carfreak

When I say more wood, I'm thinking in the lines of the E63.

This looks complete to me instead of our AC area without wood and I like the touch on the glovebox

IMHO, this is classy:

markt540i

I agree with Katheikia on the LED tail lights. The e39's were really cool looking. But as far as the interior goes, I have been totally satisfied with my interior and really have not noticed the cheap plastics...yet. Thanks a lot for pointing it out. The cup holders are light years ahead of my old e39. The only thing that pisses me off is the sport package steering wheel that came with my 550 is not as sporty as my 540 was. The comfort seats are really unbelievably comfortable.

So, bottom line, I have no problem with the interior and I really love this car and enjoy driving it. Funny, on weekends I am always asking my wife, don't we need something from the store...always looking for an excuse to drive it. Like someone else said, when you hit the gas or the curves all interior thoughts go away. Oh, and I love I-drive.

carfreak

I guess if you have comfort seats, full leather, v8, new sports steering wheel, etc........you will be happy.

I feel that most of the options on this car, should've been standard for a $60+ car. Seems like you get more for your money on our competitors cars than ours. But the driving enjoyment can't be matched.

Next car will have to be a loaded 550i/M5

TexaZ3

That is always the case with BMWs - they are very conservative in options, and almost all goodies are options, always been that way, and always will, I guess...

katheikia

Is that really a pic form the E63....I have alot more wood in my 550, that looks way more cheap!!!

pipper

im 90% satisfied with the interior. i prefer the stark/minimalist looks. BUT they really did a lousy job with the interior storage space. the center storage bin is too small, and the door pockets are VERY cheap.

oh, and a >$50K car should DEFINITELY have LED tailights. theres no excuse for it and thats a pretty cheap move by BMW.

Matrim604

I agree to some degree, but I also like the minimalist approch of BMW interiors. I recently sat in some of the new Lexus models, and while there is no denying they are nice cars, their interiors just seemed cluttered to me. All the fancy displays and buttons look state of the art now, but in a few years they'll look as dated as anything else. The BMW interiors may be sparse, but I think that is the point, and it runs less of a risk of looking out of date in the near future.

To address some of your points specifically:
> I personally have no problem with the dashboard material.
> My steering wheel leather isn't as plush as it could be, but then again plush leather will probably wear easier too.
> I don't mind the knobs for the AC and there being no digital screen. Again, it may be over simplified, but it's still a clean, uncluttered look.
> I have mixed feelings on the cup holders. They are out of the way, and work decently with certain kinds of cups, but they also seem rather flimsy and a pain if there is a passenger.
> Center console needs more wood? I don't have a problem with the way it looks, but more wood can never hurt
> I don't mind the sport seats at all, but I agree the head rest is very uncomfortable. Infact, the head rest almost seems useless. I still havn't figured out a way to postion the chair/headrest to make it actually support my head at all, but then again I like having the seat angled way back.

> The one issue I have with the interior is the radio/CD player. I like minimalist appearance, and yes, I usually control the radio thru iDrive or the steering wheel, but it still looks unnecessarily cheap to me, especially the little volume knob.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. My 545i is still the nicest car i've driven, and I can't wait to get my quad exhaust!

DBU

I have only driven the E60 on a test drive. My first impression of the interior was how annoying the light reflection from the wood on the passenger side was. The angle of that wood is very unfortunate.

More storage space, and in particular a bigger center console space, would be welcomed.

I would love to be able to choose something more functional instead of the darn ashtray, which will never be used for its intended purpose.

Field of vision by the outside mirrors feel marginal compared to my Pontiac Grand Prix.

However, it was a nice feeling to brakle semi-hard and not having to help steer the beast...

Vote for best interior feature goes to the START/STOP button. Way cool although I prefer the setup found on the 3-series, where the key fob goes in the dash rather than the steering column.

ImolaRedM

Start/stop button is one my my most hated features. It's a gimick but with CA it's okay. In fact I think CA should be standard because of the button.

I'm not sure I see a problem with the mirrors when adjusted correctly.

aybeesea

Here there is a no-cost option to "delete" the "smoker's pack" and have the ashtrays replaced with other storage units. The big downside is that stupidly they remove the electrics associated with the lighter too!

A bugbear I have that when reversing (if you're not a reverse by door mirror driver), with the headrest up and seat back, you have terrible rearward visibilty when craning your head round because of the pillar and headrest obscuring the view.

ABC