While we haven’t personally had our hands on the new 2024 BMW 5-Series (G60), if it continues to deliver the plush yet powerful and capable improvements that the preceding G30 5-Series did over the F10, we’re ready.
“I can’t believe it’s not a V-12″ smoothness, luxury-car isolation, compact-car fuel economy.” – Tony Quiroga, Car and Driver
Tony goes on to compare the G60 540i xDrive to a 2024 Mercedes Benz E450, lamenting over the 540’s size, but we’ll hear him out.
“Next to the Benz, the 540i suddenly felt a size too big. There’s a sense that there’s less glass, and as a result, the cabin seems more confining. Drive the two back to back, and the BMW’s reactions and feel-free steering make it seem heavier than the Benz, despite weighing 101 pounds less. Both have a supple ride, though the Benz’s optional adaptive dampers can go softer than our BMW’s electronically controlled units, making them more suitable to Michigan roads. The 540i takes corners with ease, but there’s an aloofness to the handling, largely due to the steering, which is light on both effort and feedback.”
He closes stating, “Graced with charm and an engine so smooth that you’d think a V-12 might be under the hood, the 540i xDrive is more about luxury than sportiness. The 5-series used to be the mid-size sports sedan to beat, but the more dates we went on, the more it revealed itself to be less of a big 3-series and more of a smaller 7-series.”
That’s more like it. The G60 540i xDrive is everything we want and more from the next 5-Series, without stepping on the G90 M5 and G99 M5 wagon’s toes.
Tags: 2024 5-Series Car and Driver G60 540i Review
