Eaweg

Hello everybody, I thought I would share a recent driving experience in my new 535i that I purchased 45 days ago.

Car: 2008 535i non-sport, auto, premium pkg, pdc, ipod adapter, cold pkg, navi, comfort seats, Platinum gray with gray interior and black bamboo trim.
Route: From Wiesbaden, Germany through Switzerland to Verona Italy and back - 1300 total miles.

Highs: Unbelievable power (even at 100+ mph on the autobahn with AC blasting and a full load), great seats, comfortable ride, excellent brakes, navigation with real-time traffic, good gas-mileage considering speed, weight, and heat
Lows: Two screaming kids in the back seat, driving too fast for the wife, return trip home to German delayed due to 10,000 Dutch fans on the autobahn a day earlier after their exit from Euro 2008, expensive gas


Okay - first off. I have no sport package. I wish I did, but I don't. They didn't have one available when I got the car and it was at least a 4+ month wait for a build date. For those of you who are tinkering with idea of getting one...do it. While I absolutely love driving my car, I wish it did have a sportier and tighter feel. That being stated, this car is a blast to drive. I, along with my wife and two kids (3 and 1) recently went down to Italy for a week to visit my family. We decided to go through Switzerland as we would split the trip down and back each over two days. Plus, I hadn't done the route in awhile. For those of you stateside who have not yet experienced driving one of these for an extended period of time on an autobahn, I wish you could. This car has power anywhere at anytime. There were times were I was above 100 mph or more and getting additional power was no problem...almost too easy. I had very few instances where I could not keep up or pass anyone...one of which was an Audi RS6 wagon which shot by me as if it had a shuttle booster attached to it. Other than that, I kindly moved out of the way of a Porsche GT2 and similar brethren. But this car is just brilliant. The trip was somewhat ruined by the horrid traffic on our way back to Germany today as half of Holland was on the Autobahn (the Dutch lost in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2008 soccer championship so they parted home early). I actually thought I was driving in Holland at one point in time. The trip through Switzerland was fun and I did get to feel all the corners going through the mountains...this is when I wished I had the sport package. I am still driving on 17" pizza-cutter all-season tires and rims. Futhermore, the car was loaded with all of our crap so there was some rolling in the turns. One thing that I feel that is underrated is the braking. I am still getting used to them as they are a bit touchy but the brakes on this car are pretty damn good. I can tell you for sure that if I did not have my wife and kids with me I would have pushed this car to the max because it is just too easy and fun.

One final note...I decided to see what the gas mileage was like on the return trip from Italy departing yesterday. Keep in mind that we had touch and go traffic on 30% of the trip, air conditioning pretty high - yesterday and today (90+ degrees), drove through the Alps, drove the highways between 80 and 120 mph, fully loaded - to the point if my son farted the trunk would have shot open: 23.7 mpg. While that may not seem like a lot, I was impressed. I can definitely tell you that I have gotten 26/27 mpg before when not loaded down and while driving a little less spirited.

Conclusion:

If you are deciding between the 528i and 535i - I wouldn't think twice about the 535i - do it. I test drove both and I would have been pissed if I didn't have the power on hand.
If you are deciding between Sport Package and Non Sport - Get the sport - I just wasn't patient enough.
Comfort Seats - a must...especially after a trip like I had.
I'll be getting some 19s (or even 18s) and tighting this up a bit.

Hope this helps those that are considering a new E60.

Edwin

rugger

thanks for a highly entertaining story....too bad about Holland :-)

DrLev99

Thanks for sharing the story and info...sounds like an awesome trip!

info@trinityautosport

+1

abcsworld

Can only concur on the drive on German autobahn. Been experiencing full throttle 6th gear in at 250km/h on my E61 530D (no sport package , RFT 17inch...yet still managed <8.7 l/100km at that pace). Great place to drive. Just give you a better understanding on why these cars are made in Germany and why mechanical engineering is great there (as well as design in fact, against all saying).

Thanks for sharing your experience. Drive safely.