arentz07

Wife's last car was a 330i, and she now has an X3. I honestly prefer the X3's steering over the 330i. Something about the M Sport steering just feels unnatural. It was heavier than the steering in the X3, but with no feel and a weirdly-quick ratio off center. I like the linear steering in the X3 better, even if it also has little in the way of feel. The IS feels better than both, obviously.

I was out of town for the weekend, and I got back last night and drove my car "to the gas station". I missed it! The V-8 is everything. But even just getting into the car and sitting in the seats just feels right.

I do find it interesting to see your thoughts as an owner of a 5er. I just drove a 5er of that generation recently as a loaner from our BMW dealership. It was a pretty tired 530i. It looked pretty ragged on the outside, with some dings and brake-dust coated wheels. However, driving it felt very nice. I liked the steering - it was much better than the steering in either or 330i or X3. It didn't have a ton of feel, but for a BMW, it was quite good. It felt natural and more confidence-inspiring than I would have expected from a large car like the 5-series. The seats were great. The infotainment and gauges were pre-LCI, so they looked somewhat dated, perhaps, but I like the visual style of them more than what's on the newer cars, really. It also got out of its own way quite well. It's not "fast", but it also never felt like it was caught flat-footed, either. The B48 is just a good engine, even in a somewhat heavy car like this. I think the B58 would be killer, which makes me think I've been sleeping on the 540i this whole time. It seems like such a good package. But yeah, I felt like I had a blind spot for the 5-series until I drove that one. This was like, far from the most pristine car, being a several-year-old loaner car, but it was still enjoyable. I felt like I was traveling business class while driving it.

Having said that, I don't think it was nearly as fun to drive as even an IS 350 due to how insulated and heavy it felt. That's not to say it felt sloppy or unwieldy, but it just didn't feel like it "liked" being thrown around. The IS, in 500 form or not, loves it. I think that's just because these cars are built for different use cases. If I could have something like a 5-series solely to commute to work, I would. But the cool thing about the IS 500 is that it does the commuting thing really well - not as well as something like a 5-series or Lexus ES, for instance - but considering that it is a fun car to drive like a maniac as well, it's great.

TGPCanada

Apparent quote from a Viper engineer when asked if they'd ever consider moving from hydraulic to electric steering: "electric steering is like having sex with 3 condoms on, so no, not a chance"

G30540i

It might be a M sport/IAS steering thing. My BMW dealer seems to only have 3 series for loaners so I never got to drive a G30 plain jane. It could be too that it felt better as the B48 G30 has less weight in the nose.
The IS500 reminded me of the E46 as how nimble it was, the 5er never gives me that vibe at all. I also have 4 wheel steering (Integral Active Steering) on the G30 so that also worsens the robotic feel of the car.
I had to get 4 wheel steering on the G30 as it's a huge car and a PITA to do a uturn. The IS500 has a smaller turning radius than even a G30 with 4WS. I was driving in complete circles on my street just for fun!

C&D said this about it: "The steering weight remains a touch light on-center, and the feedback is just as muted as we’ve—sadly—come to expect. At low speeds, the initial turn-in momentarily makes the car feel like a shopping cart with swiveling casters at the rear. It’s a bit nonlinear and disorienting. Unfortunately, BMW didn’t provide any cars in Portugal with the standard steering setup for comparison, so it’s impossible to judge whether IAS is a buy or a pass."

I might see if I can float the idea of keeping the G30 for now for smooth commutes and getting the IS 500 for long term ICE ownership as I just got bored after driving 4 different Teslas over 2 hours. After the initial acceleration thrills were gone, the EVs were boring as heck


current 5

2003 E46 330i, best BMW I've ever owned



I'm going to bookmark this quote! 5er is 3 condoms, the IS500 is 1!

What I should've added to my initial post is spending 48 hours with the IS500 cemented my love for ICE. Within 30 min I knew I could love and live with this car. As I said in an earlier post, 2 hours of the whole S3EXY lineup bored me to heck. They accelerate well, but that's the end of it. The IS500 has great power for the street, perfect ergonomics, legible gauges, nice Radio/HVAC interface. Even the much maligned IS500 "no click" turn signal is 1000x better than the horrible turn signal buttons on the Model 3/X/S. They also had worse road noise than the IS500, with go kart suspension ride quality, especially on the Model Y.

Motomotion

Interesting, I bought my Launch Edition last Friday so I have less than a week with the car. My thoughts are almost identical to yours except I don't experience any real road noise (you may be right about tires being the cause). I am a bit disappointed with the steering. It's good but I expected more feedback with tighter control. Overall I'm love'n the car but I have argued with the infotainment system a bit and I'm frustrated as hell with Lexus over their app (and thus access to remote start) rules.

Benibiker1558

When you buy this car you have to remember you're buying a new 16 year old car. They've made small improvements over the years but there's only so much they can do. For me this IS has reached the pinnacle especially with the V-8, and all its faults are what makes it great and one of a kind.

theEZV

I picked up my 2022 500 last Thursday, I also came from a BMW (2014 F30 335i with a bunch of mods). I am really enjoying how smooth and comfortable the 500 is (i've forgotten how nice a car with stock suspension can be lol). The only negatives for me are that it feels noticeably bigger, and the transmission programming (mostly in eco mode) is not up to par to the ZF 8sp. Also Geico jacked up my premiums even more

Benibiker1558

The first thing I do after engine start up is put it in Sport S. I wish it would stay that way and not have to set it every time .

G30540i

Something else I forgot to mention. In my 5 series the brake auto hold feature (the one that continues to hold the brakes down for you while waiting at a red light, not the parking brake) setting is remembered at startup. I noticed on the IS500, I had to turn it on every time I got in the car. Is there a way to make it remember the setting?

arentz07

Not that I know of. I'm not a Brake Hold kinda guy. The only time I ever use it is in drive-thrus.

I always have to remember to turn it off in our X3 if I use it, since my wife does not like it.