BMW Dominates What Car? Car Of The Year 2004
Published: 25th January 2004
BMW Z4
What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2004
Last night’s ceremony saw BMW gain honours in more categories than any other manufacturer with wins in the Executive, Performance, Roadster and Small Executive categories.
- BMW 5 Series reclaims its Executive Car crown
- BMW M3 tops Performance Car class for fourth year in a row
- BMW Z4 wins Roadster category on its debut
- BMW 320dES is best Small Executive car
- BMW 5 Series - Best Executive Car
Launched in September 2003, the new BMW 5 Series has once again taken BMW’s executive saloon to the head of its class. This latest award means that the 5 Series has won What Car?’s Best Executive Car title in eight of the last nine years – the old model having won in seven consecutive years between 1996 and 2002, prompting What Car? to create a Lifetime Achievement award in 2002 for the model.
The new BMW 5 Series has immediately reclaimed its title. In What Car?’s October 2003 edition, the 520i SE beat the Mercedes E200K Classic, Jaguar S-type 2.5 V6 and Volvo S80 2.5T S with What Car? testers noting:
"The 5 Series has improved in two key areas that really matter to executive buyers. Its creamy smooth ride and outstandingly quiet cabin truly satisfy and are enough in themselves to put the BMW back on top of the executive pile. Attractive contract hire rates, excellent residual values and masses of interior space complete the package."
