If there was a place on planet Earth that emerged from the primeval ooze solely for the purpose of lovemaking, it would be the island of Bali. A tiny speck off Indonesia’s Java coast, Bali boasts of the spectacle of sheer cliffs meeting deep blue ocean. Add to that the man-made amenities of some of the world’s best resorts, as well as the gentle demeanor of the Balinese people, and you have paradise.
That, however, comes with a caveat. As ideal as Bali is for eating, surfing, and procreating, there is one thing it is not much of a paradise for—driving. As might be expected from a popular tourist island, its roads are narrow, and teeming with all sorts of vehicles: delivery trucks, mini buses, and the most dangerous of them all—scooters. The motoring equivalent of mosquitoes, the two-wheeled conveyances zip in and out through and across traffic with little regard for safety.
So the roads of paradise are not paved like the autobahn. Still, we had a brand-new BMW 535i, a bottle of ice cold water, and two navigators—one stuck to the windshield and in the passenger seat, ACC/BMW’s Pauline Gonzales—what else could we possibly want for the day?
A good-looking car from any angle, the new 5 Series returns the midsized BMW to the ranks of desirable automobiles. The previous 5 Series debuted to shaking heads and furrowed brows. Sure, the styling direction was daring, and eventually proved to be influential as well. But it was certainly not pretty. BMW’s standard line was that they had to design the car not just for the present, but for perhaps five or more years into the future. Guess what? It’s been five years, and it’s still as polarizing.
The new 5 Series sedan needs no explanations. It’s sleek and purposeful, with a wide stance. Its headlamps provide the requisite BMW beady-eyed look without having grown eyebrows. The side profile flows smoothly, and the trunk lid does not make it look like Quasimodo. (For that, you will need the sedan’s weird sibling, the GT hunchback, er hatchback.) The door handles once again align with the crease on the side. Is it an instant classic? Perhaps not, but it’s definitely easy on the eyes.
Settling in the driver’s chair is an easy task, what with multiple motors to make every adjustment, from seatback to steering wheel. Seating position is quite comfortable, even if we were on the “wrong” side. The upgraded iDrive system is more intuitive than ever, with more buttons surrounding the central wheel, and a more logical menu system.
The highlight of any BMW is its engine. The 528i does not disappoint, its six cylinders and 3.0 liters pushing out 258 hp. The engine is equipped with such technical niceties as Valvetronic that varies valve lift, double-Vanos that varies the valve timing, and a composite magnesium/aluminum block.
One thing we could not get enough of was the engine sound. Even when revving hard, it sounded subdued. We would want to personally rip off some of the sound insulation from the engine bay just to hear more of that inline-six
As the afternoon involved getting maximum km per liter of fuel, we tried upshifting at any opportunity. This proved to be more of a challenge with eight forward gears, as it’s hard to adjust from a five-speed to eight and figure out just which gear is appropriate. We soon left it pretty much alone. After that, we made better progress, as the gearbox
Bali’s roads are reasonably smooth, and we don’t think of it as a suitable torture test for the 5 Series’ suspension. The previous 5 was criticized by some for its sporty to the point of harsh ride. During the short drive, the car proved quite comfortable, while still maintaining its sharp handling.
The steering felt quite quick, and felt naturally weighted, again unlike the effective but weird-feeling Active Steering of the previous car. Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, anyone will pray when driving on the wrong side—more so when one is a passenger. That was perhaps the only time that we saw our passenger lose her cool. Brushing against trees on a cliff’s edge on one side while avoiding a refrigerator van on the other can do that. Even then, the car’s handling acquitted itself when quick adjustments were needed.
After a much-needed battery of refreshments and Balinese snacks–similar to the rice-based cakes and pastries we enjoy in Manila–it was another round of driving. This time, it was from the cliffs of Suluban Uluwatu, a peak on the Western side, of the island, back to Nusa Dua, the tourist area in the East.
The whole exercise of the Balinese drive was to emphasize BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology. The new 528i is not quite a hybrid, as it has no secondary powertrain, but it does carry some of the tricks common to hybrids. For one, it can capture energy normally lost as heat during braking to recharge the battery, thus relieving the alternator of some of its burden, and consequently eking out a few more meters per liter of fuel. The functioning of the semi-KERS system is indicated by a blue light in the tachometer ring.
The 5 Series has a whole slew of active safety features, such as lane departure warning and stability control, which we did not have occasion to test, as were mostly concentrating on keeping the car on the right side of the road—which is the left, in this case.
With the new design, engine and transmission upgrades, and trademark handling prowess, the 5 Series is once again a top contender in the German midsize luxury sedan race.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
