SuperC

some say it is not some say it is much better? is the quality of materials better? overall feel or pretty much the same?

aybeesea

I wonder if this (IMHO predictably) will polarise into the "(want to) haves" and "have nots"?...

ABC

bmw093

I was the owner of an E39 and looking for a while to replace it. I had been given pre-LCI loaners on several occasions but one of the reasons I was not too keen on purchasing one was the interior. Please understand that I am not putting down any pre-LCI owners, as they are beautiful cars. But IMHO, very humble at that, I felt the interior did not meet the high standards set by BMW. I felt there was a lot of plastic, that the plastic materials used looked like plastic (as opposed to plastic that has a rougher, nicer feel), and I especially did not like the door panels. The wood on them was in the door handle only, it was vertical in appearance, and the handles to me made no sense--they were pushed to the front of the car, screwing up all the ergonomics involved in reaching to open and close the door. It was a big downer for me. I didn't like the square appearance of the speakers in the door panels, and didn't like the lack of presets in IDrive, such that one had to scroll through different screens to perform simple functions. Then the LCI was announced and SO many of my simple issues were addressed--my wife joked that I was responsible for the the interior changes. I LOVE the interior now. I love the horizontal wood in the doors, placement of handles, round speakers, pre-set buttons (for anything, including the phone), and the layout of the buttons, their materials, and their surroundings (pearl/silver surroundings give a much nicer, much more quality look and feel). There are lots of other small differences, but the long and short is that the interior changes are what made me buy another 5, and they have not disappointed in the least.

Torquey5

So then IMO the new interior isn't necessarily better or worse, there are a few changes/updates that I like and lots that I don't like.

Likes:
- New padded leather wrapped arm console that runs from the whole center arm console all the way to where it ends.
- i-Drive knob
- Very fast i-Drive

Dislikes:
- Missing driver vertical side door handle
- New positioning of window buttons
- e-shifter


Overall I think if the e-shifter wasn't there I'd feel much more comfortable regardless of the other changes, but the e-shifter is designed to he held/grabbed/straddled in one position only, whereas our current steps have a much better feel to it, as well as a classier look.

hinckley

I agree with everything bmw093 has said. As I've said in previous posts, I ordered by 2004 E60 with an all black interior simply because I believe it best hid bad design and worse materials. I've now sat in the LCI interior and as bmw093 has stated, there are many small upgrades which IMHO add up to a major improvement. The door panels and center console are prime examples. btw, I've ordered my new LCI with a creme beige interior!

Other smart people have had just the opposite reaction though, believing that the pre-LCI interior is superior in design, if not necessarily in quality. You just have to look for yourself.

AC_S5

Maybe i have the most basic iDrive. I found that I can live without the button, but having the buttons would be nice. One thing about the interior update I don't like is the new shift knob, it look really out of place.

DINAN530i

I agree with you on the shift knob. BMW could of made alot more atttractive shifter than what they chose to run with. Maybe it will grow on me, but as of now its a major turn off. Love all the other upgrades just not the shifter :thumbsdown: ..

Hormazd

I have lived in a pre LCI E60 for three years and yes, from day one I have found the interior lacking in fit and finish. My first test drive in 2003, did not even have wood on the door handle. BMW started putting wood on the door handle later. In March 2005 they added wood to the center console and the rear vents. I really think they over did the minimalistic approach.

Now we have a far richer interior, I cannot vouch for the fit until I have 10,000 miles on my LCI but certainly most of the changes, additional leather, wood in the doors, better switches, are all welcome. I would rather not reach so far to get to the window switches. The Pre- LCI egonomics for the window switches was better.

low_ball_88

WOW! I think total opposite from your opinion. I like the wood handles and the design is more symmetrical in design (same on both doors) unlike the LCI where the doors are different. The grab handles on the driver side of the LCI is old school which does not fit into the hightech design of the E60.

bmw093

My problem isn't as much with the wood handles as it is with the fact that the entire door panel ends up with much too much black plastic to me, and that they are too far forward for my convenience. I'm not big on the fact that the wood handles are perpendicular in appearance (and therefore incongruous) to the wood on the dash, but I could live with that. Mainly, I think the doors look bare and I always felt strange opening the door pushing out the side of the door without an easily accessible handle. I appreciate your opinion and thoughts and understand what your point is, though.