2024 BMW 5 Series Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Shaped to cheat the wind, reduce aerodynamic drag, and showcase BMW’s current styling language, the new 5 Series is clean, crisp, and minimalist, inside and out. The most expressive things about our 530i test car were its large shiny grille and intricate 21-inch wheels. The M Sport bodywork added some sass, too, appearing subdued in combination with the Carbon Black paint.

The M Sport treatment extended to the interior, which had Smoke-colour Veganza artificial leather with a perforated and quilted surface, aluminum trim, and artistic metal speaker grilles. These elements stood in stark contrast to the otherwise black cabin, which looks modern and elegant. Unfortunately, many surfaces create reflections and glare, making it harder to use the controls

Not that many exist in the first place. With the BMW Curved Display, most features and functions live on a screen accessible through a menu. BMW provides controls for commonly used features including stereo volume, radio tuning, and window defrosters, and the 5 Series still has traditional iDrive controls on the centre console. Most of these are touch-sensing and live on gloss black surfaces, and using them is aggravating.

Still, from behind the steering wheel, there is no doubt the 530i M Sport is a luxury car. Stylish and plush, it looks and feels the part almost without exception. Not only that, but the BMW Curved Display and its iDrive 8.5 infotainment system are technologically advanced and sophisticated.

In Canada, the 2024 BMW 530i carries a base price of $70,500, not including the $2,480 destinatoin charge and other dealer fees. Add options found on our test unit like extra-cost paint, the M Sport Pro Package, the Advanced Driver Assistance Package, and the Premium Essential Package with its Bowers and Wilkins surround-sound audio system and panoramic sunroof, and the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) quickly approaches $90,000 Canadian.

We’ve suggested that driving a new BMW 5 Series isn’t the rewarding experience it once was. That’s true, but it requires context because the 5 Series is capable in all driving situations. What it lacks is the sense of connection between man and machine that once counted as the reason to choose a BMW in the first place.

We know you’ve been hearing this lament for years. However, lately, each BMW redesign makes us think the company builds Ultimate Bragging Machines instead of Ultimate Driving Machines.

Granted, our test vehicle was the least powerful and most affordable version of the new 5 Series. The 530i features a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 255 horsepower between 4,700 rpm and 6,500 rpm and 295 lb-ft of torque from 1,600 rpm to 4,500 rpm. A 48-volt mild-hybrid system aids efficiency, and BMW estimates the 530i will accelerate to 96 km/h in 5.9 seconds. In Canada, all-wheel drive (AWD) is standard.

In the real world, you don’t need more power or faster acceleration. The 530i effortlessly accelerates onto highways and easily overtakes slower vehicles. In addition, this engine is quiet and smooth, the eight-speed automatic transmission shifts almost imperceptibly, and the firmer M Sport suspension supplies a supple ride quality. Overall, this BMW’s powertrain provides a sublimely refined driving experience. The car is capable on twisty back roads, too.

Standard variable-ratio sport steering and the test car’s capable M Sport braking components contributed to the 5 Series’s performance when carving canyons, and the standard suspension is downright miraculous. Our test car’s 21-inch wheels with mixed-performance tires undoubtedly contributed to the 530i’s unflappable dynamics.

And yet, this BMW left us unsatisfied. Taking notes following a mountain run, we commented that driving a 530i feels like playing a video game. The BMW Curved Display might visually contribute to that opinion, but mostly, it's because the car feels remote, distant, and muted. That sensation might be exclusive to the 530i, the entry-level version of the 5 Series, but it is disheartening anyway.

As for fuel economy, our 530i M Sport returned 9.5 litres per 100 kilometres on the evaluation loop, nowhere near the official Natural Resources Canada estimate of 7.9 L/100 km in combined driving. During the week we had the car, it averaged 8.8 L/100 km, which just skims the NRCan estimate for city driving (8.7 L/100 km), let alone combined driving.

If the BMW 530i is no longer a sports sedan, it certainly excels as a luxury car. From the driver’s seat, it feels larger than a midsizer, sitting high off the ground with a view over a long hood. The car’s visible front corners make it easy to park the 5 Series, and the height eases entry and exit.

The standard power-adjustable front seats are incredibly comfortable and wrapped in perforated Veganza artificial leather. Our test car had heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, which are standard in Canada, but ventilated seats were missing. This is hard to accept in a BMW with an MSRP approaching $90,000 Canadian.

Unusually, the 5 Series is one of those rare automobiles with a rear seat that is just as comfortable as the ones in front. Occupant positioning and support are perfect, and there is good legroom, headroom, and footroom. However, if your passengers are wearing expensive shoes, you might want to warn them against dragging the tops of them against the rough plastic at the front seat bases.

There is just enough practical interior storage space to avoid complaints. Forward of the cupholders, you’ll find a tray designed to hold two smartphones, and you can stash other loose items in the door armrests and lower panels. Under the split-top centre armrest, there is a small bin, and the glove compartment is a good size, but it also does not house an owner’s manual.

BMW says the 5 Series has a 521-litre trunk, but our test car came with a huge and heavy storage box for a spare tire. This significantly reduced cargo room, especially with regard to the height of the trunk area. Otherwise, we like the enclosed trunk hinges, which allow maximum use of the available space, and the deep wells formed on either side of the spare tire container come in handy.

BMW equips the 530i with a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation panel and a 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system under a single curved display. This BMW Curved Display runs BMW Operating System 8.5 (also known as iDrive 8.5) and features Quick Select, a relatively new feature to help users find what they seek within the system and its menus. And there is a lot to seek and find.

Of course, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a part of the iDrive 8.5 system, along with connected services, SiriusXM 360L satellite radio, navigation, optional wireless smartphone charging, and more. One of the things in the “more” column is video gaming capability, which just seems silly, especially since the car drives that way already. Alas, there's a market for everything, we suppose.

Familiar iDrive controls live on the centre console, but the buttons are now part of a gloss-black touch-sensing panel that collects a ton of lint and fingerprint smudges while suffering from glare and reflections. They’re not as easy to use as previous iDrive designs.

The test car’s Premium packages add a head-up display and a next-generation technology that allows you to interact with the 5 Series through voice and gesture controls. The gesture control tech is improved over previous BMW efforts, and over time, we started using it exclusively to adjust the stereo volume and change radio station favourites.

Unfortunately, the Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) voice control in our test car did not fare well. For example, when we told the IPA in a panicked voice that we needed to go to a hospital, the first two destinations it suggested were in another country. A local hospital was third on the suggestion list. That makes no sense.

In other situations, the assistant impresses. It even told me the test car did not have ventilated seats when I asked it to turn them on. Overall, though, using iDrive 8.5’s IPA was a real hit-and-miss experience.

The test car had the optional Bowers and Wilkins surround-sound system. It comes with classy metal speaker grilles that are, weirdly, more impressive looking in the back seat. However, the sound quality was not up to expectations, perhaps because of our previous experience with high-end Bowers and Wilkins audio systems. You might want to stick with the standard Harman Kardon sound system.

In addition, as part of the Premium packages, Parking Assistant Professional is available. This equips the 5 Series with an impressive exterior camera array providing numerous views and vantage points, as well as a Drive Recorder system.

The Premium packages also equip the car with an interior camera that you can use to remotely monitor the cabin, record what is happening during a theft event, or even take selfies. No really, that’s a thing, like the video gaming. Wilhelm Hofmeister must be rolling in his grave.

BMW equips the 530i with a collection of standard safety features including forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring.

For more advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), option the car with the Driving Assistant Professional Package. It adds adaptive cruise control, lane-centring assist, evasive steering assist, lane-change assist, and emergency stop assist. Distance Control provides a hands-on semi-autonomous driving aid, while Highway Assistant with Active Lane Change is a hands-free semi-autonomous system for use on approved limited-access highways.

Our test car did not have the Driving Assistant Professional Package, so we cannot comment on how any of those more sophisticated features work. But their absence also proved refreshing. When you don’t have a bunch of technology to monitor and second-guess, you can focus more on driving the vehicle. We didn’t miss most of the features found in the Driving Assistant Professional Package.

Notably, the lane-departure warning system is sophisticated enough to issue an alert only when the situation is necessary. It took effort to activate it on purpose in order to feel the vibration issued through the steering wheel. Similarly, the lane-keeping assist function is so subtle that we had to pay close attention to determine if the test car even had it.

The only crash-test ratings available for the redesigned 2024 5 Series come from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which calls the BMW a Top Safety Pick. The car does not earn the higher Top Safety Pick+ rating because it hasn’t been assessed in a new moderate-overlap frontal-impact evaluation.

The 5 Series lineup is diverse. In Canada, the 530i is the entry-level gas-powered model, while the electrics are the i5 xDrive40 and i5 M60. (These models are reviewed separately.)

Our 5 Series tester was not cheap. But by choosing a BMW 5 Series sedan instead of a BMW X5 SUV, you’ll save more than $15,000 up front. In exchange, you must settle for a trunk instead of the X5’s significantly larger cargo hold.

In addition, the 530i xDrive is less expensive than its primary rival, the redesigned 2024 Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic, which starts in Canada at $73,900.

The all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class isn’t the only competitor to the 5 Series, but the list of midsize luxury cars isn’t a long one. Nevertheless, in this context, the BMW proves less expensive than the Audi A6 45 TFSI Quattro but slightly more expensive than the Genesis G80 2.5T AWD and Volvo S90 B6 AWD. But that’s to be expected of a redesigned, high-tech automobile.

Price isn’t this BMW’s problem. Instead, our test car’s fuel economy fell quite short of expectations. Also, the 530i comes across as a soulless car to drive, thus losing its primary distinguishing trait. From its design and technology to its driving dynamics, this is not a vehicle that engages its driver.

However, the BMW 5 Series is an excellent luxury car. Quiet, comfortable, and capable, it likely makes for an excellent long-distance road trip machine. But then, so might the alternatives.

Note: Images show a US model.