I have lurked here for a bit and chimed once in a while.

After two weeks and 1,000 miles I do think this is one hell of a car.

Im come in from a different perspective, perhaps the silent majority.

I won't mod this car. I will keep the 17 wheels with the great Continental tires.

I love the non sport set up! Why?, its more natural. This car has enough artificial gizmos to it for saftey
and addng artificial steering and artificial "sport" suspension takes away some things for me.

I have Manual transmission.

Whats my point? Too much tech the car becomes a bit of a 7 series where it drives itself. Those are great cars to be in but not a drivers car. I enjoy the challenge of driving the car. More is not always better.

I also opted for some fuel economy.

This car is plenty fast for most applications. The inline 6 is BMW signature engine and I wanted that!

Sport suspension takes away feel of the car turning. To me its artificial and covers up technique. Like I said, I drive this car, not a computuer.


This car is wonderfully set up and very quiet. I enjoy the full range of ability for it to be a nice touring car with very nice sporting attributes. It is my opinion that making a sedan of this size into a "sports car" defeats the purpose of its design.

BMW is in the business of selling cars and I appreciate they can still offer pure versons of its cars. I fear that too many techno additions will dilute the car into an "acura" where the additions of technology is seen as improvements.

BMW is one of the last to offer the refinement of quality without artificial enhancements.

Thus no turbos or V8's for me. Amber (0range) actually is better visually so I won't change it. I won't add $4000 of ground treatments to make it "special" nor add 20 inch wheels to degrade the ride quality for the purpose of taking a corner with just a slight less of leaning. I won't be racing this car nor if challanged will I resopond to a 0-60 macho race.

Instead I will go to BMW driving school. I suspect one day I will have a Z4 as a weekend driver and make that a rail sled.

Again, I say I am the silent majority of owner and wish to not offend anyone. I realize there are many whom are really into "personalizing" their cars and increasing every aspect of its performance. What I am saying here to those considering this car is there is a world of enjoyment to the E60 without many "improvements".

I say this because I find the majority of posters are really into this and perhaps forget the lower hp engines are the best sellers and 0-60 times are not the main consideration. We leave the infiniti crowd to that. A few weeks ago someone said BMW without "sport" was a Buick! In America we tend to to everything to the extreme and perhaps BMW knows when they have a market to juice up sales to!

I am complimenting this cars wonderful fit and finish and tactile quality that enhances the driving pleasure.

One bit though, I dig my comfortseats and my Logic 7 system with the ipod!

At 53k I see this car as a excellent value! In fact the build quality of a base 47k car is the same as a loaded up 70k version!

But if your looking and think this car is not cutting it, be confident that the best value of all cars really is not in the amenities but in the engine, transmission and suspension! If that is important, then BMW does a great job!

Trust me, it ain't "parktronic" that makes the car!

 

Points well made. Glad you are enjoying your new car. You are right ... any BMW is fun to drive and it's great that you have one that fits you perfectly.

 

Check back in a few months and let us know if you feel the same way or if you've gotten mod fever. Has a way of catching up to you.

 

Actually, I think the majority of E60 owners buy it for the prestige of owning a BMW. People who post on forums, mod their cars, and follow up on the latest changes represent a very small minority of actual E60 owners. You can usually differentiate what kind of buyer they are just by simply looking at their E60.

In my city at least, most 525 drivers are women, their husbands probably bought them the car. They could care less about performance, as long as they are rolling around in a BMW. 545/550 owners are people who want performance and tunability. While 530 owners are in between the 2, want the 545/500, but don't want to pay the premium to own it, yet want to be above the 525 owners.

 

Thats not the case here, most people want BMW for the looks and the prestige of owning a BMW, but most people drive around in a 525 because 530 was not available until 2006 and 545 and 550 are still not available now, unless imported, but importing cars with 300-500 horsepower here means you're a millionaire , because I would never pay 300,000USD for a 545 and 350,000 for a 550. So yeah, your statement above doesn't apply to all owners, but i see where you're coming from.

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I was referring to the unofficial buying behaviors of North Americans.

 

I've done the same. Some years ago I owned a 3 series with 16" tyres, and was constantly amazed how the car combined fantastic ride quality with handling. No other car seemed to get close. Then I made the mistake (for me) of buying a new E90 with 18" tyres, following lots of advice on various forums. I couldn't put up with it. While the handling was great, the ride was dreadful on UK roads. To me it lost what BMWs are about. So, I sold it after a year and went for an E60 with 17" tyres and standard suspension. I love the car. The perfect car for me.

I also have the manual transmission, and I just change gear for the sake of it.

So, overall, I think I got something of a bargain. Silky smooth and quiet engine, beautiful ride quality and great fun to drive.

I did buy the professional sat nav though, as I get lost a lot.

 

Good write up. Love to hear when someone has found the right vehicle for them and appreciates it on so many levels. Keep on enjoying.

 

From what I have seen on the roads and read in the Germany forums, I think this is also the same in Germany. With the 520d, 525d and 530d being real company car favourites you see a lot of these on the roads over here and most of them are non-(M) sport models running on the standard 16" or 17" rims, no shadow line option, etc. BMW offer very good Business User packages over here called "Basic Package" and "Business Package", which includes NAV, Xenon, PDC, plus a number of other great options, so there's normally not much need to add more to the list other than leather, upgraded seats / stereo, sport options etc. And lets face it, you don't really "need" all of these if its just a company car (-ok, the seat option you do!). So that's probably why you see a lot of similar spec'ed and looking 5er in Germany. Makes it all the more refreshing to see a tastefully modded or sport model from time to time

I think this is the same in other countries like the UK and Netherlands, where company cars and fuel/tax limitations play a big part in BMW sales.

@bargamon - good write-up and glad to see you're so pleased with your ride

 

I saw an interesting article in a magazine a couple of weeks ago (may have been EVO) whcih said that in the UK people tend to opt for M Sport or AMG models or similar but with a low spec inside. This is because BMW etc are seen as prestige brands in the UK so people spend money on the exterior to show off. In Germany it is more common to spend less on the exterior so basic wheels, trim etc but spec the interior highly, as BMW, Mercs etc are the most common cars, so they are not so 'flash'. Does anyone agree?

I have a 520D SE - I went for the 17" Double spoke styling 116 wheels which I think look great and only cost about ?80 extra, other than that the exterior is standard and I wouldn't want to change it. I've just had the ipod connector fitted which is a great addition.