Used 2023 BMW 5 Series

The BMW 5 Series appeals to people who think it’s cooler to be under-the-radar wealthy than ostentatious. The people who don’t need to build space rockets to gain the approval of others.

They can drive to a fine restaurant or an upmarket hotel, leave the keys with the valet, and not worry about it. The 5 Series midsize luxury sedan is fine around town, with good outward vision, and it’s a great companion for driving across the country.

It can have all the luxury, power, technology, and space that’s usable day-to-day while adding that special BMW flavor of driver engagement. There are bigger cars, more powerful cars, more expensive cars, but anything beyond what a new 5 Series can offer starts getting into the realms of lifestyle statement, as opposed to stylish transport.

In an ideal world, the 2023 540i would be, well, ideal. It has an inline-6 engine — a configuration that’s just as much part of the BMW aura as the round blue-and-white badge. For many, the 5 Series sedan can be the right size and can bring the right level of luxury. The 540i also comes with the right amount of muscle: 335 horsepower.

Fast enough to thrill and make long trips feel short, but not a liability or too much of a temptation. Just as rear-drive BMW cars enjoy a weight distribution of 50:50 front to rear, a greater balance of all attributes is a wonderful thing.

Then again, the cars on either side of this variant each have their significant positives. The 530i doesn’t feel noticeably underpowered, and it’s the most affordable new 5 Series. The 530e has more thrust than the 530i, yet achieves better fuel economy.

The M550i is undeniably awesome, perhaps too much so. With a standstill-to-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds, some might wonder why they should bother with the M5.

The answer to that is easy. Because it’s an M5, that’s why — a 600-horsepower (or 617 with the Competition package) example of engineering excellence, an explosive exponent of the “more is more” philosophy. This 2023 version could also be the last of the combustion-only M5s. A new generation of 5 Series is expected for the 2024 model year, and there will be more electric motors on board.

The dashboard is, of course, upscale, built well, and angled toward the driver in typical BMW manner. But even in the handful of years this generation has been around, trends have moved on. And so, the 2023 5 Series is now a considerable distance from the cutting edge.

Not that the cabin doesn’t have its virtues. The standard 16-way power-adjustable front seats still feel great after many miles. Or the optional 20-way multi-contour seats are about as good as tush technology gets.

Rear legroom of 36.5 inches is okay for the class — the Audi A6 has a little more, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class a little less. The trunk area of 14 cubic feet is more impressive, although the 530e plug-in hybrid models reduce that to 10 cubic feet. They retain the rest of the lineup’s 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats, though.

Some BMW vehicles are quite daring with their exterior designs, like the 4 Series and the iX electric SUV. That’s not the 2023 5 Series way.

It’s unmistakably a BMW, with that double grille and the little kinks at the rear side windows. But the 5 Series doesn’t call that much attention to itself. Which can be a good thing. Even the color choices are quite conservative.

The M cars make more of a visual splash with extra aerodynamic pieces and optional red or blue brake calipers — also offered in black.

LIVE COCKPIT PRO
This is BMW’s term for the two 12.3-inch displays that come as standard in every new 5 Series. One is for driver information, and the other controls an infotainment system that has become exceptionally user-friendly over the years.

ENGINES
It seems that any BMW drivetrain has a certain way of delivering its power that feels completely right and absolutely controllable. The company’s engines are responsive and energetic, becoming ever more impressive as the output levels rise.

Ownership of a new 5 Series luxury sedan begins with the 530i, whose standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting, a moonroof, rain-sensing wipers, and front/rear parking sensors. Standard interior highlights include keyless entry/ignition, power-adjustable front seats, 12.3-inch driver information display, leather-wrapped steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, perforated simulated-leather seating, self-dimming rearview mirror/driver’s-side mirror, and ambient cabin lighting.

The infotainment system has a 12.3-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration, satellite radio, navigation, Bluetooth, two USB ports, and a 10-speaker/205-watt audio setup.

Driver assistance features include forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, active blind-spot monitoring, and lane-departure warning.

Beyond the standard-issue stuff is a cornucopia of tempting choices, such as all-wheel drive (aka xDrive), bigger engines, larger alloy wheels, real leather upholstery, heated front/rear seats, multi-contour/massaging front seats, 360-degree camera system, drive recorder, self-parking feature, adaptive suspension, head-up display, wireless charging, and a Harman Kardon surround-sound system.

Even versions of the 2023 5 Series that don’t have an M in their names can still come with an M Sport package bringing things like a sport suspension and variable-ratio steering.

The M cars are special and have their own particular options. The M550i xDrive offers an M-tuned adaptive suspension, rear-wheel steering, and a Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound system. It comes with the Harman Kardon setup as standard.

The M5 is made more powerful with the Competition package that also includes a lowered M suspension and an M Sport exhaust system. Soft-closing doors are another option, along with carbon-ceramic brakes. A heated steering wheel, gesture control, and 4-zone automatic climate control are standard in the 2023 M5 high-performance sedan.

Buyers who want more driver aids like adaptive cruise control, Traffic Jam Assistant, evasive steering assistance, and a self-parking feature will find that these items are optional in every case, from the lowly 530i to the lofty M5.

A turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine provides the 2023 530i and 530i xDrive with 248 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The “plain” 530i deploys rear-wheel drive (RWD); xDrive is BMW’s name for its all-wheel drive (AWD) system.

The 530e/530e xDrive cars also have a turbo 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, although this works together with an electric motor running off a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. These are plug-in hybrid 5 Series models, able to cover about 20 miles on electric power alone. Total output is 288 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque.

A 6-cylinder engine graces the 540i/540i xDrive. Its turbocharger helps create 335 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque from 3 liters of displacement. This unit also has a 48-volt mild hybrid system to help the engine achieve its peak output with optimum efficiency. It also creates a smooth action for the fuel-saving engine stop/restart function.

Both the M550i xDrive and the M5 have twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 engines. In the former, there’s 523 horsepower. The latter boosts that to 600 horsepower, or 617 with the Competition package. All three have 553 lb-ft of torque, plus all-wheel drive.

All variants of the 2023 5 Series sedan have an 8-speed automatic transmission. The M cars have had their transmissions tuned to handle the extra power and execute faster shifts. All-wheel-drive systems have also been optimized for these higher-performance cars, and there is also a mode that makes enables them to be rear-wheel drive for drivers seeking particular thrills like drifting on a track.

Premium gasoline is required for every 2023 5 Series drivetrain. These fuel economy estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relate to 2022, but there shouldn’t be any changes for 2023.

Because the 530e variants are plug-in hybrids, the EPA provides miles-per-gallon-equivalent (MPGe) figures factoring in the cars’ ranges running solely on battery power. The other straightforward miles-per-gallon estimates apply when these cars operate as regular hybrids.

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 (530i/530i xDrive)
248 horsepower @ 5,200-6,500 rpm
258 lb-ft of torque @ 1,450-4,800 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 25/33 mpg (RWD), 23/32 mpg (AWD)

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 + electric motor (530e/530e xDrive)
288 total horsepower
310 lb-ft total torque
EPA combined fuel economy: 64 MPGe/26 mpg (RWD), 62 MPGe/25 mpg (AWD)
Electric-only range: 21 miles (RWD), 19 miles (AWD)

3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6 (540i/540i xDrive)
335 horsepower @ 5,500-6,500 rpm
332 lb-ft of torque @ 1,500-5,200 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 25/32 mpg (RWD), 22/29 mpg (AWD)

4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 (M550i xDrive)
523 horsepower @ 5,500-6,000 rpm
553 lb-ft of torque @ 1,800-4,600 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 17/25 mpg

4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 (M5)
600 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
553 lb-ft of torque @ 1,800-5,690 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 15/21 mpg

4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 (M5 Competition)
617 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
553 lb-ft of torque @ 1,800-5,860 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 15/21 mpg