I notice a lot of (particularly US) cars seem to have specced the Active Steering

I seem to recall that in almost every UK roadtest they have slated the Active Steering and recommended to avoid it (the standard complaint along with run flats!).
I don't have it - and none of the cars I have driven had it - so can't verify their view.

So is it money well spent or diluting the driver experience ?

Active steering is a great feature, It doesnt take away from the driving experience, it adds to it. I would definitely get this option again. :thumbsup:

I love AS...

I don't track our 545i so I'm not sure how AS would work under those conditions. But for evry day driving, including agressive street driving I have no problems with AS. It makes parking easy and gives good road feadback at speed. It comes with the sport package we got. My wife LOVES AS.

I like it, under slow conditions it's great and at high speeds I don't seem to tell it's there, but I have never been on a track or anything like that so there it might cause issues, but other than that I like it.

Aviod it. Something else that can break. You gotta wonder why the ///M guys decided to skip it in the M5. It doesn't feel "natural" when you're going slow and making turns. Sometimes you don't know how much to correct and you will need to get used to it. It's not worth it IMHO.

I drive a Camry and a the bimmer on a weekly basis; I drive them differently and sometimes the same matter. I don't notice the AS at all except in parking lots - less turning of the steering wheel on the bimmer. The car I bought came with AS (sport package on 05). Otherwise, I didn't reality care for it. Just more expensive to repair too if it breaks down. :thumbsdown:

AS is invisible to me. Some say, OK, you can notice AS by noting the relatively small wheel movements needed to park. Boy, that's a biggie. And, maybe one can notice that it takes more wheel movements to turn at speed. Hummmm? I adjust so quickly to different cars, etc., that, as indicated, I never notice AS. AS is said to be a safety feature. OK, fine, I guess I am glad I have AS. Still, I think that one could easily do without it.

Try it and see what you think. Personally I *love* active steering. Whether it was or wasn't on the //M is not really relevant - it's not an apples to apples comparison, and other features such as dynamic drive didn't make the M either and most owners who have that seem to love it. And personally I wouldn't read too much into the reviews - a lot of them were done early in the E60's life, and the system has changed a lot since then with software updates. Plus half the time the writers claiming this or that want to make you think they are better drivers than the BMW engineers who develop this stuff.... If you've never has AS you can definitely live without it - but once you've had it you'll miss it every tiime you drive a non-AS car.

AS is invisible to me. Some say, OK, you can notice AS by noting the relatively small wheel movements needed to park. Boy, that's a biggie. And, maybe one can notice that it takes more wheel movements to turn at speed. Hummmm? I adjust so quickly to different cars, etc., that, as indicated, I never notice AS. AS is said to be a safety feature. OK, fine, I guess I am glad I have AS. Still, I think that one could easily do without AS.
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vnod, I've been following your posts about whether you had AS or not and I'm kind of surprised you don't feel the difference - maybe it's because your other car is a ZO6?? :P As soon as I get into a non-AS car (E60 or otherwise) I can tell the difference as soon as I turn out of the dealer's parking lot.

Had AS on my first E60. I found it vague at speed. I didn't order it on my current E60 and don't miss it a bit. I find my current car's steering feels superb at speed with loads of feel. AS is a waste of money IMHO.