Testdrive part II
07-08-2003, 02:59 PM
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Today I once again took the new five for a testdrive since I wasn?t able to to take it for a longer drive last week. (see subject Finally my first testdrive)
I?m still amazed over how well this car drives. The comfort is truly amazing this car is so smooth and spite that the handling is still superb. Anyway in this report I?m going to focus more on details of the car rather than the driving impression since my first impression basically is the same after this second drive. One thing though before we proceed, after this second drive I found my self starting to like the way the engine sound more and more. Even though it is very quiet, it actually do have a nice roar when you push it which i didn't notice before. So my impression of the engine after this second drive is that the sound is not at all that bad afterall.
Exterior
You have to see this car for real to fully understand and appriciate it. Every time I see it I find new details that I didn?t notice before. This car is very 3-dimensional and some of the lines can get confusing on some pictures. When you see in the metal however, it?s a whole different story. The creases sharp angels and concave surface all makes sense when you see them for real.
Some people have complain that the new five doesn?t look like a BMW but that is not true. There is no question that this car is a BMW. Surely it looks different compared to the E46 and E39, but it?s no question about this car being a BMW. The way surfaces are designed, the concave upperpart of the trunklid combined with the hoffemeister knick of the rear side window, it?s BMW all the way.
The new five have much more presence compared to the predecessor and feels much more solid and sculptural. I would say that the design reminds you a lot of the new Audi A4 and A8 in the way that the car feels very massive almost like carved in one pice out of a rock. This car is truly a sculpture. I belive that in time people will start to understand appriciate and like this design as much as the design of the beautiful E39.
Interior
The overall interior design is very modern and clean. Compared to the old 5 this car looks ten years ahead. Quality and type of materials seems to match those found in the new 7.
Some people have complained about build quality but the car I drove felt very soild and well built.
However, the door pockets are not as good as in the old five. The pockets are small shallow and is not carpeted all around only in the bottom. Instrumet cluster is very clean and nice looking but the info display located in the center isn?t that good. I found the text, number and symbols on this display a bit too small. I didn?t find an engine temp gauge, but there is supposed to be one somewhere after what I?ve heard. The steering wheel colum has too many stalks on the left side . It?s easy too accidently touch the wrong one. The feel of the turnsignal stalk is very nice though and feels a lot more solid than in the old five. I found the cruise control stalk to be located way to low in a rather akward position. The climate control knobs and buttons have good feel and are easy to use.
Comfort seats seems to be same as in the 7-series. The control buttons are diffrent and located on the outer side of the seat. Sadly none of the buttons have clear marking showing what they do. The buttons that control the lumbar support and variable seat width uses the same circular 4 way button. To choose which one to change there are to tiny buttons 0,2 inch unmarked buttons next to it. To control the separate upper part of the backrest there are to tiny approx. 0,2 inch buttons recessed into the button that controls the backrest. The seat itself is great and very comfortable but the controls for the seat give you a headache. The quality of the Dakota leather seems to be a bit better than the Montana leather found in the predecessor but the difference is very subtle. Rearseat is comfortable and roomy with great legroom. The reading lights are located in the center of the roof and also have the tiny red ambiente lights found previously only in the front on the predecessor.
In conclusion the interior is nice and even though it reminds you of the 7 it?s much sportier.
There are a few issues with the interior, the seat controls being the worst with the rather busy left side of the steering colum on the second place.
The overall impression of the interior is good though.
The I-drive
The I-drive is maybe one those things that you either like or hate but learns to live with. I?m not going to say it?s good ot bad but personally i found it rather easy to use it after playing with it for a while. The menu button is truly a step forward compared to the 7. If you get lost in the menus you can always puch it and go back to square one. The screen, 6,5 inch on the car I drove, is always easy to read regardless of lightning conditions.
The trunk
The trunkopening is huge and so is the trunk itself. One nice feature I found is that it opens itself when you push the opening button on the trunk or the button on the key.
Conclusion
The distance to more regular cars (Camry, Accord, Taurus etc) has never been bigger. The reason why the 5-series MSRP reads the double amount compared to those cars have never been more clear. In recent years the gap regular cars have been closing in more and more on premium cars. With this car BMW has indeed truly lenghten that gap again. Anyway, back to the new five.
I think this car beats the predecessor in every aspect. Compared to the predecessor the new five is much more modern and luxiorious and ride and driving dynamics are significantly better.
Sure there are a few things that could have been done better but then again no car is perfect and that goes for the beloved E39 as well.
Compared to the E-class I can?t find any practical reason to by the MB over this car. The new 5-series feels compared to the E-class, more modern and drivning dynamics are way better than the MB. The ride of the the new five is also better than in the E-class. There is only one reason I can find for anyone to buy the MB and that is if you don?t like the looks of the new five.
I?ve taken a few photos mostly of diffrent I-drive menus, that i can try and post on this site.
If anyone has any questions I?ll be happy to try and answer them.
I?m still amazed over how well this car drives. The comfort is truly amazing this car is so smooth and spite that the handling is still superb. Anyway in this report I?m going to focus more on details of the car rather than the driving impression since my first impression basically is the same after this second drive. One thing though before we proceed, after this second drive I found my self starting to like the way the engine sound more and more. Even though it is very quiet, it actually do have a nice roar when you push it which i didn't notice before. So my impression of the engine after this second drive is that the sound is not at all that bad afterall.
Exterior
You have to see this car for real to fully understand and appriciate it. Every time I see it I find new details that I didn?t notice before. This car is very 3-dimensional and some of the lines can get confusing on some pictures. When you see in the metal however, it?s a whole different story. The creases sharp angels and concave surface all makes sense when you see them for real.
Some people have complain that the new five doesn?t look like a BMW but that is not true. There is no question that this car is a BMW. Surely it looks different compared to the E46 and E39, but it?s no question about this car being a BMW. The way surfaces are designed, the concave upperpart of the trunklid combined with the hoffemeister knick of the rear side window, it?s BMW all the way.
The new five have much more presence compared to the predecessor and feels much more solid and sculptural. I would say that the design reminds you a lot of the new Audi A4 and A8 in the way that the car feels very massive almost like carved in one pice out of a rock. This car is truly a sculpture. I belive that in time people will start to understand appriciate and like this design as much as the design of the beautiful E39.
Interior
The overall interior design is very modern and clean. Compared to the old 5 this car looks ten years ahead. Quality and type of materials seems to match those found in the new 7.
Some people have complained about build quality but the car I drove felt very soild and well built.
However, the door pockets are not as good as in the old five. The pockets are small shallow and is not carpeted all around only in the bottom. Instrumet cluster is very clean and nice looking but the info display located in the center isn?t that good. I found the text, number and symbols on this display a bit too small. I didn?t find an engine temp gauge, but there is supposed to be one somewhere after what I?ve heard. The steering wheel colum has too many stalks on the left side . It?s easy too accidently touch the wrong one. The feel of the turnsignal stalk is very nice though and feels a lot more solid than in the old five. I found the cruise control stalk to be located way to low in a rather akward position. The climate control knobs and buttons have good feel and are easy to use.
Comfort seats seems to be same as in the 7-series. The control buttons are diffrent and located on the outer side of the seat. Sadly none of the buttons have clear marking showing what they do. The buttons that control the lumbar support and variable seat width uses the same circular 4 way button. To choose which one to change there are to tiny buttons 0,2 inch unmarked buttons next to it. To control the separate upper part of the backrest there are to tiny approx. 0,2 inch buttons recessed into the button that controls the backrest. The seat itself is great and very comfortable but the controls for the seat give you a headache. The quality of the Dakota leather seems to be a bit better than the Montana leather found in the predecessor but the difference is very subtle. Rearseat is comfortable and roomy with great legroom. The reading lights are located in the center of the roof and also have the tiny red ambiente lights found previously only in the front on the predecessor.
In conclusion the interior is nice and even though it reminds you of the 7 it?s much sportier.
There are a few issues with the interior, the seat controls being the worst with the rather busy left side of the steering colum on the second place.
The overall impression of the interior is good though.
The I-drive
The I-drive is maybe one those things that you either like or hate but learns to live with. I?m not going to say it?s good ot bad but personally i found it rather easy to use it after playing with it for a while. The menu button is truly a step forward compared to the 7. If you get lost in the menus you can always puch it and go back to square one. The screen, 6,5 inch on the car I drove, is always easy to read regardless of lightning conditions.
The trunk
The trunkopening is huge and so is the trunk itself. One nice feature I found is that it opens itself when you push the opening button on the trunk or the button on the key.
Conclusion
The distance to more regular cars (Camry, Accord, Taurus etc) has never been bigger. The reason why the 5-series MSRP reads the double amount compared to those cars have never been more clear. In recent years the gap regular cars have been closing in more and more on premium cars. With this car BMW has indeed truly lenghten that gap again. Anyway, back to the new five.
I think this car beats the predecessor in every aspect. Compared to the predecessor the new five is much more modern and luxiorious and ride and driving dynamics are significantly better.
Sure there are a few things that could have been done better but then again no car is perfect and that goes for the beloved E39 as well.
Compared to the E-class I can?t find any practical reason to by the MB over this car. The new 5-series feels compared to the E-class, more modern and drivning dynamics are way better than the MB. The ride of the the new five is also better than in the E-class. There is only one reason I can find for anyone to buy the MB and that is if you don?t like the looks of the new five.
I?ve taken a few photos mostly of diffrent I-drive menus, that i can try and post on this site.
If anyone has any questions I?ll be happy to try and answer them.
07-08-2003, 06:50 PM
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Did you test drive the 6 speed manual or the steptronic? If you drove the 6 speed, was it easy to shift?
What interior color did you see, how does it look?
Did you drive with the sport pkg or standard? Can you get the sport package with comfort seats, or is it one or the other?
thanks for the report
gary
What interior color did you see, how does it look?
Did you drive with the sport pkg or standard? Can you get the sport package with comfort seats, or is it one or the other?
thanks for the report
gary
07-08-2003, 10:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Beemer' date='Jul 8 2003, 03:59 PM
The steering wheel colum has too many stalks on the left side . It?s easy too accidently touch the wrong one.
Beemer, did you have problem using the turn signal? Did you get used to it quickly? Thanks.
07-09-2003, 02:59 AM
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Great review thanks... I just noticed the amber turnsignals on headlights damn ugly. I'm not sure why some other car brands are able to minimize the amber where it is not noticable but BMW has huge ambers on US model(
. One question, what about the active steering, specially at high speeds? I?ve read some complaints about precision. Bye.
07-09-2003, 01:39 PM
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My Ride: E90 330i Sport & E46 323Ci
Beemer;Thanks once again for an excellent review. Everything you have stated regarding the looks couldn't be more true;;;it really takes a three-dimensional view to really understand the design. And it just goes to show how ignorant some of these trolls on Roadfly are when they criticize the damn thing before seeing it;;just plain ridiculous.
Funny you should mention the trunk remote-control feature;;I take it this was not part of the E39? The 3 Series has had this feature since 1999, so I find that kind of strange. But I hope that the ride is all you say and more, as I also would like to know if you drove the manual or six-speed.
R.R.
07-09-2003, 05:00 PM
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Beemer, did you have problem using the turn signal? Did you get used to it quickly?
Thanks for the review? . One question, what about the active steering, specially at high speeds? I?ve read some complaints about precision.
What interior color did you see, how does it look?
Did you drive with the sport pkg or standard? Can you get the sport package with comfort seats, or is it one or the other?
Did you drive with the sport pkg or standard? Can you get the sport package with comfort seats, or is it one or the other?
Funny you should mention the trunk remote-control feature;;I take it this was not part of the E39? The 3 Series has had this feature since 1999, so I find that kind of strange. But I hope that the ride is all you say and more, as I also would like to know if you drove the manual or six-speed.
The car i drove had the 6-speed Steptronic (automatic) transmission.
07-09-2003, 05:38 PM
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Beemer, thanks for the excellent review. I can't wait to test drive one myself. My dealer (Zimbrick, Madison, WI) expects to get the first demonstrator sometime this month.
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