1998 BMW 540i - Archived Long-Term Road Test - Car and Driver
"This is a car you could live with forever,” writes Phil Berg in the long-term logbook. BMW’s 540i six-speed sedan has it all—room for five, aggressive good looks, and a tantalizingly smooth brute of a V-8 engine. After naming the rejuvenated 5-series to our 10Best Cars list in 1997, we ordered a 540i—with the six-speed manual gearbox, of course—for a 40,000-mile test. Although this car verges on perfection, we still had questions that needed answers. The silver bullet (it only looks silver. Once upon a time, the manual gearbox was standard and the automatic was extra. But our six-speed 540's $55,678 base price is $4050 more than the automatic's ($1404 of the difference is accounted for by the manual's gas-guzzler tax, and the manual also gets a sport-tuned suspension, 8. 0-by-17 aluminum wheels, and 235/45ZR-17... Additionally, our 540 was outfitted with a premium stereo ($1620), optional "comfort seats," which include adjustable lumbar support ($1296), and heating for the seats and steering wheel ($702), bringing the price to $59,296. At the track when... Skidpad grip measured a sports-car-like 0. 84g. A governor reigned in top speed at 155 mph. Source: www.caranddriver.com
