The new generation of the BMW 5 Series wants to be a Tesla Model S wannabe. Not in terms of design, but on driver aids semi-autonomous driving systems such as the Driver Assistance package with side collision prevention or active control cruise, all features of Tesla's latest autopilot software update.
All indications of a leaked brochure tells that the new generation of the BMW 5 Series will stop giving the driver more freedom, because it is "inspired" by the Tesla Model S and therefore give more prominence to the semi-autonomous driving systems.
With the leaked brochure, we learned that the new BMW 5 Series, whose range includes the 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i and 540i xDrive (and even the 550i from next spring), will include the Driver Assistance II, a package that includes Tesla Model S semi-autonomous features.
Thankfully, something that the BMW 5 Series would not copy on Tesla Model S is its electric capability. Instead, the new 5 Series will mount a 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder as more basic and a 3.0 liter inline six-cylinder turbo for higher versions.
Amongst the things that the BMW 5 Series will have is the side collision prevention, active cruise control with Stop & Go and active lane change, among others. In short, this is the Tesla's autopilot software that is causing so much controversy for the past few months and had just updated to lessen accidents cause by their autopilots.
It is true that many of these systems can already see the new BMW 7 Series , but the fact that they are down to lower end models shows that manufacturers like BMW are taking more seriously the issue of autonomous driving and bringing it to the masses, much like the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model 3 soon. It also demonstrates that Tesla is very much on European manufacturers' skin already, and that more and more big brands are seeing them as tough competition and want to copy their ways.
It is worth nothing that former generations of the BMW 5 Series already copied another car - the Lexus. Now it is going after the Tesla Model S. Is the 5 Series really just getting inspiration or being a wannabe? Will its autopilot be better than Tesla? Production of the new generation of German sedan will begin in November. So we will wait a little longer to see all the answer to these.
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