2004 BMW 530i

Speaking of engines, they're carryovers—for the moment. The next new sixes will arrive in about two years. Meanwhile, along with the 225-hp 530i, BMW will offer its 184-hp 525i and a 325-hp 545i in the U.S. market. Like the 530i, the 525i has Double Vanos "steplessly" variable valve timing. The 4.4-liter 545i engine offers BMW's Valvetronic VVT along with an infinitely variable intake system and a liquid-cooled alternator. A new ZF 6-speed manual is standard on all models. Optionally, a 6-speed ZF Steptronic automatic, with sport and manual shift modes, is available on the 525i/530i, and standard on the 545i. Separately, the 545i 6-speed comes with a sequential manual gearbox (SMG) similar to that of the M3. With this model, the otherwise optional sport package is standard equipment.


The new 5's battery is located in the trunk, as a further conceit to this car's perfect balance. And balance is a key phrase. All that aluminum notwithstanding, you'll feel the 5 Series' biggest advantage the moment you toss a Sport package-equipped version into a tight set of turns. BMW has upped the ante for competitors with a world first: optional Active rack-and-pinion steering. Stated simply, this remarkable, electronically controlled, power-assisted steering system incorporates variable transmission ratios. Drivers need minimal steering effort during parking or slow speed maneuvers. In contrast, at higher speeds, more precise control, less power assistance and heavier weighting are desirable. Active steering is networked with the 5's DSC system, and features yaw control. Basically, the system helps stabilize the car by intervening in the steering angle of the front wheels. It dampens yaw movements early on, thus reducing intervention by DSC. Best of all, for those drivers who feel sensitivity has been altered by steer-by-wire electronics, BMW's new system permanently and mechanically links the steering rack with the car's front wheels, eliminating any potential electronics failure problem. That mechanical coupling maintains BMW's typically direct steering feel while ensuring optimum steering feedback.

The 530i has Double Vanos "steplessly" variable valve timing.

Active steering works though a planetary gear with two input shafts and one output shaft flanged onto the rack-and-pinion steering gear. One input shaft is connected to the steering wheel. The second is driven by an electric motor through what BMW calls a self-inhibiting helical gear. Combined with BMW's Servotronic power steering, Active steering continually communicates with the DSC. The 5 Series' conventional steering has three turns lock-to-lock. The Active Steering system reduces that to less than two turns, making driver's input more direct while virtually eliminating the need to cross over hands on the steering wheel during a sharp turn.


It feels uncanny the first time you experience it. We drove conventionally equipped 5 Series sedans on a slalom course back to back against Active Steering-equipped models. The conventional cars were exactly what you'd expect from BMW: the steering was well-balanced and weighted, crisp and sharp. But the Active Steering was an entirely new dimension, crisper and sharper, to be sure, with a feeling that seemed to anticipate direction changes and perform them virtually as quickly as you could think to do them. On the road, the Active Steering system exhibited none of the numbness and vague on-center feedback of many power-assisted units, and we soon became used to its quick, precise, go-kart-like delivery. One thing you'll need to evaluate: Active steering changes the steering ratio considerably, which means that during maneuvers, the weighting of the heel is somewhat variable, depending on the maneuvers; you'll become accustomed to it, but it's unnerving, at first, until you do.


Active steering will be bundled with BMW's optional Sport Package, which includes Active Roll Stabilization (ARS), run-flat performance tires, a tire pressure monitor, Active Steering, and cast alloy star spoke wheels in 17-inch (525i) or 18-inch (530i) sizes. No prices were available at our drive time. A 2003 530i is $41,000; the European base 530i was about $41,000 Euros (about $46K) and, as American cars are very well equipped, figure on $47-48,000 for the new model, with the Sport Package extra. (Today's Sport Package is $2,300; the '04 package's pricing is not yet known.)