[D52M550]

[QUOTE=PNWM3;30158836]Got a new X5 as a rental car the other day and it has the same gear selector. It’s fine and takes no effort to get used to. Even in a high performance car, with paddles why would you ever use a stick in the middle while driving? It’s actually nice as it frees up space and removes a superfluous item from the cabin.

When you’re pushing the car while turning, the paddle shifters become useless as your arms cross and force you to become ‘disconnected’ from the paddles; using the stick to manually up/downshift is much easier. The paddles are simply too small for any spirited driving. That’s what I’ve come to discover over the years. The stick will be SORELY missed by many I’d assume.

[Jagu]

It looks nice and very modern. I switched to look at the new 7 series and this video makes the new 7 look old and frumpy.

The front of this car looks like a refreshed E60 front.

[Bestle]

Originally Posted by BigEvan1923

might be fairer to compare another m sport at the same angle (from eruo config). but it just makes you appreciate the simplicity of the design while still remaining sporty. The new one is just so fussy.

Roof rails on the G30 and it's still not as tall as the G60...

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by daddyrockstar23

This will be a HUGE seller for BMW.

Hmmm, I doubt it. It could be an amazing car, but at the end of the day its got one big issue in the US market… Its a sedan.

[RichP]

Suffers the same height issue as the i4. The attempt at hiding the visual weight with the black lower trim simply doesn't work; it makes the whole vehicle have an "all-road" feel about it.

BMW had such a head start with electric vehicles.. now.. still playing catchup.

The visual fussy-ness in the overall design isn't winning any beauty contests either.

[Bostongio]

I don't get BMW designers. Like, at all.

The whole point of a brand design is so that people recognize your car's brand from afar. I know immediately when a Porsche -- any Porsche -- comes up on me or when I see one on the road. They share lots of similar design cues between models.

That used to the case with BMW too. Similar kidney grilles, similar lights. Similar styling all around.

Now it seems each model is being designed by a different design team and given very broad instructions. "Make this more fuel efficient, no matter how hideous the styling." "Don't look at other BMW models for ideas about the lights or grille. Just design whatever moves you."

There's no brand thread running through the various models any longer. Each kidney grille is like some artistic interpretation of the iconic classic grille. None of them share much in common any more (even the vertical slats are gone in some of them!).

And really? The 540i is going to give us a straight 6 that makes LESS horsepower than the same engine in the 440i? It's like they're going out of their way to be insulting. Why add the stupid mild hybrid system if it really does so very little in terms of power, but adds significant degrees of complexity to the motor? I just don't get it.

The ONE thing nearly every positive review of previous G30s comments on is the satisfaction of having physical controls for basic functions like volume and climate control. And of course they took it all away.

The door handles look as cheap as a Camry. Same with the rear/trunk styling -- so very generic. Could be any car out there today.

The pre-LCI G30 (the car I also happen to own) seems like it's going to be the last great 5 series BMW. I'm so, so disappointed.

[GuyOh]

Front is okay, side profile is weird, the rear diffuser is a mess and the tail lights are ugly!!!! And why the hell are the side skirts painted black???

Interior is top notch tho, only thing dissapointing is the ambient lighting and trim doesn’t extend to the rear passenger doors

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by dime.m3

Got Genesis G80 taillight resemblance 🥴

Frankly, the Genesis G80 is a better looking car. Needs a little less exterior detail trim but it’s a very sleek and attractively shaped car.

[BMW FOREVER]

Those waiting to see what the ICE version would look like...here you go

[carjoy]

Originally Posted by BMW012

for those commenting about the sides, is it because you are looking at the flat looking brooklyn grey?

doesnt look as flat in this red. looks pretty muscular to me.

It’s not that the car is hideous, it has some nice details. What I think most are saying is that, overall, it’s an unremarkable design. I do like the interior, the steering wheel design is definitely a big win, but the almost obsessive urge to reduce every body line to the lesser of its parts, for whatever reason, produces cars, that like the G87, appear unfinished, unresolved, unrefined and plain ordinary.

My least favorite part of this car is the grille, not because of it’s shape or the light ring, but because of all the crap that is housed in it, that big flat plastic part smack in the middle that adds absolutely nothing to overall aesthetics. Close second is the rear which is just a big bore.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by AP

Well emissions are driving this. I’m sure if these regulation were not in place bmw would be producing more of what we might now call traditional models

Been reading these threads and quite a mixed reception some like it and some do not

The more I look at it the more I am disappointed and angry
Yes angry because as a bmw fan, I now do not have an aspirational model in mind for myself for the future.
Style is subjective which can see in these forums but what annoys me is the ever increasing from over function that we see in products today

Non round steering wheel, this is utter bollocks and makes no sense. This is the one item you are in constant contact with the whole time, needs to be round to feed smoothly through your hands as you steer. Making it any other shape is just Maronite. The basic wheel is even worse .
Touchscreen control, this makes no sense whilst on the move . Stationary, ok I can accept but on the move? Just plain daft.

Aaarrggh BMW , just what are they up to these days

Ok rant over I’m fed up now with this car now, time to go and do something more constructive or fun

The designs would be nuts regardless. That’s their stated design goal. Attention. They don’t care if it’s negative.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by stein_325i

Hmmm, I doubt it. It could be an amazing car, but at the end of the day its got one big issue in the US market… Its a sedan.

I see sedans all over the place every day. And I’m in the south. There’s a dependable market for sedans. You just have to fight harder for your share now, maybe.

No doubt SUV is king in the US and that’s why BMW and Mercedes make SUVs here. I get it’s not the market it used to be, sadly. But let’s not pretend no one is driving a sedan.

[antzcrashing]

Originally Posted by bavarianboar

There is no M570i from all we know, all the folks who purchased M550i did so coz there is no more than an I-6 anymore.

I agree with your post and premise. I was merely joking about M570 coming, but I wouldn’t be surprised if bmw renames the top V8 engine or even I-6 turbo as M560i

Maybe

[Quadruple VANOS]

Originally Posted by carseatsm5

Was excited for this but sad to say it’s not my jam. It will grow on me I guess.

Forget “ultimate driving machine” now it’s “it’ll grow on me I guess.”
Great job BMW. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by antzcrashing

I agree with your post and premise. I was merely joking about M570 coming, but I wouldn’t be surprised if bmw renames the top V8 engine or even I-6 turbo as M560i

Maybe

I think it’s planned to be M560e and be an I6 hybrid powertrain.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I see sedans all over the place every day. And I’m in the south. There’s a dependable market for sedans. You just have to fight harder for your share now, maybe.

No doubt SUV is king in the US and that’s why BMW and Mercedes make SUVs here. I get it’s not the market it used to be, sadly. But let’s not pretend no one is driving a sedan.

I’m not pretending no one is, I drive one too. But the poster wrote “Huge” success, which this will not be. 3er and 5er numbers have been dropping for years with the popularity of the X3 and X5.

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by antzcrashing

I agree with your post and premise. I was merely joking about M570 coming, but I wouldn’t be surprised if bmw renames the top V8 engine or even I-6 turbo as M560i

Maybe

Haha yeah it’s a lawless land now in Munich, names all over the place like lottery.

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by AP

Well emissions are driving this. I’m sure if these regulation were not in place bmw would be producing more of what we might now call traditional models

Been reading these threads and quite a mixed reception some like it and some do not

The more I look at it the more I am disappointed and angry
Yes angry because as a bmw fan, I now do not have an aspirational model in mind for myself for the future.
Style is subjective which can see in these forums but what annoys me is the ever increasing from over function that we see in products today

Non round steering wheel, this is utter bollocks and makes no sense. This is the one item you are in constant contact with the whole time, needs to be round to feed smoothly through your hands as you steer. Making it any other shape is just Maronite. The basic wheel is even worse .
Touchscreen control, this makes no sense whilst on the move . Stationary, ok I can accept but on the move? Just plain daft.

Aaarrggh BMW , just what are they up to these days

Ok rant over I’m fed up now with this car now, time to go and do something more constructive or fun

I am with you and realized why you created a post with a poll. I feel the same way.

On steering: fun incident my wheel alignment guy messed up slightly and had a 2-3 degree tilt to keep car straight, no problem though as the G30 steering is round. Finally got it sorted out but imagine that with the non round steering.

Overall:

I went through a seesaw of assessments, the suspense was building up so it looked great for a few minutes when the press release was out, pictures, all interior details.

It then sank in after a few hours how the car doesn’t even flow as one. Its one thing to be bland and not exciting, BUT the G60
Is THREE different cars from the 3 angles. Front, side, rear.

Then I saw the ridiculous interview of the chief designer who is admitting he is completely flabbergasted trying to make everyone happy and throwing compromises one after another at the design. How much money was burnt in R&D to come up with this?

Walking away today back and forth at work running errands, I have never admired the hofmeister kink on my G30 so much before (or took much notice on F10) in the last 7 years of ownership. It just is so timeless and classic I would never touch it. More can be said about the LCI tail lights, side profile and similar components.

But here we are where the new BMW 5 became a playground for designers of all walks, geographies as if there is no management direction/philosophy in the design team. The loudest voice probably decides/approves if it looks Swedish/Korean or Italian. 15 different teams do their own thing for their different subsections.


Interior has the wow factor but there are compromises and cost cutting visible.

Someone noticed no ambient light on rear doors, yeah pay $85k for a car and never see any “glam” in the back. Seat pockets also gone. Wow!

That seesaw of how I felt about that car has finally settled into an utter disappointment that I am losing interest in the new 5 rapidly.

It’s not a German car anymore, an F10 on highway still stands out because it has a presence due to one cohesive design language. Audi stands out way more and still looks good. To the haters of Chris Bangle, atleast all his designs look like it’s a German BMW, not a Korean/Japanese knockoff.

When the G60 shows up on the road, the novelty of it will be the only thing that may make it “grow” on us, in true sense of design, it’s an abomination. I am no designer of cars but I am one of the customers who is now looking at Porsche way more seriously. Or maybe, just maybe 840i GC before they mess the one up too, but for that money it’s Porsche decision easy.

Angry and disappointed is the right way, it’s bad but barely holding it together in exterior department (acceptable?). Happy 50th anniversary to the 5 series.

[PsychDoc]

I had great hopes for the G60. Sadly, I have to say I'm extremely disappointed. The front of the car is a train wreck with a kidney grill that is way too large, especially in the vertical plane. Overall way too busy looking and chaotic. Then we go to the rear where it could easily be confused with a Toyota or a Honda. It's not that it's really bad, it's just, blah. And the plastic cladding around the entire bottom of the car's sheet metal is really just a huge aesthetic miss. Plastic ages and discolors very differently than metal and this is likely to become very apparent and off-putting the longer the car is on the road.
The interior seems OK but I was hoping for something a bit more ground breaking. I'm likely to get a new car this Fall/winter and at this point I'm leaning towards the newly redesigned E-class as I think MB did a much better job with their redesign than BMW did with the G60. The E finally looks like a proper upscale sedan rather than the egg on wheels that it's resembled for a couple of generations prior to this.
I've had an extremely positive ownership experience with my current and prior 5 series but I really am having a hard time justifying a purchase of the G60. Possibly I'll be wowed when I get to see and drive it in person but for now I'm far from sold on this redesign.

[SweEngineer]

This one will take some time to warm up to!
I call complete BS on italian design. There isn't a hint of italian design here.
Italian design is more in the direction of organic lines, simple yet sophisticated.
I can't recall any modern or old italian car that has these sharp lines or cladding with high gloss black details.
I'm not overly negative on G60, there are some really nice details but it tries a bit too hard in some aspects.

Interior on G30 is epic, everything is just well thought out and the aesthetics are fabulous. The protruding center dash is a work of art and the materials are beautiful. Why would they give us a modern g60 without anything of it. Only thing that is right with the modern interpretation is the clean screen and center buttons. Steering wheel much classier on the g30. Ambient lightning is way better implementet in the 7er, it's beyond my mind how they excluded any lightning in the rear section.

The G60 deserves to be seen in real before any conclusions, because it resembles some of the Bangle era, and we all know that Bangle cars have aged well.
Where I think the G60 fails is the effort put to make a modern E60, that's a hard one. An evolution of the G30 would be much easier to design, because while it is way more organic and "italian" in design it could be further developed with less effort.
G60 is a department from Karim Habibs G30 and I think that's intentional because Domagoj wants to shake up everything that is traditional BMW hence XM.

[stein_325i]

Other than the sweeping headlights I am confused where everyone is seeing this “E60 influence.”

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by stein_325i

Other than the sweeping headlights I am confused where everyone is seeing this “E60 influence.”

Same thought here. I also am surprised by all the griping over the grill size.