One more report on the new F-10 550i
06-03-2010, 08:33 PM
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My Ride: 07 550 i, mystic blue, black leather, cold weather package, nav, sport, shades, bags, rear heat, V1 hardwired.
05 F350 TD Crew Cab
04 Range Rover HSE
91 964 C4 Cabrio
07 997 Turbo Cabrio
Having read most of the new reviews of the new 550i I will try and just chime and not duplicate what has been in the other posts. If someone can tell me how to upload photos I will.
Exterior:
Side by side, the new car does look more sleek and rounded than the E60
Rear window is much more integrated
Dual exhaust ports look nice
Old fogy goodyears now instead of the dunlops
The front is more sheared, more upright, and I think a step backward
The waist line bulge...well I guess it might be OK...
Bottom line...It has been said before, but the F10 design is more evolutionary than revolutionary...
Interior:
First, sitting the in F10, the first thing you notice is that the cockpit is much more complicated looking, and more 7 series than what we are used to in the E60.
More buttons on the idrive, more buttons on the radio controls, more buttons on the center console, and more buttons on the stick shift.
The new version of the idrive is page menu driven, much more intuitive, easer to use, and frankly, I liked it.
There is now a water temp gauge.
The tach and speedo are bigger, and angled more vertical than before
The orange leds are now gone, replaced by the cool while
There is a blue gauge on the tach now that tells you when you are in some sort of eco mode, I really did not care to learn about it.
Center console is much more complicated, and sits higher than the E60.
If it has drink holders under the radio in the center of the console.
If there is an extra inch of rear leg room, I did not see it
The rear seat occupants no longer get to adjust their own climate stuff
Pop the hood, there is engine, and nothing else. Nicely finished compartment. Clean, understated, but did I mention how frigging great this car sounds?
Driving:
The car's sound is much more throaty and menacing than the E-60 550i.
This car was equipped with all of the goodies. The review camera will stay on regardless of the transmission position.
the side view cameras are cool, but don't see much use in them.
You can customize the HUD much better than before
The process to get the car into drive is a pain in the ass.
The paddle shifts are out of this world cool
The car has at least four modes for driving, I played with just two, sport and sport +. The only difference I could feel is that the sport + shuts off traction control
Much better launch speeds with the traction control off, because the computer senses the wheel spin in all other modes, and causes the car to hiccup, then lock up.
Not a scientific study, but according to the wrist watch, the car will indeed hit 60 in the sub 5 range.
When you repeatedly launch the car, by the fourth time you get a feel for how to feather the throttle, and get great launches...When you do this, make sure you have the most inexperienced salesman with you the car gets hot and smells hot "Oh yea, that is a normal smell." Say it with a straight face, and they tend to believe you.
The car is quiet, and I mean WHISPER quiet. I don't know what to attribute this to, it might be the tires, or the car, or a combination of both, I don't know.
The car pulls strong, with no, I mean NO turbo lag. Foot on the binders, throttle to the floor, let go of both, and the car just screams to, well not quite a felony range.
Handling is superb, I put it through the paces in a big empty parking lot, and it does indeed, corner better than my E-60.
Bottom Line.
The car had a sticker of 71K, about 7 k more than my 2007 E-60, but loaded to the hilt.
I don't like the exterior style, but it probably will grow on me.
I keep thinking that the car is a 7 series on steroids
the steering wheel is damn nice
I will indeed replace my E-60 with it this fall
Stu
Exterior:
Side by side, the new car does look more sleek and rounded than the E60
Rear window is much more integrated
Dual exhaust ports look nice
Old fogy goodyears now instead of the dunlops
The front is more sheared, more upright, and I think a step backward
The waist line bulge...well I guess it might be OK...
Bottom line...It has been said before, but the F10 design is more evolutionary than revolutionary...
Interior:
First, sitting the in F10, the first thing you notice is that the cockpit is much more complicated looking, and more 7 series than what we are used to in the E60.
More buttons on the idrive, more buttons on the radio controls, more buttons on the center console, and more buttons on the stick shift.
The new version of the idrive is page menu driven, much more intuitive, easer to use, and frankly, I liked it.
There is now a water temp gauge.
The tach and speedo are bigger, and angled more vertical than before
The orange leds are now gone, replaced by the cool while
There is a blue gauge on the tach now that tells you when you are in some sort of eco mode, I really did not care to learn about it.
Center console is much more complicated, and sits higher than the E60.
If it has drink holders under the radio in the center of the console.
If there is an extra inch of rear leg room, I did not see it
The rear seat occupants no longer get to adjust their own climate stuff
Pop the hood, there is engine, and nothing else. Nicely finished compartment. Clean, understated, but did I mention how frigging great this car sounds?
Driving:
The car's sound is much more throaty and menacing than the E-60 550i.
This car was equipped with all of the goodies. The review camera will stay on regardless of the transmission position.
the side view cameras are cool, but don't see much use in them.
You can customize the HUD much better than before
The process to get the car into drive is a pain in the ass.
The paddle shifts are out of this world cool
The car has at least four modes for driving, I played with just two, sport and sport +. The only difference I could feel is that the sport + shuts off traction control
Much better launch speeds with the traction control off, because the computer senses the wheel spin in all other modes, and causes the car to hiccup, then lock up.
Not a scientific study, but according to the wrist watch, the car will indeed hit 60 in the sub 5 range.
When you repeatedly launch the car, by the fourth time you get a feel for how to feather the throttle, and get great launches...When you do this, make sure you have the most inexperienced salesman with you the car gets hot and smells hot "Oh yea, that is a normal smell." Say it with a straight face, and they tend to believe you.
The car is quiet, and I mean WHISPER quiet. I don't know what to attribute this to, it might be the tires, or the car, or a combination of both, I don't know.
The car pulls strong, with no, I mean NO turbo lag. Foot on the binders, throttle to the floor, let go of both, and the car just screams to, well not quite a felony range.
Handling is superb, I put it through the paces in a big empty parking lot, and it does indeed, corner better than my E-60.
Bottom Line.
The car had a sticker of 71K, about 7 k more than my 2007 E-60, but loaded to the hilt.
I don't like the exterior style, but it probably will grow on me.
I keep thinking that the car is a 7 series on steroids
the steering wheel is damn nice
I will indeed replace my E-60 with it this fall
Stu
thx man
06-04-2010, 03:00 AM
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Nice review. Thanks.
I'll mention one thing about the side cameras. I live in a city and am pretty consistently moving out into resricted view roadways. And although I've never had side-view cameras, I'm sure that I'll quickly not be able to live without them. But other than a few situations like the one that I have, I agree with Studivas that those cameras will have limited utility for most.
I'll mention one thing about the side cameras. I live in a city and am pretty consistently moving out into resricted view roadways. And although I've never had side-view cameras, I'm sure that I'll quickly not be able to live without them. But other than a few situations like the one that I have, I agree with Studivas that those cameras will have limited utility for most.
06-04-2010, 08:34 AM
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My Ride: My ex-ride: EU '08 LCI 520dA. Space Grey, Sport Seats in Black Leather/Fabric Anthracite, Sport Steering Wheel, A/C with Extended Features, Hi-Fi Speakers, Cup Holders, Cruise with Braking function, Folding Rear Seats, Xenons, Park Distance Control.
Thanks for the very nice review studavis.
Some comments
Old fogy goodyears now instead of the dunlops ? the tire brand may vary from car to car
There is a blue gauge on the tach now that tells you when you are in some sort of eco mode, I really did not care to learn about it ? you absolutely should
The rear seat occupants no longer get to adjust their own climate stuff ? yes, if you order 4-zone A/C
The car is quiet, and I mean WHISPER quiet ? yes, it has a better sound isolation than the E60
Some comments
Old fogy goodyears now instead of the dunlops ? the tire brand may vary from car to car
There is a blue gauge on the tach now that tells you when you are in some sort of eco mode, I really did not care to learn about it ? you absolutely should
The rear seat occupants no longer get to adjust their own climate stuff ? yes, if you order 4-zone A/C
The car is quiet, and I mean WHISPER quiet ? yes, it has a better sound isolation than the E60
06-04-2010, 08:56 AM
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My Ride: My ex-ride: EU '08 LCI 520dA. Space Grey, Sport Seats in Black Leather/Fabric Anthracite, Sport Steering Wheel, A/C with Extended Features, Hi-Fi Speakers, Cup Holders, Cruise with Braking function, Folding Rear Seats, Xenons, Park Distance Control.
06-04-2010, 11:24 AM
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My Ride: 07 550 i, mystic blue, black leather, cold weather package, nav, sport, shades, bags, rear heat, V1 hardwired.
05 F350 TD Crew Cab
04 Range Rover HSE
91 964 C4 Cabrio
07 997 Turbo Cabrio
I am looking at the photos I took, and it may very well be a oil temp gauge instead of water...I stand corrected...
Again, someone tell me how to upload the pics and I will do so asap..
Again, someone tell me how to upload the pics and I will do so asap..
06-04-2010, 11:43 AM
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My Ride: 2011.5 Alpine White E90 M3 | Black Novillo Leather | Carbon Fiber Leather Trim | ZCP | ZP2 | M-DCT | Navigation | Moonroof | 6FL Mods: TMS 12.5mm spacers all around l Hawk HPS Brake Pads l OEM M3 Edition Grills l Paint Matched Side Gills l Key Hole D
to upload the pics you can open up a free account on a free image hosting site such as photobucket...upload your photos to that site...copy the url of the picture once loaded>click the "insert image" tab just above the text box (when creating/editing a post)...paste the url....repeat with the rest of the pics as needed (from copying the url and on)...
