anit999

Howcomes in the new X5 the purpose of the new style gearstick was to free up space occupied by the handbrake lever, but in the facelifted E60 there still is a handbrake eventhough the new X5 style gearstick has been used?

Raighne

The addition of the X5 style shifter into the LCI is only a hack (as you can see by how ugly the baseplate is compared to an X5)

Adding an electronic handbrake would undoubtedly require quite a few mechanical changes, probably cost quite a bit more to engineer and they would also need to totally redesign the lower console (which they seem to have wanted to avoid)

pharding

It is the same reason that the black filler panel is used beneath the shifter base plate. That whole area of the cabin is mindlessly compromised and cobbled together. Rather redoing the wood trim on the transmission hump, BMW used a cheap, tacky filler panel. Rather than getting rid of the redundant parking brake lever, BMW just cheaped out and slopped that part of the car together. BMW as a company has started to take repeat BMW customers for granted and they have started pulling back from the wonderful German qualities that got them to their high level. The door handles armrests in the refresh are also slopped together and don't even match or even fit the design of the car. BMW chickened out on the design of the e90 and made it semi-bland. What they did to a great, highly successful e60 is attrocious. The cabin of the refresh is an absolute, mindless compromise that was done on the cheap. BMW has forgotten its German heritage and has started behaving like a French car company.

BMW is starting to follow the same car cycle as Audi and American car companies. Put out a great product for a few years, increase sales then get sloppy and cheap. I hope that this is not true, but it is the pattern that this loyal BMW enthusiast sees. Audi is resurgent and working hard to compete with BMW, they are becoming more attractive.

pharding

Also look the dumb, black lid on the ash tray. The previous wood lid on the ash tray was both clever, functional and beautiful. In order to make the black filler panel beneath the silver shifter base plate look less grotesque, BMW put a stupid 1950's era black lid on the ash tray. Sloppiness and cheapness just generated more sloppiness and cheapness so that it will all fit together.

VIIV

Ouch! Remember, it's a freshening, face lift, whatever they want to call it. I wonder how many mid cycle refreshes actually improve on the original design? Maybe only the ones that were very poor to start?