The new BMW 5 Series is the same but better

Meet the new BMW 5 Series!

It's ever so slightly bigger than the old one...

...but it's up to 137 pounds lighter, depending on which model you go for.

It's rather more aggressive than the old one...

...though the old one was a yawn on wheels if you didn't go for the M Sport package.

It's like BMW's design team has taken the 7 Series and shrunk it down.

There's a cool line that runs from the back of the car, to the front, and loops under itself again. Pretty on the eye, but a nightmare to engineer.

The new 5 is more aerodynamic than ever.

So it'll go further on less gas.

We drove the 540i, which packs a 3.0-liter turbocharged I6 with 340 hp and 332 pound-feet of torque.

0-62mph takes just 5.1 seconds for the rear-wheel drive model.

Spec XDrive all-wheel drive and that number falls to 4.8.

A new M5 is due to be revealed in 2017. Considering the upcoming M550 will hit 62 mph in 4 seconds dead, it'll probably be pretty rapid.

There's an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard.

It's slick, smooth and pretty good.

You can change your own gears if you want to -- just use the paddles behind the steering wheel.

Which, incidentally, is not a very pretty thing.

It's lovely to hold, but doesn't look all that good.

The steering itself is pretty good!

It, like the throttle response, gearbox severity and so on, changes depending on which mode the car is set to.

Comfort will make it soft, Sport and Sport Plus will made it more direct and so on.

For "spirited" driving, Sport is the way to go...

...but even though the car is quite fast, it doesn't feel it in a straight line.

It makes up for that by having sublime handling.

And really good brakes.

You'll realise you're going at a fair lick because the speedo will throw numbers at you like they're going out of fashion. That's always fun.

BMW has upped the tech in its new car.

Its iDrive system now comes with a touchscreen, which works very well.

The interface itself now works with tiles, rather than the old ring... thing.

Each tile does something different -- nav, music and so on -- and the layout is customizable so you can have your own take on things.

You can also have gesture control, like the 7 Series.

And, just like the 7, it's clunky and slow.

But hey, you can show off to your mates and make them feel inferior. If that's your bag.

The car can find you a parking space if you want it to as well.

It'll use historical data, guesswork and, presumbaly, magic to get you the best space it can.

The new 5 Series can also talk to other 5 Series' to find out what the traffic's like, and how the weather is. Which is... pretty cool.

Also sounds like the opening for a fully autonomous future, no?

It's semi-autonomous at the press of a button too.

It'll steer, brake and accelerate for you should you want it to.

The new dash is more evolution than revolution.

But hey, if it ain't broke.

Like the new 5 Series? It's not bad at all, not by any stretch.