Aartsy19

Lets be honest here: New models of any kind are going to be better. I mean the technology in these cars is ever-evolving, which on its own makes it better vehicle. But, i am extremely bias, and love the e60 M5.. The F10 M5 just looks so much more like an old mans car, and thus less sporty in my eyes than my murdered e60. I have not been in a new F10, but i have been in the new 650 and have to say its pretty damn sweet inside. I hate the exterior of all 6 series, i think the front end is just shit. M6, 645, new 650's... all ugly looking cars. :thumbsdown:

Would i trade in the V10 e60 M5 for a V8 F10 M5, no... looks alone are not appealing. I would change to 911 T and move on!

T Dingle

I love my 2010 E60 550 M Sport. It is a monster of a car with plenty of power and the handling to match. I've been given a F10 535 M Sport as a loaner from Crevier BMW here in SCAL. That is an awesome car. The inside is immaculate and is one of the only things that I would prefer over the E60. The other thing that I like more about the F10 is the left- and right+ paddle shifters. In my E60, both paddles do the same thing. In the F10, the left and right have dedicated functions. Lookswise, my E60 hands down!!!

pjinca

I agree about the 550 (I have a 2008 - I also go to Crevier, they never give me crap for mods). I have driven the F10 535, 550, and the M5, I love the looks of the car and they are FAST. However, I cannot find a comfortable seating position. The seat does not go down as much as the E60, so my head is closer to the roof. Also, the tunnel where you put your legs is narrower so it's not as comfy for a guy like me (6'4"). That made the decision easy when I was shopping for my next 5er a few weeks back. I think the E60 design is aging very well, and it is THE most comfortable car I have ever owned. So when I found a 2008 550 with just 20k miles and nearly every option, I jumped.

EddieboyS

Haven't driven one yet, however it appears that the F10 leans more toward Lexus than Porsche when it comes to dimensions, weight and road feel. I will not even consider owning one until I start hearing that the steering feel issues have been addressed.

darkrider

Looks wise, it's a toss-up for me. I like the E60 front end and the F10 rear end. Interiors, the E60 is more purposeful and better laid out and the F10 is more lux. Driving them back to back, it's really no comparison... The E60 wins in every way imaginable! Coming from sportier motorcycles, I never expected to find a sedan that would impress me in both power and handling. My 2010 535i really changed that for me! Truthfully with the trend toward bigger and heavier, I may move down to the 3 series when I get rid of the E60, but who knows what the landscape will look like then, since I plan on keeping the E60 5'er for at least 3-5 more years!

Mike_K

I have a 2010 535. In the past I've also had a 2006 M5 and 550. Both the 550 and the 535 have been sport packages and the 550 had a manual transmission. It's a wonderful driver's car for someone that needs a four door sedan.

A week ago I needed to have some service done on my 535 and was given a 2012 535 loaner. How do you compare these cars? Well, you don't because there's little to compare. The new car is larger, less communicative, way more luxurious and just doesn't feel like a natural progression of the 5 series. The only thing I preferred in the F10 over the E60 was the interior because let's be honest... the E60 has always had a pretty spartan, industrial interior, even in fully decked out guise.

As far as driving dynamics go there's just no comparison. The E60 is a better car in almost every respect. It feels smaller, it handles better, the 300hp in the E60 feels exponentially faster than that of the F10 because of the weight difference. It all goes back to that interior which on the F10 is again... marvelous. And the F10 rides better hands down. The E60 hobbles a lot which is disconcerting for a car this expensive but excusable for a car that handles as well as it does. The F10 is very sure footed just not very exciting.

At the end of the day I almost wonder if the two cars are actually intended to be compared to each other because what we didn't know at the time was that BMW had plans for all these in between models like the 4 series, the 6 series Gran Coupe, etc and perhaps those will remain smaller and more true to the driver. The 3 and the 5 have always been the bread and butter and BMW is willing to appeal to a larger demographic while abandoning some of their long time loyal customers to sell more cars. Unfortunately you can't blame them.

I can look at the 6 series Gran Coupe and to me that seems like the next natural progression of BMW ownership.

LessIsMore

I agree with the comments about the F10 looking too much like a 3 series, even though it's larger and heavier than the E60 model. It went from being a solid distinct middle-model to now being a mini-7-series with the appearance of a plus-size 3 series ... in other words, the worst of both worlds, in some ways.

I haven't driven an F10, so of course I'll reserve judgement or more serious comment until I do, but for now I'm really happy with the 09 535i sport, and do not at all feel an urge to upgrade to the F10.

I will say the new M5 looks great, but I'm not thrilled with the look of the lower models. They do have a more generic look to them, on top of the 3 series look.

Part of what keeps the E60 viable is that so many other current models from other manufacturers are mimicking the E60 design. I'm looking at you, Accord, but also the Hyundai Genesis, and Lexus ES (below). Most commonly the wrap-around taillights that curve up and around, but also the side creases lined up with the door handles, the wrap-around headlights, the Hoffmeister kink in the C pillar, and the broad shoulder areas beneath the windows and above the side panels. So while the E60 may be a 9 year old BMW design, it's pretty current and familiar in the larger auto world.

miii

One of my coworker upgraded from E60 - 545i to F10 - 550i sport/premium/nav/tech/HUD along with most of the other options about three months ago. Since we talked about cars in general a lot and are BMW enthusiasts, he wanted my opinion so I test drove his car one day.

The technology in the car was amazing. I really liked the color combo - black with cinnamon brown. The interior was great with nice high quality materials all around. I can't say I was disappointed by the test drive, I kinda pushed a little when coming onto the highway. There is definitely a lack of classic BMW feeling the way steering responded. The engine is just amazing so was the transmission. I had mixed feelings about the car. It's really really nice but the handling was different than previous generations of 5-series. I had owned 3 e39s in the past so I had an idea how they use to handle.

All in all, I have an e34 touring with 170k miles and still going strong but I always intended to buy e60 for a replacement just in case if my touring gives up. After test driving F10, it reassured my decision and last month I bought a 2010 528i xdrive. Although, my car is no where close to 535i or 550i performance wise but I still like it. I love the way my car delivers the power and handles. I also like the simple straight forward interior of LCI e60, it works for me at least.

I'm pretty sure BMW is working hard on LCI F10 and it will resolve a lot of these issues. We'll see until then I'm planning to keep my E60 for years to come.

Ammar545i

F10 is beautiful. Don't lie to yourself..

pjinca

Agreed, the F10 is beautiful, the interior is excellent, however I cannot fit in it as well as my E60. Period.