BMWHobo & Stu - Thanks for the compliments! Just to quickly reply to your comments:
- Debadging: This is an option that I selected when ordering the car. Doesn't cost anything but they will not put a badge on the rear.
- Alarm: There is already a factory alarm installed, but I need an additional one (anti-carjacking) for the insurance company, otherwise they will not cover defth.
- Straight pipes: Couldn't agree more! This was the best news that my dealer told me during the wait process. I am so happy about the fact that the diesels are no longer produced with those silly pipes. Now no one can tell whether it is a diesel or not by it looks!

I just noticed something strange when I was playing with the I-drive today. It seems that the two steering wheel buttons that are user-configurable are no longer available. The menu to assign one of the buttons to a function (like mute etc.) are still there, but you cannot assign one of the functions to one of the buttons. My dealer said that this function is no longer available! Anyone else noticed the same and maybe knows why this is no longer available? Seems really stupid to me if they disabled this for some reason!

 

This is by design. I assume you have Navigation as an option. If so it fixes the function of the top button:

Short press: Repeat last voice instruction
Long press: Toggles voice instructions on/muted

 

Now it makes perfectly sense to me! Without nav you would see the sign of both buttons before/after the option to which they are assigned in the I-drive menu, now with nav, I could only select one of the options out of the list which will be assigned to the other button (the one that is still available when having nav).

IMO this is just another poor implementation of BMW, why not at least show the sign of the button to the selected function in the I-drive menu as how it works when not getting nav (maybe to avoid confusion?) and why not overwrite the nav button? I do not think that there is anyone out there that has its nav system active all the time, so why not overwrite the function of this button for something else when not using the nav system, otherwise the button will be useless most of the time!

 

damn, I wish it was already tomorrow. Taking delivery of my E60 tomorrow afternoon, I am so excited, can't wait!

 

I just took delivery of my E60 and put my first 50 kilometers on it this evening. I must say, WOW, this car really drives amazing! It's like night & day when comparing it to my 2002 330Cic.

I was also afraid about the performance of the 2.5 diesel engine (I bought it without test-driving it due to the unavailability of it when ordering my car) but I must say that the performance is really amazing too! I am still in the break-in period so I am not allowed to rev it above 3500rpm but I already feel the power of this engine very well, must be the torque that's responsible for this! Can't wait to floor the pedal when the break-in period is over to see what this engine is capable of!!!