9 Things You Need To Know About The New BMW 5-Series

It looks a lot like the 7-series

As seen in yesterday’s leak, the new ‘G30’ 5-series looks a lot like the 7-series. And I mean a lot. Very ‘familial’ looking ranges seem to be ‘in’ right now, as shown by the likes of the Mercedes C/E/S-Classes and the Jaguar XE/XF, and that looks to be the way BMW is going with its core saloons.

On the 5 there’s a lower swage line, less imposing kidney grilles, slightly different shaped front intakes and different light clusters at the rear, but otehr than that there’s not a lot in it. The 7-series is a handsome car though, so maybe the similarity isn’t quite such a bad thing.

New architecture cuts 100kg

The 5-series sits on BMW’s new Cluster Architecture (or CLAR) which - along with the extensive use of aluminium plus bits of magnesium in the car’s construction - provides a hefty 100kg drop in weight compared to the old car.

It'll make you feel like you're in Minority Report

Every 5-series gets an 8.7-inch screen sitting on the dash (or an optional 10.2-inch version) with iDrive and the associated - and weirdly satisfying - rotary controller. So far, so predictable, but you also get voice control and gesture control.

In other words, wave your hands around and you can control what’s on the screen, just like you’re in Minority Report. Except you’re not Tom Cruise, and there isn’t a bunch of bald psychics in a tank of water in the next room.

In other interior tech news, you also get a 70 per cent larger head-up display.

2.0-litre and 3.0-litre engines now, 4.4-litre V8 on the way

In terms of petrol engines, the range kicks off with 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder putting out 188bhp in the 520i, pumped up to 248bhp in the 530i.

At the top of the petrol tree there’s a 335bhp 3.0-litre turbo six powering the 540i, although that’ll be usurped by a 4.4-litre V8-powered M550i xDrive as the big boss of the range, kicking out 455bhp and 479lb ft torque. With a 0-62mph time of four seconds dead, it actually accelerates faster on paper than the outgoing M5 Competition Pack. There’ll be a plug-in hybrid too, but we’ll stick with the monstrously fast V8, thanks.

On the diesel front, there’ll be a 188bhp 520d using a 2.0-litre four-pot, and a 261bhp 3.0-litre straight-six in the 530d. The 520d manages 68.8mpg combined via the usual highly-optimistic lab tests, with the 530d clocking 60.1mpg.

A quad-turbo diesel is on the way

Joining the range along with the petrol V8 M550i at some point will be the 550d with - wait for it - a quad-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six. The engine made its debut in the 750d, and it’s good for 394bhp and 560lb ft of torque. It’d be good for more twist than that, but the eight-speed ZF ‘box can’t take a higher figure without being at risk of going bang.

The spectacularly clever engine uses four small turbos: one for low revs, a pair for the mid range and one for high revs. The new setup means it makes peak torque at just 1000rpm - you had to wait until 2000rpm in the old 550d engine which made do with only three turbos. Loser.

There'll be a 600bhp+ M5 available in all-wheel drive

Because of course there will. Expect it to use an evolution of the current car’s 4.4-litre V8 pushing out well over 600bhp. And if the M550i can do 0-62mph in four seconds dead, we can expect the full-fat M5 to be outrageously fast. It’ll also have optional four-wheel drive for the first time.

We shouldn’t have to wait that long to get a good idea of what it’ll look like, either. If you listen very carefully, you’ll hear the Internet’s prolific car renderers furiously Photoshopping press images into M5 imaginations as we speak…

It's autonomous, ish

Like the Tesla Model S/X, Mercedes E-Class and Volvo S90, the 5-series is semi-autonomous. According to BMW, it gives an “early foretaste of automated driving,” and by that the company means the car is able to apply steering inputs to keep you in lane and operate the brakes all the way up to 130mph. It has sensors that can tell whether or not you’re holding the wheel, but the system will let you take your hands off completely if you’re crawling through traffic.

It'll be better to drive than ever

The 5-series has always been a good car to drive, but the G30 should feel even better than the old F10 when you’re pressing on. Optional ‘Integral Active Steering’ (rear-wheel steering) can be specced on the all-wheel drive cars for the first time, and you get a set of fast-acting, electronically-actuated active anti-roll bars. Combine that with the drop in weight, and you’re looking at a (hopefully) very sharp-driving slice of saloon.

It's on sale next February

After an anticipated public debut at the Detroit Motor Show, the G30 5-series will go on sale in markets around the world in February, priced from £36,025 on the road in the UK.