well have had AS with Acitve supension in my 530 and my impressions were great, took a bit to get used to it but man it rocks. to taht I have just a few things/issues that if i recall are fixsed in the new cars. That is the Active steeering was too soft in the highway and anothe little thing was the changes in ratios when taking a ramp/cornering, my brai had already got used to it and wasa able to adjust but it was a bit too electronic for me. Now my 550 has active suspension and the no active steering but i think the powere steering was redesign because is perfect, solid in the hwy and in city. the only thing is a bit too hard when parking but overall the active suspension is what makes the car... the acitve steering is a nice to have

 

My $0.02:

Like AS a lot.

I still have my 18" Dunlop runflats, and I don't find the ride harsh (keep in mind I've been driving Porsches for >15 years and prefer stiffer suspensions). The ARS system, with active stabilizer bars, allows the suspension to be tight in corners (so little body roll), but very comfortable on straights--unlike traditional suspensions, which need to be tuned for comfort or sportiness, not both.

 

I have to agree. when we first got our 530i Sport I wished we could have gotten sport package with out AS. now after driving it for 10 months I have to say I am glad that didn't happen. AS is great and I believe is a must for new BMWs. highway driving so stable and percise. and when going into the next lane not having to shuffle the hands around like none AS cars. Sure the BMW's traditional steering is Great. but AS makes BMWs even better now.

 

I've said it a million times, but this thread seems to respawn itself every so often.


ARS -also- reduces the steering angle required to achieve any given level of lateral acceleration due to the self-steering characteristics of the system. A non-sport 5 does not have ARS, so you are really being deprived of two things that have a drastic affect on the steering characteristics of the car (AS -and- ARS). For this reason, this report and nearly all other reports are not providing the isolation necessary to judge the true differences between a Sport car with AS and a Sport car without AS.

You must drive a 5 series car -with- ARS -and- without AS to truly isolate and evaluate AS. (this means a 2006)


Also, any comparisons to SUVs or other passenger cars are useless comparisons.


Some of the members in other countries have owned both AS and non AS, and have sung a very different tune when the car isn't equipped with the standard suspension.

 

Both are must haves to me.

 

I have a 2006 e60 with sport package. But I can't feel the difference on my active steering... is it just me... I am sad...

 

Discussing old american muscle cars on a premium BMW website is probably taboo, but so what. Actually, I think 74 or 75 was the last year for a smog 455. '73 had the last of the super duty. In 79, they where actually putting olds 403's with a whopping 185hp and auto transmissions. American car companies where really taking a dump back then. The 455 in mine is a custom install - still able to meet smog, but a hell of a torque engine.

In 79 they actually had a few pontiac 400's w/ 4-speeds laying around, so according to CA, you can change to that engine. And, unless you crawl underneath and look at the stamping you don't know what it is.

Anyways, My 545i is a much better, faster, enjoyable handling machine... the T/A is just a part of history that I can't let go of and my wife won't ride in.

Thanks for asking.

 

I too was glad to see the 06 550 sport package models coming without active steering. It was an option I never wanted.

But then I drove my friends 545 Sport and didn't even notice it!

Then I took a 550 for an official test drive with active steering and I didn't notice it at all again.

Finally I took a 550 without active steering for a test drive and could not believe how much I missed the active steering!

So I ordered it.

Of note, I saw no need to get it on the 330. I test drove that numerous times and it seemed perfect without it.

 

+1

 

Depends on your build date but if you have a 2006 (per BMW, not BMWNA) you would have had to have ordered AS as an additional option so unless you did you maybe don't have it. Personally AS will be one the first options on the list for my next E60