KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — It is the dream of every kid (or adult) to one day own a BMW. Never mind which BMW... as long as it’s a BMW.

For as long as I can remember, the idea of owning a BMW basically meant, “Look here, I’ve made it in life.” My dad bought a Honda Accord in the early ‘80s and told us proudly that this was our “BMW”.

My sister and I believed him, only because we didn’t know any better then. To us, a car was this metal thing with four rubber floats that took us from point A to point B. But now, thinking back, I know exactly what he meant when he said it.

Fast forward 30 years or so, the reason for many people wishing to own a BMW still hasn’t changed. It still brings to mind the thought that you’ve made it in life! I may not share that belief anymore but I’m pretty certain that a lot of people out there still do.

What that basically means is that the people at BMW have created such a huge name for themselves that it’s difficult to see them destroy it (in my lifetime anyway), especially when they have expanded their range in the last few years with the “entry-level” 1-Series, the re-incarnated 6-Series, the “I-got-to-take-my-kids-for-football” X-Series and on the other end, the “I-used-to-be-James Bonds” Z Roadsters.

And not forgetting that they have the evergreen 3-Series, the ever-dominating 5-Series, the “oh-so luxurious” 7-Series still as their bread and butter cars. I think BMW is here to stay for a very long, long time.

OK… commercial break over! Now to the actual reason for this article… so after testing the 523i over the weekend, here’s what I fail to understand about people who buy these cars (the big and expensive type) — they pay so much for the car and then, they get someone else to drive them around in it? Why?

The car is built for one thing — driving pleasure. I personally feel that everything about the car is about the driver and what they want me to feel after driving the car. Not for the chauffeurs to have bragging rights among themselves… but for me, the driver and the owner!

If there’s anyone out there who’d care to explain to me why these people do it, I’d be glad to pay for your beer while you tell me the reason. But you can’t just give me the “because I can” line, because I won’t accept it.

I won’t accept that you don’t want to feel how the car takes corners like it’s on rails. I don’t know exactly what it is; it could be the double wishbone on the front suspension or the Dynamic Damping Controls that are on each of the wheels that senses bumps and compensates the ride on the other wheels or the Dynamic Stability Control that senses the wheel rotation, the steering control and the lateral forces that throws the centre of gravity of the car when it’s in motion. Or a combination of all three systems that makes corners such a pleasure to turn into. Trust me when I tell you that I can feel the slightest roll in the car and this baby doesn’t.

I can’t accept that you don’t want to feel the ergonomics of the driver’s seat. You know how some cars are designed in such a way that you actually feel tired and have a sore back after a long drive? Well, let’s just say that I didn’t need to stretch after a long drive. It was really comfy but for some reason, although it’s in the manual I just couldn’t find the controls for the lumbar area. That would’ve been really super!

I refuse to accept that you don’t want to feel the power at your feet. With a 2.5-litre engine (204 horses packed in), shift it into the 8-speed steptronic…you’ll feel the G-forces pulling your face back.

However, when you leave it in auto, the pick-up on this machine is not great. This could be due to the 1.6-ton body plus the 70-litre fuel tank that causes the 2.5 engine to drag a bit during take-off. Maybe, this could be for those people who still choose to sit at the back and don’t want their drivers to jerk them around. But anyhow, if you step on it, it’ll fly just the same.

I’ll reject any excuse that you find the car difficult to master because frankly, it’s not rocket science! If you can navigate the smartest of all smartphones, you can master the iDrive system after a day. I don’t drive a car with any of the smart technologies that this BMW 523i has (the smartest thing in my car is the fuel injection and me… hehehe!), and even then I found it rather easy to navigate around it.

Everything that you need to know about the car is all in here. From the sound system to the GPS to the tyre pressure and even the owner’s manual… hell, you can even go onto the Internet here!

Ah… about tyre pressure, I definitely don’t see you as one of those people who would stop by the side of the road to change your flat tyre. Well, this car runs on run-flat tyres. That means, when you have a puncture, the car will indicate that you need to go to the nearest tyre shop to look into your slowly deflating tyres.

But since not all your regular Ah Keong tyre shops keep stock of these run-flat tyres, you can continue driving on them at a maximum speed of 80kph till you find one. I suggest that when you buy the car, you already should have on hand a list of where to get these tyres and not wait until you run flat to find out.

So, after knowing all that, and paying a cool RM383,000 for the kidney-grill, would you still want to sit at the back?