One Day, a Call from the BMW Dealer

The other day, my husband received a call from the BMW dealer. They said, “The previous sales representative has left, and the new one would like to introduce themselves and invite you for a test drive at the dealership.”

Well, we haven’t even bought a single car from the previous rep… lol

My husband asked me, “Why don’t you come along?” but unfortunately, our youngest daughter had a fever that day, so I stayed home.

However, when my husband previously test drove the “new X3,” his first words were “That’s no good at all—there’s absolutely no joy of driving!” So I figured his impression this time would be similar. But when he came home that day, he said, “It was way better than I expected!” So I asked him a bit about his impressions. (It was only a short test drive, so these are just first impressions.)

Test Driving the BMW 530i

This time, he test drove the current BMW 530i (2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine).

① Interior / Seats

The test car was a luxury trim, so he said the interior quality was high, with far fewer of the plastic-feeling elements typical of older BMWs.

Also, BMW seats are known for their excellent balance of support, firmness, and comfort. Of course, it depends on body type, but my husband said, “BMW might be my favorite brand when it comes to seats.”

② Driving Performance

He felt the cabin was very quiet and the ride was smooth from the start. He initially drove in Comfort mode and said, “Compared to the previous 5 Series (F10), it felt lighter and more planted, which left a very good impression.”

He used to own a BMW 318is (this one ↓)

Compared to back then, he often felt “Has BMW forgotten the ‘joy of driving’?” But this 5 Series seemed clearly designed with that joy in mind, and he said the ride was very similar to the current 7 Series.

The torque felt ample, and there was no sluggishness or frustration in city driving. Also, it was so well tuned that if you didn’t know beforehand, you might not even realize it’s turbocharged. As for the brakes, he said, “I wasn’t pushing it hard, so I can’t say much, but they were easy to control and never felt unsettling.”

③ Ride Comfort

On flat roads, the ride was very comfortable with almost no road resistance felt. Even when taking a corner a bit aggressively, there was no body roll and the car turned smoothly. (The previous 5 Series hybrid I test drove had quite a bit of roll when cornering aggressively.) However, on rough surfaces, he felt the typical firmness and heaviness of run-flat tires.

When I asked, “Don’t all cars feel some vibration on rough roads?” he replied:

“That’s true, but the frequency of the bumps felt a bit longer compared to normal tires. Maybe it felt more noticeable because I don’t usually drive cars with run-flat tires. Still, the 5 Series has such a good ride on flat roads and a well-tuned suspension that it’s a shame.“

④ Sports Mode

Switching to Sports mode made the throttle response noticeably sharper. He also praised BMW’s recent torque converter automatics, saying, “What’s so good about it?” I asked.

“Especially in Sports mode, the response and lack of free play are excellent. Also, when you press the accelerator deeply, you start to hear the engine sound clearly. There’s no sports exhaust, so instead of artificially boosting the volume with exhaust noise, BMW lets you enjoy a pure mechanical sound, which is very BMW-like.“

He said, “That’s why they call themselves the engine makers of Bavaria.” At that moment, he fondly remembered his old 318is (E36) and couldn’t help but grin, saying, “This is it, this is it!” (Grinning while driving really shows he’s a true enthusiast.)

Differences from Porsche

I asked, “Okay, so the BMW 5 Series was good, but what differences did you notice compared to Porsche?” He answered like this:

“Well… since the driving character is different, it’s a matter of preference, but compared to the Panamera Turbo, I think many people would find the 5 Series more comfortable in terms of ride quality.“

He said the Panamera has even more road-hugging feel, gripping and taming uneven surfaces, while the 5 Series flows along more smoothly. He continued,

“Porsche isn’t just a sporty car—it’s a pure sports car. That’s something I was reminded of again. But if you want to compare with Porsche, you should look at the M5 rather than the regular 5 Series, so it’s not really a fair comparison.”

Would You Buy a BMW?

The 530i starts at around 8 to 9 million yen new. That’s quite a price! (I wonder if that’s about right.)

Honestly, I asked my husband if he wanted one, and he said:

“It’s a well-made, high-quality sporty sedan that works well for both business and private use. It’s a manageable size and feels sporty, so it’s a good car. But if you ask whether I’d want to take it for early morning runs on Rokko or Royu Driveway, or bring it to the track, I wouldn’t. That’s the difference from Porsche. For now, there’s no room for it in our lineup.”

Hearing that, I felt somewhat relieved (lol).

I’ve only driven BMWs as test drives or loaner cars, but my impression was always, “BMW is a good car!” Yet every time I got back into a Porsche, I’d think “Ah… Porsche is totally different. Porsche is better.” and I’d be reminded of Porsche’s appeal.

Also, since you see so many BMWs around town, the rarer Porsche is more attractive to me.

…Though I haven’t really done a proper test drive, so I shouldn’t say that so confidently.