I was due for a new car last spring but decided to hang on to see what the new GS will be. STILL hanging on.

Went and took another look at the new 5 and E. The inside of the E looked sharp, but the car just seems smaller then my GS and the new\old 5, not sure because I think the specs showing it being about the same size, but it just seemed really small.

What surprised me was the 5, the pics I have seen and after seeing 1-2 on the road, it made me want to puke. After seeing one last night with 18's, it looked rather sharp, maybe I smoked to many rocks last night but I kind of liked it.

Anyone really go look at these 2 cars yet or are most people just looking at pics and that's it?

I would like to test drive the 5 for the hell of it, has anyone tried the SMG setup? Any feedback?

BTW it was the 530 with 18's I seen, the couple I seen on the road were 525's with really horrible wheels, I think this car may be able to look pretty hot with right mods, bone stock with no upgrades blah.

 

18's , 19's or 20's on this thing? Any guess?

 

I'd guess guess 19's or 20's (def. not 18's).

 

That pic you posted made it look BETTER, but I still have some problems with it. Those eyelids disgust me, the front is too rounded for my taste and there just still seems to be some indecision if they want the car to have an overall rounded or square shape. The elements of both DO NOT go good together. So unless theres a kit with new doors, hood, headlights, front bumper, and complete rear end, I'm gonna stay away from this car. to SMG and variable steering though. Cool features.

James

 

19

 

Test drove the 530 I with the 6 speed auto, no SMG's on the lot and NONE coming? WTF

May be a tad smaller then the 2nd GS in the cockpit, the IDrive seems rather simple, car had the sports pack with the 18's, active steering is very cool! This is not a step back from the old 5 series in terms of performance, it was very much fun to drive!!

Interior seems better then the old 5, and believe it or not, the car was pretty damn quiet. They are still not up to par with Lexus on service though after chatting with them for a few.

Itching here, I cannot wait to see the new GS.

 

i say that's 19

 

I've been looking into them myself, I think a black one on Black Center/ Polished lip HRE's or Hartage would be pretty sick ride for minimal cost. I saw one driving today stock and wasn't to fond of it, bu tthen again I didn't care for the 7 when I first saw them, after seeing a black one on 22s I fell in love.

 

Jan 6th, the new GS.....I can't wait either.

Just looking at the price, I cannot fathom a 5. 525s here in Atlanta are 49k. 530s 55-60k. Nuts. The car seems bigger on the outside to me. Interior is very fashionable, not sure how it will hold up over time. The styling, I just don't get it. The E39 looks perfect compared to this thing.

The E, styling is gorgous inside and out, though the interior seems not to be better built than my 5 year old GS. Seems to have the same space inside. Nice features but expensive as well.

New A6 is coming too, don't sleep. It will feature the more agressive AUDI face to come on all new models.

And cars nowadays are so big and bloated, you HAVE to have 18s, 19s and 20s for it to look good. You HAVE to.

 

One thing you have to factor in on BMW pricing is included maintenance for 4 yrs / 50K mi. now including wear items like brakes. That's worth $3K or more.

 

"I've been looking into them myself, I think a black one on Black Center/ Polished lip HRE's or Hartage would be pretty sick ride for minimal cost. I saw one driving today stock and wasn't to fond of it, bu tthen again I didn't care for the 7 when I first saw them, after seeing a black one on 22s I fell in love."

It's kind of like the LS, it's plain to many but if you can see what it will look like with a few mods, you have a winner. The 7 with 18's is boring, checkout the 7 with 22" Hartges or HRE's, pretty damn hot. I seen the new 525 on the road with 16's and I wanted to puke. Seeing one in mystic blue with the 18" sports package, it was pretty hot, seeing it with the 19" hartges. really hot.

1SICKLEX - Yeah Jan 6th, I am dieing here! Paying 52-55k for the 530 kind of hurts to think about compared to the GS 300, as BIT said there is some stuff worth a couple grand, but I must say it was a "machine" in terms of driving, I do believe this is a step forward from the old 5 series in terms of performance, maybe not in design since I believe the old 5 was truly a classic. I priced the E out, 320 about 60k, E500 64-65k. For the 320, it's hard enough to think about 52-55k for the 530 I, I just couldn't spend 60k on the E 320. Over all I really don't want to buy anything else, I just want the new GS to be sick and life is good.


BIT -YEAH I never bought a new BMW, the guy mentioned that and I was kind of surprised, everything covered for 50k miles sounds nice, kind of offsets BMW's price a little I guess considering the 6 cylinder is going to run 52-55k in with the options I want, almost 10k over what a loaded GS 300 would run. He hinted that extra oil changes, TIRE ROTATION, would cost more? To flip 4 tires? But ok, he says BMW doesn't recommend that anyways.

It was one of the best trips to the BMW dealer I have had. Usually they are very arrogant which kept them from getting my money a few years ago. This is a new dealership by my house, guy knew the product inside and out, we sat in the 5 for about an hour talking about the car, packages etc. The best thing he did was NOT beat down Lexus, he spent his time comparing how the cars are different, not trying to bash on Lexus and make it sound like BMW was the only car to buy on the planet.

I see the Germans having issues in the feature if they cannot be more competitive in terms of the price. I think the 5 does have some more features then the GS, and believe that demands more money but not where they are price setting. I cannot wait to see what the new GS prices are going to run, I will assume not much more unless AWD is an option, but then again you’re paying for something extra at that point.

 

If you get a sport package you can't rotate anyway. (Staggered rims)

I saw a new 530 on the road this morning. I was behind it and the rear lights looked a bit 'odd' compared to the old one which I think were more elegant. Then I saw it from the side (had to pull up of course ) and I thought "ew" - the styling is confused, kinda like the Z4. 'Creases' on the sides are kinda low which seems to be designed to make the car look lower but I just think it looks somewhat cheap, like a Hyundai. I then pulled ahead and looked in my rear view mirror. The front looks ok although I really don't like the light 'eyelids'.

Overall I give it a 6 out of 10 in design.

Sure it can be made to look nice like the Hartge package shown in the pic above, but that's adding some serious dough on top of an already very expensive car.

I have no doubt though that the driving experience is second to none. Problem is, I wouldn't want to have to look at it in the parking lot every time I walk out of the office.

 

They are really making it a love \ hate thing with the new designs. I loved the new 7, most people I know hated it. The old 5 was really a classic. But to some, the new style is very ugly. Overall I like it.

The sports package on 530 is 8.5 all around I think, with the 545 having a 8.5\9.5 setup.

The driving experience is outstanding, I often think about going to more of a sports car then reality sits in and I say I really don't need that, but driving this car was a lot of fun and made me rethink what I really want in a car. Then I jumped in my gs and went home and was more then happy, so how much do I need that sporty feel, prob not much.

 

Personally, I just hate the way the head lights and tail lights look on the new 5. The cost is also out of line IMHO. I was really looking foward to the new design and now I wish I had picked up a 2003.

Note that on my 2000 540, with free scheduled maint, I had the oil changed twice. Yes, two (2) times. Once at 16K and again at 32K when I turned it in. While the car did have synthetic, I don't think I would want to own it after only two oil changes in 32K miles. Thus the salesperson's comment that if you want more frequent oil changes you have to pay for them. Also note that even the old 5-series was quieter than most Lexus models with the exception of the LS, so I'm not surprised that the new one was even quieter.

I did see the new Acura TL last night and I have to admit, that is one good looking car.

Doug

 

doug, have you tested the new 5? coming from a 540, what do you think?