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1999 5 Series Review

The new 5 Series' road behavior is unique in its class. Systematic use of aluminum saves almost 40 kilograms on the new 5 Series. Brilliant use of weight-saving materials in the driveline reduces its weight by a further 35 kilograms. This means lower unsprung weight - a difference you'll notice on long journeys and also on tight corners.

Lightweight double-pivot front suspension With its hydro-pivot control arms, the front suspension eliminates even quite severe imbalance effects and ensures maximum rolling refinement. The lateral control arms and links are part of the secret of the car's exceptionally precise steering. The level of power assistance has been carefully chosen to make the new BMW 5 Series easy to control without effort, but also to transmit enough road-surface information and respond accurately to the driver's commands. BMW has also developed a new multi-link rear suspension layout with elasto-kinematic self- steering action, to guarantee maximum straight-line stability and lane control.

Each wheel is located by four control arms which are resiliently mounted to a subframe. This in turn is resiliently attached to the main bodyshell. The wheel locating arms with their rubber pivot bushings ensure precisely the right amount of rear-wheel self-steering. When cornering, the paths of the driven wheels are very slightly modified, to ensure stability and safety. Small road- surface irregularities are partly absorbed by relatively soft longitudinal compliance before any significant vertical movement takes place. Large- volume rubber mounts absorb vibration. The spring and damper settings can be firmer, and the car's handling becomes even better than before.

There are two engine concepts to choose from: An in line, 2.8 liter DOHC 24 Valve 6-cylinder with Variable Camshaft Control and the 4.4 liter, 4 Cam, 32 Valve V8 with silicon-aluminum cylinder head and engine block. Use of this lighter metal helps to cut fuel consumption. These new engines are refined in every possible respect. Tried and tested design features have naturally been retained: four valves per cylinder, engine management by Digital Motor Electronics (DME), individual ignition coils and cylinder-selective knock control.

Digital Motor Electronics (DME) analyzes and then actually fine-tunes the engine hundreds of times a second.Each cylinder is constantly adjusted to maximum operating efficiency under virtually all conditions. DME even has many fail-safe programs in the unlikely event of an electrical fault, it can reconfigure itself to bypass the problem. And DME has the incredible ability to diagnose itself for quick and efficient trouble-shooting.

VANOS is a combined hydraulic and mechanical camshaft control device managed by the car's DME engine management system. It operates on the inlet camshaft in accordance with engine speed and accelerator pedal position. At the lower end of the engine-speed scale, the inlet valves are opened later, which improves idling quality and smoothness. At moderate engine speeds, the inlet valves open much earlier, which boosts torque and permits exhaust gas recirculation inside the combustion chambers, so that fuel consumption and exhaust emissions are both reduced. Finally, at high engine speeds, inlet valve opening is once again delayed, so that full power can be developed.

Standard Anti-lock Brakes System (ABS) and 4 wheel disks guarantee a superb stopping power and standard ASC+T All Season Traction Control ensures even more reliable traction and retention of the chosen line when accelerating in a straight line or on a corner. How does it work? ASC+T reduces engine torque as soon as a wheel tends to spin, for instance, on a sheet of ice. If this action is not sufficient to restore tire grip, the T function (traction control) takes over and the wheel brake is applied, provided that road speed is not above 100 km/h. Torque is reduced by the engine's own management system. In this way, ASC+T keeps the car as stable as possible on all surfaces and in critical driving situations. The system includes engine drag torque regulation, to prevent the driven wheels from locking momentarily on a slippery surface if the level of engine braking becomes too high.

Up to a speed of 40 km/h, traction control has the same effect as a conventional limited-slip differential. Since the left and right wheels can be braked independently, ASC+T is comparable to one of these devices with a locking action of almost 100 percent. But it can be switched off in unusual situations where complete suppression of wheel spin may be undesirable, for instance when rocking the car free on a soft, yielding surface.

A brilliant development of the conventional automatic transmission control system, Adaptive Transmission Control (AGS) shifts between gears according to the way you drive. It combines maximum safety with the kind of brilliant technical concept that adds even more pleasure to driving an automatic transmission 5 Series model. Based on the driver's way of operating the controls, current road conditions and the actual driving situation, AGS computes and selects the best gear ratio at any given moment. A true adaptive system, it registers accelerator position and speed of movement before selecting one of the four memorized shift programs, from ultra-economical to super-sporting. The electronics also monitor wheel spin at the driven wheels and the amount of engine torque reaching them, and decide whether road conditions qualify as "normal", "winter" or "hill-climbing/starting". In this way, transmission shifts are adapted to suit even the most extreme driving conditions, for example to ensure greater traction and directional stability on slippery surfaces and to avoid too-frequent shifts when cornering. The driver also has the opportunity to select the basic S (sport) or A (adaptive) settings.

Passive safety is represented by the crash sensor and the exceptionally rigid safety bodyshell with its programmed deformation zones at front and rear, side intrusion protection and special door anchors. which has proved its worth in innumerable actual tests and realistic accident simulations.

In the event of a frontal crash, the driver's and front passenger's airbags, which are standard equipment, greatly improve head and upper body protection. Standard side airbags enhance the overall level of occupant protection if the car is struck or hits an obstacle on either side.

Extra convenience is to be expected in a luxury automobile. And the '97 5 Series models more than fulfill your expectations. No need to stretch--controls are conveniently positioned just where you want them to be. And you can breathe easy--the micro-filtered air may be even cleaner inside than out. Supple leather interior with highly polished vavona wood trim is a luxuriously comfortable travel environment. It is standard in the 540 models and 528 models equipped with the Premium Package.

Multiple controls adjust front seats to individual preferences. You just might find yourself feeling better after you finished your drive than when you started. A convenient memory system retains three pre-set positions for the driver's seat, steering wheel and outside mirrors. Details that make owning a BMW so enjoyable.

The automatic air conditioning in the 5 Series uses refrigerant containing no CFCs. As well as offering all the well-known advantages of air conditioning, it is far easier to operate. In fact, the automatic control system and the separate airflow distribution programs can be left to maintain the temperatures on either side of the car, once these have been selected, though manual temperature control is of course also available. Automatic recirculated-air control (AUC) ensures that pollutants and unpleasant odors in the outside atmosphere cannot reach the car's interior. This device can identify, for example, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and ethanol, and switches the automatic air conditioning over to the recirculated-air operating mode for a short time if the pollutant concentration becomes too high.

Protection for your car against theft or joy-riding is assured to a previously unknown standards by a standard alarm system and the electronic immobilizer. The immobilizer uses an electronically coded chip in the otherwise conventional ignition key. This transmits one of a hundred billion possible codes, which has to be identified correct before the engine can be started.