I would appreciate your thoughts on ride and handling and where fitted with a sport auto box how does selecting sport change things. If anyone has VDC fitted with 17" wheels how does this change things. I've just ordered my car but still not 100% on the exact spec.
Many Thanks

 

I have 523i with VDC and 17 inch rims. I can only concur with what others wrote who have larger wheels. It's a very fun car to drive, grip limits are high and I've never experienced unwanted tail spin on roundabouts or corners like some have reported with the wider wheel setups. i regularly toggle back and forth between sport and comfort modes depending on whether I want to cruise or reach a twisty bit. Switching between D and S on the box also gives a very different shift pattern - the box holds on much longer in S. The only negative comment would be that the wheels look small and are a pain to clean.

 

Since BMW sells the F10 with 17" rims the handling must be good enough with them.

The car looks amputated, though.
Or maybe I just like my 20" wheels with non-RF tires too much.

 

That's my dilemma as well. Do I go for looks or handling. The 19-20" looks better but 17-18" gives a better ride.

 

With the state of the roads in the UK I've gone for ride over looks. Not sure if it's my eyes playing tricks but I've gone for a black car and by adding shadowline trim it seems to make the 17" wheels look less lost, try it on the BMW configurator.

 

With the state of the roads in the UK I've gone for ride over looks. Not sure if it's my eyes playing tricks but I've gone for a black car and by adding shadowline trim it seems to make the 17" wheels look less lost, try it on the BMW configurator.

 

I have no comfort problems what so ever with my 20" non-RF tires.