That article dumbfounds me - how could the 530i finish 6th of 8, behind the land yacht E350 (I know, I have the E500) and the isolated GS430?? I know they say the V8 version might have finished differently, but still...

 

The article in Car & Driver compared a non-Sport BMW to the others. IMHO it was not a fair comparison and they pretty much rigged the outcome. Their reasoning was that the seleceted cars were price comparable. To be fair, they should have included the Sport 530i which would have come in closer to, if not in, 1st place. To many people, price is most critical, to many others, performance is most critical regardless of price and Car & Driver seems to have lost sight of that.

 

The article in Car & Driver compared a non-Sport BMW to the others. IMHO it was not a fair comparison and they pretty much rigged the outcome. Their reasoning was that the seleceted cars were price comparable. To be fair, they should have included the Sport 530i which would have come in closer to, if not in, 1st place. To many people, price is most critical, to many others, performance is most critical regardless of price and Car & Driver seems to have lost sight of that.
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I understand that, but still wonder how even a non-sport 530i would rank under the E350, GS430, and the others except M45 and maybe A6, for that matter.

 

M sports suspension is a different thing than sport suspension!
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Ok they are different! So the M ones are tougher and lower than sport supension! right?
SO WHY CAN'T U HAVE DD AND M Sport Supension?!?

 

The article in Car & Driver compared a non-Sport BMW to the others. IMHO it was not a fair comparison and they pretty much rigged the outcome. Their reasoning was that the seleceted cars were price comparable. To be fair, they should have included the Sport 530i which would have come in closer to, if not in, 1st place. To many people, price is most critical, to many others, performance is most critical regardless of price and Car & Driver seems to have lost sight of that.
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I understand that, but still wonder how even a non-sport 530i would rank under the E350, GS430, and the others except M45 and maybe A6, for that matter.
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The primary BS in that particular test wasn't really related to the sport vs non-sport issue, it was that they tested the older six cylinder engines against predominantly V8's. As fine an engine as the 06 straight 6 is, it's not an apples to apples comparison when it's up against a bunch of V8's.

 

The RL was a V6 also...

 

Right. I think a sport 2006 would have been a better entrant. I think BMW out-foxed themselves by sending Car and Driver a non-sport. C&D had been so critical of AS in past reviews that I think BMW was afraid to send a 2005 sport. Leave off NAV and it conforms price-wise to the parameters of the test... but then they would have bitched because the other cars had Nav. *sigh*

The telling thing about that test was how many of the factual things about the BMW were reported incorrectly. It was as if the car was an afterthought to them. Such a lack of interest and research would indicate that the editors were a bit predisposed towards the newer machinery even at the beginning of the test. "OOOOH - flashy bright new things!" vs. "Blahh - old thing we already know - lowest hp of the group - this will be the snoozer of the bunch, etc..." Car and Driver has definitely shown an affinity for the newest and flashiest in past tests.


The 2006 inline 6 would have beaten or matched all but probably the M45 - and that would be pretty close. It would certainly have beaten the MB E350 and the A6 4.2 in acceleration. The GS430 is probably about the same, maybe a 10th or two quicker. The 545i would have crushed them all, and when the 550i comes out - forget it. Game over.

 

But it's a 300 HP V6....... (at least until the new HP rating standards kick in..)

 

Yeah, I remember the CD review as well. What can I say, it's hard to respect the mag after the clearly superior vehicle scored so low (imo of course).

Because of the reasons my previous 7 was ultimately a disappointment, performance is number 1 for me. Sure I looked at the competing cars to 5 but didn't seriously consider them. Heck, I'm sure that new GS would have been more disappointing than even the 7. Anyway, 'nough said 'bout that.

My 7 had DD and I thought it was awesome. First high-speed corners felt eerie. One of the things I definitely liked about it. My current 5 also has it and I'm glad it does. My daily commute is about 80 miles round trip of mostly highway. There are several high-speed corners and I take most of them without slowing down at all. Car feels very safe and secure. DD is definitaly something that provides direct benefit without having to interact with technology at all. Just what I expect from BMW. Highly recommended.

 

The one thing that the 545 has over the E39 M5 is active steering.