I know that Rudy will disagree with me here and thinks I simpy didn't know how to drive the SMG <_<
I also ned to say that I got off on the wrong foot with the SMG with a gearbox/hydraulic problem after 2 months (car had to be towed).

I absolutely loved the SMG for spirtied backroad driving. It was awesome and if that was my commute, I would buy it again right away. However, for stop & go on I-95 and in the city, the SMG (and this might have been my particular car) didn't convince me. It was jerky on downshifts and with my 6 speed now, I can do MUCH better shifting for normal driving in traffic.

I only drove one other E60 with SMG and that one was smoother, I thought.

My dealer told me that he had many people used to driving a stick return SMG cars within weeks.

 

drjochen: Sorry to say but I think your car was an exception. You had waaay too many problems that wasnt normal. I dont think your car was behaving properly in traffic. I too drive in traffic at times... Look at where I live... Los Angeles... I cant avoid traffic. but my SMG is doing fine. It saddens me to hear that you had so much problems with your SMG. You would have enjoyed it a lot. EVEN in traffic if you had a good one.

Hows the new E60 doing? No problems I hope. *crosses BOTH my fingers*

 

I find the SMG to be the berries in traffic. I always hated creeping traffic when I had the stick shift. With SMG it doesn't matter. In most situations, unless accelerating noticeably, we can shift the SMG so smoothly that it is hard to perceive the shift -- took practice, but awfully easy to do now.

 

And I like manuals in traffic. it can hold first gear longer and engine braking which helps me from not having to move my feet to the brake pedal as often as i would in a auto.

 

I don't think I need to elaborate any more since my SMG evangelism is pretty evident from my past postings here -- suffice it to say that I agree with JDN and EBMCS03 about the SMG in traffic.

drjochen, it sounds like your car wasn't right (or you didn't know how to drive it -- one of those... ) If people who are used to stick shifts are returning SMG's within weeks, then they're not giving themselves enough time to learn it. Most people need at least 30 days or more to hone their skills and get accustomed to the seat-of-the-pants feel of the car. I think I was feeling pretty good after a month but I found myself learning more and more each time I drove the car for quite some time after the initial learing curve...

 

I think the SMG is fine for everyday driving.. The first two days I had the car I've been pretty much stuck in traffic and its not to bad..

 

The new car is doing great. I did my first longer trip yesterday. Here are some totally random observations:
28.7 mpg - not bad at all for an engine with less than 300 miles on it. The AUX in works great. The cupholders now actually hold cups without tilt.
The comfort seats are excellent. The 530i has plenty of power on the freeway. I miss the low rpm pull of the 545i, but it could be much worse.

There was definitely somthing wrong with my old car. The shuddering wasn't right.
It was to the point that you could not have a beverage in the cupholder in stop & go traffic and my 5 year old kept asking me what was wrong with my car........

 

drjochen, glad you're back to normal and things are working well.

Not to change the subject but can you (or someone) post some detailed pics of the new cupholder? I remember people talking about a newer design but I don't remember seeing any pics that show exactly how they're different from the original design.

I do remember a post detailing a procedure of grinding off a small piece of the original model but I'm curious what the new, unmodified ones look like...

 

I will do so tomorrow when I get back from my very enjoyable government work I am doing right now.....

 

Thanks! Now get back to work...