[shatrughna]

Wow! Rehaan .
TBHP is shaping up better than best auto-mags and best thing is that one doesn't have to wait till month end for the magazines to reach book-stalls.

Whole write up and report feels right from a professional auto-journalist. Hope TBHP is not planning to soon impose subscription charges for reading such wonderful coverage.

[nickatnite]

Excellent photos and coverage. I can't say the same about the new design which is too derivative and wavy gravy for my liking. The new 5 looks like an enlarged 3!.

[FlyingSpur]

Finally saw it in person. And I'm disappointed. The only good thing that'll come out of this car is that the E60 will make a fantastic buy a year from now

[vinaydas]

this 5 has the more clean , timeless and understated look.
compared to the flashy, attention seeking prev gen 5.
I would pick this over the new 5 because of the fact that this will age slowly. Even 10-12 years down the line this will look still look classy.

[AyAn!]

With those toned down,conservative looks BMW seems to be tapping the Mercedes clientele,moving away from the young or 'young at heart' audience they had always targeted before. Now the question is: Will BMW end up losing its character in the process of landing Merc a sucker punch in sales?

Originally Posted by GTO

See, the thing is...the E60 wore love it or hate it clothes. I personally wouldn't ever buy one new, primarily because of the quirky bangle design (just like the previous gen 7 series). The new one is definitely a safer design...either, you'll find guys like me who love it, or guys like yourself who find it "neutral". But no one will hate the look of the new 5, as many did with the previous gen.

Nobody hated the E60.Either you loved it or found it too aggressive to be your next executive saloon. But at least it had character,and loads of it! Those 'eyebrow' driving lights locked in a frown sent the good ol' W211 and the bland A6 scamper for cover.Now,I'm afraid its going to be the other way round,with the new smart,suave W212 leading the pack.

This one simply pales in comparison to the E60. It'll lose itself in a German car park,all cold,drab and grey. I hate it,not the play safe design,but for the fact that its a character less looking BMW and moreover,replacing the much loved E60.

All hail Bangle!

[AirbusA340]

Just came from the launch. Horrendous legroom at the back and a shrinked interior. Just did not feel right with the door trims literally smaller than the E60. We at least sat 10 times in and around the car to feel the dimensions and it sure is going to get lost at a mall's basement parking alongside normal sized sedans. Sitting at the back, was very cramped all around. Even in the front passenger seat, my right leg was placed exactly like in my 3 and gave me doubts if it is a 3 or the new bloody 5!

Headlights were not impressive but the tail looked good. That is about it!

The alloys were amazingly horrible for the pricing and the optional alloys if bought may stop negative comments darting towards you. It might save the car a little respect.

The exterior dimensions and the stance after 2 hours of staring just left me with a pale sad puppy dog face.

Eventually, we turned our attention towards the other BMs lined up outside and the Z4, 7 on display inside except for the '7' with the dynamic suspension package which, i guess, had a damaged HSR unit (told by our local BMW technician on the phone) which controls the suspension. The rear tyres were literally touching the wheel arches. It looked so odd that we were checking it out and the BMW executive turned up and said that we were attracting unduly attention and if we could avoid it. We asked him if he knew why it was sitting there like a damaged piece but he had no words for it and could not even pronounce a few things right. The same happened with other executives out of which one guy could not even confirm the DVD changer placement in the glovebox. Only one guy from Infinity motors named Ayaz had some knowledge and knew what he was telling us. The instrument cluster is not exactly a replica of the '7' but the digital interface panel under the instruments is half of the one in '7'. The 525d had a smaller iDrive screen and the 535i had a larger one. The smaller one is not good looking especially after seeing the one in 535i and probably in the 530d also.

The food was ok and most of the guests were busy with food rather than the car and we even caught a guest spilling the non-alcoholic champagne on the BMW driver door sill and on the wooden flooring. As an added bonus for us, an honored so called guest stole our invitations when I turned my head around for just a while. Surprised me! Its of no use now anyways.

Otherwise, during the car launch the start was fabulous with the countdown timer running on the screens for 59 seconds accentuated by some amazing music. The videos which played later left everyone pinned down.

Mr. Peter gave a good speech and slowly walked in towards the waiting '5'.

They had 2 535is and 2 525ds on display. The one in white was pretty but only reminded me more of how much the E60 carried off all these years and still looks as fresh as new.

Anyways, I am not comparing them but guess what? I think I should because after such a nice event and a glorious opening of the new model the 'oomph' factor was just not there. We did not hate it after seeing it for some time but again the X6 video running on the screen caught our attention randomly more than the actual celebrity herself!

Nevertheless, BMW here and back in Hyderabad is expecting to outsell the competition with this '5' targeting the business customer. Either way a new refreshing model like the F10 is most welcome but the sight of an E60 is still undoubtedly the best one.

[Enigma]

Hmmmm....Sure the interiours are a delight.
But the exteriours....
Hmmm to me it looks like a 3 series from the front and a 7 series from the back.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by petroguzzler

...the electrically assisted power steering is a disaster....

Personally, i think electrically assisted power steering is the better and more promising technology. Whether BMW has made the most of it in terms of driver involvement and steering feedback is yet to be seen though (atleast personally).

I think a lot of people have based their opinions of EPS on the Marutis/Hyundais they've driven etc -- in which case its been used because its a cheaper, simpler and more robust system, implemented with little attention paid to the enthusiasts point of view.

Lastly there are many other factors that affect steering feel and feedback more than just the choice of p/s system. I'm not betting on the F10 being equal to or better than the E60 in this area - but tech for tech i think we should be a little more open to the capabilities of EPS.

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

I really recommend those who think it looks too plain jane, please check it out in person, but please also imagine it with different rims ...

Like this > Makes a BIG difference!



More pics of wheels and accessories in Sidindica's post here :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1833041-post19.html

cya
R

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Personally, i think electrically assisted power steering is the better and more promising technology. Whether BMW has made the most of it in terms of driver involvement and steering feedback is yet to be seen though (atleast personally).

I believe they are using ZF's rack drive EPS. THe ones seen on Marutis are the TRW column drive units.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by AyAn!

...Nobody hated the E60....

I suggest you read some of the older threads here, around the time of the E60s international unveiling.

Quite a few members lost their lunch. Search keyword : Bangle/d

Originally Posted by AirbusA340

...Otherwise, during the car launch the start was fabulous with the countdown timer running on the screens for 59 seconds accentuated by some amazing music....

At no other point in the presentation was the difference between Mercedes and BMWs image more apparent to me. Here's the song that played as the background music for the 5-series video :

YouTube - Eric Prydz - Pjanoo

cya
R

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

this 5 has the more clean , timeless and understated look.
compared to the flashy, attention seeking prev gen 5.
I would pick this over the new 5 because of the fact that this will age slowly. Even 10-12 years down the line this will look still look classy.

The current 5 Series E60 was launched in 2003 and even when I look at it today, it still looks as aggressive and as exciting as it did 7 years back. This was BMW's USP, a young drive's executive sedan, the new one is just plain boring.

The E60 practically hasn't aged.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by AyAn!

With those toned down,conservative looks BMW seems to be tapping the Mercedes clientele,moving away from the young or 'young at heart' audience they had always targeted before. Now the question is: Will BMW end up losing its character in the process of landing Merc a sucker punch in sales?



Nobody hated the E60.Either you loved it or found it too aggressive to be your next executive saloon. But at least it had character,and loads of it! Those 'eyebrow' driving lights locked in a frown sent the good ol' W211 and the bland A6 scamper for cover.Now,I'm afraid its going to be the other way round,with the new smart,suave W212 leading the pack.

This one simply pales in comparison to the E60. It'll lose itself in a German car park,all cold,drab and grey. I hate it,not the play safe design,but for the fact that its a character less looking BMW and moreover,replacing the much loved E60.

All hail Bangle!

After I walked out of the event last night and saw the valet pull up with my car, I had a smile on my face thinking to myself that my car (e60) looked so much more 'special'. Inspite of there being a dime a dozen it still gets the 'I want one' reaction out of many, I doubt once the F10 gets common people would feel that sense of urge for it's looks.Not to forget it would be mistaken for a 3 series ever so often, which ain't good for the snob value!

That being said, a part from the exteriors, I absolutely love the car ! Brilliant engines (on paper), interior design and top notch quality ascertain that BMW have got a winner at hand.
Apart from the obvious and big changes to this car, here are a certain small but yet significant tit-bits that caught my eye:
- The white halo rings looked all the more mesmerizing !
- The sunroof look significantly bigger, not sure if the glass area is bigger or just the border around it on the inside is reduced since there is no way to manually pull the shutter.
- The door handles, right off the new 7. Feel super to pull !
- Back seat felt more comfortable than the E60, I guess thanks to the seat position. BUT the legroom felt lesser than the e60.
- The electronic handbrake and split opening of the center arm rest all add to the premium feel.
- Cuts out the outside sound very well, compared this to the 7 and found the 5 to do a better job.

It certainly is a big step on the E60 on the interior front and engines have been upped too, most of all it is priced better than the E60 thanks to competition. I paid a full 3 lakhs more for the 525d less than 3 years ago !
BMW has gone the Mercedes way this time with it's styling and interiors. Hardcore BMW fan boys would be disappointed but for some like me, I was waiting for the day BMW interiors match Mercedes, today I can say they have beat Mercedes ! Hypothetically, give me the E60 exteriors with the F10 interiors - UNBEATABLE !!

At the end of it, would I buy one? Perhaps not, thanks to it's futuristic design I still don't feel my E60 is dated and could suffice for a few more years. Ofcourse if BMW wants to offer 'an offer you can't resist' buy back for existing customers, I might switch.
BUT I am just too smitten by the new 7 I landed up spending more time in it's backseat at the event than any other car on display. Although if I were a 7 series owner I would be disappointed that my car's dash looks exactly like the F10 ! Then again, you step into the backseat and it's a different leaguuuuue altogether !!

[rrsteer]

Me is confused. I have searched so much over the internet and yet don't know which is best the new E class or the new 5 series. I think 5th gear put the 5 series ahead, autocar UK put the E class ahead. What Car was both here and there. Now when is the team-bhp shoot out happening between the two. Waiting for the verdict.

[speedy]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Me is confused. I have searched so much over the internet and yet don't know which is best the new E class or the new 5 series. I think 5th gear put the 5 series ahead, autocar UK put the E class ahead. What Car was both here and there. Now when is the team-bhp shoot out happening between the two. Waiting for the verdict.

This is very subjective to ones own needs. The basic thing here is you have to drive both cars and then decide for yourself. A shoot out between both cars would not help as the person who would do it would give his judgement and it would not be yours. Bmw except for the 7 is not good with the rear seating in the sense that it lags behind the Mercedes in the comfort department. The mercedes does not get you involved when behind the wheel like the Bmw does. The Bmw gives you a stiffer ride while the Mercedes is like a cushioned mattress. Both cars are great in their own right and for the individual need. So you need to personaly test them to know what you want.
This has been mentioned a million times over by various members and outsiders too. Self drive then it cannot be anything but a BMW, If Chauffer driven most of the time then it is the Mercedes.

Last evening saw the 5 at the launch and boy she is a stunner. I went with an open mind and just carrying images seen from pictures from here and the net. The car in the flesh is way different. The 18" wheel, the kidney grill a little more in proportion than on the 7 series, the great lines and a nice rear. I had my doubts about the rear end of the car and in the side profile pictures due to the angle gave it the disfigured kind of look which kind of resembled the first Bangled 7 series Boot area. In the flesh the 5 pretty and i am sold on the car. The 535i made no sense at 75lakhs on road as it is almost 20 lakhs more than its siblings both petrol and diesel. 10 lakhs more would get you the M3. The 530d made the most sense at 55 on road and enough of a grunt to get a smile on your face with practicle sense.

[GTO]

Feel like a laugh? Three questions that were asked in the press conference by a journalist (no, I am SERIOUS)

1. Where is the engine located?

2. Is it water cooled?

3. Does your new BMW have solar power?

Credit to Peter for answering with a straight face