TObmw

Although there are small nagging problems that exist with any make of car, and admittedly, the software that powers iDrive should have been better tested before release, the 545i is an outstanding car. Like many others here, I absolutely love driving my car and find myself making small excuses to get behind the wheel at any and every opportunity. Every car has its lemons and I don't think this model is an exception. Regardless, you will not regret this car. Our family has owned 3 BMWs (including a 1991 M5), 2 Volvos and a Mercedes and this is by far the best of the whole lot. Remember that the vast majority of users in this forum are hard core BMW owners that are at times critical of their cars especially because they like them so much. Rarely due you read posts in this forum about the 545i being under-powered or exhibiting poor handling and, in the final analysis, isn't that what owning a car is all about?

dfndr

If you just want to put the car in drive and press the gas pedal, get an E-class Mercedes. If you are the kind of driver that loves to drive and that will take the time to learn to use the latest automotive technology, the E60 is the sports sedan for you. Think hard about which tranny you want and drive the car with traction control off. It is a beast.

BurgessMW

We've only had the car for a few weeks now so it's too early for any reliability concerns. So far everything has been great! An exceptional car to say the least. Flawless so far but like I said, it's only been a few weeks.

As for the power, to be honest I felt the 530i's power was more than adequate for everyday driving. During our 530i test drive we had an opportunity to make a pass on a single lane road, effortlessly executed! The 545i's power is WAY more than necessary but I'm glad it's there just the same.

Seems most of the bugs have been worked out. Don't let the iDrive scare you, it's a breeze to work with and voice command will let you bypass it altogether in many cases. I don't think you'll have any regrets on this 5er.

Hormazd

I have a hunch that the E60 was released 5 months early, or that BMW worked out 90% of the bugs by March 04 production. The worst is behind us and most of the complaints on this board are from the early adopters. To top this BMWNA has less involement than is desirable in the independent dealer network. They need to train better.

With the exception of some small software bugs my car at 8500 miles performs like a dream with no issues.

tab545

The 545 is a thing of beauty. This page is filled with the connoisseurs of the world, rightly demanding the best of a car that is, in the end fantastic. The car is a riot to drive, and I think its appearance is unusual enough to draw looks, but also has enough design integrity to age well.

I had mine taken back for the engine control recall in July, and I'm going to take it in voluntarily for the first time next week to fix an annoying, cycling whine behind the steering column.

(And two valet-parker scratches have me pissed off, and admittedly have distanced me from the unalloyed worship of my flawless precious, but I can't blame BMW for that!)

I'd get the same car in a minute. Maybe the 550....

jochet

Hello Reine, My 2004 545i has sports and RF tires, and I have to disagree, my car is glued to the road. I'm finding that the car is driving better with 4000 miles on it than it did when it was new. (break in?) Could it be that your tires are over inflated? I love active steering, but it does take getting used too.

Reine

Hi there!

But do you have dynamic drive? The combination I referred to is dynamic, sport, active steering and runflats. Yes, I to think active steering is great but not with the above combination. And yes, at high speeds the car is on rails..

When I put the wintertires on, the car became much better to drive, of course these are not runflats.