jonboy

I mentioned to a colleague at work that i was getting a new 5 series then had to listen to a monologue of what a crap design it was. The front headlights and rear end seemed to come in for particular abuse.

Now it's making me begin to doubt my own taste. I really like both the front and rear aspects so can't see how on earth people can find them so offensive.

Please let me know what it is that causes such a violent reaction - have I lost my eye for good design??

jonboy

BMW530

They are just jealous!!! The headlights are distinctive and stand out, especially the LED "eyebrow" look. I love it. Ignore what your colleague's say!

cidair

The E60 is the coolest design in a long long time to hit the car market.

It really stands out from the crowd in a positive way.

It looks sooooo fresh, agile and agressive.

Just look at the OLD designs - MB E and the " new" A6 design. Just boring!

BMW530

Yes its definitely got Road Presence.

objekt

I?m a newbie at these forums but have certainly noted that the styling discussions tend to get very excited. Still I find them most often stimulating for my emotions as I?m waiting for deelivery. Since I was a child I?ve been extremely interested in Car design and that was what I dreamed of doing as an adult. It didn?t become but I have a profession in fine arts instead. I now own a E46 but have a E61 on order. The E46 I think is a very nice design and I also thought that the old 5er was one of the most beautiful cars available (the front especially). The old touring I thought was even more cleverly formatted. Also the 7er two generations back was very elegant. When the Bangle designs started coming out I was first confused and later almost disgusted. The high waistline, the "upside down" of the front lighting arrangement, the rear "double-take" on volume and "japanese" lighting arrangement all seemed SO disrespectful of the sublime elegance and also sportiness of the old 5er.
The first reviews of the cars also indicated that the new design was not a hit and "had to get used to" at best. But when the cars have started to materialize on the roads this has actually happened totally for me. NOW I THINK THIS NEW 5ER IS A GREAT DESIGN. I really, really like the form of the limousine 5. Both exterior and interior (which I always appreciated). The form really grows on me and when I see the old and new besides each other the E39 is not desirable but very dated (as also most other cars). The radical break in format that Chris Bangle almost have gotten crucified for is worth great respect as one of the major car design shifts of this decade. Odd re-design definately does not work all the time (I hate the Ford Scorpio frognose-debacle, the robocop Caprice, new Rover, the new Volvo was OK when it came (s80) but have dated and become boring) but when it does it becomes true statements (look at classic Citroen, Jaguar E-type, the Mercedes boxcar direction at the late 60s etc.).
I agree that the new E-class is a very smart and elegant reinterpretation (which I like) but have more respect for the old A6 shift than the new version which only has the big grill and is backed down stylewise in rear and profile as new.
The clearest example of how boring things can become if the conservative approach has to be uphold is the new Jaguar XJ models that like the previous 7er generation shift just made a classic design worse by not giving anybody a chance to anticipate development.
The irony for me is that I felt (and read in many reviews) that the new touring was a safer design choice than the limo when I ordered it but when I now see the cars for real I see that it is the limo that has the best design statement quality (opposite as to what I felt on the E39)
I think you?ve made a splendid choice

best
objekt

Icy

In general, people are resistant to change. Add that to the fact that the previous 5 (E39?) was such a tremendous hit, and I can see why people have some type of instinctive need to defend the old school designs.

That by no means indicates you have lost your taste or style. You like what you like. And really, who cares what anyone else thinks.

You know you can look out the window anytime you want and see this great machine and smile at your choice.

I know I will.

kigerka

Your Colleague has some issues. Probably jealous. Those lights are sweet and make the car standout and more original than any other car. If you notice, the Honda Accord is trying to copy the body style of the 5er.

vpbmp

If you look carefully at the designs coming out in the next year

particularly the new MB S series, the Lexus LF-S,the Passat[head

lights], the Infiniti M45 and the Accura 3.5 TL S.... they all share

many similar 5er design cues. My only take on the new 5 is that I think Herr

Bangle may have overdesigned the headlight area. The rest of the car I

think is nicely done .

Doctor Diesel

And What does this colleague drive? hope it is a pea green colour to mach the colour he has gone with envy


Be a shepard, not a sheep...Baa Baa Baa...

JDN

jonboy, I had the same reaction to all of the negative comments on RoadFly and elsewhere. I had to wait six months for HUD and SMG. I had a great E39 and wondered if I had made a collossal mistake, especially with all of the trips back to the dealer being reported.

Well bully -- guess what. Not even one small imperfection in the car. I find that it puts the E39 in the shade in almost every category. I say almost because there are a few things like the shift knob, etc. that were definitely better in the E39.

My advice is to just smile at your colleague, confident with the fact that you made the right decision, and he has some hidden agenda that he, himself, might not understand.

Don't worry about it. The E60s are great cars.