Test Drive: 2011 BMW 528i

By Kevin Harrison

Photography by Nick Rudnicki

As I start to get older, I start to notice certain changes. Mainly, I can’t eat a hamburger anymore without gaining 50 pounds. I also can’t seem to stay up past 2 am on a Saturday night as I’ll pass out from plain old fatigue rather than copious amounts of alcohol. I also caught myself in one of those ‘back-in-my-day’ moments wherein I was ridiculed by someone much younger than me for not having a twitter account.

“Back in my day…” I stopped short. I couldn’t believe those words came from my mouth.

Now I’m not old by any means, I’m in my mid twenties, but it’s definitely at this point in your life when you notice the changes. And they generally aren’t good ones.

The old adage ‘wine gets better with age’ doesn’t apply to humans. Cheese gets better with age though. So does scotch. But not human beings, I’m convinced of it.

Cars, on the other hand, are hard to figure. Do they get batter with age? The Chevrolet Impala, now into its ninth generation almost certainly has not. The Impala went from being an iconic tourer to a sleek coupe to a rapper’s wet dream to a hold-its-own sleeper to, well, the number one choice of car for people 70 and up. What the hell happened? The Impala used to be cool.

The BMW 5-Series is settling into middle age as well. Now into its seventh generation, is the 5-Series getting better with age? Or is it turning into an old grandpa mobile like the Impala?

I took the newest iteration for a spin to find out.

My favourite generation 5-Series was definitely the E39. When I was about 15, a black on black 540i with a six speed manual was my dream car. Nothing on the road looked as good or performed as good. Even today when I see an E39 540i on the roads, it grabs my attention more than a short skirt does. I liked the Bangled 5-series that followed afterward as well, but some say that’s when the 5-series took a turn for the worst. They said it was too big, too flashy, too bulgy, too heavy etc. I’d argue against most of those points, but we’ll leave that argument for another time.

The current generation is much more toned town. In fact, it’s down right conservative. Chris Bangle no longer works for BMW and it clearly shows. While Audi is trying to grab peoples attention with an overload of LED’s, and Mercedes-Benz is trying to grab attention with grille symbols the size of grape fruits, BMW is apparently content on going back to it’s old conservative styling. Which, in of itself, means understated yet eye catching. Only pure white halo rings and LED turn signals give any sort of hint to attention seeking. The white ‘eyebrows’ over the headlights are carried over from the previous generation giving a bit of an evolutionary look. The rear is very much in line with the rest of the BMW family. In fact, it’s now quite difficult to tell the 5-series apart from the 7-series – the rear of both vehicles look almost identical. The side profile is sleek with the big shapely hood generating an almost classic sports car look to it. The look is completed with 17 in 5-spoke wheels.

Inside is also typical BMW, which again, mimics the 7-series almost to a tee. The steering wheels is too thin for my liking. I’m using to typical chunky BMW steering wheels that give you the grip you need for aggressive driving. On top of that, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get into the idrive system. Even though it’s more user friendly, it’s still complicated and ridiculously distracting from the road.  The nav system allows you to have a 3d view of where you are and where you’re going, however the system itself can be a bit difficult to use. The sat nav woman doesn’t shut up once you have a destination selection. She interrupts every 5 seconds giving you directions, even when you’ve decided that sat nav is stupid and you don’t want directions anymore. Seriously, it’s impossible to shut her up. Luckily, you have very comfortable seats both in the front and rear to ease any aggressiveness the sat nav cow might induce. You can adjust the driver’s seat literally any way you want to. Even the top half of the seat only reclines.

Despite having nice comfy seats, they are still supportive enough for sporty driving. And it is possible to have fun in the 528i. Its 240 horsepower and 230 pound foot torque from BMW’s buttery smooth 3 litre inline six seems a bit down on power, but it’s more suited to the 5-series. Torque chimes in at around 3,000 rpm and the engine will happily red line for you every single time. Even when you’re not in manumatic mode, this engine just loves to rev. As I’ve said many times before, with such tremendous engines, it’s impossible to not drive BMW’s fast. The 528i is no exception.

The automatic switches gears in a crisp manner with little delay. One thing I absolutely adore about BMW is that a six speed manual is actually still available on this new 5-series. Try getting a manual transmission from BMW’s competition, you’ll be out of luck. My tester, however, had the new eight-speed automatic. I still don’t understand why a car would ever need 8 gears. You never ever reach the top gear, and if you somehow manage to, you’re likely go way over the speed limit. And don’t try to give me that fuel efficiency nonsense either, I don’t buy it. I tried to get the 528i up to the 8th gear for city driving, and 6th was the best I could do. If I tried to go higher, even in manumatic mode, the automatic would just downshift the engine anyway.

The new 5-series has been criticized as being softened up from the previous generation, and it is noticeably softer. However, much like how the new M3 is noticeably softer, it somehow doesn’t translate into reduced handling abilities. In fact, the new 5-series feels just as good – if not better, in the corners than previous iterations. The steering initially feels soft, but once you push the 528i, the speed sensitive steering kicks in for good feedback. Throw the big 5 into a corner and it takes it relatively well. Very well in fact, for a car that has no sport package. Take the traction control off and the 528i suddenly becomes quite eager to play as tail slides are easy as pie and relatively controlled. Still, this isn’t what the 528i is built for.

If you want a big sedan that has all the ingredients necessary for performance, you’re better off with the 535i or the 550i. But if you want a comfortable, classy ride that would rather pamper you with luxury, but is always down for some good old fashion aggressive driving whenever the mood should strike you, then the 528i is the right car for you. Don’t let the base trim level label fool you, this is every much a true BMW through in through.

I can say without a doubt that this is among the best 5-series we’ve seen yet. It may not be the best looking, it may not be the most powerful, it may not be the most luxurious, but it is definitely a well balanced mix of everything that makes driving pleasurable. Even though I apparently am getting worse with age, I’m happy to report that the 5-series is only getting better with age.

Price: $53,900

Pros:

  • Styling to please mostly everyone now
  • Manual transmission still available
  • Addictive red line loving inline six
  • Crisp shifting transmission
  • Comfortable and versatile – plenty of cargo room

Cons:

  • Eight speed auto is not necessary
  • Chunkier steering wheel needed
  • Idrive still sucks
  • Sat nav is annoying

Overall: 8.5/10

Special thanks to Campbell Harbord of Halifax BMW and Nick Rudnicki.

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3 Responses to "Test Drive: 2011 BMW 528i"

  1. Thanks for another informative blog. Where else could I get that type of info written in such a perfect way? I have a project that I am just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such info.

  2. I find it pretty bland to be honest. Nice pics though, the really help take away the blandness.

  3. You need the automatic 8 gear in Germany when driving the Autobahn, every other place in the world 6 gear manual makes more sense.
    In Germany its sold with Sports Automatic with gearshift paddles on the steering wheel.
    In the M-Package you get the chunkier steering wheel

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