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Checked out the 2024 BMW 5 Series LWB closely at a showroom & liked it

21st August 2024, 15:35 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

The interior is a good place to be and is a proper upgrade from our BMW 520d and the current Mercedes E Class.

BHPian VRJ recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Checked out the new 5’er today. Surprised to see no other BHP’ian from tier-1 cities already posting initial impressions. No test drive was available. Will be available in the first week of September. I initially was in the market for a German SUV, however, the GLC, GLE, X3 and X5 all have poor rear seat experience. It’s only the E-class and now the LWB 5’er that are comfortable 4-seater cars. Already checked out the E-class and shared my experience in another thread. I’ve already paid a booking advance for the E. Waiting for the new gen E to take a call. My base reference of comparison is the 520d (2021, which my father-in-law has) and the current E-class. So, the LWB 5’er:

What I like:

Contrary to what lots of people are saying, the new 5’er is a good-looking car. It’s all about what angle you’re seeing the car from because the angle can make or break your opinion. See the below two images, I personally liked it. I feel it looks aggressive and sporty like how a BMW should be. However, see the third image and it looks meh. The rear looks good as well, apart from the overly done bumper. Feels non-German. First impression you get as soon as you see the car is the huge sloping bonnet. Looks fabulous. I love long sedans. Coming to the grille colour, I personally don’t like it, but my dad liked it. It’s subjective. The below grey shade and black have Titanium Bronze accents.

The interior is just a vibe. Feels fresh and modern. The dual curved screen is crisp. The crystal light bar is very unique. The crystal controller on the centre console has the perfect tactile feedback. A feel-good user experience touch point. Overall, I would say the interiors are better than the X5.

Love how the rear seat extends to the edge. When you’re resting your hand on the side, it gives your triceps area better support and comfort.

The Bowers & Wilkins audio is stunning. Heard it at full volume and it has no distortion. Lovely bass and clarity. It matches the Burmester setup from Mercedes. It’s much better than the Harmon Kardon from the 520d. Good to have a manual volume controller.
The rear is a comfortable place to get chauffeured in. Good cushy seats. Sitting behind myself (I'm 6'2), I had great legroom and foot room. You can slide your feet below the front seats. Good thigh support as well. Would’ve been perfect if it had sunshades and reclining seats.

Vegan leather. Brownie points with God.
Major point is that the ground clearance is definitely up. Our 520d scrapes lots of ramps and speed breakers when there are four on board. The ingress/egress is a bit hard as well. However, the new 5 seems higher and the ingress/egress is much better. It’s similar to the E-class. Not sure of the official ground clearance number.

What I'm neutral about:

18” alloys. This setup has a very healthy sidewall. Perfect for our roads. The alloy design is a bit bland and doesn’t suit this segment. It doesn’t look classy. The 19” upgrade costs 3.25 lakh. We get only 1.1 lakh of buyback for the 18” alloys, which seemed very low.
New UI. Compared to the 520d, the new UI feels very android’ish. Too many icons and menus. There’s a lot going on. I anyways use only Apple CarPlay.
The boot is big and deep, however, it’s on the shorter side due to the spare wheel. So is the E-class.
Side bolstering in the rear seats. I’m 6’2 with broad shoulders. 10% of my shoulder falls on the bolstering part. Same issue with the E-class as well. However, I’m much taller than the average Indian male height. So, majority of the population would be alright.
Front seats no longer have the extendable thigh support. Our 520d has it and it's a good one to have for tall drivers.

What I don't like:

I don’t understand why the floor height is different from front seats to back. The front is raised, and the back is a bit down. The ingress/egress is noticeably better in the rear and the thigh support is better as well. Whereas, in the front, unless you stretch your legs, you sit very knees up. I’ve never noticed this in any other car. Is it to accommodate a battery for the i5? Then I’m guessing the entire wheelbase floor height needs to be raised. Saving grace is the front foot-well is rather deep and you can stretch your legs.
Plastic surrounding the speaker grills feels cheap and very non-premium to the touch.
Not a fan of the new speedometer design. Feels immature and childish. Audi and Porsche do it best.
The C-Pillar and boot meeting point feels a bit unconventional. But, I can live with it.
Not launching the diesel.
No rear seat pockets.

Addressing the Elephant in the room:

Just stupid of BMW to omit rear reclining seats and sunshades. Would that increase the price by a lakh? Everyone would be happy to pay for it. Only then BMW can claim it’s a competition to the E-class. I remember watching an interview of someone from BMW during the launch and he said reclining seats add unnecessary extra mechanical components which might fail, we rather give better cushioned seats. The seats definitely feel very cushioned compared to the E, but once you experience the reclining seats on the E, there’s no going back.

Coming to the sunshades, the 520d has it, why doesn’t the new one have it? BMW was probably in a hurry to launch the 5’er. Well, you made a fool out of yourself, and BMW has the audacity to add a normal aftermarket sunshade to their accessory list as shown below. Just poor planning and a non-German vibe.

Overall, I went in with zero expectations as a lot of BHP’ians were not a fan of this generation. I came out liking the car. The interior is a good place to be and is a proper upgrade from our 520d and the current E-class. Expect from one angle, the car looks nice and sporty (Our 520d is any day a better-looking car, but we have to move on). Based on reviews, it drives very well. The pricing is just spot on. Undercutting the current E-class is a master stroke. 5’er now costs 89L on-road in Vizag. E-class is around 94L. With current discounts, it's 84L. The new E-class, as per the SA, will get a significant price hike. He’s expecting 1.05 to 1.10 cr. Yikes. Eagerly waiting for the E-class launch to take a decision.

X5:

Saw rave reviews of the current X5 internationally and from domestic reviewers. So, I was eager to check it out. I felt the 5’er interiors are better than the X5. The rear seat experience is much better on the 5’er. There is just no comparison. See the below image of the legroom I have sitting behind myself. Was very letdown. Not a fit for my family. The exterior is smashing and will probably have no haters.