BMW 523i – High Speed Cruiser
BMW 523i – High Speed Cruiser
The BMW 523i is one car in which you can enjoy the luxurious comfort or performance driving, whichever one appeals to you. If one part of you needs the comforts of life, i.e. a good ride, luxurious seating, lots of space, relaxed driving style, and the other part of you sometimes sprouts horns and has a need for speed, then you ought to take another look at this car.
The new BMW 523i is one car that is something of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It can be whatever you wish it to be. It doesn’t look like it was made to be driven hard, but you can if you want to. With a 2.5 litre in-line six, it pumps out 177 horsepower at 5,800 rpm, and delivers 230 Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm. It will go from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 9.3 seconds, not exactly a road scorcher, but enough to get you out of trouble if you needed to overtake someone in a hurry, and is brisk enough to get the adrenaline flowing.
Size-wise, it is a medium to large sized saloon, and slots in nicely between the 3 Series and the 7 Series saloons. It will seat five adults quite comfortably, but as with most modern cars that are built to pamper, the rear seats are really built for two, with a folding armrest in between. The front seats are electrically controlled with a memory function for the driver’s seat.
From the outside, the BMW 523i has an aggressive demeanor that appeals to the macho-types, but a choice of one of the lighter colours will make it respectable. Attractive 16-inch alloy wheels shod with 225 R55/16 tyres give the 523i excellent grip. Of course, the distinctive paddle emblem boldly displayed at the front and rear of the car will leave no doubt in all who see you in it as to your standing in life as one who has made it.
Inside, the black interior is tasteful, with everything in it rightful place. Instrumentation is well laid out. The infamous I-Drive ‘mouse’ is there, but it is now a much improved and easy to use version, with a separate ‘menu’ button. This menu button allows one to jump from menu to menu easily just by pushing this button.
An on-board computer allows one to monitor all aspects of driving, and there is even a stopwatch function, in addition to trip information, fuel consumption, distance traveled, ETA at your destination (needs user input), range, etc, etc. Cruise control is standard, something which I find useful if I want to follow the speed limit on the highway. The audio system is excellent, as is the climate control air-conditioning system.
Like all high-end cars, the BMW 523i is equipped with both passive and active safety features. In addition to the front driver and passenger airbags, there are side airbags for the rear passengers. Xenon lights for low and high beam ensure good illumination at night, and the anti-dazzle feature on the rear view mirror is a thoughtful feature. ABS and traction control, Emergency Brake Assist, etc, are all there.
Active steering, another feature the 523i has, helps reduce the effort required to turn at low speeds; it takes some getting used to, but once you are familiar with it, you will appreciate it being there, especially for getting out of tight spots. While on the subject of tight spots, you will also like the park distance control system; it works like a radar system, with a visual image on your on-board computer screen augmented by sonic beeps that progressively get louder as you approach any obstacle.
The ride quality of the 523i is excellent. Our lady tester gave it full marks for comfort, and I personally was less fatigued than usual after a 250-kilometre drive. The suspension is geared towards more for ride quality than handling, which went down very well with us. You can push it round bends if you really want to; the suspension is supple enough to handle some exuberant driving. The six speed automatic transmission with the manual Steptronic option is really great, but the overall nature of this car is such that you don’t get the urge to throw it around. We felt good just going through the bends at a fast pace, but in a smooth fashion, making the car flow around the curves rather than chucking it into the bends.
For hill climbing, the huge torque from the engine allowed us to hold it in relative high gears; I found that using the manual mode was best, allowing me to use between 3rd to 5th gear even when going up the mountains to Camerons on the new Simpang Pulai – Camerons highway.
Just this once, I drove the car like how the majority of users would drive it; no jackrabbit take-offs, and never hitting the claimed top speed of 236 kilometres per hour. As a result, we got an excellent 490 kilometres from a full tank (tank capacity including reserve tank is 70 litres) before the fuel low warning light came on.
At the end of the test drive, it was almost with regret that we had to return it. I almost wish I could afford the RM353k it takes to own one.
