Used to be, you could count on Germans to adhere to strict model naming principles, using nice, rational numbers instead of the more fanciful terms preferred by American and Japanese
manufacturers.
This week's featured car, the BMW 540i, is a midsize 5 Series. Last year it had a 4.0-liter V-8, hence the 540 name. This year, the engine still has 8 combustion chambers, but they've been enlarged to a total of 4.4 liters. Not complaining, mind you . . .
The 5 Series is totally redone for the '97 model run, the fourth generation of BMW's midrange car. It is somewhat bigger than its forebear, 2.2 inches longer overall and 2.7 inches more between the axles. First cabin and second both have increased head and shoulder room, though the car remains a midsize by EPA definition, with 92.5 cubic feet of interior space.
A hefty $11,000 spread exists between the base price of the six-cylinder 528i and its 8-cylinder sib, although the big brother has lots of trim and other goodies that are extra, if even available, on the 528.
To somebody who really wants an
"Ultimate Driving Machine," as BMW so modestly refers to its conveyances, the engine alone might be worth the difference.
The standard powerplant is the latest in a line of illustrious inline sixes, and it would certainly do nicely, for all practical purposes. With 190 hp and 206 foot-pounds of torque, it can propel the car from 0-60 in 7.7 seconds (factory numbers) with manual transmission, 8.6 with automatic. Both figures are appreciably better than what the previous, 2.5-liter formula yielded.
But with BMW's performance image, it would be a shame not to bite the bullet a little harder -- OK, a lot harder -- and go for the extra two cylinders. The all-aluminum, quad-cam, 32-valve 8-banger delivers
a thrilling 282 hp and 310 foot-pounds of torque, both peaking at fairly elevated tachometer numbers -- 5,700 for the former, 3,900 for the latter -- which is totally in keeping with the transformed character of the car. Nothing like a 48 percent boost in oomph to give a car an attitude.
The horsepower number is the same as it was with the 4-liter, while the torque has increased only modestly. The extra displacement was used to broaden and flatten the output curve so that meaningful amounts of propulsion would be available from rpms low to high, a concession to the U.S. market, where we don't substitute cars for planes. The engine was perfectly content to lope along at 1,500 rpm (and that at highway speeds), but its sound was so magnificent it saw 5,000 and 6,000 a lot during its stay in Cincinnati.
I hardly need say that the 540i's chassis is beefed up accordingly to handle the greater dynamic loads. The standard transmission fitment with the 540i is a five-speed automatic. The six-speed manual is priced a couple of grand more, including as it does bigger tires and wheels and the whole
M-Technic suspension revisions. That might be the way to go, depending on the severity of one's mid-life crisis.
But the automatic does no disservice to BMW's panache.
Letting the shifter do the work, I measured 0-60 dashes in the mid-6-second neighborhood -- exciting for any car, astonishing for a 3,800-pound four-door. And this is with a higher overall drive ratio for more relaxed cruising and better gas mileage.
The transmission is "intelligent" and "adaptive," meaning that it is computer driven, and, using a variety of sensors, both determines what's going on in the world around it and attempts to provide the proper gear ratio, and also makes some silicon inferences about the driver's mood. If it detects heavy, repeated stabs at the throttle, it switches to a sportier mode, where shift points are delayed to the highest reaches of the rev range and gear changes are undertaken more assertively. With less urgent demands, it goes into a more relaxed mode.
By and large it did extremely well, though perhaps not quite so well as its little brother, the M3, still the genius of the family. In ordinary going, there was hardly any need to drop it from Drive into 4 or 3, although I did find those manually-selected ratios useful on long downgrades for engine braking.
The last day of the test provided the hoped-for rain, which answered how well the standard traction control system works on this rear-drive machine. Superbly. As I stomped the throttle on slick upgrades, the antilock computer and wheel sensors told the engine to disregard the idiot behind the wheel and only provide as much power as the rear tires could handle. This happened instantly, and almost imperceptibly, only a dash-mounted warning light heralding the intervention.
BMW says the system also includes a brake-balancing feature to counteract the erroneous tendency of some drivers to brake in a turn -- a maneuver I did not try; it's more fun to steer a rear-drive car with the throttle.
On the flip side, the antilock brakes kept the wheels turning right at the point of maximum braking force despite a driver's attempt to lock them. On dry pavement, the massive four-wheel ventilated discs afforded impressive deceleration with excellent pedal feel through a series of high-rate stops.
Though BMW espouses "active safety," i.e., precise handling that allows one to avoid accidents, it bows to the inevitable with dual front airbags and side airbags, too, unobtrusively concealed in the front door panels.
The 540i does an excellent job of isolating its cabin from road shocks, without being unduly stiff. An extremely rigid body and a deftly tuned suspension collaborate to produce a feel that is at once luxurious and self-assured. The car reveals its bloodlines when hustled over bad roads, refusing to involve its occupants in the details of its coping. It feels simply unbreakable.
At 65 mph on a decent road, the 540i is whisper-quiet, only a couple of dB away from the scores achieved by its more luxurious family members. Fast-change down to third and the tiger snarls, and before you know it the scenery is a triple-digit blur. Top speed in the U.S. is governed to 128 mph, which is still considered flying low even in Montana.
This patrician powerplant wants premium fuel, and lots of it. EPA estimates are 18 mpg city, 24 highway. On one run around the beltway at (mostly) legal speeds, I notched 17.3. Hot rodding around town, I reversed the last two digits for a 13.7 tally. I'm telling you, the sound of that V-8 stretching is like a drug.
The only major quarrel I had with the 540i was in the ease of entry area. I felt it unnecessarily difficult to crawl in, even with the driver's seat nearly at the end of its range of rearward motion. The B pillar seems a bit far forward, a concession to the second-class passengers, I suppose, who wind up with fairly snug accommodations in any event.
The calisthenics are quickly forgotten once one assumes the position behind the hefty, electrically tilting/telescoping steering wheel. (Why don't they make it tilt/telescope out of the way by default when the key is removed from the ignition, as some other luxury marques do?) Superb instruments, sumptuous leather and rich expanses of dark wood validate the decision to plunk down the 50 grand even before the 10-way power seats are adjusted and the mighty engine springs to life. For some reason, BMW has made power lumbar support a $400 option -- a no-brainer in my book.
Overall ergonomics were quite good, although some advanced features, like the automatic recirculation override on the dual-temperature climate control system, had me visiting the owner's manual. When the car is put into Reverse, the outside mirrors tilt down, for a better view of curbs. I don't much care for this feature, especially when, as here, the mirrors occasionally forget to reset themselves.
As if the standard 10-speaker, 200 watt (at 10 percent distortion) AM/FM/cassette/CD weren't good enough, the tester had the upgraded 12-speaker, 440-watt system with digital sound processor. This device synthesizes ambiance effects, putting the program into spaces ranging from an intimate room to vast expanses ‹ the weather band sounded quite funky in cathedral mode. For using an antenna embedded in the rear window, the tuner did an excellent job, and the spatial effects were really quite incredible.
Base on the 540i is $49,900. The premium hi-fi added $1,500 and fold-down rear seat an amazing $575. With freight and luxury tax, total was $54,335.
Alan Vonderhaar writes for the Cincinnati Enquirer. He welcomes email: alanv@bigfoot.com
Published Nov. 30, 1996.
