Review: 2014 BMW 535d Diesel is Awesomely Bland
A few days ago, I got to take a few BMWs out for some test drives thanks to a friend. I was able to drive three cars, a 2 Series, a 5 Series, and the new i3. I also got to sit in the new i8 which was a real treat. But since I get paid per article, I’m going to break up the experience into a few different reviews!
Let’s start off with the 5 Series. It was a brand new 5 Series diesel, and I know what you’re thinking. A diesel BMW, what madness is this! It’s supposed to be the Ultimate Driving Machine, how can a diesel be the Ultimate Driving Machine? Well let me tell you in one word, torque.
The diesel in this car has a ridiculous amount of torque. When you first turn the car on you can barely hear it purring along, honestly I thought the people running the event got the cars screwed up and it was actually a gas engine. I only believed them when I started driving it and put my foot down.
The immediacy of the torque is phenomenal. It’s just frankly amazing that a diesel can feel this much fun. Granted I had it in Sport + at the time, but even when in the other driving modes, the engine in this car felt about as technologically flawless as any engine I’ve ever driven. It felt modern, it felt like a gas engine. There was no chattering, no weird lopping sounds. It sounded exactly like a BMW is supposed to sound like. Nothing.
After I gushed about the amazing engine, I decided to try and pay attention to the rest of the car. The interior is about as plush as any car I have ever been in. It’s S-Class good. The seats were extremely comfortable. The steering wheel was the perfect size. When you get into a normal luxury car, the wheel is usually huge, BMW kept to their roots with this one and kept it small and light in order to give you the best driving experience possible.
In short, it was awesome. The rear seats have amazing room and I had miles of head room. I say this due to the fact I’m 6’4″ and can barely get into most cars without having to lean as far back as humanly possibly! But this car, this magnificent car, excels in all aspects. I just loved it.
One thing that makes the entire car special is the dash and all of the entertainment goodies. Gone is the old iDrive system that was truly atrocious, and in a new system that responds like you want it to. Just how bad was the old system? Long ago, I used to work for BMW, right around the time they had introduced the new system. It took two hours for six people to figure out how to get from the SatNav, back to the radio tuner. Two hours.
That is a drive from my house to Indiana. 100 miles to figure out the iDrive. That is entirely too long to figure out something that simple on a luxury car that you just spend $60,000 on.
But BMW has learned from its last system, they listened to all the complaints, and fixed the entire system. There are buttons galore, which usually are quite annoying, but in the 5 Series, they are laid out quite nicely and more importantly they feel like they won’t break.
One really cool aspect of the tech toys was the dash. In order to keep with its heritage, BMW kept the tach and speedo analog, but the rest of the dash is actually a TFT display. But it doesn’t look like it. It’s so well integrated together that if you are just looking at it head on, you wouldn’t think there was anything else to it, that is until you have the Nav on and the directions start popping up in front of you!
It’s a great addition to the car, and it makes it safer. How? Think about how you use a Nav system, it’s either on the windshield of your car, or in the center of the console so you have to take your eyes off the road to look where you are going. This takes that completely out of the equation. Kudos BMW, Kudos.
This car is just truly amazing, and I know I’m gushing and may sound like a typical auto journalist going on and on about the benefits of a diesel car, but everyone, seriously, this car is truly awesome. The torque is amazing, the ride is sublime, and the interior is just astounding.
I’m awestruck that BMW doesn’t charge more for this car. If I have one complaint, and I’ll say that this is my own opinion and definitely shows my bias towards cars, is that the styling is a bit too understated. You look at the car and you just don’t think that this car is anything special. In reality as soon as you step in and drive the car, you know you are, but it’s just too bland for me personally.
Bottom line, it’s awesome. If you are in the market for a luxury sedan, and still want the fuel economy, but don’t want to skimp on power and refinement. This is the car for you.
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Photos via BMW