BMW is the undisputed market leader in luxury vehicles in the Philippines. But while they tend to do excellently sales-wise, they don’t offer the same leadership when it comes to creature comfort features. The foundations—the engine and platform—all tend to be solid, but they fall short when it comes to things that customers actually touch and feel like the trimmings and accruements. That’s all changed with the 2022 BMW 5 Series. In an ingenious move, BMW has decided to source the sedan from Malaysia. With that, less of the price tag went to excise taxes and shipping charges; more went in the way of leveling up the equipment and features. Finally, BMW’s executive sedan comes out of the gate in fighting form. It’s certainly elevated itself—buyers need not just buy it for the badge as it’s now truly great value as well. It's hard to believe that the current generation 5 Series, codenamed the G30, has been around since 2017. Five years is an eternity in the automotive world so it’s right time for BMW to give it its mid-cycle refresh. For this update, there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Upfront, it sees a larger twin-kidney grille which because of the extra width and height, necessitated a new front bumper design. Sandwiching the grille are new LED headlights that now incorporate an adaptive cornering function and automatic high beams. At each corner are 18-inch alloys with run-flat tires, and at the back are new taillight graphics and a rear bumper with square tailpipe cutouts. The 2022 5 Series’ heightened sense of luxury starts with the doors, or more specifically, how they close. No need to slam them shut, as a soft-close mechanism “sucks” them in. The steering wheel also automatically tilts up easing entry into the seats. Then, there’s the seat covering itself. Typically, premium brands in the Philippines are guilty of sticking with synthetic material for their multi-million-peso offerings. Not here as the standard Dakota leather’s the real deal. It’s not as luxurious as, say, the X7’s Merino Leather, but because of its heavy finish, it’s also much more durable. The same can be said about the highlight trim which is real metal in Pearl Chrome and real open-pored ash trunkwood.