Got wood?

Gaygle · 24 Oct 2011 at 18:08

Really not a fan of wood interiors (mine has it at the moment) but even i admit that the wood looks so much better than the mass of silver metal all over the dash.

I think it would look a lot nicer (both the wood and silver trims) if you could put something in the place of the sunglasses holder in the middle to break it up a bit, like maybe a nav screen?

DannyW · 24 Oct 2011 at 19:34

only 5 gears?!

i like the wood

mrk · 24 Oct 2011 at 19:36

Now all you need is a new gearbox gaiter as the one you have looks a bit tatty from the Op pic! Probably the cheapest, easiest and quickest refresh that you can do as well.

Get a nice thick Italian leather one off eBay, under a tenner and better qaulity than the original BMW one, which BMW want £52 for...

[TW]Fox · 24 Oct 2011 at 19:48

DannyW said:
only 5 gears?!

I have driven many 6 speed cars - and owned one - and almost without exception the benefits of 6 speed boxes are purely for the brochure. Its a great idea in theory but manufacturers never seem to get the ratios right. My 335i was doing the same revs at 70mph in 6th as the 530i does at 70mph in 5th.

You don't need 6 gears if the car is properly geared.

CaptainRAVE · 24 Oct 2011 at 19:52

[TW]Fox;20390132 said:
I have driven many 6 speed cars - and owned one - and almost without exception the benefits of 6 speed boxes are purely for the brochure. Its a great idea in theory but manufacturers never seem to get the ratios right. My 335i was doing the same revs at 70mph in 6th as the 530i does at 70mph in 5th.

You don't need 6 gears if the car is properly geared.

Agreed.

Lakeland · 24 Oct 2011 at 19:53

Did the silver look boring and bland? Yes. Did the wood trim make it look better? No

Adz · 24 Oct 2011 at 19:58

It's a big improvement in my opinion. Not the wood itself but just bringing a splash of colour to an otherwise greyscale interior.

mjt · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:08

Should've gone for the black wood.

[TW]Fox · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:11

mjt said:
Should've gone for the black wood.

All black = no.

Given the choice of the complete range of E39 interior trim - including Titanium, Piano Black, etc etc - I chose this one because I like the colour the most. It's a bit darker in the flesh and the contrast with the black leather is lovely

davy89 · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:12

As long as you're happy with it, our opinion doesn't really matter.

But I think wood trim should have been d/ced on any car (Rolls Royces excluded

) years ago. Silver looks modern, wood now makes it look VERY dated imo.

Sukh · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:14

DannyW said:
only 5 gears?!

i like the wood

See your point would be valid if the majority of manufacturers did more gears = longer final gear but the don't.

All that has happened is more gears and same final ratio = shorter gears.

What use is a 6th gear if it is the equivalent of an old 5th?

At least Porsche have the right idea and now have a "cruising gear" in the box. If 6 gear boxes had a very long gear for the motorway they would be of much greater use.

jellybeard999 · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:14

I'm in the not keen club too. I like wood on some cars, but not with that amount of varnish/lacquer as it makes it look plasticy IMO, and plastic looks cheap. If it was a nice satin finish it would look much nicer IMO.

SaBBz · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:15

[TW]Fox;20390132 said:
I have driven many 6 speed cars - and owned one - and almost without exception the benefits of 6 speed boxes are purely for the brochure. Its a great idea in theory but manufacturers never seem to get the ratios right. My 335i was doing the same revs at 70mph in 6th as the 530i does at 70mph in 5th.

You don't need 6 gears if the car is properly geared.

Sorry to go off topic, but why did you get rid of the 335i??

[TW]Fox · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:16

Sukh said:
At least Porsche have the right idea and now have a "cruising gear" in the box. If 6 gear boxes had a very long gear for the motorway they would be of much greater use.

Exactly this. If 6th gear gave me 1500rpm at 70 I'd love it. But, on BMW's at least, it doesn't.

jellybeard999 said:
I'm in the not keen club too. I like wood on some cars, but not with that amount of varnish/lacquer as it makes it look plasticy IMO, and plastic looks cheap. If it was a nice satin finish it would look much nicer IMO.

It is quite high gloss - which shows up badly in photographs. In the flesh it isnt so bad, plus the shiney effect makes it all seem a bit newer (Well, assuming you subconciously associate dullness with age). However the best wood in any car is the non-glossy stuff they use in Range Rover's and newer Jags. I'd have preffered that, but BMW dont offer it.

[TW]Fox · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:18

SaBBz said:
Sorry to go off topic, but why did you get rid of the 335i??

Because I realised that once you'd got over the initial 'Wow its really fast and looks new and has a cool screen' thing you get overwhelmed with on a test drive, day to day I simply didnt like driving it as much as I did the 5 Series. A combination of things from the excessively harsh ride to the irritating levels of interior quality and number of rattles from the trim coupled with the fact that its rare you can even use its party peice - the power - without fear of getting arrested made me realise the answer to the question of 'What car should I buy given I cannot afford the F10 I want' is 'No car' rather than 'A 3 Series'. I felt obliged to replace the 530i because I had owned it for so long and it was getting old, and I hate old cars.

I bought the 335i because on paper it ticked the boxes, on a test drive it was fun and after you take into account repair bills etc etc it didn't even cost much more to own than the 5 Series. In the real world I just.. prefered the E39.

Worked out well in the end - I got to tick a box and drive a car I'd wanted for years over the Summer (I had it for 3 months) for minimal depreciation.

SaBBz · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:19

[TW]Fox;20390425 said:
Because I realised that once you'd got over the initial 'Wow its really fast and looks new and has a cool screen' thing you get overwhelmed with on a test drive, day to day I simply didnt like driving it as much as I did the 5 Series. A combination of things from the excessively harsh ride to the irritating levels of interior quality and number of rattles from the trim coupled with the fact that its rare you can even use its party peice - the power - without fear of getting arrested made me realise the answer to the question of 'What car should I buy given I cannot afford the F10 I want' is 'No car' rather than 'A 3 Series'.

Fair enough. At the time I did think it seemed a bit strange, as you obviously love the E39 and the F10 is the next logical step (due to the E60 not being great). Hope you didn't lose too much on the 3 series.

Rich_L · 24 Oct 2011 at 20:59

I think that although the wood trim might 'age' the car, it makes it look less 'dated' - if that makes any sense?

The silver trim seems to highlight some of the interior aspects that are starting to look a bit old whereas the wood trim seems to suit the interior better given the age of the car.

Get a 7 series next Fox

[TW]Fox · 24 Oct 2011 at 21:00

If I could have a collection I'd love an E38 740i Sport or a facelift E65

naefeart · 24 Oct 2011 at 21:01

The wood nicely breaks up the black interior, but the pics make it look too light.

Not sure about the cubic either, seems awfully dark in the pics.

I like my titanium tbh, not that I'm biased...

Will · 24 Oct 2011 at 21:14

[TW]Fox;20390826 said:
If I could have a collection I'd love an E38 740i Sport or a facelift E65

Have you never been tempted to try out a more modern 7 series as a 530i replacement?

Seems you prefer the waft and comfort factor of the 5 over the sportier and faster 335i....? Or is the the 7 just too much of a boat for that time you want to press on a bit down a twisty B road?