The BMW 5-Series is on a roll. The medium-sized sedans and wagons have
grabbed just about every automotive award in existence. The latest is a top
rating from the AAA Auto Guide. It¹s well know that the car-geek press, such
as Car & Driver, has had a love affair with Munich¹s sedans since they first
started coming to the US a few decades ago.

What surprised me is that the 5-Series is also at the very top of the heap
with Consumer Reports, by far and away the most important testing body for
influencing the preferences of the middle class. The magazine says it quite
simply: ³The midlevel 530i recently became the highest-rated vehicle ever
tested.² This statement was shocking on one level; Consumer Reports and
the go-fast car guys rarely agree on much of anything.

However, let¹s not retire the trophies quite yet. Although a fine
automobile, there are a few flaws in the 5-Series finely tuned arsenal of
performance, quality and comfort.

You will pay a handsome price for the pleasure of the BMW 5-Series. 
And don¹t expect any discounts, rebates or incentives. The range for the
5-Series extends from about $36,000 to nearly $70,000. The 530i occupies
the middle of the range. Our 530i had a list price of about $40,000, but it ran
to $50,000 with options. No wonder BMW has the best profit margins in the
business. To get the car you really want, be prepared to load it up with
lots of extra stuff not included in the base list price. Our test model had
the $1,250 automatic transmission, special power seats at $1,200,
$500 Xenon headlights, Premium Sound system at $1,200, as well as the
Premium Package of luxury goodies, which includes leather seats, power
moonroof and genuine wood trim. 

If you¹re a BMW type, you cannot leave the dealership without the optional
Sport Package at $2,300. The ensemble adds spiffy 17-inch wheels and
high-performance tires, tuned suspension, and sports seats that are more
supportive than the standard unit. While not a necessity, the package adds a
lot of content at a reasonable price. The sports suspension enables better
handling and includes firmer springs and shock absorbers and a heftier
anti-roll bar, as well as a slightly lower ride height. Fortunately, the
beefy suspension does not seriously degrade the car¹s ride quality.
If you like BMW¹s design palate, you¹ll love the 5-Series, which seems the
very distillation of the company¹s styling philosophy. BMW, like most
European luxury competitors, has developed a rather constrained design
vocabulary that seems to dictate just how the mass of the automobile is
deployed and how and where such elements as headlights, grille 
placement and structure are used. Other than Jaguar, BMW rates as the 
most conservative of the major European luxury brands. You can look at a 
20-year-old 5-Series and see that the current model merely redresses the
basic proportions and design cues of the older car. If you seek a more
contemporary design statement, the Audi A6 is a more progressive rendering 
of the mid-size sedan.

The driving experience always has been the strong suite of the BMW 5-Series.
However, don¹t expect a lot of low-end snap. The six-cylinder car is not a
dragster. But get it on the open road and there is adequate passing power as
well as a top end that few drivers will even get close to experiencing.
While the automatic transmission is flawless in execution, I have one
quibble, and that is its manual mode. To put the transmission in the
manual-shift setting, you have to push the shift-handle through a gate, and
then you can self-select the gears. For quicker response, newer luxury-car
transmissions are designed without the gate and allow the driver to work the
transmission manually with the gearshift lever in its original ³drive²
position.

The interior of our 530i is elegant to say the least. BMW has come a long
way in losing the industrial look that typified the previous 5-Series. The
dashboard has an attractive swoop toward the center of the car that
integrates the center console. The ergonomics, however, are not world class.
Many of the controls are mounted too low on the center console to be readily
visible. 

Vehicle: BMW 530i
Price as tested: $39,450
Engine:
    Type: 3.0-liter inline six
    Horsepower: 225 hp @ 5,900 rpm
    Torque: 214-ft. lbs. @ 3,500 rpm
Fuel economy, automatic transmission
    City - 18 mpg
    Highway - 26 mpg
Curb Weight: 3,549 lbs.