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2010 BMW 5-series Gran Turismo - First Drive Review
Once more from BMW, a vehicle to fit the thinnest of niches
BY JENS MEINERS
September 2009
Among the flurry of fast-roofed and four-door hatchbacks coming to market over the next couple of years, one interpretation clearly stands out: the 2010 BMW 5-series Gran Turismo. Indeed, the unusual, tall proportions of the Bimmer set it far apart from Audi’s more conventionally shaped A5 Sportback and A7, as well as the more low-slung Porsche Panamera and rakish Aston Martin Rapide.
But it doesn’t look the way it looks simply to stand out. When the idea for the car first began to take shape, BMW executives decreed that it should offer the legroom of a 7-series and the rear headroom of an X5. Given those two goals, it’s no wonder that this new model is no classic beauty.
Better Looking In Person (We Seem to Be Saying That A Lot Lately)
That said, we found the 5-series GT to be better looking on the road than on the auto-show stand. It never came across as excessively huge on the Portuguese test roads we drove, and we think it will fit right in on the streets of North America. The design sometimes still struggles to be cohesive, but we can say that it looked best in white. We would advise buyers to go for the largest wheels possible—the 18-inch wheels look positively miniscule—and we thought the GT logo, which is styled to evoke the L-shaped taillights, was a nice touch.
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Drives Well, but It Isn’t Particularly Fun
The 5-series GT driving experience is closer to that of the taller X5 than the regular 5-series. In fast corners, the GT tends to initial understeer, but it is easy to apply power oversteer, which gets the stability control busy. The active steering—not our favorite way to wheel a BMW, it must be said—is effortless at low speeds, taking the fear out of tight parking situations.
The GT boasts an adjustable suspension with multiple settings, and it does its best to mask the car’s two-plus tons. The Comfort setting tends to foster bobbing and swinging motions, while Normal—a good compromise between sporty and soft—makes the driver feel more secure. As soon as the road turns extra-twisty, we advise activating the Sport setting, which further firms up the suspension and heightens powertrain responses. The difference between Sport and Sport Plus is nearly indiscernible beyond the latter relaxing the stability control enough to allow drifting, something about which we encourage you to think twice, considering the GT’s mass. Overall, despite BMW’s efforts to make the GT as sedan-like as possible—witness all the stuff with the multifunction hatch and cargo-area divider—it’s not a vehicle that tempts you to get up at 6 a.m. on Sunday for a day of spirited driving.
When the car arrives in the U.S. later this year, it will be available only in 550i guise at first; expect to pay around $65,000 for the privilege of owning one. The 535i will arrive later, likely at a $60,000 price point. BMW plans on bringing a quarter—5000 to 7500 cars—of annual GT production to the States; why would you drop the coin on one? Well, let’s say you desire a higher seating position and the practicality of a liftgate but wouldn’t be caught dead in an SUV or a wagon and have to have a BMW that still sort-of-a-little-bit looks like a regular car. If you fit in that mighty thin niche, the 5-series GT is your car.
2010 BMW 5-series Gran Turismo - First Drive Review - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver
