BMW 5 Series

Caught short trying to be all things to all people

- Nathan Ponchard

IT’S BECOMING a bit of a lottery trying to find a (non-M) BMW that doesn’t boggle the mind with its minefield of dynamic options. And, sadly, the new G30 5 Series falls straight into the trap that has already caught out the F30 3 Series and second-generation X1 before it.

Even BMW’s own employees are confused by the proliferation of choice, yet the irony is the new-gen 5 Series requires a very specific set-up to truly capitalise on its underlying excellence.

At its international launch last December, the G30s that John Carey drove weren’t representative of Australian spec. A 530d xDrive on Luxury suspension and a 540i (wearing smaller 19s), both with ‘Integral Active Steer’ four-wheel steering, proved far more persuasive on smooth Portuguese roads than our two-wheel-steer test cars did on Australia’s challenging surfaces.