oreo

I would also be interested in hearing your comment on this. I have read reviews/test drives of the E60 (520/530/530d) in British mags (Autocar, Autoexpress, TopGear, WhatCar), Web reviews (4car, Swedish pages) and in Swedish car magazines (2 of them). I have also been in contact with three people that have gotten their new E60 (2 on run-flat 18" and one on 17" runflat). The only one that has been critical to the ride of the E60 is Autocar . The only other negative comment I have seen is that some testdrivers in a Swedish mag felt that the car might feel a bit "nervous" in some situations, but they regarded this as a consequence of the direct steering and sporty feel in the car in general. I wounder if the Autocar comments are due to the sub-standard British roads, or a personal dislike of the E60 (and yes, they are one of the most negative to the design as well..). Autoexpress have driven the car on British roads and are not at all that negative. I guess that this car really has to be experienced first hand before one can make up ones mind . 9 days until UK launch!

apeshape

harsh ride?

I have sports suspension and 18" non-runflat = standard tyres (Dunlop SP Sport 01).

because of my involvement in motorsports I am used to cars that are "hard and harsh" by nature - the new E60 however has nothing to do with harsh!

even driving on the cubblestone streets of my home town is nice. I would describe the suspension as firm but not hard - direct but not aggressive.

[my associate who drives an E46 M3 test drove the E60 yesterday and his comment was: "I was mistaken, it is not an old-man?s car"]

oreo

Not surprising that a finn is involved in motorsports, are there any finnish men that aren't?

I think that the description of the driving characteristics in Autocar was "unsettled" which in my mind fits well with the word nervous (nervos in Swedish) which I guess is that the car. To me it sounds like the car is a bit lose in the rear, but what do I know - I am not involved in any motorsport activities Maybe you have to provoke the car for us on a bad road (if you know of any) and see if you can understand what they are on about?

apeshape

I have already tried something that should be described as "irresponsible driving".

e60 is quick, and very easy to drive fast (even dangerously so).

my comment is that the better the suspension, the better the roadholding, the better the traction, the more "unsettled" the feeling in a car when it looses grip!

the rear-end of e60 is not loose, the car?s behaviour is more understeering than that of the E46 or E39, however the diesel has enough torque to enable steering with throttle.

FastBuck

Thanks apeshape.