Test drive BMW 5 series E60 2003 - 2007 sedan

Steel arms

Modern BMW is unknown to design problems with Audi. Although five years ago, Munich was mired in exactly the same stagnation. That treshka, that five, that the seven is one feature, even with angelic eyes. And then the Bavarians arranged a revolution, but no velvet, but real sandpaper. The face of the revolution was chosen by American Chris Banlla.
 
It was not possible to avoid problems, but these were already a completely different kind. An impersonal rapid seven in the 38th body gave way to Extravagant Frankenstein E65, overloaded with on-board electronics, led by an abstruse IDRive interface. The BMW concern launched heavy artillery towards Audi, emerging from a direct confrontation with Mercedes-Benz in a representative segment. Perhaps the calculation was more subtle: without overtaking the three -beam on the straight line, the nostrils decided to cut off along a clearly bumpy primer and jump out onto the track immediately in the future, and even ahead of competitors. The result of this adventure turned out to be relatively favorable: the sales of the car increased, while it did not drive away the market share either from the Audi A8 or the Mercedes Eska.
 

The five were expected with frozen hearts. Validol prepared ahead of time was useful to many. Zalikhvatsky Styling of the 60th body brought to gloomy thoughts about the torment of choosing sexual orientation. Do you recall the beginning of the eighties when neuromantics and electro-pop dominated in music? It seems to be men, but they sing sweetly and consume cosmetics in kilograms. So the five is not clear what: either a skilled transvestite, or a bodybuilder, swaying on steroids. In general, romantics and popes are zero, but there are more than enough all kinds of electrics. Here you have the projection of the readings of the devices on the windshield, and the steering mechanism with a variable gear ratio, and the system of suppression of the rolls. Well, Idrive, of course. True, surviving Downgraid. In order to cope with him not only Bill Gates Sorcererchi.

 

We were given plenty of reasons to gloat. But is it possible to deny the fact that this machine is a work of art? Hardly. I am not a big BMW amateur, but resolutely is not able to take his eyes off the fifs -parallel course of the parallel course. How much supernatural grace in her body was poured out of the blades! And how do you like the sculptural plastic of the front wings? In the flirty headlights, a primitive carnivorous shine flickers every now and then, with which a ruthless tyrannosaurus paralyzed the unfortunate Iguanodon. For this shine, you can even forgive the rear lights from improvis. A strong, serious car. Named cold weapons.

  

Inside is also cold. His Majesty High-Tex reigns here: gloomy gamma, flat surfaces with sweeping bends, a minimum of buttons and pens, maximum functionality. The harsh abode of a laconic professional. The gearbox lever is adjacent to the round joystick of the aminee, near the emergency button for exit in the root menu. In case it is suddenly tired of playing the system administrator. There is nothing superfluous in this machine, not a single in vain. The interior, by the way, can be ordered in a bright performance, but the impression of it will no longer be the same.

  

The five is an integral organism. The engine, transmission, suspension live in complete harmony with each other, obeying a single goal: to be the fastest. And not just faster, but let a person at the wheel feel his involvement in speed, his contribution to rapid seconds. Not a single hint of the mismatch of the systems! The governing bodies are extremely accurate, the feedback is delightful. Control in pleasure. In every response to gas, a school is felt to turn the steering wheel. University of high technology. It is impossible to create this without having decades of experience and engineering culture. This is not only about the filling, this is about design. We are definitely dealing with the crown of the evolution of the BMW brand today.
 

But the path to the peaks was not simple. The post -war devastation forced the Bavarians to go to the release of funny and wretched ISETTA motor -coats for Italian license. Dear models were not in demand, and the difficult financial situation almost turned into a 1959 transition under the wing of Daimler-Benz AG. Fortunately, the Kvandt family, who owned the company then and owed it today, believed in the future of BMW and gave her another chance. And he was not lost. Gerhard Vika deduced the company from the crisis, and the chief designer Paul Marry predetermined the branded style for years to come. In 1972, the model line in the series took place, then an independent company Motorsport GmbH appeared. The same thing that is already in BMW AG today in the development of magnificent machines with the M. PIK index of the sports career of the brand came in 1983, when Nelson Pic and Brabham BT 52 won the formula-1 championship 1. Today, white-blue continues to actively chase in different classes. It is understandable without motorsport at the premium class today at all. Here you have an image, advertising, and a testing ground.
 

No matter how masochistic may seem BMW experiments over their own appearance, they have achieved their goal. They argue about these machines until frenzy, which means that they remain in a hearing and in sight, which guarantees good sales. Their running qualities are sharpened to ringing, their bold style is incomparable. The asceticism of their interiors only indicates that BMW cars reached that stage of development when catchy excesses become atavisms. Bavarian cars are in the forefront, but will it be easy for them to keep leadership?
 

BMW 5-Series (E60)
Engines: 3
Transmissions: 3
Body flowers: 12
Salon decoration options: 63
Options: 72
Price: from 44900 euros
Top version: 333 hp/0-100 km/h 5.9 s
Among the basic equipment:
dSC stabilization system
multimedia IDRive interface with color display 6.5
tire pressure sensors
heating the steering wheel
Among the options:
exclusive body painting and interior decoration at the BMW Individual factory
sports package m
dynamic Drive Krenamic suppression system
active steering Active Steering
tires with the possibility of movement after damage
information system for projection on the windshield
adaptive headlights
sports seats
front seats ventilation
TV tuner
onboard phone
 
BMW
It is part of: BMW Group
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Brand registration: 1916
Founder: Franz Joseph Popp, Max Fritz
Years: 1928-41 and since 1952
Production range: 11 models
 
The car was provided by Eurosib Service, an official BMW AG dealer
 
Text: Leonid Klyuyev
Photo: Vsevolod Konovalov
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Source: Wheel magazine [No. 91/2005]