But I just want to say the Camry deserves that thinking his car is better than a bimmer

 

I definately find myself driving faster than i realize because the car is so smooth and controlled at higher speeds that you really have to look at the speedometer to know how fast you are going. I'm just hoping that the awesome brakes (they sure work well) make up for this.

My fear is that my car will stop so much better than 99% of the cars on the road that I'm likely to get rear-ended.

 

Just a quick observation...
about 15 years ago my father was driving a Caddilac Seville.
I could ride my 10-speed bike faster than he would drive his car.

When he finally "stepped up" and got a BMW (a 12 cyl 750iL no less), his driving characteristics changed dramatically. And with his second 12 cyl BMW he drives even harder.

So for him, although it's not an E60, the BMW did make him at least a "more spirited" driver!

As for me... I've always driven the living hell out of any and every car that I have driven. I figure I've paid for it - I might as well use ALL of what it has to offer (and maybe a little bit more). The dynamics of the BMW just makes me "look" like a better driver.

 

That's why I am constantly looking in my mirrors.
I can attest to at lest 3 accidents that would have happened in my driving career if I had not paid attention to my rear view mirror.

One would have been disasterous as I was already at a dead stop. Some A-hole came off of the highway at a high rate of speed as I was stopped in a line of traffic at a red light. Seeing his headlights coming straight at me at a high rate of speed, I pulled into the other lane as he locked-up his brakes. He just barely missed the car that was in front of me . If I hadn't have moved I would have been F'd.

Another time I was following my Father into Boston.
There is a 70 (+/-) degree corner under a bridge with a stoplight about 1000 feet after the corner the had traffic stopped just after the corner.
All I remember was seeing my fathers 750 decellerate rather quickly. I was in my M3 at the time and thought "...no problem - I can out-brake him." The next thing that came across my mind was the F-350 that was behind me. Luckilly there was some room to the right. All worked out well.

Moral of the story... BMW's will brake very well. Just hope there is another BMW behind you - otherwise watch your mirrors and hope for some room to the right or left.

 

realtyman: good reactions, doubt if i am even half as skilful as avoiding accidents as you are.

As usual, I learn things the hard way. Having my first BMW when I was 17, I drove it like a madman everyday, irregardless of other people's safety. I used to do topspeed every single day and do all sorts of things only an idiot would do. Everyday on my way to school I would pass this windy road with 30mph speed limit and I would be drifting my car around these corners at night when no one was there at 2-3 times the speed limit with the traction control off. Obviously, its only a matter of time before I crashed and crashed I did. I hit 2 trees and a phone pole and I never wore my seatbelt at that time. I was extremely lucky and only suffered a swollen lip which speak volumes about the car's safety. Well....lesson learnt = don't drive like an idiot.

Although the 545 can handle corners much faster and handles many times better than the X5 or cayenne, no way am I ever gonna try cheat death again. I admit to having raced couple of cars I meet on the freeway but ONLY if the highway is clear, which means no sudden lane changes and stupid driving manouveurs for me. I still take corners fast sometimes but nowhere near the car's limits. The e60 for me is intoxicating. Compared to the SUVs which are sluggish after 70mph this one flies, but I still try to keep it safe and avoid those pesky troopers. And it only gets worse in wet weather. Previous 2 cars have no problem going fast in the wet, i've driven the X5 at 130 and Cayenne at 145 in the wet and they fell absolutely fine with AWD. Second day i received my e60 it was pouring and at 70mph the car fishtailed which freaked me a little. Since then, I am probably among the slowest on the highway when it rains.

Having said all that, I don't think its the type of cars that make u fast, its life's experiences like mine and fear of tickets, jail, court, insurance that made one slow down. Even if I drive a ferrari, I will never dare to skid or "test" the car's limit....

hope all that doesn't make me too much of a wuss...

 

I'm not sure if driving a good car makes me a "better" driver per se, but driving a BMW has certainly taught me more about where the car's limits (and my own) are - due to the BMW reacting exactly as expected at all times. It is a superb driving machine.

However this can lull the driver into a false sense of security - the feeling he/she is invincible; and that can be very dangerous.

I often get people who have a "need" to get past me or overtake; I put this down to some kind of inferiority/penis complex (It's never women!) - they see a youngish guy in a ?40k car and feel they must overtake or cut me up.

I just think "whatever" in these situations - I'll just get home safe in my beautiful car. If a man feels he needs to drive agressively to prove some point to himself, then that's his prerogative, his problem and an issue he himself needs to deal with.

I've also had people ask me "driving daddy's car are you?" - this used to wind me up but now I reply with "If it makes you more comfortable to think that this car is my father's, good luck to you, friend" - This makes the idiots mad

Shi

 

Better driver...although i drive (from time to time) a bit more agressively, i tend to do it in a more cautious way (the steptronic also makes me more relaxed). Before this car, i almost raced everytime i got into a car...really raced untill...i got into an accident, broke my thigh and sure was close to death, 1 mounth into intensive care...happened at 160km/h (in city at rush hour, many lanes agressive shifting...and so on).

 

Ouch! luckily no-one died. However the new look makes your audi^Wvw^W^skoda look better, more like a 1-series

 

The car doesn't affect the drivers abilities - so I am the same driver, just in a more competent car.

Take the point about evry knob in a 'souped up' whatever that thinks they have to go faster and overtake through gaps that aren't there as a proof of bravado.

Perhaps it is an age thing that I just get on with it rather than compete?

Which of course generally means leaving them standing - not as a competitive thing but just getting on with it........

 

It's a good poll. I think my driving skills have definitely improved, especially my talent with a stick and clutch, but also my sense of vehicle dynamics. I am probably a more "conscious" driver overall, meaning I pay more attention to the traffic patterns around me, which is key in defensive driving.

So I am probably more capable of safer driving. I generally am a very safe driver, and only very rarely do I do anything that others would see and say "A**hole BMW!"

But I definitely drive more aggressively with this car, which could, in turn, induce other people to make stupid moves for them. Like the poor Camry sucker in the lead story who left the roadway. I don't race cars, but some aggressive move could cause somebody else to get confused and panic, or (worse) try to show me up.

I think the electronics also induce a kind of laziness, in which I know the car is there to stop wheel spin, correct for loss of control on a curve, and optimize braking. I do test the limits of the car on highway ramps, but I do so knowing that I am very unlikely to spin it and hit the wall, with the electronics on my side.

Good poll.