acorradi87

When I was born, my mom drove an 81 528e and that was my first experience with BMWs. I have been hooked ever since then, so literally, I'm a lifelong fan. In my 'super short life' I've had the pleasure of driving (besides my car):

2009 335i Convertible
2009 335i Sedan
2007 335i Coupe (my grandmother's)
2005 M3
2005 330i ZHP
2005 X3 3.0i
2003 540i M Sport Wagon
2003 325i Sedan
2002 330i Coupe
2001 325i Sedan
2000 X5 4.4i
... and now the F10 550i

Might I add I've also been to the factory in Leipzig, Germany.

I don't have a problem with older generations. I don't know what your problem is with people of a younger generation but you seriously need to cool your heels.

pipper

speaking of big noses, i saw the new jaguar XJ at the mall today....holy #$%#, it makes the f10's nose look tiny in comparison. these new euro crash laws are killing all the designs!!!!

Richard in NC

I don't know if I could count all of the BMW's I've driven. Just this past week I've driven an '11 X5 5.0, '11 550i, 135i, X5 35d, 750i, 335d, M3 DCT, Z4 35i DCT, X6M, and 335i.

acorradi87

I'm sure there are people who (like you) have driven a LOT of BMWs, I was just trying to prove a point to SilberGrauE60 because he pissed me off.

hinckley

Don't get pissed off, there are legitimate generational differences. I'm over 50, am driving my fifth 5er and I really liked your original post. When I was reading it, I thought about how - at my age - I liked some of the styling elements that you didn't. It made me feel a bit old and I wondered whether BMW may be moving the 5 too much into an older person's comfort zone. Although BMW is not marketing the 5 to 23 year-olds (no offense, but probably a good educated guess), it's important for any business to consider different generations to keep their products fresh (just look at Buick). I hated the look of the E60 when it was first introduced, but after seven years, I think it's a terrific looking. I doubt very much that anyone will feel the same way about the F10 in 2017, no matter how much they like it now.

With all that said, the 5er is still the best driver's car on the market imho. The F10 will surely be my sixth one - an M5 if they continue to market a real manual transmission to dinosaurs like me, or a 550 if that's the only way for me to use my left foot.

acorradi87

I appreciate how you stated your difference of opinion in a polite way. You're absolutely right, 23 year olds are NOT the target demographic for the 5. I just wanted to note that I feel the look of MY car is age appropriate (and before getting this car, I had heavily considered the 2003 e39 540i M Sport, which I also think looks age appropriate). Maybe it's just due to the areo package differences on the M Sport package... and I guess I'll have to wait a few months to see what that will look like on the F10. I share your thoughts about the e60, I was in high school when it came out and I thought 'yuck, what has BMW done!?'. 6 years later and look what I have now! While I think the F10 is initially a more appealing car to more people overall (due to the lack of odd/irregular styling cut lines) it seems to have an older feel to it, also because of its larger size.

hinckley

We're almost 30 years apart and we drive the same car. That says a lot about the E60.

I'm also upset that each new 5 model grows another two inches. But I think that the F10 looks big only when next to the E60. Sitting by itself, it doesn't seen quite as big (although it's sitting waaaay too high). I'm really much more upset about the weight gain of this model. The 550 now weighs about 200 pounds more than the A6 4.2, and 400 pounds more than the E550. Weight gain is a really, really bad place for a performance car to go.

acorradi87

I completely agree. I understand that every generation gets a little bigger (sometimes a lot), but it makes me wonder: how much bigger will the 5 series be in 50 years? By then the 3 series will practically be a 5 series size, the 1 will be a 3 series size... they'll need to have a -1 series just to have a full range!

acorradi87

One thing I remembered I wanted to add... is that the doors seem very light. I know that door weight doesn't really mean much, but to me a heavy door just gives the car a solid feel. My e60 doors are lighter than my friend's e39 540i M Sport doors, and the F10's are lighter still. My doors still have enough heft though... what is going on with this F10?

Fokker

Yes! I, too noticed this, especially when closing the door with the windows down. In addition, the little "handles" on the vents (the chrome trim) used to adjust direction of airflow seemed a little loose on their mountings. This was not just on one vent but on several in the 535i I examined.

Maybe I'm nitpicking.