Road Test: BMW 5 Series 530d SE 4dr

Even in the grand scheme of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it facelift, the mid-life surgery on this BMW 5-Series is really minor. It's barely even a facelift - more a teeny tweak, a teeth-whitening exercise. Even the BMW execs on the launch struggled to talk for more than a few minutes when describing all the alterations.

For the record, the changes run to the side indicators being housed in the wing mirrors, massaged bumpers, new headlights and tiny ‘eyebrows' running along the tops of those headlights towards the grille.

It's the latter that are the easiest to spot, but none of this is anywhere near as radical as Merc's recent facelift of the E-Class. To be fair to BMW, though, the 5-Series outsold the E-Class by over 5,000 cars in the UK last year. If it ain't broke...

There are other alterations under the skin of the 5, but, again, nothing major. BMW has focused on the engines, so there's a new Valvetronic V8 engine in the 550i. Big deal - here in the UK, that's as rare as a natterjack toad, so that won't concern you unduly.

Of more relevance to us are the alterations to the lesser petrols and diesels. The former get new, smaller injectors so the fuel flow is more precisely controlled. And the diesels have new NOx traps. All this is in preparation for the tough Euro VI emissions regulations coming into force next year.

The power levels on our test 530d change only slightly (bhp remains at 254; torque goes up to 413 from 398lb ft), but you do see a better return at the pumps. Fuel economy increases to 55.7mpg from 53.3, and the CO2 is now a very respectable 134g/km. As with the rest of the updates, these aren't exactly ground-breaking changes, but at least all the figures are heading in the right direction.

Other than that, it's business as usual for the 5, which means that it's still the best-handling saloon in this segment. The way it manages to cosset yet excite is something no other premium manufacturer can match.

But it isn't perfect. There are five different driving modes to control aspects such as steering weight, throttle and gearbox responses, but none is ideal because they're all lumped together in each mode. The 5 really needs an individual setting for each function so you can tailor each aspect to personal preference, or just scrap it altogether and find a happier compromise. Something for the next tweakette, perhaps?