This is the sixth Five. Each has had its own distinct character, apart from the first two, whose differences bordered on the invisible. This new one looks calmer and more at ease with itself than the just-killed version, less in thrall to weirdly surfaced Banglism but still more interesting than the super-straightforward one before last.

When this latest Five was revealed to the world last November, the world was underwhelmed. The new car is very worthy, of course, with its Efficient Dynamics and its kindness to errant pedestrians, but it is a bulky thing and the tasty sculpting on the concept drawing’s sills and lower flanks has given way to dull slabbiness. Only the muscular bulge over the rear wheels, beneath the sloping shoulder-crease, salvages the drama.

The previous Five was a car of unusual construction: everything forward of the bulkhead was aluminium, the better to achieve BMW’s ideal of a 50:50 weight distribution. Things are simpler this time. Just the bonnet, front wings and doors are formed of the lightweight metal. Amazingly, given this and a wheelbase longer by 80mm, the structure is both lighter and stiffer than before. Aluminium is used for the suspension arms, too, themselves part of an architecture shared with the new 5-series GT and the 7-series.

It’s double wishbones at the front now, chosen over struts because the dampers can move more easily when freed of side forces. At the rear are five links per side, and if the Active Drive box is ticked among the bewildering array of high-tech dynamics packages there’s also a degree (or two) of active rear steering.

Two engines are available to try at the launch in Portugal. Both are that increasingly rare breed, the straight six, and both are of three litres. The diesel 530d has 242bhp and a rousing 398lb ft of torque, the petrol 535i has 302bhp and 295lb ft. The latter motor has a single turbocharger nowadays, but it’s a twin-scroll unit and is combined with the whole gamut of BMW engine cleverness: throttle-less Valvetronic variable cam timing and lift and direct injection. Other engines range from a four-cylinder 520d to a V8 550i.

Both launch engines are linked to eight-speed automatics, although you can have a six-speed manual. First off, the 530d. This is as voluptuous in its torque delivery as ever, rendering manual override of the transmission pointless, especially as you easily forget where you are in the eight-speed gearscape. It sounds as much like a 1950s grand tourer as a 2010 turbodiesel, deep and mechanically busy but always smooth. This engine heightens the new sense of sheer bulk in the 5-series, an impression amplified by the high scuttle line. It’s a great cruiser, but it suffers rather than enjoys attempts to fling it through corners.

Underwhelmed, I try a 535i with Integral Active Steering and Adaptive Drive (that is, active anti-roll bars) to add to the adaptive dampers, steering weight and throttle response already encountered in the 530d. (The whole lot is optional, remember.) Here is a car transformed. The steering weighting is quite credible for an electric arrangement, while its changes in ratio are far more subtle than on earlier systems. The rear wheels counter-steer at low speeds, giving the effect of a shorter wheelbase, then steer with the front wheels above 37mph to make the car very pointable.

Now we have proper precision and a much smaller-feeling 5-series, and faith is restored. It’s still a hefty machine but the forces now work in helpful directions. The Comfort suspension mode feels as if the dampers have worn out, but Normal through to Sport Plus feel as they should. The engine is magnificent, as ever, today’s soundtrack more guttural than those of past silken sixes and more characterful for it. You might even be tempted to paddle-tickle the gearshift, sometimes.
Nice car, then. Pity you need £3520-worth of chassis options to make it a four-star one.