2004 5-series review
HREF="../../www.forbes.com/lifestyle/vehicles/2003/04/01/cx_mf_0401vow.html">http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/vehicles/2003/04/01/cx_mf_0401vow.html
Highlights from the article
Critics say it's too cramped--about the same size inside as
a $15,000 Honda. They also say it's too expensive. (MSRP starts just under
$40,000 and runs to $71,095 for the ripping, 394-horsepower V-8 M5.) But almost
nobody who's a fan of intuitively handling, superbly balanced and
thrilling-to-drive cars has had much criticism of this car; it's just that much
more pleasing to drive than everything else in the segment, including the Audi
A6 and even the very roomy new Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
This leaves BMW with a big dilemma: how to make the 5 Series
better without screwing up a good thing--especially after many car scribes and
industry analysts damned the updated design of the new 7 Series for being less
than gorgeous (not that it hurt the carmaker; BMW nearly doubled 7 Series sales
in the U.S. last year versus 2001 numbers).
Performance being the hallmark of all BMWs, the company will
make a six-speed manual transmission standard on all 5 Series cars--a
first--with the 530i arriving this fall with a 225-hp, 3.0-liter engine,
followed by the 184-hp 525i, and the very potent new 545i (with the same 325-hp
V-8 that's sold in the 745i) coming shortly thereafter.
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