First Drive: 2010 BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo at AutoFans www Auto Com

First Drive: 2010 BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo

BMW North America has a problem with the new 5 Series Gran Turismo: what to call it? The official moniker ain’t much help. To the enthusiast a Gran Turismo is something low and fast and usually made in Italy. To almost everyone else, the GT badge has been so often prostituted to make dismal dross like Pontiac Sunfires and Ford Escorts seem sexy it is meaningless. The 5GT is fast, but it’s not low slung or Italian. Fortunately, it’s not dross, either, but that doesn’t really help.

You see, the problem is more elemental than that. Is this new BMW a car? Or a crossover? In Europe, the 5GT is being clearly positioned as a car — a response to the growing backlash against big, thirsty SUVs. But history suggests the only way Americans will be persuaded to buy any vehicle that could best be described as a large hatchback, or a neo-station wagon, is if they think it’s an SUV or crossover. Car? Or crossover? We’d love to be a fly on the wall in the marketing meetings at BMW North America’s New Jersey headquarters while they figure this one out.

The 5GT is most definitely car-based (but then, so is a Lexus RX or Lincoln MKT). It’s built on the new generation BMW architecture that underpins the just-launched 7 Series, and will be used for the next generation 5 Series and 6 Series models. The 5GT’s 120.7-inch wheelbase is identical to that of the short wheelbase 7 Series, and the front and rear tracks are the same. But it’s nearly three inches shorter overall. And, more critically, just over three inches taller.The engine in the 550i Gran Turismo, which goes on sale in the U.S. early December, is the same 400-hp 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 that powers the 750i. It uses the same double pivot multi-link front suspension, and lightweight aluminum suspension components. The engine drives through the eight speed automatic transmission that recently debuted on the new 760Li. The fourth generation iDrive system, black panel instruments, and optional heads up display are also from BMW’s latest flagship sedan. There’s a lot of 7 Series in the 5 Series Gran Turismo.

There’s a lot of new stuff, too. The 300 hp I-6 in the 535i Gran Turismo, which is due to arrive Stateside next April (along with the availability of all-wheel drive on both six cylinder and V-8 versions) features direct injection, a single twin scroll turbocharger, and BMW’s Valvetronic technology. The 5GT will be the first U.S. BMW model equipped with BMW’s brake energy regeneration system, which controls the times when the alternator charges the battery, using an electronically controlled clutch to engage and disengage it, ensuring charging only occurs when the vehicle is decelerating or braking.

But it’s the interior package that makes the 5GT unique — and literally makes this BMW something more than a car, yet something less than an SUV. The front seat H-point is about 2 inches higher than that of a regular 5 Series sedan, but almost 4 inches lower than that of an X5. You slide in behind the wheel of the 5GT rather than sinking down or stepping up to it, and get a better view of the road ahead. BMW calls it a “semi-command” driving position.

The long wheelbase and heavily crowned coupe roofline means there’s plenty of leg and headroom, especially for rear seat passengers. The standard rear seat slides 3.9 inches fore-aft, and its backrest, which is spilt 40-20-40 is rake adjustable from 15 to 33 degrees. An optional luxury rear seat package, which also includes rear window sunshades and four-zone climate control, offers accommodation for two passengers only and is electrically adjustable.

The really clever stuff — and the key to the 5GT’s appeal — is the configurable load space behind the rear seats. Unlike most hatchbacks, wagons, and SUVs the 5GT features a variable partition between the cabin and the load space, topped by a solid parcel shelf edged with a stout rubber seal. In regular mode the partition and parcel shelf offer the silence and security normally associated with a regular sedan or coupe. But with the parcel shelf removed (it stores in a neat little compartment under the load space floor, so you’ll never need to leave it behind in your garage) the partition can be moved through the same arc as the rear seats.

Rear load space access is via a clever rear hatch with an integrated ‘trunk’ lid. Small items can be loaded through the trunk lid, which pivots out from below the rear window. With the partition and parcel shelf in place, using the trunk lid means the load space is as sealed from the cabin as that of a regular sedan, so no gusts of icy wind flood into the cabin while stowing stuff during winter. If you need to load bulky items, the entire rear of the 5GT opens up via the hatchback. Load carrying capacity can vary from 15.5 cu ft with everything in place, to 60.0 cu ft with the seats and partition laid flat, and the parcel shelf stowed.

It’s very well thought out, and incredibly practical. Spend a few minutes playing with the 5GT from the B-pillar back, and you’ll begin to wonder why more vehicles aren’t this cleverly designed. Especially after you’ve driven it.

We drove two 5GTs at the car’s international launch near Lisbon, Portugal. Both were 19-inch wheel, sport tire Sport Package 535is (standard setup is 18-inch wheels on all-season tires; 20-inch wheels with sport tires are available as an option if you specify the Sport Package). One had the optional luxury rear seat package; the other the optional Integral Active Steering system, which electronically varies the steering ratio and turns the rear wheels up to a maximum of three degrees. At low speeds, the rear wheels are steering in the opposite direction to the front, reducing the 5GT’s turning circle by two feet. At high speeds, the wheels are turned in the same direction as the fronts to improve stability.

We preferred the car with the regular steering, which felt more communicative, more organic than the car with the oddly non-linear active steering. For a 4586-lb car, the 5GT is remarkably light on its feet, and remarkably agile through the twisties. You only feel its height when you really start to push through the turns and the car rolls over onto its front tires as lateral acceleration increases.

The 3.0-liter direct injection, single turbo straight six is a killer engine; not quite as silky smooth as old-school BMW straight sixes, but packing plenty of punch right off idle. Peak torque is 300 lb-ft and it’s available from 1200 rpm all the way through 6000 rpm. In fact, it’s so good we wonder why you’d bother spending the $10,000 or so extra BMW plans to charge for the 352-lb heavier, V-8 powered 550i Gran Turismo.

The eight-speed transmission nimbly surfs the torque, ensuring a smooth, seamless surge of acceleration, and keeps revs down to a fuel-sipping 1600 rpm while cruising at 60 mph. Like the 7 Series, the 5GT’s throttle, transmission and suspension calibrations can be tuned to ‘comfort’, ‘normal’, or ’sport’ modes. Even in sport mode, the 5GT rides remarkably well, feeling more coherent and composed than the new 7 Series on marginal roads.

The more we drove the 5GT, the more we liked it. The car shrinks around you on a winding road, yet it has a limo-like feel everywhere else. It’s not a svelte, road hugging looker, but in truth the photos don’t do it justice; the car has a commanding presence on the road, without towering over the traffic like a truck. More importantly, it’s a genuinely useful piece — truly luxurious and impressively spacious inside, with astonishingly versatile load carrying capacity.

The 535i Gran Turismo will be priced from about $57,000, and unless you simply must have third row seating, there is absolutely no reason why you’d buy an X5 instead. And while it will be significantly more expensive than a 5 Series wagon, the interior package alone justifies the premium. Car? Or crossover? Truth is, with the 5 Series Gran Turismo, BMW has just re-invented both.

[source:MotorTrend]

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First Drive: 2010 BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 9:24 am and is filed under BMW, Auto Review, Car Review, Coupes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.