KCooke82

Hey guys,
I've been dormant for ages. My car was garaged in NYC for two years and I then I went to business school. Despite dropping loads of dough on my MBA, I couldn't pass up a test drive during my recent service (100,000 miles and going strong!).

First impression: we walked past several 5's and my tester happened to be sitting next to the new 750. I couldn't help but gaze at the new 7, which which happened to be the same dark blue as the 5, and think man, what an improvement over the last 7. But that was only AFTER I realized it was a 7! The cars are so much alike from all angles, especially the rear. I'm a big fan of the no-jelly bean approach, when Bangle gave every car it's own personality. Granted, I knew it was a 7 because I can recognize any car from 500 yards, but still, it really shocked me. The 5 is definitely more aggressive in the front, but man, this thing looks more like a 7 than a 5 in my opinion. The e60, while dated in some respects, looks much more nimble and athletic, especially if you have the m-tech or umnitza kits.

Cockpit: hello LUXURY. Big improvement here. Nicer materials, more technology (loved the cameras), better idrive, etc. Again, it looked looked and felt like I was in a 7, which isn't a bad thing here.

Sound: I'm coming from a quad setup that has the perfect volume and pitch, with the resonators and mufflers removed, and an x-pipe and turbo tubes installed. Obviously I'm not going to hear the 550's engine like I hear mine. But it was quieter than I expected. No sporty sound here...

Gear shifts: they of course didn't have a manual, so I had to use whatever is standard nowadays. Nice tranny, but with 8 gears (I think it's 8), it shits all the damn time, and I found it easy to redline it. Perhaps that's because I can't hear it, but in comparison to my car, where I rarely go over 5.5-6, I found it easy to be high in the RPMs. I played around doing some manual shifts but I doubt I would ever use it if I had an automatic. There's no feel or sound. I'd have to stare at my tach all the time.

Drive: I was in a rural area with lots of big homes and bored cops, so I was mostly gunning it and braking, but body roll was minimal and steering was light. Quite frankly it drove like a limo until I hot a pot hole and WHAM, I was reminded of runflats, low sidewalls, and yes, that I was in a BMW.
I turned to the salesman and said it feels too much like a car meant for the 40ish-50ish year old crowd. I'm talking look, drive, sound, luxury...everything.

So this is how I'll sum up my experience. Whereas I feel that the e60 can appeal to everyone, whether your 20 or your 60, it seems that the new generation leaves guys like myself, late 20s, early 30s, scratching their heads. If I wanted big luxury, I'd get a 7, or drive an Audi or a Benz. But I want something that is more accommodating in size and less mainstream in looks than the 3, but something sportier and more appealing to my demographic than the 7.
I'm betting that the average 5 buyer's demographics changes a bit over the next few years. Or maybe I'm just hanging on to my 545 in more ways than one!
Let's just say I parked the 550 and test drove an M3 with 1,500 miles on it. Now that's sporty... Turns out the previous owner traded it in for one of the frost grays. Must be nice...
Cheers.

KCooke82

I thought I'd add that while it is a more conservative approach, it is a very good looking car that goes fast. Like the tach, you need to look down at the speedo to appreciate how fast you are going.
As more modded F10s find their way on here I'm sure they will make a sportier impression on me. The white one that is posted as the first modded F10 looks sweet. But it's still a big, heavy, luxury car. I'll still have a hard time getting my head around that fact.

bha7176

I have to agree. And although I love my '08 550i I think my next BMW is going to be an M3 - way more sporty, youthful, and well, damn 3's are just more fun to drive and throw around the twisties.

hinckley

I think that that's the point. 50 - 60 year-olds generally have more disposal income than 25 - 35 year-olds. And generally, that older market values luxury over sport. So moving the 5 away from the 3 and towards the 7 probably means broader market appeal, more car sales and more profit. As a 51 year-old capatalist, I understand that approach. As a 51 year-old auto enthusiast, I too may now be more interested in the 3 than the 5. If the interior were just a bit more luxurious, the 3 would be the new 5 . . . .

KCooke82

Well put. I'm not saying it's a bad move on BMW's part, but they might lose some loyal 5 series enthusiasts in order to appeal to the mainstream luxury car buyer. For some reason I thought that's what BMW doesn't do...give in!

m630

not to worry, im sure the next 3 will be the size of the e39 and upgraded interior is sure to be offered as the 3 becomes the old 5 size/market segment

KCooke82

Haha so are you saying the 1 is the new 3? Sadly, you are probably right. Given the 2008 gas price shock, the economy, etc, I thought 2010 was going to be the year that cars didn't inflate in size. BMW had me fooled when they said the new M5 will feature a V8 with turbos, that the 7 series would be offered with a 6 cylinder in the USA, and that the 5 would also get the turbo treatment. What they failed to say is that this is only to counteract BMW's size and weight problem (which if course, is shared by every other car manufacturer).

ThunderbuttNLeadfoot

I agree with you all. Most manufacturers increase model sizes with every new generation. If future 3 is larger then there is a good chance that 5 owners now will eventualy migrate to the 3.

Petes550i

That may or may not turn out to be true.....but who's to say that most of the current 5 series owners will automatically migrate to a smaller car? If current F10 sales are any indication, I'd say that quite a lot of people are liking a bigger and more luxurious 5 series.

swajames

The only full month of sales for the F10 was July when BMW posted only a 9% gain for 5 Series sales compared to the same month last year - a number that included remainder E60 sales and also the 5GT as BMW doesn't break sales out by specific model. Simply put, a 9% gain isn't overly spectacular given the significant upturn in the economy compared to the market conditions we saw last summer and of the positive impact on sales due to latent demand for the new model. Take all of that into account, and it's still too early to make any meaningful analysis of how the F10 is faring. August numbers should be out in the next week or so and we'll be in a better position to see how things are trending. Anecdotally, there don't appear to be too many F10s on the road here in Silicon Valley right now, which is a little strange given that this is the kind of wealthy and upscale early-adopter market where a car like the F10 ought to do pretty well. Based on my trips to Southern California of late, the other market where the F10 ought to sell strongly, the position seems to be much the same.