BMW 525d

That the BMW 525d will get attention on the streets is a given owing to Chris Bangle’s awesome design lines. The designer’s work has always managed to get a reaction out of people whether it is love or hate. Though, for the 5-series, there are definitely more admirers than not. Appealing to look at, features like the scalpel-sharp detailing, eagle-eye headlamps and the strong tail only further enhance the street presence of the new BMW.

Everything above and below the skin in this E60 platform is precision-engineered to reduce weight. There’s more aluminium used here than in a small aircraft. The chassis of this 5-series is largely carried over from the all-aluminium chassis of the 7-series and BMW has achieved a near-perfect 50:50 front/rear weight bias. And, to improve the car’s directional stability, the suspension is fully independent and is mounted on a separate subframe. There are safety features galore on the car as well and the 525d comes with BMW’s Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), ABS, Brake Assist, Cornerning Brake Control (CBC) and eight airbags.

Interiors

A typical quality of German luxury cars is that they are built meticulously and are comfortable to be in. The BMW 5-series too possesses these qualities. In addition, the dashboard is uncluttered owing to the fact that most of the functions are housed in BMW’s iDrive system and makes the cabin look attractive. Material quality, design and craftsmanship are simply fantastic, and even the black interiors fail to detract from the feeling that you are sitting in an expensive place.

The 525d also gets the new gear lever that isn’t mechanically linked to the transmission. It works electronically like a ‘fly-by-wire’ joystick of a modern jet. All you have to do is prod the lever to shift between reverse, neutral and drive. We particularly like the ‘Park’ button on the gearlever — you simply press this to go into park mode — which means you don’t have to keep slotting through the gate in start-stop traffic. The front seats have a wide range of adjustment but no lumbar adjust and the rear seats are comfortable and quite spacious.

Engine and gearbox

To BMW’s 2993cc diesel is an absolute joy and the power delivery is deliciously linear. The remarkable smoothness is thanks to the common-rail system running on four injections per stroke — two pilot, one main and one post injection. The quick-shifting six-speed auto box is also quite fantastic. The good part of this box is that it can seamlessly switch gearshifts. With the throttle pedal pinned to the floor, you can feel the box snapping to the next ratio, but once the car realises you want to cruise, it moves to a softer shift map, making gearshifts less sharp. In manual mode, the six-speed auto will hold onto a gear right up to the redline, but it will shift up once it’s there, so it’s a bit of a guess-and-go game around corners. The brakes are phenomenal too.

The most sensible reason for buying the 525d is the fuel economy figures of the car. Owing to the torquey engine, the BMW delivers a decent 8.5kpl in city conditions. On the highway, it delivered 11.8kpl.