Emm

I'm in the market for a new 530Xi Touring, but have not yet decided whether to go with the 6-speed manual, the SMG or the Steptronic. I'm leaning towards the SMG, but the information I have so far indicates that the SMG is only available with the Sport leather steering wheel, and not the new M Sport leather steering wheel. The design of these two wheels are very close, but the M wheel is substantially thicker, which is something I rellay like. Is this just a temporary impossibility, or something that will so remain? The M5 has the same wheel with SMG (though M 7-speed SMG3), and it just seems silly not to allow regular SMG with this wheel. Anyone here with inside information about this..?

As a newbie to this forum, just a little background about myself: My current family car is an X5 4.4iA '04, which is by far the over-all best family car I've ever had (I live in Sweden, and though it's not an absolute necessity, AWD definitely has an advantage over RWD for a family car in my situation). Why then "down-grading" to a 530Xi '05? Well, there is a combination of factors: After selling the X5, I can get the 530Xi and still get a little money back, but that's not the main reason. The performance is similar, with less fuel consumption for the 5er, which is also more agile and handles better. It also offers more space (both in the cabin and in the trunk, the latter which is useful for trolleys -- we have two small kids). The E60's look is more modern and fresh and will last longer than the current X5, which is due for a new model in the next couple of years. Plus the E60's trunk is much more convenient than the E53's (remote opening/closing of one lid, rather than manual opening/closing of two lids). What I will miss is the higher seating position, the higher safety level, and the sound of the V8 (I have a Kelleners sports exhaust mounted, and still can't help revving the engine every time before I shut it down, just to listen to that... aaaah, sweet sound :-).

My previous family car was an E39 530iM Touring '01 (with the remote trunk opening/closing, which was almost the best thing about the car :-), and before that I had an E39 528i Touring '00 and an E39 528i Sedan '98, so I'm very much at home with the 5er. My current hobby car is a Z3 M Coup? '02 (heavily modified, with 380 hp), and before that I had an E46 M3 Coup? '02, an E36 M3 Coup? '97, and an E30 M3 Coup? '88 (which was my first BMW). I'm already in line for the new E90 M3(M4?) Coup? '06, so I figure I don't really need a V8 in the family car as well.

All my cars until the X5 have been manuals (even the M3 -- I test drove the SMG2 on several occassions but never really got the hang of it...), but I must admit that the Steptronic really feels great in a car that I drive daily, mostly with the whole family with me, so part of me would like to go with the Steptronic for the 530Xi. But then I figure the new M3 (just like the M5) will probably only be available with the new 7-speed SMG3, and that it would be quite convenient to have SMG in both cars (no need for the brain to readjust everytime I switch cars :-), plus the 5er SMG does offer both manual and automatic mode. But I can still consider getting the 6-speed manual, since that is the gearbox I'm most accustomed to and that provides for most driver input/feedback. But then again, this is a family car and maybe I will be better off with the Steptronic -- or perhaps the SMG..? It would be nice to hear how others in the same position reasoned and then decided, so please feel free to share your thoughts on this gearbox selection issue!

Finally, out of curiosity, why do you guys think BMW only offers xDrive for the 525i and 530i at this point? Why not for the 535d or the 545i? And will it become available at a later time, or is there a long-term philosophy behind this? And why didn't they figure out a way to incorporate xDrive with Active Steering and Dynamic Drive? It almost seems like they decided to offer xDrive for the 5er a couple of months ago and then discovered that ooops, it won't fit with AS/DD... Personally I feel xDrive should be an option on every BMW (yes, even on the M cars, once they have worked it out to improve performance further, not hindering it...), just like the various gearboxes.

Iceman

Welcome aboard, Emm !

Rudy

Welcome!

I don't know too much about the steering wheels you're referring to but I'll speculate that the SMG wheel used on the M5 won't be seen on the "regular" SMG 5-series cars. The shift paddles work differently between the two cars so I doubt that they'd re-engineer any wiring or software just to offer that option.

I realize you're leaning toward SMG -- I don't think you should make the steering wheel be the deal-breaker...

dfndr

There is philosophy behind the use of all wheel drive transmissions on some models and not others. Many purists believe that high performance cars should be rear wheel drive, not front wheel drive or all wheel drive. The reason is that rear wheel drive allows you to take a corner fastest by opening the throttle just the right amount at just the right point. Models with big engines and fat tires are designed for high performance driving and tend to be pigs in snow and ice. The same reasoning applies to OEM tire selection. They don't put all-season tires on a 545i, M3 or M5. These cars are not designed to be great in snow. They are intended to be beasts in good weather and will provide reasonable performance in rain.

m630

welcome Emm

Gizmo

I think if you get the heated wheel/seat option you will get the thicker wheel you are looking for.

alohalc

welcome aboard, emm ! you are definitely a hardcore bmw fan .

Emm

Iceman, Rudy, m630 and alohalc: Thanks for the words of welcome guys! (Alohalc, you're right on the money -- check this link if you want to see my hardcore M Coup?: http://rejsa.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8026 -- this is in Swedish/gibberish, but you have pictures on page 2 :-).

Rudy: I believe the steering wheel is exactly the same in the 5er M Sport package as in the M5 with the exception of the paddles, and even though the SMG system is different between the two (6-sp. SMG vs. 7-sp. "M" SMG3), shouldn't the paddles on the wheel work the same though (shift up and down)? Maybe you're right, it just seemed odd to me. But the sensory input from how the wheel feels in your hands is not to be underestimated -- I just hated going from the fat E46 M3 wheel back to the old thin E36 M3 wheel in the M Coup?. Still, I agree the choice of gearbox is more important.

dfndr: I beg to differ with you on that one... In general I agree that the classic 50/50 AWD in most cases makes dull cars even duller to drive -- but the right AWD system in the right car will definitely improve performance. There is a reason Audi keeps AWD on their RS models and Porsche on their 911 Turbo, not to mention simpler cars such as the Subaru WRX STi and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo series; road hogs they are not. As I understand it, BMW's xDrive can shift the wheel drive 100% between front and rear, depending on driving situation, but is still basically a RWD system in normal circumbstances. I don't have the xDrive white paper handy right now, but if I recall correctly there were several arguments in it for how xDrive would improve performance but still appear like a traditional BMW RWD system. My guess is that there is some other reason for BMW to not introduce xDrive across the whole 5er setup now, and that it will eventually be made available on the other models as well. But if this is a political issue ("let's see how the market reacts to the volume models first") or a technical issue ("ooops, not enough room for Active Steering or Dynamic Drive -- let's wait and solve this until we offer it on the other models") or some other reason, I can't tell.

Gizmo: Hmm, I believe the heated wheel is only available on the standard "thin" wheel, not on the sport wheels (i.e. neither the "thin" regular Sport nor the "thick" M Sport wheel)..?

alohalc

i thought the red one is yours at first .

Emm

Gaaasp, no -- that wouldn't be "me" (that wing looks absolutely lethal...).

I'm more a "sleeper" kind of guy (beauty always comes from the inside... :-)