BMW 5-series – interior and tech

The interior of a BMW 5-series is traditionally a place of rhyme and reason – a pallet cleanse marrying quality and common sense and excellent ergonomics. But that was never going to survive this era of digitisation and the button cull. Of course technologically, the interior of the new 5-series is very impressive. BMW curved display is a given here, putting both the infotainment and the driver’s display into one panel. It even features ‘AirConsole’ allowing occupants to play games on the display, using their phones as controllers, though ‘the ultimate gaming machine’ doesn’t resonate quite as much with us as ‘the ultimate driving machine’.

The main controller of a car, aside from the brakes and throttle of course, is the steering wheel and there’s change here too, with a revised set of controls either side that replace some buttons with a pivoting solid panel. Not quite the haptic touch nightmare as in some cars but a learning curve still. The stalks behind the wheel have been redesigned too – lighter and tinnier to the touch, which was a bit of a disappointment.

Disappeared into the screen, unfortunately, are the climate controls, which while there is a constant ribbon at the bottom where you can adjust temperatures, your heated seats and so on, where the air is coming from is still a few clicks away. Still physical are the direction controls for the vents, though it might take you a minute to find the recessed rollers that sit below the vents. They’re integrated into the luminous dash fascia, as is the hazard light switch, rear screen heat and blower strength touch controls, that are themselves thankfully backlit.

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Speaking of luminous, let’s talk about interior lighting. The latest 5-series takes it to another level with the ‘interaction bar’, a thick strip of dense lighting that runs the width of the dash and onto the doors, that looks more like a rear light bar than interior set dressing. It flashes red when your hazards are on and, when they’re not, reflects in the side windows right in your line of sight for the mirrors at night. It’s a very aesthetically pleasing thing, especially as you can change it with the different ‘MyModes’ but before you turn it down, that’s a lot of light in your face at night.

Happily, like with the driving experience, a lot of reliable 5-series remains. The seats are good – not overly supportive but comfortable. The G60 is also one of the last BMWs to retain the rotary iDrive controller.

All in, the cabin of the new 5-series is a wonderful place to find yourself – high quality on the whole and relatively straightforward once you’ve gotten your head around it. It’s also well-insulated and refined – the consummate comfy cruiser at speed.