[advantage20]

Regular vs M Shadowline lights (M Sport Package Professional)

[ukr]

All that black skirt is used to hide the thick battery underneath. This visually hides how much taller the car is. It's probably just a few inches away from being classified as an SUV.

[jv004]

Originally Posted by Cortexiphan

Designer’s goal is NOT to make cars that look like each other. I don’t know where you heard that.

Tell that to Kia and Hyundai lol

[Teutonic]

Originally Posted by Cortexiphan

Designer’s goal is NOT to make cars that look like each other. I don’t know where you heard that.

So the guy talks about generic elements that could be part of each design that will resonate with a certain brand-specific language, and you take it to a different level that is on the other side of what he actually said.

Cars can have a perfect distinct design that will incorporate unique-to-the-brand elements that can display their identity and the apartenance to a well defined brand. Angel eyes, hofmesiter king, kidney grill and quad headlights, were few elements that were integrated in BMW DNA.

Some will kill to have such elements to play with in their design. Yet, BMW throws its history in the garbage and replace it with ordinary Camry clues.
I honestly never thought BMW will reach such a low level…

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Teutonic

So the guy talks about generic elements that could be part of each design that will resonate with a certain brand-specific language, and you take it to a different level that is on the other side of what he actually said.

Cars can have a perfect distinct design that will incorporate unique-to-the-brand elements that can display their identity and the apartenance to a well defined brand. Angel eyes, hofmesiter king, kidney grill and quad headlights, were few elements that were integrated in BMW DNA.

Some will kill to have such elements to play with in their design. Yet, BMW throws its history in the garbage and replace it with ordinary Camry clues.
I honestly never thought BMW will reach such a low level…

Exactly. That’s part of being a brand. You want people to know you when they see you, without the logo. Or roundel, in this case.

You know a Lexus when you see it. You know a Porsche when you see it. You know an Audi when you see it. You know a Cadillac when you see it. All of those seem to be doing just fine.

[MParallel]

I guess I'm an old sentimental person that says "it used to be better in the past", but seriously, I love tech and all, but these BMW interiors just don't do it.

Sat in an i4. Horrible. Sat in the new i7. Meh.

I think they nailed it with the F10/F11.

[matbl]

Originally Posted by MParallel

I guess I'm an old sentimental person that says "it used to be better in the past", but seriously, I love tech and all, but these BMW interiors just don't do it.

Sat in an i4. Horrible. Sat in the new i7. Meh.

I think they nailed it with the F10/F11.

Interior-wise I prefer the G30/31 over F10/11 but I do agree for the new i7 and also iX. Meh.
This one is not very promising either.

[Bostongio]

It's like the front of the car designers never talked to the back of the car designers. The front is busy with so many elements competing for attention. It's very strange and not cohesive looking at all.

The rear is the exact opposite. Camry-level boring. Weird corner pieces of black plastic. Slim taillights.

Too much black plastic all over the exterior. It's a really weird design choice for a $60k+ car.

I'll reserve final judgment until I see it in person. But where I was once excited for this version, I'm now very "Meh."

[Bostongio]

Not only will it be heavier (of course), but it's slower than the current version too:



G30:

[bimmer_335]

Originally Posted by Teutonic

Some will kill to have such elements to play with in their design. Yet, BMW throws its history in the garbage and replace it with ordinary Camry clues.
I honestly never thought BMW will reach such a low level…

Clearly I'm not the only one thinking rear end is inspired by a camry... this thing is fugly. G30 is such an elegant design

[advantage20]

[Meul2753]

Last week I was at the Dutch introduction of the I5 and BMW nailed it again. Again they were able to design a classic sporty business car with a lot of style and distinction.

[iptv1922]

Does anyone know what is the maximum capacity in gb of a usb stick that bmw supports??
Thanks

[iptv1922]

BMW 5 Series - Production Line

[Carpe_BM]

Good god, without M-Sport, this car is fuckin hideous
With M-Sport, it's awkward

[Cabbage]

Will the interaction bar and multi-contour seats be standard on the 540i?

[Lelouch0202]

Why do they not allow the full interior to be colored anymore? If I spec a colored interior, it's only on the seats and a small part of the door trim. Am I supposed to step up to Full Merino leather via Individual order to get it?

My 2013 320i has a full beige interior that includes color on the headliner and doors. Only the top part of the dash is in standard black. Seems strange that even the i5M60 doesn't have a colored headliner or colored trim on the doors.

I need to replace my 320i soon and I was thinking of going for the 540i since it's not gonna be just me in the car anymore. I think the exterior looks good if you spec M-Sport and go for the 21 inch wheels and the interior layout is good too. However, the interior color is a big letdown for me. Funny, that my biggest problem is with the interior color more than anything.

I think MB did a much better job with the new E class. You can still get a full colored interior which I think makes the car feel much more premium. Might end up going for the E class.

[PsychDoc]

On the "build your own" configurators it seems that BMW has dropped using RFT's.

Is this true or am I misreading the wheel/tire offerings?

And if they have done away with RFT's are they now supplying the cars with a spare?

[BMW012]

Originally Posted by PsychDoc

On the "build your own" configurators it seems that BMW has dropped using RFT's.

Is this true or am I misreading the wheel/tire offerings?

And if they have done away with RFT's are they now supplying the cars with a spare?

no more rfts on the 5 series, i believe the x1 as well, and they will gradually transition out for all models.

[PsychDoc]

Will it be possible to order the car with RFT's?

I'm not in love with them but they have saved my behind at least 3x over the past 10 years.

[PsychDoc]

Some provisional thoughts on the pros and cons of the 2024 E-class vs. 5 series.

Engine - The inline 6 of the 5 is maybe the best 6 cylinder engine ever made. The E's inline 6 is fine but no one can touch the power and smoothness of the BMW 6 cylinder.

Exterior - The new 5 series is simply horrible. There's really no other way to describe it. It lacks the fluidity and grace of the outgoing G60 and the number "5" molded into the C pillar is childish and would be more at home on a Subaru or Nissan. I really wanted to love the redesign of the 5 but it's abysmal. The E is, by contrast, fluid and graceful and, I think, will age well. The taillights on the new E are idiotic with the three pointed star being used as taillights. A very immature decision on the part of MB. But, absent this, a timeless and elegant exterior design.

Interior - Aesthetically the new E is gorgeous with plenty of great tech (probably too much in many cases like the inclusion of a selfie camera for doing zoom meetings I guess and some really stupid childish video games) that seems quite well implemented. A couple of quibbles here. As in the past, the center transmission tunnel is too wide and intrudes on passenger foot room. And there are some cheap looking and feeling plastic pieces that don't belong on a car of this class.

Seat comfort - Long a BMW weak point, the front seats of the E have always been superb and I expect nothing less in this newest version. Seat comfort in the BMW is just OK and really should be quite a bit better.

Driving dynamics - BMW has justifiably ruled this area for some time. The 5 drives very, very nicely and imparts a fair amount of excitement. Not as agile or responsive as a 3 series to be sure, but damn good for a car of its size and weight. We'll see about the new E but I doubt it'll offer the driving experience of the 5.

Reliability - Both quite good though the BMW clearly has a bit of an edge here. As I buy my cars and drive them for 5-6 years, this is an important factor that weighs toward the BMW. Thankfully the MB has good reliability, just not quite on a par with the BMW.

Safety - Both superb.

Anyway, just wanted to share some random thoughts and see what some of you thought.

[valir]

I have made, after checking close in person the new G60 series, a list of items where in my opinion BMW cut down the costs compared with G30/G31/G32 (I own the G32 LCI which has mainly the same interior as G30).

In no particular order:
- hard plastic (bottom side) on the door panels + some textile material (instead of sensatec)
- door pockets do not have now felt (textile material) on the inner side
- there are no more backseat pockets
- coffee holders in front and back are not covered anymore, no more storage space in the rear backrest where the cup holders are
- no more laser lights
- no more chrome covers on the exhaust pipes
- panoramic roof a bit larger but can not be open
- sunshades covered in plastic now
- comfort seats have less adjustments possible and some are just mechanical now
- no more soft-close function for the doors
- comfort access do not work on the rear doors
- cheap plastic covering the subwoofers and the speakers on the top dashboard (was metal on the dashboard for the HK system)
- the small pocket on the lower left side of the dashboard (for items like coins) is not anymore
- no more direct button on the steering wheel to adjust the adaptive distance from the car in front (you need to go in the OS)
- no more door sills
- no more LED strip on the rear doors (cute light bar only in front and only for the electric and hybrid models in Europe)
- the steering wheel do not have the possibility of stitched Sensatec, the hub is only plastic
- the glovebox is not lockable anymore as far as I have seen

On the positive side, the screens are OK, the camera washers are usefull, this I would have like also to my G32.