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Fifth leg

The image of BMW cars was based on two main concepts - dynamism and respectability. And even in the late 80s, the company was almost proud that she had never produced utilitarian cars, for example, station wagons ...

 

Just ten years ago, the question is why BMW the fifth door was considered rhetorical - how why a dog is a fifth leg. Asking this question today is as stupid as to lament, what the hell are sex on the TV show at nine in the morning. There is only one answer - the market, or rather - its needs.

 

In the late 80s, these same needs suddenly expressed themselves in the hunting of the European population to change places. It began to roam - from the dank Norwegian fiders to the beaches of the Adriatic coast and vice versa, from the plain places to the ski resorts of Austria and Switzerland and vice versa at any time of the year, and, which is characteristic - on their cars. The tourist boom entailed the boom of demand for station wagons, capable of transporting all the necessary sports and tourist equipment without a trailer. And one fine day, the BMW leadership came to the conclusion that the limited lineup of their bodies (sedan, coupe and convertible) no longer corresponds to the spirit of time, and that in his desire to wander in the boundaries of Europe, a wealthy client-tourist inevitably leaves them. Where he goes, it was clear - in the salons of Mercedes, Volvo and Audi.

 

In short, in 1989, the first station wagon in the history of the company appeared in the BMW line - on the basis of the 3rd series. In 1991, the model range was supplemented by the tour of the 5th series. Six years later, the debut of another station wagon took place - built on the basis of the new five ... The designers did everything possible to console the hottest and ambitious fans of the brand so that the utilitarianism of these models did not bring over the branded image.

 

Today, station wagons from the above Trinity can be called sheds only out of habit - so little remains in their image from a family truck. But even less this name is suitable for BMW machines. Nothing of this - the Bavarians themselves seem to emphasize that the additional space of the salon of the 5th series is offered, just in case. Already the easiest universal of the series - 520i - leaves no doubt that this is a car for the driver, and not for the builder with his belongings, what can I say about 540i ... One such thing is just in front of us.

 

It looks more massive and stately than a sedan. The visual impression - the center of its mass is not in the cabin and not in the trunk, but under the hood, where the V -shaped 4.4 liter eight is 286 hp. Thus, the keyword in this machine is not a touring, but all the same three letters - BMW.

 

The salon is made as you expect from BMW. If plastic occurs somewhere, then this plastic is what you need. Otherwise, first -grade skin, a scattering of chromium on the handles and wood inserts ... If you carry snowboarding in such a salon, then certainly exclusive, in an expensive case.

 

Mechanical adjustment of the seat leaves a chance to count BMW 540i a real sports car for an active driver, which, in his desire to squeeze out of the car, no longer pays attention to low comfort. The multifunctional steering wheel with buttons responsible for sound, light and heat is conveniently arranged.

 

I must admit, there was no desire to play with these buttons - as soon as the gaze fell on the lever of a mechanical 6 -speed gearbox, all other causals ceased to arouse interest. It was only that, now, sitting at the wheel of BMW, you should not in vain piercing your fingers with a fan - you will click by chance by chance on some button.

 

It's time to talk about pleasure driving. So far, we can only guess what 540i is capable of on an autobahn. But the pleasure received from this machine with us is a more specific properties. After all, we have, as always, winter, under the wheels - ice, and where there is no traffic police, they don’t clear snow at all. But even in such conditions, you feel great at the wheel of BMW 540i.

 

What is only the elasticity of the motor ... The monstrous torque (420 Nm at 3900 rpm.) Allows very rarely to turn to the box of boxes. Touching on the fourth - without problems, the fifth is already working at 20 km/h. At the same time, the motor does not stumble, but softly, silently and very confidently taking out the car from the start. It is worth switching to lower gearboxes only in order to inject the adrenaline - the pedal has not yet rested on the floor, and you are already squeezing you into a chair. At the same time, it is useful to constantly whisper like a spell: four and four liters, two hundred and eighty -six forces per ton of seven hundred, six and three to a hundred - this, oddly enough, helps to overcome the fear of yelling someone else's car. Of course, the anti-operating system increases the acceleration time by some moments, but not so that there is a need to turn it off. Otherwise, the drive wheels, shod in the summer highway, will be dandruff to the base, that is, to the asphalt.

 

The ice is primarily entertaining in that it makes it possible to experiment with a skid. The field of activity is huge, it is limited only by the chipper of the highway and the lonely figure of the photographer. The branded system of dynamic stabilization BMW - ASS is akin to the Mercedes ESP. In principle, they only have different tracking algorithms - the work of sensors observing the movement of the car. And stabilization algorithms are the same: slowing down one or more wheels in case of slipping and dumping.

 

With an activated system (standard mode), an rear -wheel drive car rushes on ice as a tank, neither a centimeter, without deviating from a given path. It makes no sense to provoke the car with sharp movements of the steering wheel and gas pedal - in the end, ACS simply wraps the ardor of the motor, and the car will continue its progressive movement. So, if you really want to be worried, the system will have to be turned off - for this there is a button on the central console.

 

Now let's sing! The power supply makes itself felt immediately - already when touched, the machine becomes sideways to the direction of movement. Bring the rear axle gives the car some wild angle of attack. However, even so - on full gas and turning the steering wheel - you can drive a hundred or two meters and even overtake the bureaucratic Volga (let his wife tell that he has a Rover motor there). As for the normal movement, with the ACS system, the car on wet asphalt remains controlled, but its excess energy power will not relax on the ice. Every now and then it is necessary to put the car into the trajectory - either the steering wheel or the discharge of gas. In order not to bring the matter to an emergency, sometimes it makes sense to resort to emergency deceleration - in this case, the non -closed ABS will kill speed without loss of controllability. Having paid off the speed (and at the same time the rotation of the car around the vertical axis), you can take a breath and then use further ...

 

I had to admit to myself that during the summer months the skills of control on ice were lost ... Having finally lost control of the car, I rushed right on the photographer right on the photographer and was already preparing for the worst - I wondered what the BMW door and a new camera would be (all The rest is at the expense of the editorial office). And then enlightenment found me - I just pressed the ASC abbreviation button. The system instantly activated. Feeling this, I even released the steering wheel - manual adjustment was no longer required. The car, catching the rear wheels, impeccably took possession of itself and became obedient.

 

Despite the bumps and motley coating, the car holds the course excellently. However, you don’t even expect any other from her ... The suspension swallows all the rudeness of the road. A little harsh - even despite comfortable deep chairs. However, the necessary comfort is sufficient. The most pleasant sensations are from the power under the right boot and from the coordinated behavior of the suspension and the steering wheel. It is only a pity that the sixth gear remained unclaimed.

 

And yet - during the test, my head never turned back, and my gaze did not cast a huge luggage compartment - as if it were not and not. What for? After all, it is clear that the BMW Touring is primarily BMW ...

 

Yuri Tikhvin
 
 

 

Source: Magazine Motor