WEEKEND ROADTEST: Dynamic duo from BMW


With the new-car industry apparently showing green shoots of recovery, plus the fact that VAT will rise again to 17.5pc from 1 January 2010, all manufacturers are keen to exploit the situation with new and revised models. BMW in the UK, after a strong September sales performance with an increase of 9.3pc, has recovered the number one German premium brand sales position temporarily held by Audi with Mercedes-Benz still a distant third position. However BMW’s share of the UK’s new car market, 4.89pc, is still down on this time last year while Audi have increased theirs to 4.7pc. Audi’s growth has come about by introducing new models in new-to-them sectors, more choice equals more sales. BMW is also adopting that policy with the arrival in showrooms this weekend 24 October of the 5-Series Gran Turismo and X1 ranges. The 5 Series Gran Turismo say BMW is the result of years of customer research. It is aimed at owners who want something different, more versatile than an executive saloon, better looking than an estate and not as bulky as an SUV. The Gran Turismo takes all the best elements of these conventional types of cars and combines them in one executive package. Styling highlights range from a long wheelbase 7 Series platform with limousine levels of legroom, sleek coupe-like silhouette, luxurious interior, folding and reclining rear seats and a twin tailgate leading to a boot space which starts at 400-litres and can be enhanced to 1,700-litres. Prices start at £40,810 and rise to £53,490. There is the choice of three engines, 530d, 535i and 550i, all are linked to a new eight-speed automatic transmission and each available with SE and Executive trim and equipment levels. BMW say the 245hp 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel will take 85pc of UK sales with the two petrol units, 306hp and 407hp, taking an equal share of the remaining 15pc. The five seat SE versions should account for around 90pc of sales but initially 20pc of ‘early adopters’ have ordered the four seat Executive specification. Michelle Roberts, BMW’s UK 5 Series Product Manager said at the first UK media test drive this week, that in a full year, once production was up to speed, they expect to sell around 2,500 Gran Turismos in the UK in a full year and ahead of showroom sales, starting this weekend, the new car had already been shown to 25,000 potential customers. She added that like the latest generation 7 Series BMW UK retain ownership of dealer demonstration vehicles to ensure they are available for test drives and also to remove the cost burden of dealers having to fund their demonstrators. The BMW X1 is the final piece of the BMW X family of Sports Activity Vehicles jigsaw to slot into place. Based on the compact 1 Series platform the X1 joins the larger X3, X5 and X6 models. Unlike its 4x4 xDrive stablemates, the X1 offers models with two or four wheel drive. Martin Sloan, BMW’s X Series Product Manager said at the media launch, "The X1 is a logical extension to our model portfolio and enters the market as the only ‘premium’compact Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) currently on sale in the UK”. Competitors are currently seen as Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) such as the, Ford Kuga, Nissan Qashqai, Toyota RAV4, and Volkswagen Tiguan and in future the proposed Audi Q3 and ‘baby’ Land/Range Rover. The Land Rover Freelander, being a larger 4x4, is not seen as a sales contender but Martin Sloan admits that some current owners of their X3 SAV, as it nears the end of its current life, will inevitably down-size to the X1 but overall he feels 65pc of X1 sales will go to conquest customers. The five door, five seater X1 takes its styling cues from the X3 and X5 but shrinks it into a more compact and affordable package. It has a ‘softer’ less aggressive visual appearance more all wheel drive estate to move it away from the less acceptable, for some, current SAV/SUV image. Sloan added that once supplies of the new vehicle were fully available and more engine and transmission options were added to the range, in 2011 he thought annual UK sales would be in the region of 6,500 units with the rear wheel drive sDrive versions taking 54pc of sales. The line-up is only offered with the choice of 2.0-litre, four cylinder diesel engines, because that is choice of the vast majority of UK buyers who buy this type of vehicle. The 143 and 177hp power output versions are available with two wheel sDrive and four wheel drive xDrive option with a six speed manual transmission. The 204hp version is xDrive only with a six-speed Sport automatic gearbox. Start-Stop technology is available on all manual transmission models - the first time on an X product. CO2 emissions range from 136 to 167g/km which will attract running costs and tax conscious customers. All X1 models have SE levels of trim and equipment with xDrive versions having additional equipment such as roof rails and sill guards. There is a wide range of extra costs options. Prices range from £22,660 to £29,055.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo – first of its kind and first UK drive
Grand Turismo, or Grand Tourer, by name and by nature, offers unbeatable space, specification and performance and it is also unbeatable because it is arguably the only car of this type on sale. Trying to describe what the 5 Series Grand Turismo is not easy. It is aimed at a niche customer, a market sector not yet in being so only around 2,500 of these new models will be sold in the UK in a full year. The product is a mix of some of the desirable elements a saloon, estate or SUV can offer.
Elegance inside and out from a luxury BMW saloon, long legroom and huge load capacity from using the 7 Series platform, limousine ride comfort but with near 5 Series agility although it adopts the 7 Series adjustable rear air suspension and the command seating positions, versatile sliding and folding rear seats and twin tailgate openings from the X5. The GT has boot space of 440-litres which can be enhanced, by folding the rear seats down, up to 1,700-litres. Bringing luxury and versatility together in one product, that isn’t an out-and-out high-range 4x4’ is not an easy task but the unique BMW Grand Turismo is an interesting product. Only time will tell if UK ‘premium brand’ customers are convinced a long wheelbase five-door hatchback meets their needs. There are three engine options for the GT, the main selling 530d, 3.0-litre, six cylinder common-rail direct injection turbocharged diesel which will take 85pc of sales. It produces 245hp with a massive 540Nm of torque and accelerates from zero to 62mph in 6.9 seconds before going on to a top speed of 149mph. The combined cycle official; fuel economy is 43.5mpg and we achieved a real-life 27.5mpg during some very hard and fast driving on the wind and gale lashed roads in the very north of Scotland. Emissions are 173g/km so the annual road tax is a modest £175, not bad for a do-it-all luxurious limo. Like the other two engine options this unit is only available with BMW’s new fuel efficient eight-speed automatic transmission but with its tiptronic type sequential gear change function it works really well either in full auto mode or by using the manual override. There are two petrol engines on offer, the 535i a new 3.0-litre six cylinder turbocharged powerplant with 306hp, 400Nm of torque 0-62mph takes 6.3 seconds and top speed is limited to 155mph. Average fuel economy is officially 31.7mpg but somehow we only achieved 19.3mpg during our test drive. Working the petrol engine harder to achieve the same response as offered by the better 3.0-litre diesel unit took its toll on fuel economy. The emissions are 209g/km meaning a road tax cost of £215. The last engine option for those which must have the largest and most powerful on offer is the 550i, a 4.4-litre, V8 with twin turbochargers. Zero to 62mph takes 5.5 seconds, top speed is limited to 155mph with 25.2mpg being the officially combined cycle figure and 263g/km will incur the largest VED bill of £405 but £950 from April next year. The GT with this engine option was not available at the press launch so no comment, but some company chief executives will want one for status reasons. With prices starting at a reasonable £40,810 for the five seat SE 530d version and the likely best selling model, which is very keen for a sporting luxury limo, there is more to like than dislike about the new 5 Series Grand Turismo. With prices going up to £53,490 for the V8 Executive variant it looks less of a good buy for what has yet to be established as a new and acceptable sector of the new car market. I cannot fault the looks, space, command seating positions, versatility and high level of standard specification, or the brilliant road holding and agility considering the car’s long limousine length, so for a limited number of people wanting something different it will tick most of the boxes.
MILESTONES.
BMW 5 Series 530d SE Grand Turismo Price £40,810 (Best selling model). Engine/transmission: 3.0-litre, 6-cylinder, common-rail, turbocharged diesel, 245bhp, 540Nm of torque from 1,750rpm, 8-speed auto, rear wheel drive. Performance: 149mph, 0-62mph 6.9 seconds, 43.5mpg (actual 27.5mpg) CO2 173g/km, VED £175, BIK tax 25pc. Insurance group: 18. For: Interesting combination of design cues, roomy, versatile, well built and high standard equipment level, great diesel engine, big car with lots of agility. Against: Pioneers a new concept in the ‘premium’ executive segment, rear seats do not fold completely flat, not convinced the rear tailgate needs the separate opening top section, no all wheel drive version for the UK so it could lose out to Audi’s quattro offerings.


FIRST IMPRESSIONS New BMW X1 – Joyfully extending their X-factor
he new X1, based on the current BMW 1 Series platform, completes the X line-up of X3, X5 and X6 models. Unlike the larger versions the X1 is available in rear wheel drive and permanent four wheel drive forms. Because of the dominance of diesel engines in the SUV/SAC (Sports Utility and Sports Activity Vehicles) sector there is the choice of three power outputs, all using a core 2.0-litre, four cylinder power plant. The 18d with 143bhp and 320Nm of torque and the 20d with 177bhp and 350Nm is available with sDrive rear wheel drive and xDrive all wheel drive specification whilst the third 23d, 204bhp, 400Nm unit is xDrive only. There is one SE level of specification for all models and prices range from £22,660 up to £29,055. BMW say currently it is the only ‘premium’ compact Sports Activity Vehicle currently on sale in the UK although the Audi Q3 and the baby Land/Range Rover will be competitors in the future. Once the range has additional specifications added around 6,500 of them should be sold in a full year in the UK. Owners of the current Toyota RAV4, Volkswagen Tiguan , Ford Kuga and down-sizers from the BMW X3 are likely customers an but BMW think 65pc of sales will go to conquest customers. Just over half will opt for sDrive two wheel drive models, a pattern already set by other brands of medium sized, 4x4 appearance vehicles who are finding that two-wheel drive variants, because of running costs, are more popular. The five door, five seat X1 certainly takes its styling theme from other X models in the BMW range but it is less obviously a bulky 4x4 or SAV to attract a car audience. It has a softer styling so as not to put potential owners off buying a 4x4 type vehicle. It looks very much like what a 1 Series Touring would be like if there was such a thing. More estate with large wheels and a bit more ground clearance. The long bonnet is classic 1 Series as is the side wedge shaped profile. The xDrive all wheel drive versions can be recognised by the additional roof rails and stain finish side sill guards.
Inside the styling and functionality evidence is more of an X family member with semi-command seating positions and 40/20/40 split rear seating which fold and a large tailgate allows access to the load area as in conventional SUV, hatchback or estate manner. Most of the interior is excellent and reasonably well finished but certainly you can see and feel it is built to a price. The centre part of the upper dashboard, home to the optional navigation system, looks a bit cheap.
The great thing about all BMW X models is just how well they drive on the roads under all conditions. There is none of the body roll, choppy hard and non compliant suspension characteristics. Road holding, grip and steering is almost as sharp as most of their passenger cars. The X1 drives like a really well sorted sports estate, despite it extra height and weight. During the first UK media test driving in the absolute top of Scotland, lashed by gales and high winds, the on road driving with huge amounts of standing water was safe and sure even in rear wheel drive form. Add the xDrive all wheel drive function and the vehicle was even better especially when it came to long sections of rough stone tracks and very wet gravel sections such as you might find on a rally. In sDrive form X1 20d with 177bhp and 350Nm of torque will be perfect for most users who do not need all wheel drive traction. With 53.3mpg the quoted official figure (38.7mpg in testing) and CO2 emissions of 139g/km road tax will be £120 a year this is a sensible choice for most people whether it is the school run, going shopping or travelling up and down motorways. For me, a country dweller, I’d go for the more powerful 23d, 204bhp, 400Nm version with its standard fit auto transmission because it offers all wheel traction and real performance whether dry, wet, mud, ice or snow conditions. It is only marginally faster and the fuel economy averages 44.8mpg (35.7mpg in testing) and road tax is £175. But the performance feels strong and the grip of its smart all wheel drive system, which pushes the power to the wheels that need the grip most, makes it handle fantastically well on tarmac or on rougher surfaces. Do not get carried away, the X1 will be no off-roader but it will handle tough conditions. Shame this version will cost around £30k with a few options, around £9,000 more than an Audi A3 Sport back 2.0 TDI 170 quattro.
MILESTONES. BMW X1 sDrive 20d SE (Likely main selling two wheel drive model) £24,205. Engine/transmission: 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder, turbodiesel, 177bhp, 350Nm from 1,750rpm, 6-speed manual, rear wheel drive. Performance: 127mph (limited), 0-62 8.1 seconds, 53.3mpg (38.7mpg actual) CO2 139g/km, VED £120. BIK/Insurance group: TBC. Dimensions capacities; L 4,454mm, W 1,798mm, H 1,545mm, luggage space 420-1,350-litres, towing weight braked 1,800 (4WD 20d/23d versions 2,000kg). For: Size, choice of two or four wheel drive models, softer exterior styling over a conventional SUV, brilliant on-road handling in all conditions, comfortable, relatively well priced. Against: Poor interior quality in places. ©David Miles