High 5

Chinese car companies need foreign partnerships in order to access new technology and produce world-class vehicles. Almost every foreign car company is working with somebody and Zhonghua Brilliance, a subsidiary of China Brilliance Automobile, must be one of the luckiest local makers in the land.

In 2003, it had the fortune to team with BMW, and in doing so, is now making the legendary BMW 5 Series, a car many motoring writers rate as "the best in the world". That is a huge judgment call, but the 5 Series is simply hard to beat when it comes to performance, ride, handling and technology. When all these motoring elements combine, an X factor emerges and quickly casts a spell over a new 5 Series owner. Like a happily married man, they remain forever faithful.

This piece of German engineering genius is the benchmark luxury sports sedan, that every other car-maker has been trying to surpass since the first-generation 5 Series was introduced in the US in the 1970s.

Today these rivals include Mercedes-Benz E350, Audi A6 and Lexus GS and although they may have bigger engines and can reach 100 km/h a second or so faster in a straight line, they are challenged to match the BMW's superb all-round handling - and they are all brilliant machines. The 5 Series is the Liu Xiang of the motoring world. A perfectly balanced speedster that can leap any hurdle.

BMW has used a lot of aluminum in the body to ensure the weight is lighter and distribution is perfect, and this creates a marvelous feel for the driver. The dynamic drive function turns the Beamer's suspension soft and smooth when cruising the highway but becomes taut when following the twisting Badaling bends around the Great Wall.

On the highway, the 5 Series races to 100 km in 6.6 seconds without the driver making a gear change. BMW has developed a six-speed automatic transmission, which has hammered another nail in the coffin of the conventional manual. First seen in the X5 SUV, the new six-speed automatic transmission is claimed to have 40 percent faster reaction times and quicker gearshifts.

The 530Li's velvet-smooth 3.0-liter straight six now pumps out more power, jumping 10 kW to 200 kW. Even when it roars toward its 7,000 rpm rev limit it sounds fantastic and generates a whopping 315 Nm of torque at 2,750 rpm.

Fuel economy is OK. We averaged 11.1 L/100 km on test.

Although the China-made 5 Series is mechanically identical to cars sold elsewhere around the world, this model is like no other. The 530Li released late last year has a 14 cm longer wheel base allowing for cushier backseat comfort. Audi did the same stretch with the China-made A6.

In appearance the China-made 5 continues the previous model's controversial styling cues. Fans of the 5 Series were divided in 2003 when BMW radically changed the design, adding sharper edges to the previously rounded body. These edgier design cues, especially at the rear of the car, were considered modern by some and downright ugly by others. It was a matter of opinion. The new model 530Li has new bumpers, a tweaked grille and new LED rear light clusters.

Inside, trim materials have been upgraded and a new center console with a fresh design displays the iDrive computer control system.

Technology includes active roll stabilization, active cruise control, parking distance con-trol and active front steering, which varies the steering ratio depending on vehicle speed. When maneuvering around a car park the steering becomes looser, but it tightens when flooring it on the highway. This reduces sway and stabilizes the vehicle.

Chinese drivers appreciate quality - in the first half of this year, BMW sold 8,363 5 Series sedans on the mainland, surging 51 percent year-on-year. Overall BMW sales on the mainland rose by 36 percent to 22,891 units.

(China Daily 12/22/2007 page7)