German super-sedans pack performance, styling tweaks

Updated BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E63 maintain their parity in powerhaus pedigree.

FOUR Twenty, 441, 450, 460 – pick a number, right?

Always with awareness that where you land on the kiloWatt chart also dictates one of two badge preferences when selecting a German premium all-paw performance sedan that’s not an Audi.

The first and third counts put you with Mercedes AMG, and behind the wheel of an E63 AMG in standard and S formats. The remainder with a Five Series fettled by BMW’s M Division, primarily as the ‘starter’ edition, ultimately in Competition mode.

Yup, it’s mid-life upgrade time for two supercar-slaying sedans and, as always, where one goes, the other is quick to follow, with both laying down big numbers.

Which also relate to? Well, torque, which optimally hits 750Nm behind the blue and white roundel and 800Nm behind the star, top speeds - 300kmh optimally from the E63 S, another 5kmh more with the Competition (with the optional M Driver’s package fitted) – and, of course, those all-important 0-100kmh times: just 3.3 seconds for the M5 in hottest fettle, which makes it 0.1 faster to the legal highway limit from a standing start than the most potent E 63. There are economy figures too but … not of any particular interest, right?

So, which to chose? It might all come down to price, which is still a mystery for our market, though potentially the current stickers won’t be too far shy of the new prices, and availability … which means quarter three for the Munich monster, some time prior to Christmas for Affalterbach’s.

The other important thing to recognise is that, while both makes are talking of these incoming missiles as being ‘new’ models, they really mean ‘massaged.’ Quite subtly, for the most part.

Those twin turbo V8 engines – a 4.4‑litre from Beamer, a 4.0-litre out of the other crowd – gearboxes (eight‑speed auto with BMW, nine-speed AMG), and the fancy all-wheel-drive - that can be configured in a special rear-drive mode with the M5 - are all as before.

What’s incoming is the same range of minor cosmetic updates found on the recently revised 5 Series So the M5 now sports the updated kidney grille which extends a little further down into the bumper and has a one-piece chrome surround. The new front end gains larger air intakes at the sides while the main aperture is now hexagonal. The LED lights front and rear are new, as is the rear bumper.

Interior revisions also mirror those on the standard 5 Series, with buyers getting a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a larger infotainment screen. Electrically adjustable sports seats and sun protective glass come as standard, while a Harmon/Kardon stereo, head-up display and an Alcantara headlining can be specced as optional extras, as can a Technology Plus pack that adds front and rear seat heating, a heated steering wheel, soft close doors and a seat massage function. The M5’s Ultimate Pack builds on this specification with a carbon fibre engine cover and Bowers and Wilkins surround sound system. A lot of comforts for a performance car? That’s your modern M5 customer.

There is a new 20-inch wheel design while the brake calipers can be finished in black or red as an alternate to the usual blue. The Competition’s are gold, as before.

Chassis upgrades over the standard BMW 5 Series include uprated dampers, stiffer engine mounts and larger disc brakes, with fixed six-piston calipers up front and single piston calipers at the rear. Buyers can also opt for a range of M Performance extras, such as coilover suspension and carbon fibre aero components. The Competition model sits seven millimetres lower. 

There’s a broader range of standard driver assistance technology, too. Buyers get lane- keeping assist, lane-change assist, a 360-degree parking camera, and BMW’s Parking Assistant Plus, which can take control of the car’s steering when reversing into spaces. BMW also now offers a Drive Recorder function, which uses the car’s built-in cameras to record footage from around the vehicle.

So how does the AMG respond? Basically, by following the same plot. 

The revamped styling also includes a larger grille created in an effort to differentiate it more from the wider E-Class range and aerodynamic tweaks to optimise both grip and airflow to the engine.

Although the powertrains’ outputs are unchanged, Mercedes-AMG says considerable tuning has been carried out to widen the E63’s performance window. Work has also been done to refine the dampers and chassis, while the dynamic engine mounts on the E63 S have been tweaked so they adapt more quickly to driving conditions.

 Further development has been carried out on the AMG Dynamic Select software, which adjusts systems such as the drive programmes, all-wheel drive systems and ESP stability control. The AMG Dynamics Plus package, which includes a Race drive mode and Drift function, is standard on the E63 S and is offered as an option for the base model for the first time.

The front bodywork of the machine has been honed for aerodynamic balance, with AMG engineers and aerodynamicists focused on reducing wind resistance and increasing high-speed stability. The wheel arches have been enlarged by 22mm to accommodate a wider track

At the rear, there are flatter brake lights, a reshaped apron, which has also been aerodynamically optimised and a new diffuser.

The standard E63 has new 19in alloy wheel options, while the S version that’s always been favoured for NZ gains new 20 inch aerodynamically optimised five-spoke alloy designs. 

There are new paint colour options previously offered on the Mercedes-AMG GT range only and the usual optional AMG Night Package adds extra styling tweaks, including a gloss black finish for the mirrors, window frame and exhaust pipes. 

Inside, the E63 feature similar tweaks to the rest of the facelifted E-Class range, including the latest version of the MBUX infotainment system and digital instrument display, both of which offer bespoke AMG display options. 

There is also a new twin-spoke AMG Performance steering wheel with haptic feedback controls and offered with Dinamica microfibre or leather, or combination finish. The wheel includes a ‘hands on’ sensor that will trigger warnings and, eventually, activate emergency brake assist if it detects the driver does not have their hands on the wheel for an extended period. Mated to the new wheel are larger aluminium paddle shifters that can operate the nine-speed transmission.

BMW 4-Series: The uber-grille age begins

Not the face, right? Actually, yeah – right in the face.

SHOCKED? You shouldn’t be – BMW has been preparing the market for the radical new nose design that debuts on the new Four Series for some time now (last year’s Concept 4 show car being a particularly strong enforcement of intent).

Even so, there’s bound to be a lot of fresh comment in reaction to the new ‘uber’ approach that is sure to spread across the entire family and presents as a differentiation from the rapid re-scaling project that, having already delivered wider grilles, is now seemingly into a new phase of making them much taller.

This, plus headlights in a particularly slanted design, will certainly ensure the Four will stand out all the more from its Three Series sedan and wagon stablemates, potentially to the point of leaving impression that it’s something more than what it’s always been: The coupe in that family. 

Officially unveiled today, about 36 hours after images leaked on-line, the new model is set to reach New Zealand in October, with 30i and M440i variants initially incoming, but assuredly followed in time by an M4 of course. Pricing and local specs will be announced closer to launch.

In respect to the look – since, you know, it’s going to fixate everyone for a while - it’s only fair to point out that the styling exercise goes beyond the nose. The whole car is 13 centimetres longer than the old coupe, with a wheelbase 4cm longer, and eclipses the Three sedan’s length by 5.5cm. It's also a touch wider than before. Regardless, it’s also more aerodynamic, dropping from 0.29 Cd to 0.25.

In respect to those engine, the car has the single-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre six from the Three. Tht meansa the 420i delivering 135kW/ 300Nm and the M440i packing 285kW/ 500Nm. The latter’s engine also makes use of a 48-volt starter/generator hybrid assist system. It produces around 8kW as needed, and allows for the start-stop system to activate when decelerating. 

Like the Three Series, the Four also drops the manual transmission altogether, so everything has an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The M440i xDrive is a clutch-operated all-wheel-drive system that can send all power to the rear wheels only when conditions permit. 

The M440i also takes other performance goodies such as the M Sport electronically controlled limited-slip differential, M Sport suspension and variable steering assist, and upgraded brakes with four-piston front calipers. It can also be fitted with the adaptive M Sport Suspension that can be adjusted for sporty stiffness or softer comfort. Exterior accents in Cerium Grey form a further identifying feature of BMW M440i xDrive while an M Carbon exterior package can also be optioned to add a motorsport-inspired aesthetic.

Design change is less extreme on the inside, with few extreme curves or angles. Standard equipment features an 8.8-inch infotainment screen and a 5.1-inch screen nestled between physical gauges in the instrument panel, but a 10.25-inch instrument display is optional, as is a 12.3-inch infotainment screen.

A sunroof and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard, too, along with a host of safety features including blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian recognition, automatic high-beam headlights and lane-departure warning. Adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist and parking cameras and sensors are optional.Full-LED headlights with high beam assistant are fitted as standard, while adaptive LED headlights with BMW Laserlight are available as an option.

BMW NZ is also promising local cars will have Remote Software Upgrade, which enables improved vehicle functions, the ability to update the vehicle software and additional digital services to be imported over the air.

Tech, styling lift with Five refresh

Can a facelift for the Five Series reignite Kiwi consumer interest?

THE BMW that meant a lot more in the past than it perhaps does in the present is facing up to the future with a refreshed look.

No argument about the Five Series’ – it’s still an important car to Munich, but the shift away from orthodox wagons and sedans to crossovers and full blown SUVs means its standing has become progressively historic. Still, that it won the inaugural New Zealand Car of the Year, in 1988, and snared the NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild title again in 2010 reminds that it has made a real imprint.

Can that allure continue? Five Series volume last year being less than a third of the count for the X5 that has progressively become more divorced from the road car suggests it is now something of a niche attraction.

Nonetheless, if street presence still counts for anything, then the updated line that BMW has just revealed ahead of expected arrival herein October surely stands a chance of winning interest?

A new-look, slimmed LED headlight cluster that eschews the hexagonal design of the outgoing model for an L-shaped motif also seen on the updated 7 Series, plus employment of a longer and wider grille deliver a sleeker look than the present product offers. Those lights are really high-end items too, being full LED beams with cornering function as standard. Even higher-tech BMW Laserlights avail as an option.

The L-shaped signature continues at the rear with a lightly restyled light cluster, while all grades will now come with trapezoidal exhaust tips. 

New colours and alloy wheel designs are on the delivery sheet, while the M Sport exterior design package promises to be beefier than before.

Almost all four and six-cylinder models now get 48-volt mild-hybrid electrification. The system (in effect an integrated starter/generator that’s coupled to a small additional battery) produces up to 8kW to help with overtaking, off-the-line acceleration and stop-start situations.

Inside, the 10.25-inch infotainment screen has been increased to 12.3-inches across the range to go with the redesigned centre console controls, while all variants now come with a leather multifunction sports steering wheel.

BMW New Zealand has yet to divulge exactly how many of the 16 variants the portfolio will come here, however it’s fair to say that whatever signs off for Australia will land here as well, so close is the transtasman association and management structure.

In that light, then, the range will include the M550i xDrive with its 390kW/750Nm twin-turbo V8. BMW in Melbourne is also relating interest in two other full petrol engines and plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

Thought is that the petrol variants will be the entry-level 520i with its 135kW/290Nm turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, and the mid-range 530i, with the same engine boosted to produce 185kW/350Nm, while the 530e is rated as being a good starter for the PHEV duty. That model marries the 520i’s engine with an 80kW electric motor for a combined 215kW/420Nm.

That M550i will continue in its role of impressing as a pseudo M5. It’s a four-wheel-drive model that gets an M Sport differential and adaptive suspension and is rated to see off 100kmh in just 3.8 seconds.

On the safety front, the lane departure warning system now features steering assistance to return the car to the middle of the lane, while the range of functions in the Parking Assistant suite has been expanded to include reversing assistant, which enables self-backing for distances of up to 50 metres.

Wireless Apple CarPlay continues and Android Auto is now available, while BMW’s Intelligent Personal Assistant functionality has been expanded, with the ability to install updates over the air.

M monsters set to roam post-virus

Even with the car market turning tough, there’s expectation the baddest editions of BMW’s X5 and X6 will do well.

TWO bigfoot BMW M models whose hugely potent engine is already defying the downsizing trend are strong enough to beat off Covid-19.

 That sentiment about the X5 M and X6 M is aired by BMW Group New Zealand as it opens the order book for the updated editions of the juggernaut sports activity vehicles, which share the same mighty twin-turbo V8 engine.

BMW Group New Zealand has stuck to tradition by deciding only the best will do for its customers.

Thus it is only bringing in the Competition, which in return for being the most expensive of the two specifications is also – with 460kW and 750Nm - the most powerful and best-kitted.

With the country gripped by a national shutdown of undetermined duration and also bracing for a severe economic impact, will the buyer base still have the discretionary spend to afford models that respectively price at $219,900 and $225,600?

BMW Group New Zealand managing director Karol Abrasowicz-Madej says it’s a fair question, but he’s optimistic the big stompers don’t become showroom queens.

In part, it’s because the M brand following is incredibly strong here. “We have a lot of loyal customers and we have a lot of interest coming from them.”

Also, there’s clear recognition that the models are pretty much without rival in their category. “They are very extrovert in their character.” So, even in this time of national inaction, there’s been plenty of “good inquiry” coming from owners of competitor cars.

So while it’s all a matter of wait and see until the lockdown lifts and business can resume, “we think they will find a place in Kiwis’ hearts.”

“I’m hopeful of a good take-up though, at the same time, any prediction at the moment about volume is going to be really hard.”

So they’ll survive, and so will the engine that also slots into the also NZ-available M5 sedan and M8 coupe and, in the sport activity vehicle application, lends ability to hit 100kmh in a claimed 3.8 seconds, 0.4 sec quicker than their forebears, aided by an extra 37kW of thrust.

Is this the final swansong for the V8? As much as BMW recognises that it’s becoming every challenging to maintain this kind of engine in the face of ever-tightening environmental regulations, in Europe especially, it says there’s still a good case for having it.

While acknowledging that various emissions rules are making his life more difficult, the head of powertrain project management for the X5M and X6M, Axel Theiling, reminds his team’s opus is far from being an old-school donk.

Built around a 90-degree vee angle and a sleeveless closed-deck crankcase, the 4.4-litre motor is a very sophisticated motor, with Valvetronic variable valve lift and direct fuel injection, as well as a pair of high-flow twin-scroll turbochargers.

Those ingredients allow for some reasonable emissions and economy. For a V8.

Still, make no bones: It is an engine designed foremost for performance rather than eco purity. Hence the forged crankshaft and a lubrication system built to cope with the rigours of track use. Also why the eight-speed automatic has manual modes and the M sport exhaust features four outlets so you can hear what the V8 has to say.

Other highlights include Adaptive M Suspension Professional with various modes, M Servotronic steering with Comfort and Sport settings, a rear-biased 4wd system, Active locking M differential and M Sport brakes with six-piston calipers acting on 395mm drilled and vented discs up front. A 100-0kmh emergency stop of 32 metres is claimed.

The M-spec X models stand out from the mainstream editions through adopting extrovert design features such as enlarged air intakes and an oversized wheel and tyre package (295/35R21s up front and 315/30R22s rear). They also have laser lights.

The cabin includes M multifunction powered and heated sport seats finished in full leather ‘Merino’ and Alcantara headlining, along with four-zone air con and head-up display. A panoramic sunroof, wireless charging and Apple CarPlay are included.

Safety and convenience items include BMW Driving Assistant Professional, Parking Assistant Plus and BMW Live Cockpit Professional with a pair of 12.3-inch LCD colour displays.

Deliveries are set to begin next month.

BMW's electric push knows no bounds

Availability of a plug-in hybrid edition of the X3 is just one step in an all out push to increasingly electrify Munich’s model line-up here.

PLUG-IN electric fare will continue to present in strength for BMW locally even after the next round of fully electric product starts rolling in, with a fuel cell alternate also theoretically possible. 

This is impressed by BMW Group New Zealand as it prepares to release another new electric pathway model - a battery-assisted edition of the X3.

Brisk business is forecast for the X3 xDrive30e, a $107,700 offer that becomes the seventh PHEV model in the local lineup.

In this car a 2.0-litre 135kW four-cylinder petrol marries to an electric motor to allow electric-only range of 55km, fuel consumption as low as 2.1 litres per 100km, a 215kW/420Nm output and 0-100kmh in just 6.1 seconds.

It’s an especially good fit as soft-roaders – or sports activity vehicles in BMW-speak - are achieving more consumer consideration than any other car type and mains-replenished drivetrains are also resonating with Kiwis, the brand’s managing director for New Zealand says 

The present impact - and potential long-term implication - of the coronavirus emergency makes it challenging to give indication on supply strength or how well it will sell.

Yet Karol Abrasowicz-Madej has every confidence in PHEV and EV cars continuing to gain traction here, with an 88 percent lift between 2018 and 2019.

For sure, we’re still talking modest volume. “The total new car market was around 100,000 passenger registrations in 2019 – of those 2809 were electric, around 2.7 percent.”

However, BMW NZ is happy to hold dominance in that sliver and its PHEV lineup – which despite the combustion component meet the accepted definition of being electric cars – allows it to provision more EV choices any other make and especially good grip within the premium segment.

And this will only increase as it is looking at “any opportunity” with that product.

“There is a market, the buyers are out there and we are looking for an opportunity to capitalise.

“Our strategy is to unfold and unroll all available product to New Zealand. We know it will be good for us and customers. In our opinion plug-in hybrids are perfect for this market. 

Overseas’ reports suggest PHEV is also coming to the 3-series Touring wagon in both two-wheel-drive and all-wheel drive guises, and the X1 and X2 compact crossovers. In all, BMW has promised to have 25 kinds of electric vehicles in circulation by 2023.

With so many models going battery assist, does it stand to reason that the tech will inevitably become core to the majority of BMWs sold here?

Abrasowicz-Madej doesn’t deny the possibility, but prefers not to give an estimate of how great that penetration might be in one or two years from now. It all depends on the market on how the market will develop. It’s pretty clear 2020 won’t be a brilliant year for anyone. So much depends on, for instance, how quickly business confidence is restored.

One prompt might lay with our leaders. Belief that the sector also greater Government-led stimulation to really get going also remains a passion project for Abrasowicz-Madej. Regardless that it appears to have derailed, the Clean Car proposal that would have effectively subsidised models that achieve low emissions and economy and penalise those that do not remains important, he says.

He conceivably has a good inroad to push his thoughts that with those walking the corridors of power. The Seven Series is, of course, on the Crown VIP roster and conceivably the next generation might keep that job, with Munich confirming it’ll outlay in fully-electric format – exactly the configuration the Government wants. So will BMW pitch?

Abrasowicz-Madej is diplomatic. “The Government is one of our customers. It would be a pleasure to take part on any bidding process.”

As much as the PHEV push is now firmly cemented, that’s not to say that traditional combustion engine models will be ignored: Hence why the brand is just as keen to deliver to an even more exclusive audience with the X5 M and X6 M.

“We have buyers who have preference for electro-mobility and others who prefer combustion engines. We say we can attend to both; our belief is in the power of choice.

“We are leading in the market for electrified powertrains and have the widest range and there is good demand for that. We are a brand that is intent to stay on top of technology. We know that what we are doing is right.”

X3 fans will be further drawn into a battery-compelled future when the iX3 comes here, in 2021 all going to plan. The latter and the xDrive30e will be sold side-by-side so as to enable buyers to have a full span of choice, he says. 

In Europe the PHEVs have been at the forefront of BMW’s successful achievement of a range-wide reduced 95 grams per kilometre CO2 emission target set by the European Union.

Overall, BMW’s fleet fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been cut by more than 40 percent over the past 13 years. And with the ongoing electrification process, the company claims CO2 emissions this year will be 20 percent lower than last year’s count.

The focus on this product might raise questions about where BMW stands on full electric and hydrogen, but shouldn’t.

As much as the PHEVS are setting the pace now, the long-term and priority thrust of the parent brand’s electrification plan still involves going to fully electric cars.

The MINI Cooper SE is still on track to land mid-July and NZ orders are included in a list of 7000 confirmed international reservations 

It would seem a safe bet to think the new i4 sedan, though still officially a concept, is perhaps just two years away and, of course, the battery-compelled Seven-Series limo has been signed off, alongside full petrol, PHEV and another diesel (the engine currently favoured for VIP use).

All are understandably quite different propositions to the only electric BMW in circulation at the moment. Ironically, given how much of a pathfinder it has been, the now aged city-centric i3 is unlikely to enter a second generation.

In addition to those models, BMW has also reiterated seriousness about also developing a production fuel cell car.

Klaus Fröhlich, member of the board of management for Research and Development, BMW AG, has indicated the fuel-type could become a 'fourth pillar' of BMW’s future mobility stable of propulsion systems.

The intent is demonstrated by a model first revealed at last September’s Frankfurt motor show. The I Hydrogen NEXT (see video below) wouldn’t seem out of place if it hit the street tomorrow, as it is effectively a re-engineered X5, albeit with a handful of cosmetic alterations to mark it as one of the company’s eco models.

The car’s pair of eDrive electric motors, (one for each axle), with a combined output of 274kW, were developed the iX3. 

The fuel cell tech might also seem familiar, too. It has been co-developed with Toyota, whose expertise in this field is demonstrated by its hydrogen-fed Mirai car, which is about to enter its second generation.

As much as BMW insists I Hydrogen NEXT requires something out of its hands - a refuelling infrastructure - it has nonetheless determined to begin a pilot production phase in 2022 and could have it in full production by 2025.

Instead of pulling stored electrical energy from a battery pack, as mains-fed electric cars do, the i Hydrogen NEXT generates its own electricity through a chemical reaction between stored hydrogen and oxygen from the air, using a hydrogen fuel cell. As such, the only emissions generated by the vehicle are water vapour.

The fuel cell is supplied by two 700 bar storage tanks, which occupy the same space as the gearbox and driveshaft in the combustion-engined X5. Together, the tanks can hold six kilogrammes of hydrogen. Refuelling also only takes around four minutes, which is a huge saving over the hour-and-a-half average charge-times of current conventional electric vehicles.

Other claimed advantages a hydrogen-electric vehicle has over a traditional EV include suitability for towing and no compromises on passenger comfort, due to the lack of a heavy lithium-ion battery pack and the stiffer suspension required to support it. 

Interest in establishing a hydrogen network is taking root, and while the initial consideration is to first focus on heavy transport needs there has been talk of a refuelling network. But if it all comes into play?

“Hydrogen has challenges … there are still bottlenecks when it comes to a supply network and establishing hydrogen stations. But if the technology keeps developing on that side … well, maybe it is also an option for the future.”