Got a letter in the mail last month from BMW Canada last month asking me if I want to participate in a comparison drive of the new 530 (5 different variations) and a MercedesE320, Jaguar S-type and Audi A6 2.7t.
I went on Thursday evening to a local airport to use a part of the apron for the test drive. They had a short presentation and then racing instructors took us around the course before letting us loose in the cars. The track started with a slalom and then into sharp left turn under braking. Next was a slow drive over small rubber bumps to test the suspension.
Following the bumps was a skid-pad made from a high density teflon sheet sprayed down with water. This had a gentle left turn at about 30kph(20mph) to simulate skidding on glare ice.
A quick right turn then a sweeping left hand bend, increasing speed to about 70kph(40mph). After a short straight there was a lane change manouver at this speed. As we approached the area we had to wait for a light to flash tell us to go left or right. Another 30metres and a quick lane change brought us back to the centre again where a stop sign waited to bring us to a panic stop.
Then a sort drive back to the parking area to try a different car. There were about 25 people there and we went in pairs. With eight cars available we didn't wait long to get in another car.
The best drive was the 5 but the Merc came close. The Jaguar drove like a Taurus and the Audi didn't have the handling I thought a quatro should.
Just as the test drive began so did the rain making it even more interesting.
The hour and a half of driving finished much too fast!!
One of the 5's had the new active steering which some getting used to.
tell you more in a little while![[wiggle]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_wiggle.gif "Wiggle [wiggle]")
I went on Thursday evening to a local airport to use a part of the apron for the test drive. They had a short presentation and then racing instructors took us around the course before letting us loose in the cars. The track started with a slalom and then into sharp left turn under braking. Next was a slow drive over small rubber bumps to test the suspension.
Following the bumps was a skid-pad made from a high density teflon sheet sprayed down with water. This had a gentle left turn at about 30kph(20mph) to simulate skidding on glare ice.
A quick right turn then a sweeping left hand bend, increasing speed to about 70kph(40mph). After a short straight there was a lane change manouver at this speed. As we approached the area we had to wait for a light to flash tell us to go left or right. Another 30metres and a quick lane change brought us back to the centre again where a stop sign waited to bring us to a panic stop.
Then a sort drive back to the parking area to try a different car. There were about 25 people there and we went in pairs. With eight cars available we didn't wait long to get in another car.
The best drive was the 5 but the Merc came close. The Jaguar drove like a Taurus and the Audi didn't have the handling I thought a quatro should.
Just as the test drive began so did the rain making it even more interesting.
The hour and a half of driving finished much too fast!!
One of the 5's had the new active steering which some getting used to.
tell you more in a little while
