2010 BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo - Review

By Nelson Ireson

Nelson Ireson

Editor BIO

Nelson is an Editor at High Gear Media focusing on reviewing cars and covering the hottest topics in luxury and performance cars, car culture, and... More

LATEST ARTICLE
Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Patent Photos Revealed
What to do if you love the Volkswagen Golf R, but just can't do without a drop-top car for summer?... Read More

• #3LEADERBOARD RANK
• 5443ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
• 205COMMENTS POSTED

This may reflect the target market of the 5-Series GT as much as anything; BMW officials are saying they expect a greater than 50% share of GT buyers to be women. Not that women don’t want performance, but apparently they tend to buy cars that offer a softer side. And the 5-Series GT is definitely soft, even at its hardest.

Some of that softness is welcome. The eight-speed transmission shifts so seamlessly that most of the time you won’t even notice its operation. Which is just how an automatic should be. At the same time, there’s none of that disconcerting constant-rpm drone of a CVT, and the manual mode offers some reward, holding onto gears well and downshifting with relative alacrity. The fact that there are 8 cogs to swap can things a bit busy, but the fact that the chassis and steering don’t really reward hard driving the way you might expect mean this automatic is likely to spend the vast majority of its life in pure automatic mode anyway.

2010 BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo

Enlarge Photo

With a sloping rear roofline that's not quite sedan, not quite hatchback and not quite wagon, it fits almost the same paradigm as Audi's A5 Sportback. But that comparison's not fair, as the BMW lacks the beauty and elegance of the Audi design, though it’s more comely in person than on the cold examining table of the Internet. Visual similarities to the 7-Series are obvious at the front end, and the frameless door windows are a first for a BMW four-door, usually reserved for coupes and roadsters. Still, it's not fooling anyone into thinking it's much beyond a cleverly shaped hatchback.