五猩車評：寶馬530d旅行版

The Clarkson Review: 2017 BMW 5?series (530d xDrive) Touring

From second fiddle to rock guitar god

從二流琴手到搖滾天王

FOR MANY years I have argued that, all things considered, the BMW 530d estate is the best car in the world. It』s fast, handsome, astoundingly economical, very comfortable, reliable and genuinely good fun to drive. And now there』s a new version that is supposedly better in every way. But can you, I wondered, get Alex James from Blur into the boot with one of his guitars?

多年以來我一直表示—所有車裡，530d旅行版是全球最佳。高速 帥氣 驚人地經濟，超級舒適，可靠也十分有駕駛樂趣。我在想Alex James能不能在後備箱放一把他的吉他？

And then could you get the record producer William Orbit into the middle of the back seat, and could they play The Chain by Fleetwood Mac as we were driven from one party to the next?

然後錄音師William Orbit在後排當中，在狂歡路上演奏Fleetwood Mac的The Chain？

Like any sensible chap who』s looking through some beer-stained goggles at what was obviously going to be a big night, I made sure a driver was on hand to deal with the business of moving me about. The trouble is that these days a driver is a bit like a packet of cigarettes at a party: round about 10pm everyone suddenly decides they』d like to help themselves.

就像老花眼的理性黨一樣，我找了個夜班司機。問題是，司機如同派對上的一包煙：一到10點各位就來上一根

So that』s why, as we left dinner, Alex and his wife asked if they could cadge a lift. That would make four of us plus a driver, and that』s no problem at all in the big Beemer. But then I noticed Mr Orbit looking a bit crestfallen, so he had to come too. And for some reason that isn』t clear, both he and Alex had guitars. 「It』s OK,」 said Alex. 「I』ll go in the boot.」

這就是我們吃完飯後，Alex和妻子問問能不能搭便車。這就要四個人加司機了，對大寶馬來說不是事兒。但我發現Orbit有點垂頭喪氣，他也不得不來。而且不知為啥他和Alex都有吉他。Alex說，沒事兒，我睡後備箱

Having wedged himself in, he then decided he』d quite like to play us a tune. But this was tricky since he was upside down and could access only about half of his fretboard. To make matters worse, Mr Orbit was stuck between me, who』s quite long, and my girlfriend, who』s even longer. And yet after just five miles they had it cracked. And so we were whizzing through the lanes of Oxfordshire, with live music to keep us entertained. It was a happy night.

在後備箱安頓好後，他打算獻歌一曲。但倒立著只能握住半板讓他很難演奏。更糟的是，Orbit先生卡在我的身後，高個子哦，還有我女友，個子更高。然而5里地後問題解決。我們就疾馳於牛津街頭，歡快的夜晚充斥著現場音樂會的氣息

Of course there are other large cars in which a brace of musicians could perform — many, in fact, if they are built like the Rolling Stones — but very few are so good at everything else as well.

當然，許多其他大型車輛也能裝下這些大肆演出的藝人—實際上有很多都像滾石樂隊—但鮮有通吃全才

Let me give you an example. When you fill the tank in a normal car, you are informed by a readout on the dash that you have a range of … what? Three hundred miles? Three hundred and fifty? Well, after you fill the tank in the 530d, you』re told you can go 550 miles before you need to stop again. And that, if you hate filling stations as much as I do, is enough of a reason to sign on the dotted line.

舉個例子。當你給一台車加油時，儀錶盤提示你的里程極限是…啥？300英里？350？額，如果你給530d加滿油，據稱你能跑完550英里後才續命。而這對於我這種討厭加油的人來說，可是填收據的好理由

But there』s more. The head restraints in most cars are designed to be just that. Restraints. Tools to prevent you from becoming an insurance fraudster by complaining that you have whiplash. But in the BMW they are also headrests: big soft pillows into which you can nuzzle when Alex and William are serenading you with a gentle ballad.

還不止這些。頭枕只是頭 枕。以防止你因為扭傷脖子騙保險。但寶馬的頭枕嘛….是組讓你聽著催眠曲安逸躺著的選擇

Or what about the sat nav system? In your car you have to sit there twiddling a knob to spell out where it is you』d like to go. You can do that in the BMW if you like living in the past. Or you can write it out longhand on the so-called touchpad — it works better if you are left-handed — or you can just say where you』d like to go. Three alternatives to do one thing.

導航怎麼樣？你的車可能要撥弄把手來拼寫目的地。如果你很復古死板你也可以這樣。或者在所謂觸摸板上手寫目的地—左撇子尤甚—或者語音下令。三道同終

It』s the same with quite a few of the controls. You can either push a button or you can make a gesture. Seriously, you just wave your hand about and something happens. This car, then, has all the best tech to be found anywhere.

很多其他控制也是如此。按鍵操作或者手勢引導。真的，只要搖搖手就有奇蹟發生。這車搭載了所有時下的至尊科技

In other cars you often find this blanket of electrical engineering sitting there like a distracting shroud to smother and blind the owner from some fairly ho-hum mechanical engineering — a hot sauce to mask the fact you』re eating a rat — but in the BMW that is emphatically not the case.

其他車的高科技只是用來掩蓋機械性能的缺憾，以愚弄車主—就像吃老鼠時的辣椒醬，假裝品味—但BMW非也

If you turn off all the nannying systems that are on hand to stop you crashing, you find that it is the real deal. You sit there doing big, easily controlled smoky tail slides, thinking: 「Er, I』m in a big five-seat diesel estate. How can this be possible?」

如果你關掉保姆系統，你會識得真本色。你在做著可控 輕鬆的巨大煙尾，想著「額，這可是大號五座柴油旅行車，你在逗我？」

And it』s the same story on the road. You know it』s a diesel that』s powering you because you heard the familiar clatter when you started. But now you can』t hear it at all. BMW has done something fancy here with the acoustics, because I』m not exaggerating. At a cruise the engine is silent.

上路也是一樣。熟悉的柴油聲浪告訴你這是柴油機。但這車你啥都聽不到。BMW對聲浪做了花哨的處理，不是誇張。巡航時根本鴉雀無聲

And not because it』s broken. You know this because when you put your foot down it』s as if you』ve been caught up in a giant wave of torque. The TwinPower turbo is spinning and the six pistons are causing God knows how many explosions a minute, but all you can hear are the tyres as you lunge — and you really do lunge — towards the next bend.

車也沒壞。你給腳油就能感覺到扭矩捲起千層浪。雙動力渦輪飛轉著，六活塞每分鐘的抽插次數無人可計，但你飛撲—是的，飛撲向下個彎道時能聽到輪胎的悲鳴

And that』s something you』re looking forward to, because the steering is perfectly judged, the brakes haul down the speed with infinitely variable feel and, thanks to that four-wheel-drive system, there is almost never any understeer. It』s all just grip. Even when the snow falls.

這正是你所期待的，因為轉向堪稱完美，制動的減速感變幻無窮，得益於4WD，從來不會推頭。只有滿滿的抓地力。雪天亦然

This has always been an Achilles heel for BMW. And no one is really sure why. But when the thermometer drops below zero, the first cars to slither into a ditch are always the Beemers. The xDrive system answers that, and now it』s available across the range, I』d tick the box, especially if I lived somewhere rural.

推頭一直是BMW的死穴。沒人了解為啥。但溫度計示數降過冰點，第一個滑到溝里的永遠是BMW。XDrive正是對策，可供全系選配，我肯定砸錢，尤其是住所偏僻時。

At the very least it』ll be useful when you have a rock star in the boot and you』ve been directed to park in a muddy paddock

至少當搖滾巨星即將和你一起啃泥時還是很管用的

Finally, there』s the business of quality. BMW has always had to play second fiddle to Mercedes in this area, but I just don』t think that』s the case any more. If you push and pull all the trim in the 5-series, it feels as though you are pushing and pulling a barnacle that』s been welded in place. Everything gives the impression it』s there to stay. Forever.

最終，談談品質。BMW一直是三芒星的下手，但這次非也。如果你對著5系的內飾推推搡搡，就像推著一個頑固的熊孩子。事物留下的印象難以磨滅，永恆久遠。

I could go on, but there』s no point, because until there is a breakthrough in what we drive and who drives it and what powers it and what controls it, this is as good as it gets. It』s 130 years of development brought together in a package that』s as faultless as current technology permits.

我還有的說，但沒必要了，因為在我們在駕駛 動力和走向上找到槽點之前，這車已經完美無瑕。就像130年歷史的究極整合，如同當今科技一樣完美無瑕

Mercedes, Audi and Jaguar can sell you cars that are similar. But they simply don』t do everything quite as well as this BMW does.

三芒星 燈廠和豹子都能給你同級別的選擇。但他們不能達到BMW現在的高度

No other car does everything so well

全方面的無懈可擊

At a glance

概覽

• Handling 操控 5星
• Comfort 舒適 5星
• Performance 性能 5星
• Interior 內飾 5星
• Practicality 實用性 5星
• Costs 價格 5星

Pros 欽定

Fits me, a driver, a girlfriend, two musicians and a couple of guitars

裝下了我 一個司機 一個女票 倆樂手和幾把吉他

Manages 550 miles between fill ups

一次加油續航550英里

Superb levels of quality

極致的高品質

翻譯：GearKnobs字幕組—進化世代（ALMF3512）