2010 BMW 5-Series: First Drive

Long, low, wide and bursting with techno, the latest 5-series might not be a style diva but it has enough under its skin to keep the adrenalin rush going. It is also quicker, cleaner, more efficient, stunningly stable and safe as we found out in our first drive Let's not get muddled about the sixth Five here. In what has to be the second biggest sales earner for the Munich-based car maker (after the 3-series), the latest, sixth generation 5-series has come out fighting for BMW. Not that BMW had much to worry about given that the previous generation 5 had done itself loads of good in the executive saloon segment all over the world. The Chris Bangle effect might have made many sit up and take notice but once behind the wheel it was evident that the somewhat perceived visual shock wave translated into one of sheer dynamic pleasure.The latest 5-series, which I got to experience over a day driving across some great roads around the Portuguese seaside town of Cascais with a few fast laps thrown in for good measure at the Estoril race track, is different from the all-out 'handling over-all-else' dynamic approach which has made BMW the first word in affordable driving excitement in the automotive world. As the very same baby boomers who adopted it in the first place now reckoning with the mid-life, the new 5-series has also evolved. It is very difficult to balance handling with ride quality, that quintessential waft-ability that many luxury sedans do, and have to, encompass but in the new 5-series this has happened, in a big way, without compromising on the fun-to-drive approach which has always been a BMW-hallmark.