When evaluating a Beemer, it’s usually a good idea to start with good driveability. The new seventh-generation 5-series, the G30, has the fantastic driveability you might expect, but there’s also something you might not expect.

You could say that the car is made for a driver who loves new technology and electronics and appreciates top class driveability.

BMW Connecteddrive is available on almost all BMW models. In practice, this not only gives you access to a wide range of smartphone apps in your car, but also provides you with information on the status of your car on your smartphone. There are countless different applications that you can use in your car.

You can bring your office into the cabin, as BMW promises. You can receive, read and send emails, and dictate notes and messages. Those with a Microsoft Office 365 account get the full benefit of their account and can access services without even having to carry their phone in the car.

Apple Carplay allows Apple device users to easily access Imessage/text messaging, calls and Siri. Connecteddrive also supports many third-party apps, of which Spotify and Twitter are certainly the most familiar to Finns.

Spotify worked very seamlessly during the test drive and it was very easy to search and play your own playlists and songs. The Idrive steering wheel in the car is like a laptop’s mouse pad, where you type a letter without having to search for it on the screen menu.

The letter typing feature is also very convenient for entering the address of the navigator.

A new feature available on the 5 series is gesture control. For example, by rotating your finger in front of the centre console you can adjust the volume of the radio/media. The gesture control also works for incoming calls – tap the air with one finger to answer an incoming call.

The joy and ease of driving

Simply put, anyone familiar with BMW’s driving philosophy knows what to expect from a car. The car is unquestionably an excellent car to drive. Drivability is always a matter of opinion, but the new 5 Series is certainly one of the best in the range at the moment.

The test drive is powered by a three-litre straight-six engine. Peak power of 265 horsepower and 620 Nm of torque accelerates the car from zero to 60 km/h in 5.4 seconds.

Despite the power, it was nice to note the fuel consumption during the test drive, which remained at around six litres in mixed, sometimes fast driving. This is a good figure considering the size and efficiency of the car.

In the driver’s seat, the car feels big. Cornering takes some getting used to at first.

With the optional parking assist system, cameras and parking assistants positioned around the car provide an amazingly accurate 360-degree video of the car’s surroundings from a bird’s eye view. The image shows, for example, the space required to open the doors.

In practice, there is no need to take your eyes off the screen, because the view around the car and the visualisation of approaching obstacles on the screen are so clear.

For parking in tight spaces or small garages, a remote parking function is available for the car key. In practice, the car is driven forwards and backwards by pressing the arrows on the key without a human being in the car.

In addition to remote parking, remote starting and stopping, the key can also be used to control the car’s air conditioning or heating and to check the car’s range, among other things.

LED-based headlights and fog lights come as standard on all new Vitos. Optional equipment includes adaptive and fully automatic headlights.

Plenty of safety equipment available

The optional equipment list is full of safety features. Some interesting features include lane-keep assist with active side collision warning and evasion assist.

If the car detects that a car in the next lane may be driving into the side of the road, the car will automatically steer itself to the other side of its own lane to avoid hitting the side of the road.

It will do its best to avoid collisions and obstacles, even changing lanes if, for example, the car in front brakes hard.

Another new feature is a system whereby an air flap inside the car’s radiator grilles adjusts the amount of air entering the car as temperatures and speeds change.

This also allows the engine to be kept warm in winter by closing the vents, keeping the engine warmer for longer after a drive. The system has reduced the car’s drag coefficient to 0.22.

Traditional driving pleasure is not buried beneath all the technology and refinement, on the contrary, top-class driveability and driving ergonomics create the heart of the car.

Comfort, luxury and fragrance

Along with the power seats, the car also comes with a power steering wheel. The steering wheel also moves to a stored position according to the memory positions of the seats. The steering wheel also moves out of the way when the car is switched off.

The instrument cluster features a 12.3-inch display that changes its appearance to suit the Sport, Comfort and Eco driving modes.

The windscreen display provides the driver with a wealth of information. In addition to speed, cruise control and speed limits, the windscreen displays the navigation route with its signposts.

The optional equipment list also includes a fragrance package at an extra cost of just under €400, which includes four different air conditioning fragrances.

To top it all off, the cabin is extremely quiet. No wind whistles or outside noise can disturb the peaceful atmosphere.

Everything has a price

To put it cliché, you can’t buy good things cheap. But that’s not entirely true, as the new 5 Series is already a superb car in many areas, even with the basic equipment.

Prices start at just under €49 000 for the Business-equipped 520d. The free car benefit is then €885 per month.

The 5 Series estate version was launched at the Geneva Motor Show early this week and will be seen on the road later this year.

In reality, you can get a lot more out of a car if you choose the options that suit you.

However, depending on equipment and engine, the price could even double compared to the outgoing model. When it comes to choosing equipment, it seems that the only limit is your imagination.