One thing I noticed about the E61 is the really long gears. 3rd gear maxes out at 160km/h..... thats insane. for acceleration purposes, it should be 140 at most. otherwise, its a beautiful car. Ive had a Volvo V50 before (awd) and I will never go back to sedans. The practicallity is something that I am not willing to give up. plus I have a dog.

 

535i touring and sedan has the same gearing. Only in some engines (with lower torque - see first page) the touring has shorter gearing to deal better with excessive cargo weight or with a trailer.

 

Also increases the shell rigidity which should sharpen the handling over the saloon! I've just lowered the rear air suspension on mine and that should help C.O.G a bit once I get the alignment tweaked