How long is eleven centimetres? Think of it as a bit longer than a pack of long cigarettes—not much in the grand scheme of things. But that’s the length BMW has added to their new eighth-generation 5-series sedan, now available in ‘Long Wheelbase’ guise. This means all core sedans in BMW India’s lineup—the 3-series, 5-series, and 7-series—are now ‘Long Wheelbase’ models.
The wheelbase, by the way, refers to the distance between the centres of a car’s wheels. While luxury car manufacturers have always offered longer variants of their most luxurious sedans, such as the 7-series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Mercedes-Benz brought this concept down the line with the E-Class in 2017.
You might wonder, what difference would a few centimetres make? Well, the added length is almost always for rear passenger legroom. If you’ve flown economy class recently, you know how even an extra inch of space can be a game-changer. The difference in seat pitch between economy and premium economy on a particular airline is only three inches, but it feels like a world apart. It’s the same in a car.
A few weeks before BMW India officially unveiled the new 5-Series, I had a short drive with the new model. Driving and being driven in the back seat, I found that eleven centimetres, though only a third of an average male foot, significantly enhances comfort. It’s not a massage seat where you can fully recline—that’s a feature for the next level up—but it’s still a very comfortable ride.
A longer vehicle does have some physical limitations, such as body roll during sharp turns. However, just as manufacturers have tamed SUVs, you don’t really feel the additional length in everyday driving, whether in the front or back. Although I didn’t spend much time with the new 5-Series, I have driven the BMW 3-Series Gran Limousine, which is also 11 cm longer, and it felt agile and sharp, like a BMW should.
For those seeking pure performance, there’s the short-wheelbase M340i version of the 3-Series. Mercedes-Benz, for instance, never offered a long-wheelbase AMG version of the E-Class because performance car buyers typically drive themselves. Long-wheelbase models are meant more for being driven, and many luxury car buyers in India don’t drive themselves.
Jean-Philippe Parain, senior vice-president of BMW Group Asia-Pacific, explained that this preference also stems from the Chinese market, where all luxury carmakers have long-wheelbase models. In Europe and North America, owners of models like the 5-Series tend to drive themselves, while in India or China, you might travel with family in a car like this for a celebration.
The new 5-Series is the first right-hand drive long-wheelbase model sold by BMW globally, similar to Mercedes-Benz’s introduction of the long-wheelbase E-Class to India. BMW India’s president, Vikram Pawah, noted that their experience with the 3-Series Gran Limousine encouraged them to proceed with a long-wheelbase for this car as well.
Despite the popularity of SUVs, with 54 percent of BMW India’s sales in the first half of 2024 coming from SUVs, sedans remain important. “You don’t see the President, Prime Minister, or top corporate bosses in SUVs; they still prefer sedans,” Pawah mentioned, adding that “sedans are not going anywhere.”
The new 5-Series is innovative, and I will provide a more thorough review soon. But sometimes, the most significant innovations are simple. In this case, eleven centimetres.
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)