hinckley

Not for the 535. It is available with the regular automatic from March production, the new sport automatic from June production and the manual from Septmeber production.

The two other models have the regular automatic and the manual from March production.

Hormazd

That sucks. So while you were writing I was looking at the real difference in cost between the two cars and came up with around 7K. I want PDC and I think with the 535 I have to pay 2,300 for the Premium package + 2550 for the SP. These are all taken from the wholesale page. Is that correct?? No manual tranny is a show stopper for me.

EBMCS03

So you're going to get the 550 now?

Hormazd

I am going to wait til the end of May. I will drive both cars and and look at both payments. The price does not change but the money factor does as time goes on. Then decide.

Either order the 550 in June or the 535 in September. The latter means I have to extend my current lease. I just do not have enough information now to make the decision. Maybe I will hate the ride of the 550i SP. Maybe the non-RF tires will make it closer to the ride I am looking for. I just do not know.

Bokke

doug_999,

Significantly worse fuel economy! I am not so sure....

I just spent two weeks in a 525i (loaner with 6,600 miles on the clock) and got, occording to the OBC, 19.7mpg in "my" everyday driving (760 miles in total), compared to 18.4mpg in my 545i I choose the V8 - IMHO

The mpg in the 525i was the biggest surprise for me in those two weeks....otherwise great car...

Cheers,

vic32amg

yeah I am thinking of doing the same thing but for the sport auto. i don't like the new shifter in the regular auto, looks like a banana. My wife keeps pushing the E350 but i odn' think that is an option anymore. for me it probably comes down to a fully loaded 335i sedan or a nicel equiped 535i. I prefer the 535i but I will have to wait to see what happens wit money factor, payment and overall feel when proction is complete.

..
waiting tlll august will suck tho.

EBMCS03

Exactlly... everyone is so hung up with the V8s supposedly horrid fuel economy compared to the I-6s. Its not true. If you look at the city MPG for 525 530 and 550 they're all off by 1mpg. like 18, 19 and 17 respectivly...

Overall daily driving with mixed highway and city the 525 and 530 are not much better than the V8s. Maybe 1-2 mpg... Woopie dooo... On pure highway the I-6s will do better but not many people drive pure highway without traffic.

vic32amg

Even someone budget minded like myself has never really taken MPG into consideration. All of it kinda becomes irrelevant when I take , driving conditions, my personal driving habits, atitude, traffic and Mods if any into consideration. I mean changing wheels and driving into the wind can have an effect. I thinks it really doesn't apply especially when the difference is +/- 1-2 miles. SILLY.

aybeesea

Once you're in for $55k, what's $65k?

If we could get these cars in EU for these "giveaway" prices... whooopee...

But, all things are relative, I guess. Good luck with your decision. It'll be an excellent car whichever way you go!

ABC

550isport

I'd say its not the raw performance numbers themselves, but rather the manner in which the numbers are achieved. IMHO 550 is set up with lazy road manners. i.e., the gas pedal needs a good shove otherwise the car floats around town. An inline 6 BMW usually loves to rev. There should be a big difference in the personality of these cars. As for raw straight line performance, I am pretty certain that the only place you are going to percieve a difference between the two will be over 80-100 mph. I average about 85-88 mph (as per a Garmin GPS), which means that my speedo is more often than not in triple digits. So it is very common for me to wind out my car to redline in say, 3rd gear (perhaps to about 115 mph) as I am passing etc... Physics dictate that a 535 cannot feel quite as strong in this type of a scenario. But if this scenario doesn't apply to you, there probably is no appreciable performance difference between these two cars. I know the 550 has bigger brakes than the 530xi did - probably since its more comfortable at higher speeds (the weight difference is small between a 550 and a 530xi). But I'd guess the personality difference between the 8 and the turbo 6 is apparent in daily use without pushing these cars. Personally, If someone wants a mean, aggressive car with an automatic that sounds imposing, the 535 is probably not the best choice. But if you are the type that relishes throttle response, wears driving gloves, wouldn't choose an automatic and doesn't think that revving an engine is bad for it, I wouldn't be shocked if the 535 was a better choice than the 550, even putting cost aside.

M2C
DRP