8
NEWS
BMW 5 Series facelift due Q3
Subtle upgrade and equipment boost for Australia?Posting the most successful sales year in the history of its 5 Series nameplate hasn’t made BMW rethink its plans to introduce its facelifted range of mid-sized sedans and wagons next month in Europe.
It's another sign of shrinking model cycles; the 5 Series facelift will be in Australia from early in the third quarter, just three years after the launch of the current model.
As is the case in global markets the 5 Series has continued to sell in respectable numbers in Australia, during 2013. But with a new E-Class on the way, and Jaguar's XF just 19 units behind the BMW in sales, just how good will the new model have to be, to stay ahead of the others? We asked Lenore Fletcher, BMW Australia's General Manager of Corporate Communications last week.
"Obviously we're conscious of our competitors, but we don't necessarily feel that we need to always react," she responded. "We have some fantastic product stories, ourselves... and from our point of view it's not necessary just to reduce the price... over time."
The BMW exec's remarks could be taken as a gentle swipe at archrival Mercedes-Benz, which has announced adjusted pricing for the E-Class to compete more effectively in the market segment it shares with the 5 Series. Her comments could also be a hint that BMW will pack more standard equipment into the 5 Series, to offset the lower pricing of rival E-Class variants. But other than that, she offered little information about the new range for Australia ahead of the car's local launch.
It's not certain that we will receive all the model variants available in the facelifted 5 Series range. Certainly the low-output 518d (see below) looks unlikely. The new model will host four petrol and six diesel engines in total, and they will come with anything from 105kW to 330kW worth of power.
In the European lineup, the smallest of the engines displaces 2.0 litres and is a turbo-charged diesel engine, with direct injection, variable valve timing and variable valve lift, while the largest is a 4.4-litre, twin-turbo V8.
It is also moving deeper into the land of the hybrid, with an update to its petrol-electric hybrid, called the ActiveHybrid sedan, while the other extreme is the M5, which will remain mechanically identical but will get all of the 5 Series visual changes.
All of its engines have been bought up to the EU6 emissions standards which sees the EfficientDynamics program expanded to include a coasting function between 50 and 160km/h that lets the driveline spin free on trailing throttle. That feature joins the detailed efficiency tweaks it already has, such as start-stop, a shift indicator for optimum efficiency and its Eco-Pro mode that tunes the engine, gear-shifting, steering, air conditioning and even the seat heaters for maximum efficiency. Eco-Pro now also joins up with the optional professional satnav package to determine the most fuel-efficient routes to where you’re bound.
BMW’s diesel engine range now uses an SCR-type catalytic converter, which injects urea to clean up emissions, and the Bavarian premium maker now calls this system BluePerformance to make life ever more confusing in a world of BlueEffiency and BlueMotion.
The only all-new engine to the range is in the 518d, which is essentially a detuned 2.0-litre, turbodiesel with 105kW and 360Nm. It’s hardly swift, with a 100km/h sprint of 9.6 seconds, though it compensates with 4.5 litres/100km on the combined cycle.
BMW has improved the fuel efficiency of the 135kW, 2.0-litre turbodiesel so that it matches the 518D with 4.5 litres/100km.
There is another 50Nm extracted out of the 4.4-litre V8 so that it now has 300kW and 650Nm of torque – both of which were M5 numbers not many years ago. It will be enough to move the 550i to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds, which, again, was M5 country only a decade ago, though the M5 never boasted an 8.8 litres/100km fuel consumption figure.
BMW has also joined Mercedes-Benz in the race for clearer aerodynamic efficiency, with the introduction of the 520d Efficient Dynamics edition, with a series of fiddly aero tweaks, delivering a drag co-efficient of 0.25 Cd.
The visual changes are light, with small tweaks to the profiles of the bumpers, a new head and tail light designs, new mirrors and a new range of alloy wheels across the board.
The 5 Series, which has looked increasingly conservative in a BMW range that now includes a 6 Series GranCoupe and a 3 Series GT, will finally join the rest of the range in offering a choice of Luxury or Modern trims, but the biggest news is in the ugly-duckling 5 Series GT.
It will have a choice of two petrol and, to demonstrate its true origins, three diesel engines.
It has had the most significant visual changes, with the removal of its hideous full-width plastic trim from the tailgate lid. That move was made easier by ditching the awkward two-piece tailgate, so it inherently has fewer horizontal lines anyway.
While it was always extremely practical, the move to a one-piece tailgate has liberated another 60 litres of boot space so it now delivers 500 litres, even with the rear seats in their standard upright position.
All 5 Series models have had new chrome highlights on their dashboards and there are larger cup holders and bigger cubby holes as well, while it will also have a Comfort option to allow the boot (or tailgate) to be opened by a swipe of the foot beneath the rear bumper.
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Share this article
Written byMichael Taylor
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todayRelated articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.