1998 BMW 540i Speed, safety and substance. By Ray Thursby, New Car Test Drive .com

Where you drive has a lot to do with your impressions of the BMW 5 Series sedans. If there's an autobahn outside

your front door, it's only natural to look at speed potential. A narrow, winding road built into the daily commute

focuses attention on suspension design, while a stretch of speed-limited smooth freeway brings considerations of

silence, comfort and, perhaps, gas mileage to the fore.

Logic suggests that any car capable of standout performance in any one of these environments will be compromised

to a notable degree in the others. Fuel efficiency and velocities high enough to allow use of the fast lane on a

German superhighway don't often mix; neither do responsive handling and cruising comfort. In most cases, anyway.

But BMW's 5 Series lineup is something special. We've had the opportunity to spend time in these sedans in all

of the situations listed above, from foot-to-the-floor hurry-up mode to back-road barnstorming to gentle commuting.

The conclusion: Competence is always in evidence, and compromise is not.

Less evident, but very welcome, are manifestations of the company's efforts to improve safety. This is the area

where the 5 Series cars have received the most attention for 1998. Availability of side airbags, already standard

for front-seat occupants, is extended to rear-seat passengers this year. A new Head Protection System joins such

expected safety enhancements as standard traction control, ABS and dual-mode airbags. The dual-mode changes the

deployment speed of the airbag depending on whether occupants are wearing seat belts; and the front-passenger

airbags will not inflate if that seat is unoccupied.