darkside

I am pondering the 545 or soon to be 550i. I love how the car drives, and I have test drove all the "competition." None of the competing cars came close with respect to handling a performance. But the interior of the 5, as with the exterior, really didn't impress me much at first. I have warmed up to both, but now am reading multiple posts about how the new 3 series has better material and fit and finish in the interior. This simply should not be the case. I can understand the 5 vrs the 7 interior, that is a more expensive car. But why could higher quality plastics etc. be used on the 3 than the 5?

xexyus

um....

ISUK

I'm told by a source inside BMW that the interior of the new 3 actually costs less than that of the E60 to manufacture. It is the perception of quality that makes it feel subjectively better and the design of certain elements such as the driver and passenger door interior styling which flow more cohesively than the E60. I saw a terra interior E90 which is more or less comparable to the auburn interior on my E60. The leather is a few shades darker but looks very similar. The interior of the E90 just looked a whole lot classier than my car and more like a compromise between the E46/E39 interior styling mixed with elements of the E60 (for example upper half of the dash and centre armrest area).

As my E60 is one of the earlier cars (Sept 03 build) it doesn't have some of the minor upgrades such as ruthenium climate control dials and soft touch paint on some surfaces. However, the look of the plastics used on the interior door coverings of the E90 is noticeably better than the E60 which I don't think has changed since my car was built.

igor

Each time I look at the interior door side pockets I imagine I am in a Korean car
built in the last century.

igor

I have seen the brochures of the new 3-series today. Honestly not much imperessed .
Wood trim choice is even worse than with E60 (only dark browon grandma's cupboard colours) . Principal interior colour theme on the pictures is chosen to be beige which is linked to same same colour plactics (poor IMHO) and same interior materials (not the best for maintenance). New Terra leather maybe interesting but you have again to go only with the above wood. Otherwise the best choice is the balck/silver gamme. Maybe
it looks differently in person. Though the interior doors'design is better that 5's. Just my 2 cents.

BMW RULES

A question about the interior of E60; How its comes that the safety belt not can set higher of lower ? ( i mean you can' set the thing on the side of the door higher or lower) How comes that? In much cars you can set it as you wish

ISUK

The fixed height safety belt is just another example of cost cutting by BMW. I can't believe they dis this and wonder if it has had any effect upon their saftey scores in such things as NCAP as I certainly find that the fixed height setting is a pain and causes the belt to rub against my neck.

How much did this save them I wonder? I haven't seen any other manufacturer do this. The new E90 is the same.

heezy545i

Don't know about actual quality, but the interior of the e90 is bound to have a more extensive list of both trim and color choices.

Oh and the starter button is a nice touch as well.

TitaniumGray5

You sure its fixed? In the E39, it moved up and down with the seat height adjustment...certainly not a cheaper implementation than manually adjustable. Even the least expensive cars on the market these days have a manual adjustment, so I don't really think that's the issue for BMW. May be a case of too many gizmos and technology though.

igor

Ha, what shud we say about the elder brother e60 then? :'(