BMW have always been the masters in finding obscure market niches and building a car to fit it. The 530d Gran Turismo is such a car. Termed a 5 Series but built on the 7 series platform it is possibly the world’s biggest hatchback. Even though I really like it I still have to scratch my head and wonder why they build it.

BMW have always been the masters in finding obscure market niches and building a car to fit it. The 530d Gran Turismo is such a car. Termed a 5 Series but built on the 7 series platform it is possibly the world’s biggest hatchback. It has a MLP of $143,400 but as usual with BMW the options list is long and very expensive.

From side on it has an almost by the coupé-like roofline, frameless doors, long bonnet, generous wheelbase and is relatively attractive. From the rear it falls into the bin along with the 6 series coupe and the X6 for ugliness.  It’s long, wide sleek and relatively low.

The 530d GT is 4998 mm long, 1901 mm wide and 1559 mm high with a turning circle of 12.2 meters and has a wheelbase of 3070 mm and weighs 1960Kg. The 530d GT rides on 18" alloy wheels with 245/50 R18 Runflat (4)

The 530d GT has an almost SUV feel about it but it isn’t an SUV. It is a four or five seater luxury tourer with a two-piece tailgate. Internally there is a heap and I mean heaps of room for four adults. As it has a wheelbase of 3070mm (the same as the Mercedes Benz GL) the front and rear passengers all have a comfortable seating position with ample leg and knee room for the rear being the same as in the BMW 7 Series. The tilt angle of the rear-seat backrests, adjusts individually to the respective, personal requirements of the passengers along with the rear seats moving forward and back.

The drivers seat is almost perfect, firm but supportive and the longer you sit the more comfortable it gets. In front of the driver is typical BMW layout and the multi electronically adjustable heated leather seat combines perfectly with the height and reach adjustable multi function steering wheel to give you the perfect drivers position. The heads up display is great but I find that I cannot read it when wearing sunglasses.

Finally there are some cup holders that work in the BMW along with numerous drawers and slots to store things. The centre console is half useful and overall it is much better than the 3 series interiors.

One thing you do notice is that although this is a big beast it feels small from the drivers seat with excellent visibility and light throughout. The reversing camera helps in that regard. It would be impossible without it.

Features include Bluetooth, Dynamic Drive Control 4-zone automatic air conditioning, Adaptive headlights, Bi-xenon headlights, Automatic tailgate operation, Comfort access, Head-up display, Panorama sunroof, Rear view camera, Metallic paint, Navigation, Lumbar support, DVD changer and USB audio interface.

The BMW iDrive system is easy to use and the navigation screen is wide and clear. That is important as so many cars have navigation screens that are useless. The instructions are spot on and it quickly recalculates your trip if you change direction, without constantly telling you to turn around… God that is annoying.

The problem comes with the boot area. For a vehicle this size that is capable of taking 4 adults across the country in absolute comfort, they unfortunately would have to skimp on luggage, as the boot area is small for the cars size. Sorry dear you can only take one shoe bag and the third suitcase has to stay…

The BMW 530d Gran Turismo, is powered by the latest-generation 3.0-litre straight-six diesel and delivers 180 kW at 4,000 rpm as well as peak torque of 540 Newton-metres from just 1,750 rpm and gives the car average fuel consumption in the combined EU cycle of just 6.5 litres/100 kilometres, as well as a CO₂ emission rating of just 173 grams per kilometre.

The BMW 530d GT will accelerate to 100 km/h in just 6.9 seconds and reaches a top speed of 240 km/h. Not bad for a car that weighs 1960Kg.

All engines naturally fulfil the EU5 emission standard. In addition, all variants of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo come with an innovative eight-speed automatic transmission combining an extremely quick gearshift with maximum efficiency. The 8-speed transmission works a treat with the torquey diesel motor. The major issue I have with the transmission is when you put it in manual mode the gear changes are around the wrong way. You have to push down to change up and to change down you push the lever up. Totally counterintuitive and it just doesnt work for me. 

The BMW 530d GT also allows the driver to select between comfort and sporty modes with 3 selections available, NORMAL, SPORT, and SPORT+ modes. Select Sport and you notice an immediate difference, however don’t be fooled into thinking this is a sports saloon. The ride is firm and the run flat tyres give the steering the ability to feel every bump in the road. They let down an otherwise saloon ride.

You simply can’t chuck this car around like you would expect say a 5 series sedan.  I know I tried and it wasn’t pretty with almost 2 tonnes being unsettled mid corner. Having said that it always felt much smaller to drive than it is and that is a testament to the BMW engineers.

It is however a smooth ride for the most part and one of the features that makes this possible is the combination of a double track control arm front axle and an Integral-V rear axle. In addition, the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo comes as standard with air suspension on the rear axle, 18-inch light-alloy wheels on the BMW 530d Gran Turismo.

Other key BMW EfficientDynamics technology features include Brake Energy Regeneration with instrument cluster display, Air Vent Control, Low Rolling Resistance Tyres and Light weight aluminum panels.  

As you would expect safety is high on the list and features include DSC including ABS, Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Dynamic Brake Control (DBC), Automatic Stability Control (ASC), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Trailer Stability Control, and Drive Dynamic Control (DDC). Optional features include Adaptive Drive Variable Damper Control (VDC) with anti-roll stabilisation (Dynamic Drive)

Driver assist options include Lane Departure Warning, Lane Change Warning, Head-Up Display (std), Night Vision with pedestrian recognition; Active Cruise Control + Stop & Go (ACC)

Over and above frontal and hip/thorax airbags, the car’s standard safety features include curtain head airbags at the side, three-point inertia-reel airbags with belt force limiters, belt latch tensioners as well as crash-activated headrests.

A CD player, six-DVD changer and USB/AUX-In port cater for entertainment and navigation. A hard disc memory, in turn, makes the optional navigation system Professional particularly easy and convenient to use. With its capacity of 80 GB, the memory allows particularly fast access to the digital navigation maps and offers no less than 12 GB additional capacity for a large collection of music files.

Optional features include a TV module (standard on the BMW 550i Gran Turismo) and entertainment systems available on the rear seats of the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo with their 8 and, respectively, 9.2-inch screens integrated in the backrests of the front seats ensure particularly comfortable and pleasant motoring.

A snap-in adapter including a USB port comes as yet a further option for the full integration of Smartphones with an MP3 function. Using this option, the driver and passenger are able to use both the communication and entertainment functions of their mobile phone and mastermind all functions via iDrive.

So to the point, the question is would I buy one? I must admit to liking the BMW 530d GT as it really did everything that would be asked of it under normal circumstances without fuss. It is typically BMW but yet with something extra and had a bit of personality about it. It certainly attracted a lot of attention pretty much wherever we went. People confused it with the X6.

My issue would be the relatively small boot space given the Gran Turismo intentions of the vehicle. At a MLP of $143,400 you do get an awful lot for your money and I suppose it could be considered good value, if you can call anything that costs that much good value.

BMW inform me the Gran Turismo sells in small numbers and they are very happy with the numbers due to the fact that this model delivers incremental growth and attracts entirely new customers to the BMW brand.

Even though I really like it I still have to scratch my head and wonder why they build it.

What is Good and Not so Good

What is Good

• Open feel and visibility
• Rear leg room
• Effortless Cruising
• Just about everything else

What is Not so Good

• Relatively small boot space
• 'B' Pillar slightly forward intruding on driver getting in and out
• Run flat tyres - dreadful
• Tiptronic gear changes counter intuitive

Article Copyright © all rights reserved - Auto Alliance Group Pty. Ltd. 2010