First impressions of the F10 BMW 5 Series

PMKeates · 11 Feb 2010 at 22:31

Come to the meet. We'll pay your chunnel fee, honest!

Moeks · 11 Feb 2010 at 22:39

Dandle said:
This video review has just been posted on BMWland.

http://issue.imotormag.co.uk/1P4b69992883a39012.cde/page/15

I don't know about most of what he talked about there, none of us will for sure until we get our hands on one, but I disagree with him about the style, I really like it myself, once again it is quietly and conservatively stylish, the E60 always was a bit 'bold' ..and while it's aged ok in M Sport trim, it's pretty ugly as an SE with tiny wheels ...but the new car carries it's self much better, the proportions seem right, the stance is good ...it just looks 'right' ...like an evolution of the E39 really.

mrk · 13 Feb 2010 at 00:40

I saw one yesterday at Morrisons with a business man doing what business men do (sitting in their cars talking on their phones) and from the front it looked butt ugly. The pictures make it look nice though :/

It was mainly the grille, it was too large vertically and it didn't help that the headlamps were odd shaped as well, it didn't "feel" like a 5 series from the front at all because there was no mean look to it like previous model 5s have.

I hope the Sport version changes this.

monkey_boy · 13 Feb 2010 at 01:10

Moeks said:
I don't know about most of what he talked about there, none of us will for sure until we get our hands on one, but I disagree with him about the style, I really like it myself, once again it is quietly and conservatively stylish, the E60 always was a bit 'bold' ..and while it's aged ok in M Sport trim, it's pretty ugly as an SE with tiny wheels ...but the new car carries it's self much better, the proportions seem right, the stance is good ...it just looks 'right' ...like an evolution of the E39 really.

I completely agree. The ad has been on TV a fair bit the past few days. The 5 Series finally looks like an executive salloon again. It looks quite regal in fact and I think it makes even the Jag XF look jaunty.

lordrobs · 13 Feb 2010 at 10:27

I've been holding off on opinion in case it was a grower but I just don't get on with the look of the thing. I prefer the E60 by a long shot and feel that BMW have played this one very safe to please the old customer base. Risky IMO seeing as how, despite the anti-Bangle comments, I see bucket loads of E60s on the road.

That said I hope it is a huge success and cripples residuals of the E60 because (somewhere on the outskirts of dream land) it could be an outside shot for consideration when replacing my current car in 2012/13

[TW]Fox · 13 Feb 2010 at 12:34

mrk said:
I saw one yesterday at Morrisons with a business man doing what business men do (sitting in their cars talking on their phones) and from the front it looked butt ugly. The pictures make it look nice though :/

It was mainly the grille, it was too large vertically and it didn't help that the headlamps were odd shaped as well, it didn't "feel" like a 5 series from the front at all because there was no mean look to it like previous model 5s have.

Must have been a 5GT? They have the huge grille - and no 'businessmen' have the F10 yet as its yet to be launched, the only ones you'll see on the road, if any, are BMW Press Demonstrators etc..

mrk · 13 Feb 2010 at 13:28

Well he seemed to be taking care of business on his phone

mjt · 13 Feb 2010 at 15:54

The fact the UK dealers already have F10s is ********.
I discovered why we haven't got any over here yet, and it's because no one in [lhd] Europe is allowed to have them before Germany, and they have yet to be released in Germany.

The Belgian launch is at the beginning of March. Lame.

That over, I had a play with the new iDrive/Prof. Nav in the 5 GT and it's SUCH a step up from the arse in the E60.
The new 7 with the sports kit looks lush too. The new M wheel is really thick and chunky, which is surprising as it looks similar to the SE wheel.
Can't wait to see the new 5 properly.

Participant · 13 Feb 2010 at 16:37

Robbie G said:
What's this bit then? Something that pops up?

For what it's worth, I now realise from simulatorman's pic in post #71 that this is probably a placeholder for a centre speaker, presumably available as some kind of 5.1 audio upgrade.

[TW]Fox · 13 Feb 2010 at 16:41

mjt said:
The fact the UK dealers already have F10s is ********.
I discovered why we haven't got any over here yet, and it's because no one in [lhd] Europe is allowed to have them before Germany, and they have yet to be released in Germany.

The Belgian launch is at the beginning of March. Lame.

The UK launch is beginning of March as well. These are just 'exclusive invite only' things. I guess they just mailshot all existing customers as I got one from Rybrook Worcester this week. It even said 'When was the last time you got to see a BMW before launch?'

Err last week

Cosimo · 13 Feb 2010 at 17:21

Robbie G said:
For what it's worth, I now realise from simulatorman's pic in post #71 that this is probably a placeholder for a centre speaker, presumably available as some kind of 5.1 audio upgrade.

The position of the speaker is in the centre above the LCD display and it is flush with the top of the dashboard. The surround system is Logic 7. There should also be provision for the head-up display unit which is positioned in front of the instrument cluster. This does have a raised lip around it.

Cosimo · 13 Feb 2010 at 23:15

A few people here may be interested in BMWcar (18th of Feb) magazine which is doing a 5 Series Special:

F10 test drive.
Bye-bye E60: Farewell drive in the 530d
Special E39s: Limited edition 530i & 530d
E34 M5 another five hours
E28 M battle: M535i v M5
BMW Legend: E12 the first 5 profiled.

Cosimo · 18 Feb 2010 at 11:15

An interesting review in the magazine, I like the way it ends:

So the new 5 series can be a proper BMW for the modern world, after all. It's just a shame that you have to raid the nine-page options catalogue to make it so.

Sounds like he’s not bought a BMW before, options, options and more options.

Django x2 · 18 Feb 2010 at 11:54

Robbie G said:
For what it's worth, I now realise from simulatorman's pic in post #71 that this is probably a placeholder for a centre speaker, presumably available as some kind of 5.1 audio upgrade.

Do you actually read anyone else's posts?

The speaker is simply carried over from the E60. It functions as the speaker for Nav, and or Logic Pro / Hi Fi upgrades, as per the E60

[TW]Fox · 18 Feb 2010 at 12:16

simulatorman said:
Sounds like he’s not bought a BMW before, options, options and more options.

To be fair in the past even a povvo spec 316i ES has had the 'right' balance of handling from the factory. There is something inherently great about the balance and the way nearly any BMW drives.

With the F10, it appears its lost the sporting edge unless you pay £9million for the trick suspension

OllyM · 18 Feb 2010 at 12:23

[TW]Fox;15986531 said:
To be fair in the past even a povvo spec 316i ES has had the 'right' balance of handling from the factory. There is something inherently great about the balance and the way nearly any BMW drives.

With the F10, it appears its lost the sporting edge unless you pay £9million for the trick suspension

Nobody has tested the standard M-Sport setup yet though, have they?

Django x2 · 18 Feb 2010 at 13:08

Not that I've seen. And we all really know that this is the only thing that matters. SE drivers can eat my used toilet tissue for all I care

Darkman · 19 Feb 2010 at 10:35

Even with the trick steering/dynamic pack it's not getting rave reviews though, quote from Pistonheads review:

The problem centres on the clever active steering system. In slow corners (say, a mountain road hairpin) the rear wheels steer against the front wheels, while the variable ratio steering rack speeds up its responses. Once you're moving faster, the steering responses slow down, while the rear wheels steer with the fronts. The theory is that this increases agility at lower speeds, and stability at higher speeds.

It works, too. Most of the time. Sometimes, though, the transition between the two states leaves the car in limbo, leaving it feeling neither sharp nor surefooted. And that's a shame, because the sort of road a BMW ought to relish - a mix of fast sweepers and tight hairpins can leave an active steering-equipped 5-series feeling a little flustered.

This is more of a niggle than a catastrophe, however, because for the majority of the time the 5-series strikes a decent balance between ride comfort (the fourth-generation run-flat tyres don't even spoil the party anymore) and an ability to hang on in the corners. Even so, our time on the twisties reveals a competent, but curiously unsatisfying dynamic character

PMKeates · 19 Feb 2010 at 11:12

The Integral Active Steering (rear wheel steer) system is an option independent of Adaptive Drive (hydraulic anti-roll bars) and Variable Damping Control.

I think the consensus so far is that it is very good with Adaptive Drive with Variable Damping Control, but the Integral Active Steering is a little odd. Adaptive Drive with VDC is £2,200.

Participant · 19 Feb 2010 at 11:19

Lucero said:
Do you actually read anyone else's posts?

The speaker is simply carried over from the E60. It functions as the speaker for Nav, and or Logic Pro / Hi Fi upgrades, as per the E60

If someone stated that in this thread then I missed it. Thank you for your answer.