toneil44

My priorities for this car are similar to when I bought the '04 525i (which I'm going to replace w/ the 2011 535ix) seven years ago:
First two reasons are tied for first place in my priority order
* Balance of ride and handling
* Technology
* Styling

I've driven two 2011 535i vehicles. One w/o Sport Pkg and lightly loaded (Premium, Driver Assistance Pkgs), had all season RFT. The other w/ almost everything including Sport and Dynamic Handling Pkgs, had upgrade to all season RFT.

Impressions?
* Concerns I had w/ RFT harsh ride disappeared (driven the '08 535 w/ RFT - harsh ride). Both 535i vehicles gave me slightly better
ride than my '04 525i w/o Sport Pkg.
* The 535i w/o Sport Pkg demonstrates slighly worse handling than my '04 525i. The 535i w/ Sport, Dynamic Handling Pkgs and most
everything else - WOW - gives me anything I want from better handling (in Sport and Sport + modes) than my '04 525i to E350 ride
qualities - smooth ride and cannot feel the transmission shift points in Comfort and Normal modes. ZDH Package is a must have.
* The level of technology is far superior to any of the competitors I've driven so far.

So far I've driven:
* A6 - good handling, fairly harsh ride, lower price point
* M37 - subpar handling, reasonable ride, lower price point
* E350 - typical Mercedes ride and handling characteristics: wonderful ride quality w/ steering wheel feedback - handles like a boat,
pricing similar to 535i until Mercedes runs out of options to compare w/ 535i

Anything else I need to drive?

Petes550i

I would also include on that list:

Jaguar XF
Volvo S60 (the new one has had some stellar reviews recently--see current issue of MT)
Saab 9-5
Acura RL
Lexus GS350
Cadillac CTS

dkodrin

If you're planning to keep your new 535i for more than 100,000 miles (as I always do), I'd drop the CTS from your list . . . my Detroit engineer friends tell me that, although it's a great out-of-the-box vehicle, the CTS is only designed for (and life-tested up to) 100K miles.

dayvboyc

The saab 9-5 has been ripped to bits in the UK.
The s60 is a very dull drive (had one as a demo before choosing the f10) but the v70 is still a cracking car all round
XF looks great, drives great but is old technology

How about a VW Phaeton? A Bentley Continental without the price tag?

Petes550i

A Phaeton?....I thought those were discontinued a while ago? Anyways, who wants to buy a $70K VW?

Munich77

VW is going to try the whole Phaeton thing again - deja vu.

As for the OP - I would second the Jag XF. If you don't mind going a bit smaller take a look at the Audi S4.

BabkenBMW

The 5 Series is in a league of its own leaving the rest far behind. So if you want the best car of its segment you should choose the 5er. W/o any hesitation.