a Tesla Model 3 Long Range or a Polestar 2 RWD on a long journey, even if the guv'ment says those models can go farther on a charge.

Until the next M5 arrives, the zippiest 5er you can buy is the all-electric M60 — and to be honest, it's so fast, it's hard to imagine wanting anything much quicker for the full-fat M version.

Dual electric motors and all-wheel-drive mean it feels even quicker off the line and on the roll than its 593 hp and 586 lb-ft would make you think. BMW claims a 0-60-mph dash of 3.7 seconds, but I'd put money on it actually being below 3.5. More impressive, though, is the power on the move; with no need to drop gears, gain revs or build turbo pressure, the M60 almost feels as though it's teleporting from 30 to 50. On the street, it feels even quicker than the M3 Competition AWD that's priced almost equally to the M60's $85,095 starting MSRP.

The suspension impresses as well, with a strong ride-handling balance and remarkably nimble steering that's so quick, I had to check and see if the car had rear-wheel steering. (It does.)

Prepare to spend a fair bit of time at fast chargers if you're on a long trip, though. I climbed with 77 percent charge in the battery, which the car told me was good for 187 miles of range. That roughly works out to around 240 miles of range with a full charge ... or around 170 miles between road trip stops, assuming you start charging at 10 percent and stop at 80 percent. At an average speed of 75 mph, that's a pit stop every two hours and 16 minutes. (Charging at home should be less of an issue, as the battery can pick up a full charge in just eight hours on an 11-kW charger.)

Considering the 5er's relatively high beltline, the interior feels unexpectedly spacious, in particular in test cars with the white leather (or, in base form, its fake equivalent called "Veganza"). Setting aside the user interface for the moment — don't worry, I'll come back to that — it's a cleanly laid-out inside, as well,

The LED strip that stretches across the bottom of the dash and into the doors changes colors and shifts patterns ties the cockpit together like The Dude's living room rug, while also hiding the air vents. The cupholders — once a weakness of German cars — are mighty and capacious, and the rubber pad in front of them is wide enough for two iPhones at once.

The new 5er also takes after the latest 7 Series in ditching traditional buttons in favor of touchscreen controls and haptic response "buttons" embedded below plastic panels. It's a change, but I'd argue it's no upgrade. The lack of real defined edges — there are subtle ridges meant to indicate their location, but it's not as clear as, y'know, actual buttons — means the controls are more difficult to find by touch than their predecessors, forcing you to take your eyes off the road more.

And while the new setup looks fancier, it feels cheaper. The glass-like control surfaces are prettier than the buttons of old, but while the hard surface of the controls seems unyielding at first, when you finally press hard enough, the entire panel flexes and creaks a little — not horrendously so, but just enough to feel off. Maybe there's a sweet spot between "not pushing hard enough to activate the button" and "pushing hard enough to make the panel move," but if there is, I had trouble finding it.

There's nothing new about luxury cars going in for this sort of tech; Mercedes-Benz and Audi have been offering similar systems (and sometimes causing similar complaints) for years. And in a world dominated by Jony Ive-inspired minimalist tech designs, it's not hard to see the appeal. Still, when it comes to piloting multiple tons of motor vehicle at high speeds with your family on board, in situations where distractions of fractions of a second can be the difference between life and death, user interfaces should prioritize ease of use over appearance — and that's something BMW, like many other carmakers, needs to remember more often, in my book.

Base Price: $58,895

Powertrain: 2.0-liter turbo inline-four or 3.0-liter turbo inline-six; eight-speed automatic; rear- or all-wheel-drive / 81 kWh battery; single or dual electric motors; rear- or all-wheel-drive

Seats: 5

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