BMW 5-Series 525d Sedan 3.0

BMW 5-Series 525d Sedan 3.0

These cars are the equivalent of chocolate mouse – you just cannot go wrong with them. They are German cars and that means they are not made of cardboard, they are not as long and wide as aircraft carriers (that means they can be driven on our roads) and they are not that small to question the rung you have reached in the social ladder. The E, the 5 and the A6 – to me any of these could be the best all-round machines this side variants, they have strong diesels as in this case and, yes, they can come with terrifying prefixes such as AMG, M and RS that can really rock the spaceship. And they normally have four doors and even cup holders, and you don’t need to postpone the acquisition of a loss making company with hidden potential, to buy one. They are real world cars meant to e driven and not polished and garaged. Hundred years from now, if you have to choose one car to represent the state of automotive affairs in 2007. Then you would choose one of these (no, the Toyota Prius will be considered a terrible joke by then – the same way we look at early steamers). For this anniversary special, we collected three diesels. Though Audi sells the 2.7 and 3 litre versions of the A6, they sent the more powerful car for the test. Sensible indeed. BMW builds only the 525d, which features the same inline six that powers the 530d albeit with less horsepower. Hmm, we really wondered what it could do. Mercedes-Benz makes only the E 280 diesel available for its customers. All these motors displace around 3000cc, with the Mercedes and BMW making 190 and 194bhp to propel the rear wheels while the Audi belts out a whopping 233bhp to four wheels. Unfair comparison? Not really. There are much more to these cars than numbers, since each car maker has tried very hard to give them an overdose of their engineering gene and design flair. So much so that they are spectacularly different cars - to look at, sit in and to drive. Inside the BMW, you get to see what the Mercedes-Benz once was and what Audi wants to be. You do get a classy bit of wood (or aluminium, which is more apt) panelling but the instrumentation is more driver focused than anything else. You start the car by thumbing a button but the 5 Series is yet to get that magical electronic parking brake. A proper handbrake lever is something you'd love to see in a BMW and the firm obliges in their mid-sizer. Once you settle into the comfortable yet sporty seat you get the best driving position amongst the threesome. Brilliant ergonomics, the pistol grip gear selector (great, once you get used to it) and serious dials raise the sense of anticipation. On the negative list is the thick rimmed steering which is heavy at parking speeds - more obvious when you walk into the car from the Audi. Obviously, developing markets were not part of the brief when the rear legroom was allotted to the 5 Series. But again, the majority of Indian BMW buyers are not backseat drivers and thank God for that. Therefore they make cars that have only intent in life plastering a wide grin on the face of lucky drivers. The ride quality, as in the case of the 3 Series, varies from being brilliant on good surfaces to unpardonable on bad ones. The culprit, again, is the combination of BMW's rough road package and run flat tyres. Sure run-flats are the future but BMW India should consider the ground realities (literally!) and provide a solution for the thrashy ride that is on offer. The same terrible roads demolished by the Audi and Merc threaten to break the struts of the Beemer. This is perhaps one reason why we are getting to see brand new BMWs in used car classifieds already. But the suspension setup relies on aluminium subframes front as and rear and it comes to its own when combined with the gem of an engine to provide a thrilling dynamic package. Of the three cars that you see in these pages, it is the BMW that transforms itself to be a much better car as speeds increase. You get the picture, right? Where the Merc and the Audi start losing their composure, the BMW gets into its element. The 525d is powered by a classic inline-six motor that displaces 2993cc to develop 194.5bhp at 3750 rpm and 40.8 kgm of torque between 1300 and 3250 rpm.