Spy Shots: facelifted BMW 5-Series
While we're always keen to give you the latest sneak peek at upcoming models and revisions to existing ones, BMW's 5-Series carries a little more weight than most. The 5 has long been the benchmark sports-luxury sedan against which all others, from Cadillacs and Lexus to Audis and Alfas, are measured. It's like a new Porsche 911 coming out, only BMW's designers (love 'em or hate 'em) actually have some, you know... imagination. So it's with particular intrigue that we closely follow the developments in the Bavarian's mid-size sedan.
The facelifted 5-Series will get a new nose, complete with restyled headlights and a new front bumper with a revised air dam. Around back the rear bumper and skirt get smoothed out, while the interior gets some mild revisions including a new automatic shift lever. On the juiced-up side of the range, the M5 gets some visual enhancements of its own, predictably more aggressive than its steroid-less stable-mates.
The update is far from a major one, so if you weren't a fan of the styling before, this facelift is not about to change your mind. Just enough to keep us on our toes.
[Source: World Car Fans]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bum Works 11:09AM (12/19/2006)
My god, the 5 series use to be such a great looking car. What happened? That front end is just ugly
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Zack M 11:35AM (12/19/2006)
I agree. I much prefer the existing styling compared to this new styling. The existing styling looks aggressive and has a certain punch to it.
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TP 11:32AM (12/19/2006)
Ugliest BMW ever.
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Ralph 10:15PM (12/20/2006)
First the made it ugly. Then, apparently because undoing ugly was expensive, they made it look like a Pontiac.
Maybe they can link up with Oprah for the introduction.
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ccb 11:53AM (12/19/2006)
When did Saab and BMW merge? Why!?
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praetorian 12:04PM (12/19/2006)
BMW, go back to 1990 and start over. This is getting retarded.
Chris Bangle delenda est.
Cheers,
prat
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hobbes 12:07PM (12/19/2006)
BMW-the only car company that can make the styling of Pontiacs attractive.
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Richard 12:14PM (12/19/2006)
Yep!
Looks more like a Pontiac every day!
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G. Snyder 12:15PM (12/19/2006)
None of those are M5s.
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Dan 12:24PM (12/19/2006)
3 and 5 series are ok, why ruin their design?
6 and 7 are butt ugly, modify those.
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Jon 12:29PM (12/19/2006)
The design has liked me... At once it is appreciable that BMW!
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D. 12:33PM (12/19/2006)
It's going to be hard to get one good review. I don't like it either. The 3 series was an icon and they messed it up (especially the rear, it's so UGLY). Now it's the 5's turn. Is someone at BMW questioning these design decisions or C.B. does what he pleases?
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DC_1 12:45PM (12/19/2006)
I think the 5 series looks better than ever. You will never mistake it for anything else on the road. Well at least until Lexus builds the knockoff LOL
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Dude 1:15PM (12/19/2006)
#5 ccb - you took the words right out of my mouth. Looks like a 9-5 gone horribly wrong.
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Jon F. 1:23PM (12/19/2006)
Restyled headlights? It sounds like the Scion Tc is going to have to be restyled too!
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Aki 1:32PM (12/19/2006)
Hmm I don't see how the headlights are different.
Regardless, it still looks like a luxury Pontiac. They should get rid of all those Banglized touches and get back to the traditional design cues. IMO the E34 is still the best looking 5 series.
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Typesbad 1:43PM (12/19/2006)
German cars in general are just getting ugly. I don'thate this revision as much as some here, rather I pretty much dislike it's appearance to the same degree as the currnet model.
You can't count on Audi for beauty anymore That huge grill has done none of their vehicles any favors, though strangely their smaller (A3)and largest (A8) vehicles seem to wear it best. But besides the grill their are somme other fussy character lines that negatively disrupt their formally ideal bauhous forms. VW's grill treatments and taillights look like cheaply done tuner add-ons.
Then there is Mercedes, whose sedans have always been too mired in tradition to be particularly attractive. They add a little more rake to the front fascia and C-Pillar, consider themselves daring, and call it a day.
On a purely asthetic level, I'm more drawn to the luxury Japanese designs at the moment; though I wish they could find someone to design a decent taillight.
What I'm really saying is Alpha can't come soon enough. The repair shops all around me agree.
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SOhp101 1:54PM (12/19/2006)
As stated before, none of those are M5s, just regular 5 series likely with an aero kit of some sort.
Headlights look barely different and the rest of it looks pretty much the same... the 5 series is not an attractive car but it has much more presence with its M5 attire.
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JarryHames 2:47PM (12/19/2006)
Just whenever you think that BMWs cannot get any uglier? They always let us know that there's room for more ugliness! They've completely f*up'd their entire line of cars. The X5 is probably the best looking vehicle in their entire line up. But they're pretenious cars, fun to drive and expensive. So there will always be a place for them.
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Bum Works 3:18PM (12/19/2006)
Even though it's fugly as I stated earlier, if they wanted to give me one to drive, I wouldn't say "no thanks, i'd never be caught in such an ugly car."
i would just say "Bitte!"
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