The typical BMW 540i buyer used to be fairly easy to profile. In short, they were overwhelmingly male, often in their late forties or fifties, looking for a powerful, well equipped car that rode well and which wouldn't make their paunch or chins bounce over every minor surface imperfection. The top of the range M5 was always a little too focused in this regard but wind the intensity back a notch or two and you had the 540i. The introduction of the even more powerful 550i and the huge improvement to the 530i have made the latest 540i's position that little more precarious. Is there even a place in BMW's range for this car any more?

Let's start by taking a look at the 'hole' that the 540i plugs in the 5 Series line up. The excellent 272bhp 530i SE retails at £34,610 and the 367bhp 550i SE at £45,745, so between these two extremes, Mercedes, Audi and Lexus have some strong temptations. Unwilling to be outshone by any rivals, BMW hit back with the introduction of the 540i. Its place in the firmament may not be quite so clear, but it does offer an awful lot of capability for £40,000.

Power too. The 306bhp V8 engine had already seen service in the 7 Series and its one of BMW's better powerplants. Given the Bavarian company's current panoply of engineering delights, that's quite some compliment. The powerplant uses BMW's clever Valvetronic system; an engine design that does away with conventional throttles, the valves themselves dictating how much air reaches the combustion chamber. This means a cleaner and more efficient engine entirely without the somewhat odd 'hollow' throttle response of the smaller Valvetronic engines. Factor in such high-tech features as the world's first fully variable inlet manifold, variable timing on all four camshafts and High Precision Fuel Injection and you have something of a technological tour de force.

It's enough to catapult the 540i off the line and through 60mph in a mere 6.1 seconds, then it's on to an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph. With 390Nm of torque to call upon, you'll not want for a bit of overtaking muscle. Perhaps the greatest thing about the latest generation of Valvetronic engines from BMW is that, despite prodigious power and torque characteristics, they also do surprisingly well when it comes to fuel economy. With a combined economy figure of 26.9mpg helped by the latest regenerative braking technology, the 306bhp 540i is more economical than a 256bhp Audi A6 3.2 quattro. Vorsprung just sprung a leak.

"The 540i is more than enough 5 Series for all but the most badge conscious"

You'll search in vain for a Touring estate variant of the 540i as BMW have no plans to release one in the UK. This is a bit of a shame as it would have made a very appealing Q-car. As it stands, there's the entry-level SE and then the M Sport. The sports suspension fitted here is very similar to that found on the M5 and then it's the usual drill. Wider air intakes, deeper bumpers, bigger wheels, flared side sills and an optional boot spoiler give the Five a much more aggressive stance. Inside the 540i M Sport, there are partially electric sports seats, aluminium inserts and an M Sports steering wheel.

The dashboard is a triumph of minimal design, the Munich company having built up a reputation for ergonomic excellence. The only possible gripe would be the inconveniently situated electric window switches but these are illuminated at night, along with the mirror adjusters making them easy to locate. The iDrive system is a little easier to use than that first trialed on the 7 Series, but its nevertheless an interface that rewards a little learning. Customers on a typical hour long test drive should remember this.

The once radical shape of the 5 Series has now matured nicely into a discreet but smart piece of design. In a bid to keep things fresh, BMW has made a few small changes to the latest car. At the front, the headlights and indicators are now clear glass while the kidney grille sits flush with the bumper. The air duct in the rear valance has been revised while the side sill gets an additional contour line and horizontal LEDs are used in the rear light cluster. Inside, the door panels and window switches have been redesigned and there's now eight freely programmable 'favourites' buttons on the dashboard so that drivers don't have to use the infernal iDrive control system quite so much. There's also an optional Lane Departure warning system offered.

The 5 Series remains a big but not bulky car. The saloon gets decent space up front with slightly below average rear leg room and a 520-litre boot. Measuring 4.48m in length, the Touring estate features a 535-litre load capacity with the 60/40 split folding rear seats in place and a hefty 1,650 litres with the seats folded down. There's also a split bootlid with the rear window opening separately for the easy loading of small items. Customers can also opt for a fully-automatic tailgate operation with a press on the key fob opening the hatch and simultaneously retracting the boot load cover.

Brake Force Display is an interesting concept, enlarging the brake light area when the driver really anchors on. Another first for BMW is Adaptive Headlights - a feature many will associate more with Citroen. This system, sadly still an option, swivels the headlights by up to 15 degrees left and right to illuminate more of the road through a bend. Unlike Citroen's rudimentary old mechanical system, this calculates speed, yaw rate and steering angle before steering the beams. Another technology 'borrowed' from another manufacturer - in this case Chevrolet - is a Head-Up Display that projects information onto the windscreen.

The 540i may not be quite so obvious a choice as before, but it certainly fulfils an important function in the 5 Series range. It's called putting one over on the opposition.

TOP 4 5 SERIES DEALS

The results below show the top 5 SERIES deals on buyacar

	BMW 5 Series 540i SE 4dr Saloon
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £2,638	Price £36,887
	BMW 5 Series 540i SE 4dr Step Auto Saloon
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £2,772	Price £38,228
	BMW 5 Series 540i M Sport 4dr Saloon
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £2,922	Price £39,723
	BMW 5 Series 540i M Sport 4dr Step Auto Saloon
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £3,056	Price £41,064