BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo

The motoring industry took a bit of a knock recently, which put pressure on all manufacturers as to how they’d make up the deficit. Some simply got creative. BMW conjured up new niche markets, such as the X6 and now, the 5 Series Gran Turismo (GT). The GT is not an SUV or 4x4, neither is it a sedan or a sports car. It’s quite literally a “grand tourer.” FHM flew to Cape Town to drive the German marque’s 530 diesel and see what all the fuss was about.

Physically, the GT is a large car, weighing in around the two-tonne mark. A significant development is that this vehicle possesses a two-stage boot. It can either open moderately, so smaller items can quickly be deposited therein, or the entire boot area can be exposed. The latter allows for larger articles to be deposited, and gives access to the rear seats that can be folded down – creating a massive storage area. In Germany, the logic behind this was that when it snows, one would rather use the limited boot opening as the area remains sealed; keeping the cold air away from the passengers. For us, the advantage would be allowing kids to open and close the boot easily, as they would struggle when the gaping maw is at it’s full stretch.

Inside, the GT is up to BMW’s usual high standards sporting lots of leather, wood, serious space as well as the ubiquitous Navi wheel. The Gran Turismo also has a head’s-up display (as in the 760Li) and frameless windows as standard, while the night vision with pedestrian recognition is an optional extra. Also standard is the massive glass sunroof, which was brilliant as we ended up driving through the picturesque Gordon’s Bay – flanked by towering mountains on our one side.

The first stretch of our driving experience took us through the winding tarmac of the Franschhoek Mountain Pass. Our most immediate impression of the car was its weight; you can instantly feel that this is a big vehicle. Not that this meant the GT was sluggish; it coped fairly well with the tight corners with zero body roll. But it was on the straight tarmac where our Beemer came alive. Unwittingly, we were soon flying along at crazy speeds as we’d scarcely noticed how quickly the GT had accelerated. The car certainly lives up to the GT moniker, as long distances became an absolute pleasure. Our chariot was also content to merely sip diesel as it went along – an astonishing 12 litres per 100 kays. And if this doesn’t sound that impressive, we were going very, very fast at the time. Driving in a more civilized fashion brought this number way down. In fact, it drank as little as cars almost half its mass.

The question is this: are BMW trying to be too clever by creating a new niche and claiming the cars herein are beyond comparison? The GT is certainly a tourer, but it has the size and shape of an SUV or 4x4 which will inevitably bring about a juxtaposition. For this price, one could buy a luxury vehicle that offers the same space, and can go off-road if needs be. On the other hand, maybe BMW’s offering a vehicle that has the semblance of an SUV or 4x4, but is at least honest enough to say, “You’ll never use this beautiful creation off-road, so why bother with all that fancy technology”? You be the judge.

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Words: Peter Piegl