SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.Touch on the manufacturer’s name and choose from the drop down list.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.
BMW's 5-series cars have always been superb, outgunned in the luxury stakes only by the brand's über super 7s. Just recently, the gap was narrowed as the Fives moved across to the bigger car's platform and certain design features were either updated or revamped entirely.
Possibly the biggest change was to the front suspension; switched from McPherson struts to an unequal-length control arm design. Technically it's two separate links, lateral for resisting side-load cornering forces and diagonal for absorbing longitudinal ride impacts.
The change was made to overcome a tendency of McPherson front, multilink rear, setups to adopt a tail-up attitude when cornering. Because correction via anti-roll bars generally compromises ride, another solution was sought. The new car's roll axis is dead level, only about 80 mm off the ground, for an inherently flatter cornering attitude.
Unequal-length control arms also permit more camber change during cornering than is possible with struts, maintaining better tyre contact with the road, resisting side loads more effectively and generating better lateral grip before electronic aids are required. Not having McPherson struts permits decoupling of the dampers from the suspension geometry, allowing more flexibility in tuning of damping characteristics.
Now using a twin scroll single turbo rather than the twin-turbo setup used previously, the 2 979 cc Valvetronic engine still develops 225 kW at 5 800 rpm and 400 Nm of torque, but this kicks in earlier, at 1 200 rpm instead of the previous engine's 1 400 rpm. The result is improved responsiveness and efficiency. Bolted to a new super quick eight-speed automatic, it is claimed to deliver improved performance and fuel economy.
Steering power assistance is now electrically driven across the range. BMW engineers reportedly prefer working with it because it's easier to dial in the exact amount of feel and feedback desired, in contrast with hydraulic setups that are less easily tunable. The result is a more rewarding drive when it matters most.
The 535i I drove recently, arrived with R184 200-worth of readily identifiable accessories, pushing the basic price of R652 412-50 (including CO2 tax) up to R836 612-50. BMWs are fitted with so many standard features that it's impossible to list all the originals and add-ons, so I'll mention just a few highlights.
The R30 500 "Exclusive" package fitted includes adaptive headlights, automatic tailgate operation, glass sunroof (electric, with sliding and vent function), headlamp washers, high beam assist and xenon headlights. All these are nice to have, so the package is probably worthwhile. Other additions that I looked at or used include a R9 500 tow hitch, sports seats at R6 000, lane departure warning (R5 700) and night vision at R25 800. The rest, as Shania once sang, "…don't impress me much," so I'll leave them be.
Sunroof: in the fully opened position, very little disturbance of one's hairstyle at 120 km/h, but there is quite a lot of noise.
Tow hitch: it's totally invisible under and behind the rear skirt, but a button in the boot swings this out and swivels it up into position. A 13-pin electrical socket is included. My neighbour's mother-in-law yelled "useful!" as she watched me playing with it, by the way.
Sports seats: comfortable, supportive and with under-thigh extenders, these are possibly the bargain of the bunch.
Lane departure warning: this detects painted lane markings and vibrates the steering wheel should you wander out of your lane without indicating. I believe the idea is to alert you should you become drowsy, but the vibration is so slight and so quick that it passes almost unnoticed.
Night vision: provides an infrared camera's eye view of what's going on at the sides of the road ahead. I think any modern car's standard headlights do a very good job already, so unless you are politically connected or simply paranoid, probably not worth the effort.
Like any big Beemer, this car is smooth, comfortable and goes like a scalded cat, but unobtrusively, if you know what I mean. The eight-speed torque converter automatic, with manual override via stick or paddles, is smooth and supremely responsive. Kick-down, even when "Comfort" mode (relaxed throttle response with softer suspension settings) is selected, is immediate with no hint of noise or flare.
Little niggles unexpected in a big, luxurious car include restricted knee room in the back, awkward exit for rear seat passengers and rear door ashtrays that are almost impossible to reach. Obviously, no one should be stinking up the fine leather back there but some do, so the designers might bear that in mind.
Otherwise, apart from a few styling tweaks that fans either love or hate, the new 5-series cars are sufficiently changed, engineering-wise, to make an update trade worth considering.
The numbers
Price: Basic R652 412-50 or R836 612-50 as tested
Engine: 2 979 cc straight six, 24 valve, with twin scroll turbocharger
Power: 225 kW at 5 800 rpm
Torque: 400 Nm between 1 200 and 5 000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 6,2 seconds
Maximum speed: governed to 250 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: about 11,4 l/100 km
Tank: 70 litres
Motorplan: 5 years/100 000 km
This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.
What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8