BMW 5-Series 2014

Do you remember this sedan’s previous generation? BMW had some trouble in the early 2000s concerning their cars’ design, because most of Chris Bangle’s department’s attempts resulted too bold for the automaker’s standards and, most specifically, for its customers’ tastes. 5-Series’ F10 phase managed to cease the controversies and saw its sales rise up once again, but there’s no such thing as a timeless formula for a car. That’s why the Germans decided to celebrate F10’s fourth birthday with a slight but interesting facelift.

Half-life updates are a very common practice in the car world also because it enables the automaker to perform small improvements on the considered car, whether design-wise, equipment-wise, performance-wise or otherwise-wise, but specially because it turns the media spotlights to that vehicle once again even though it’s already four or five years old; this practice’s importance increases each time a new direct rival is remodeled. Some brands prefer to invest on deeper facelifts to extend the current generation’s lifecycle, specially the low-cost ones, while the others take their profit from giving a whole new phase in less than a decade but keeping the car almost untouched during that lapse.

When it comes to the new 5-Series line, it’s very likely that only the biggest BMW fans will manage to tell them when moving: there are updated tail lights and front grille, but the bumpers represent the biggest change: they’ve received a more complex design and now vary with the member: ActiveHybrid received an exclusive one, Gran Turismo another and Sedan and Touring share the third. The latter has some smaller creases-and-colors variations of its own according to the vehicles’ new trims system, actually. This line is now offered in base, Modern, Luxury, Sport and M Sport lines, just as 3-Series.

Bigger changes were applied only to the GT sibling, though. The rear fascia didn’t only became better-looking, losing that chrome bar in order to smoothen the overall design, but received a whole new tailgate, whose design gave a great increase at the trunk space and now features split opening. Entering any of the cars will make even harder the task of noticing what was changed. there are two options for ambient lighting (white or orange), additional chrome accents, bigger cup holders and storage spaces, xenon headlights as standard and new coating options brought by each of the new trims.

The powertrain subject features the interesting arrival of a new entry version for Europe: 518d comes as Sedan or Touring and brings a four-cylinder diesel engine with 140 hp. 528i and 535i remained untouched, but 550i now uses Gran Turismo’s twin-turbo 4.4L V8, whose 445 hp is claimed to take it from 0 to 60 mph in 4s6. ActiveHybrid, on the other hand, had some improvements applied to its Proactive Driving Assistant, which now takes information from the navigation system to create even more efficient energy-management strategies. The ecological version, however, is the only one that can’t be equipped with the xDrive all-wheel drive.

Lançamento no Brasil (14/04/2014)

Depois de ter feito uma interessante recuperação de vendas com a versão de entrada 528i, a BMW aproveitou os redesenhos de toda a linha Série 5 para trazer mais duas versões para o sedã. Seu estilo levemente reinventado se associa agora também ao pacote de acessórios internos e externos M Sport, que se oferece para as versões 528i e 535i. Ainda não se sabem os preços das novidades, mas na parte de performance a primeira usa um 2.0 quatro-cilindros capaz de entregar 250 cv, ao passo que a segunda conta com um 3.0 seis-cilindros e seus 310 cv. Ambos incluem tecnologias como dois turbos (TwinPower), injeção direta de combustível, controle eletrônico de válvulas e câmbio automático de oito marchas.

Isso permite ao primeiro acelerar de 0 a 100 km/h em 6s2 e ao segundo em 5s7, além das respectivas melhorias de consumo em 13% e 9% em relação aos modelos anteriores. Eles se diferenciam por fora com parachoques mais agressivos e rodas exclusivas de 18” e 19”, além de trazer farois de neblina em LEDs e a nova opção de cor externa prata Glacier. Já a cabine soma à lista de equipamentos de antes borboletas para as trocas de marcha, central de entretenimento iDrive com Touch Controller, sistema de navegação Professional, volante M Sport de três raios e acabamento com detalhes em alumínio para o 528i e em madeira para o 535i. O revestimento de couro pode vir em bege Veneto, marrom Cinnamon, preto Dakota ou preto Oyster.