2005 BMW 530 Preview

The New BMW 5 Series

The Ultimate Driving Machine handles even better, but what about its looks?

Design

First, a little perspective.

When was the last time you drove a car while sitting 20 feet to the side of it, above it, or behind it? Point is, nobody is really is aware of the outside of a car while driving it, so all this talk about controversy is at least somewhat silly. Car design matters tremendously, yes, but it's still a product that, like your house, is perceived and enjoyed far more from the interior than the exterior.

That's number one. Number two is a little-understood reality -- Bangle didn't pen the 5, or the Z4 or the 7 series. All of these cars were drawn by artists in his charge (in the case of the 5 it was Davide Arcangeli, who, sadly, recently passed away from leukemia), and at least some credit (or blame) belongs to these people as well.

As for the appearance goals of the 5, BMW designers wanted a visual link between the present and future 3 Series and gave the roof of the 5 a pronounced coupe-like arc similar to that of the current 3 and a crease that starts at the headlamps and curves across the hood and all the way around the vehicle toward the trunk. This cut "breaks" the car into two halves, making the sides look more substantial--more muscular and impressive. Meanwhile, the top of the car appears to be narrower and sleeker, preventing the new 5 from looking too much like a bruising muscle machine.

Bangle clearly is enamored with the notion that the 5, 7 and Z4 all share certain sculptural traits, and he even told us that the early 20th century art movement called Futurism is echoed in the design of the new 5, although he's quick to say this wasn't a deliberate goal. However, Bangle acknowledges one big obstacle in making cars with such distinctly turned angles; as with true sculpture, light and shadow plays better in some colors than others. "Cars are very personal -- even if the car looks more cutting edge in some colors than others, you have to offer a complete palette to please everyone," Bangle concedes.

But another car designer -- who works for a competing German corporate regime and preferred that we not use his name -- said that at their best, the new BMWs are a strong "paradigm shift for the industry." But at their worst, they look to him like "tortured sheet metal -- it looks painful to me."

Our opinion: The new 5 looks least controversial from the side, and earth tones (a warm green, copper) as well as silver complement the lines best. In blue and black, the effect of the design is lost, and the car could be mistaken more readily for -- egad -- one made by another luxury brand.