BMW puts a 6.0-second time on a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) run in the 545i equipped with a regular automatic stick. My senses tell me
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| The twin steering-wheel mounted shifter paddles are each configured to either upshift or downshift through the gearbox. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
that the SMG equipped buggy may be slightly faster - at least it feels that way to me. Unlike the SMG-equipped M3 that I recently put through rigors of a road test, the twin paddles in the 545i are each configured to either upshift or downshift through the gearbox. I preferred this format to the paddle configuration in the M3, which uses the right paddle for upshifting and the left paddle for downshifting. Being able to climb up or down the ladder of cogs with the same hand allowed me to use my right hand for flipping through iDrive screens, a sensory overload nothing short of a binary frenzy.
Fortunately, incredibly strong brakes are in place for the inevitable occasions when the iDrive screen is getting more attention
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| The 4-wheel inner-vented, antilock disc brakes feature BMW's Dynamic Brake Control and Cornering Brake Control compositions. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
than the traffic up ahead. Performing admirably during these potential "breaking" situations is a 4-wheel inner-vented, antilock disc setup featuring BMW's Dynamic Brake Control (DBC) and Cornering Brake Control (CBC) compositions. The DBC system balances braking force front to rear and the CBC system balances the same side to side - that is if the antilock system is activated during a cornering maneuver. The aggregate payoff is shorter stopping distances and greater emergency-stopping control. The binders on my test sled needed very little pedal pressure - perhaps too little - to rapidly dispense with vehicular movement. Braking clout was easily modulated thanks to a very linear progression in stopping force. The 545i's antilock technology was never premature in its intervention, allowing the driver some full-force braking "wiggle room."
