BMW has revised the 5 Series for 2021 and has updated the exterior and added better mild-hybrid technology.

The new five series is 1.2 inches longer, but no wider or lower. The new length is largely for aesthetics and allowed BMW designers to lend the 5 Series "a more sweeping profile."

A larger grille, meanwhile, defines the new front end and like the 7 Series, the kidneys are touching in the middle-which is a disturbing sentence I regret writing. Flanking them are slimmer headlights that bend upwards into an L shape. Simpler and more elegant, BMW looks to be hoping to make the 5 Series the low key stunner in a family of big-grilled attention-seekers.

Perhaps more importantly, though, is that BMW has improved the mild-hybrid functionality for the 540i. Attached to a straight-six, the 48-volt system makes use of its own special battery and harvest electricity under braking.



The system is powerful enough to make start-stop smoother and allows BMW to use a coasting function. That means that when you're coming to a stop, the car can shut down the engine before it gets to 0 mph, saving fuel. It also means that in ECO Pro mode, the engine can be shut down completely between 16 and 99 mph when decelerating.

If you're less in the mood for ECO Pro modes than you are in the mood for V8s, then M550i xDrive is for you. It still makes 523 hp thanks to its twin-turbo 4.4-liter engine and can hit 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds.

Prices start at $55,195 for the base 530i and cars should start shipping in July, god willing and the wave don't rise.