Configurator Challenge: BMW 5 Series and i5

Customisation is in vogue at the moment, but choice can be seriously confusing. In our configurator challenge, we let the Drive team loose on a manufacturer’s website to create their ideal combination for a certain model.

This week the team turned to the freshly-unveiled BMW 5 Series, due in Australia later this year with the option of an i5 electric version. All the submissions below were completed without looking at each other’s responses.

Tell us what your ideal BMW 5 Series would look like in the comments below (build yours here using the UK configurator), and what you'd like us to configure next.

I have to admit, as a big fan and previous owner of a BMW 5 Series, I'm not totally sold on the new car. I've approached my specification from the entry level, as I feel if it doesn't work there, then it won't work higher up in the range.

The way the rear end tapers in the renders has me wanting to see the car in the metal to make my final judgement, because as it stands... I'm not sure I love it.

That said, all 5 Series generations look great in blue, so I've selected a 520i M Sport in Phytonic Blue over Smoke White Veganza seats with the pale fine-line wood trim on the inside. This is how I'd have any 5er, particularly an E39 (late 1990s and early 2000s).

For wheels... again the final judgement will hold until I see the car... but there aren't many great choices. They all seem a little too busy and over-designed, particularly from a brand which delivered the timeless M-Parallel five-spokes! To this end, I've selected the 20-inch Style 939M bi-colour alloys.

Ironically, BMW UK (where we've configured the new 5er) offers the outgoing G31 5 Series Touring alongside the new car (fourth photo in the gallery above). While the interior feels immediately dated compared to the new G60, the exterior design, particularly in a long-roof body, is still a far more handsome machine. With nicer wheels.

It probably comes as no surprise that BMW's new star only comes in shades between black and white for the most part, with some moody blues in between. No reds, coppers, golds, teals, or turquoises, and although there's a green by name (Cape York) it's not a green green.

Anyway, be that as it may, the Frozen Pure Grey colour seems to work well with the new slab-sided look, and is my colour of choice for the i5 eDrive 40 I've built. Why the 40? Well, the i4 eDrive 40 was probably one of the best cars I drove last year, with a nice balance of lightness, range, and comfort, so I'm hoping that's the case again here – plus it means I can keep a traditional grille and not the blank screen of the M60.

The finishing exterior touch is a set of 20-inch bi-colour aero wheels. Chunky though they may be, they work with the new 5's somewhat brutalist styling.

On the inside I've gone less urban and more traditional with a burgundy and black two-tone look, sadly there's no real leather option for this colourway so 'Veganza' faux-hide it is.

I went with the i5 M60 xDrive in Brooklyn Grey. I would have preferred a louder colour, however the options are limited. 

The wheel options aren't the greatest either, but I settled on the 20-inch jet black alloys.

On the inside, I chose a black-on-black configuration, with the BMW Individual Black and Atlas Grey Merino leather and Alcantara combination, along with carbon-fibre silver threads and high-gloss interior trim.

On the UK configurator, I added the Technology Plus Pack for about $AU6000, along with the Comfort Package ($AU3000) and a panoramic glass roof ($AU3000). Many of these features will already be standard in Australia.

My specification totalled just over $AU203,000, based on the UK currency conversion – though final Australian pricing is yet to be confirmed.

I thought the 5 Series might be immune to BMW's new whacky styling language, but here we are again playing "how do we make a new BMW look nice on the configurator". 

Usually I'm all-in for petrol power, but considering the only petrol variant BMW is bringing to Australia is the 520i I opted for the fast electric version. 

I've selected BMW's classic Carbon Black metallic for the exterior and paired it with the least unappealing wheel selection, the 20-inch M Sport wheels. 

Inside there's Burgundy leather upholstery which is slightly more interesting than straight black leather, but still manages to tie-in with the exterior colour. I can't help but laugh at the red 12 o'clock marker on the steering wheel, like you'll be doing extreme wheel work in your electric business express. 

I think this one will look better in person, but we'll see once it arrives later this year. 

Firstly, I have to out myself as a bit of a 5 Series fan. I've owned five of them over the years – all of which are the E34 generation from the late 1980s to the mid 90s – with two still occupying space in my garages. So it's safe to say I have a bit of love for the old 5er.

But I'm a little miffed we miss out on the 530i and 540i in Australia – both iconic badges in the history of the 5 Series – with the latter being my preferred model, if we were given the choice. Yes, it no longer comes with a V8, but few manufacturers do a straight-six as well as BMW.

As it is, I'm stuck with the only petrol model available to the Australian market: the 520i M Sport. Although, almost embarrassingly, the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine ensures the G60 520i does almost the same claimed 0-100km/h sprint time as my range-topping 1989 BMW E34 535i, with a 3.5-litre naturally-aspirated six-cylinder – and with about a third of the fuel consumption. That's progress for you.

I'd love to choose Alpine White as a nod to three of my E34s (though as an anorak, I have to admit that one was in Alpinweiss 2), but I feel like Black Sapphire Metallic does a better job of hiding the black plastic side skirts and rear bumper, as well as the strange treatment at the front.

The black lower sections work somehow on the E34, but I think it was a misstep on the latest generation. I'm also not really a fan of the alloys, but the 21-inch Style 954 wheels are the least offensive of the lot.

Inside, I've gone with Veganza perforated and quilted Espresso Brown synthetic leather, complemented with Fine Wood Oak Dark high gloss trim. I've also ticked the box for the UK's Comfort Plus Pack, because it comes with a heated steering wheel, electric boot, and ventilated seats (along with a bunch of stuff I don't need or want), as well as roller sunblinds and a panoramic sunroof.

I'm looking forward to driving the new 5 Series. As with each new model, we say it wasn't as good as [insert preferred generation here], but it inevitably always is far superior and a wonderful driving experience.

Let me get this straight from the start – I like the BMW 5 Series. Through the ages it has proven to be one of the most timeless cars across each successive generation.

However, there's a problem with this latest iteration: I'm not a fan of the design. There’s not much about it that's pleasing to my eye. I know taking a stab at BMW’s artistic choices these days is as popular as watching football in the UK, but the latest 5er is a miss for me.

Having said that, if I was offered one, I would specify the i5 M60 as it’s the most powerful on offer in Australia with 442kW from its dual electric motors. The mild-hybrid four-cylinder is probably still a good car, but feels a little weak.

BMW’s Tanzanite Blue appears to be one of the nicest metallic paint colours, which I’ve teamed with the 20-inch ‘938M’ wheels – mainly because they seem a bit easier to clean than the standard aero-style offerings.

Inside, it’s hard to go past the carbon-fibre trim finish as well as M Alcantara upholstery, partly because the textures look nice but mostly due to Queensland’s hot summers. Leather is no fun on any day above 30 degrees.

After adding on extras – on the UK configurator – such as the Technology Plus Pack, adaptive suspension and roller sunblinds, the price of my i5 creeps up to £108,160 drive-away – equivalent to almost $205,000 in Australian currency.

With Luxury Car Tax added, a similarly-equipped model in Australia is likely to cost even more than that.

There’s a lot out there which I’d rather buy for that kind of money, like an E39 540i V8 – and I’d still have about $200,000 to spare. 

The new BMW 5 Series I'd buy would be the 540i planned for the US, with BMW's silky-smooth 3.0-litre turbocharged inline six-cylinder petrol 'B58' motor and all-wheel drive.

But you won't be able to buy that in Australia, so I've opted for the middle-of-the-range i5 eDrive 40 – which is a nice balance between the base 2.0-litre 520i petrol (which seems a touch underdone for the size of this car), and the i5 M60 that's way too quick to enjoy on public roads.

It's finished in the brightest colour BMW's UK configurator would let me pick among the shades of German grey, Phytonic Blue metallic – in lieu of the red in BMW's launch photos, which can't oddly can't be selected online.

The wheels are 20-inch two-tone black and grey 'Style 939M' designs, while inside I've ticked the box for the black Merino leather and Alcantara seats, and carbon-fibre dashboard inlays that are standard in Australia.

Every option box has been ticked, too, bringing the price in to nearly £90,000 ($AU170,000). That's similar money to a reasonably well-optioned M3 Touring wagon in the UK, which costs about $185,000 to $190,000 drive-away here.