Review
Love and Happiness: This Bim m er's Baaad
By Blair S. Walker
We've amassed 11,118 miles on our
BMW 540i six-speed manual sedan, a
vehicle I've taken to calling Marion
Jones. That's because our anthracite
metallic gray Bimmer is regal, charm
ing, and generates eye-popping perfor
mance for a car its size.
The rear tires are set in motion by a
282-horsepower, 4.4-liter V8, which
delivers power in a vety linear fashion
and is surprisingly quiet while sending
the tachometer and speedometer nee
dles streaking into orbit.
The double-overhead cam, 32-valve
power plant also pumps out a massive
324 lb-ft of torque, meaning you only
have to goose the throttle if you don't
feel like downshifting. This is good for
dealing with the stop-and-go rush hour
madness of Washington, D.C., where
we've been putting the 540i through its
paces. Torque and horsepower are won
derful, but the 540i's sport-tuned sus
pension may be the car's most impres
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African Americans On Wheels
sive feature. The handling is spot-on
perfect, there's no understeer (that's a
sense that the car wants to go straight
instead of turn) or oversteer (that's
when the back end feels like it's going
to snap around).
The vehicle handles in such a neu
tral, confidence-inspiring manner that
during a spirited romp you can can eas
ily keep up with smaller sport coupes.
Or leave them in the dust, if you're
so inclined.
That component of the Bimmer's
personality disappears the moment you
ease up on the throttle, allowing you to
be a model of rectitude as you sedately
drive the family home
from church.
The Bimmer's tan
leather interior is exquis
ite, although more leg
room for rear passengers
would be welcome. The
540i’s trunk swallows
plenty of luggage as long
as you stack it carefully.
If any knuckle rapping is called for, it
would be with BMW's refusal to put
seat warmers in a car that cost almost
$60,000; that's the price of a comfort
able house in a lot of places.
I have a Volkswagen Jetta that pos
sesses bun warmers, in addition to
doors that lock automatically, another
feature our BMW lacks.
But whereas the lovable Jetta is mild-
mannered all the time, the Bimmer can
be placid or as nasty as it wants to be.
Trust me -- the smooth-shifting 540i
can throw down with the best of'em.
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