[DNS]

Great one GTO.

I'm sure most would disagree, but the looks of this & the 7 series just don't work for me at all. I think its the oversized grills and tail lights.

Besides the looks, I think this is probably a better choice that the E250 CDI. I say this due to the introduction of "Blue Efficiency" in the MB models. It has caused a great loss of surge. Compare either the W212 or the F10 with the W211, in my opinion there is no comparison. The W211 has so much character & beauty (Mr. Wilfred Albert, CEO of Mercedes Benz India also agrees with me completely).

A Point that seems to be forgotten is that there are another 2 players in this segment. The Quite prominent Audi A6 and the Volvo S80. Both providing on-par luxury, and both absolute power plants (S80 can only be compared in the high petrol variant as it comes with a V8).

This was a great review GTO, very to the point and in detail. No waste of words.
Great stuff.

[Ash_vtec]

@John: Yep read the article. Hardly counts as a review when compared to the detailed review the guys at T-BHP conduct.

BTW, as futuristic as the 5 is, i like the fact that the good ol' temp. gauge is back. I don't know about the others, but it just feels right to have one of those

However, as much as I love the new F10, i feel BMW have sold their soul for a larger piece of the pie. THe E60 like other Bee Emms were "heart" cars. Bought knowing fully well it rides like granite, but handles/drives like no other. They still did well mind you. This car is a mish mash of what everyone wants a 50 lakh car to have, not just here but worldwide. Badge,ride,power,environment conscious,good handling though not a pedigreed BMW corner carver.
It's under no stretch of imagination a bad thing, but the F10 is now a "head" car.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by inder_s1

I remember falling in love with E36 design 10 years back. Since I couldn't get the same model, I got a scale down model of the 850i (Maroon Color) and told my parents - One day I will own a BMW.

I wanna own a 5 - series someday . After you review, it becomes more tempting. BMW is surely and Purely a Driver's Car.

Originally Posted by Mpower

As a long time BMW owner the F10 has really gotten me all excited. Being a big fan of the elegant lines of the E39, I was a little disappointed with the E60 which was a little flashy in the back and akward up front. The F10 is a superb blend of elegance, natural good looks and mild agression.

Aha, I see we have many classic styling fans in here!

What helps this is that the F10 adopts a double wishbone style front suspension geometry which is a big change from the McPherson strut that they stuck with for several decades.

Good observation, Mpower.

Looks like BMW has finally addressed the big complaints like
brittle ride quality
heavy steering at parking speeds
Interior not able to match rich feel of Audi and too similar to each other

The F10's interiors are like two gens ahead. Don't think Audi holds the interior trump card anymore. But hey, the all new A6 is due soon right?

I just wish they had'nt messed with the their traditional strong point which is the superbly weighed steering. I feel VW's EHPS would have been a good solution for them. EHPS retains the hydraulic steering rack but instead of a power sapping belt-driven pump it uses an electric motor diven system.

Entirely & totally agree! I'm not that sure of how much efficiency is gained by moving from hydraulic to electric, but BMW could definitely have made a pure hydraulic work in the new 5, and meet their own enviro-objectives too.

Originally Posted by arjunrudra

Are there any other options on the alloys too ?

Our test car wore the option alloy wheels. I saw the stock alloys at the launch and don't think too much of them:

Originally Posted by Sheel

not interested in a high-revving petrol? i thought it just might be the i which shall come to the garage instead of d

With the Germans, I've always insisted that diesels make more sense. As quick (if not more), robust construction, can run on regular diesel (no premium petrol required) and longer tank range. After all, these cars are built for long distance cruising.

how easy/hard is it to slide?

With the traction control off, easy as pie!

Originally Posted by Sahil

If BMW can adapt to markets like China by offering a long wheel base version of the 5er, then why can't they just let the customer choose if he wants run flats or not !?

Who would have thought that the best Mercedes for decades would be beaten by a BMW that doesn't even drive like one?"

Hormazd summed it up very well.

[turbochrgd]

Love the F10. Nice pics GTO.
Is this the test car , cause the 525d i drove was also a of the same color , Interior as well as exterior .
Loved it , want it , will get it (hopefully someday).
The good part about the manual is that it up shifts when you reach the peak rpm, unless some cars eg- Honda Accord (new one).
Did some insane speed within no time and the computer showed FE -18 km./ltrs .. i doubt its that much , must be around 12 i guess. please put some light on it.
Second thing i dont know if people have noticed is the small slot near the front bottle holders which is specifically made for the key.



Joy (without a doubt) is BMW

[S350L-E240]

GTO, Nice review there, when the car was launched I told you its the best 4 door car in the planet (I drove the 535 and 550 in the US) so do you agree now that you have driven it?

Also coming to some points made by others,

1. Rear a/c etc. will be here next year also the 520d. ( BMW Would like to keep few things aside for future upgrades)

2. The alloys on this test car are for the 535i for the 525d and 530d you will get the alloys which are on the 525d during the launch. The 530d alloys were not appreciated by anyone and BMW decided to change it but this change will only reflect in the 2nd lot as the first lot of kits has been dispatched.

3. GTO, the steering wheel you refer to in the 535i, is also present on the 530d. So that should be chunky to hold.

4. While I personally dislike the W212, the 250 CDI engines are quite refined and very competitive and from 2011 will be mated to the 7G transmission which should up the game very well for Mercedes-Benz.

5. Dealers have also demanded the Park distance control be aided by reverse camera, will update on those details once I know.

6. Why can't BMW integrate the CD/DVD changer into the head unit? it's quite well done by other car makers not a big deal but makes things a lot more convenient.

All in all, I'm not waiting for the battle to get hotter as volumes increase and how each one will try to out do each other by reducing price or adding more features and making constant upgrades, but then in Feb 2011 the 520d might completely kill the competition.

[Alter_Ego]

Excellent review.
Made my day.Spent the whole yesternight going over it again and again.
Awesome gizmoes going into this 5 series.

But when you placed the 5 against the E60 it somehow struck to me that the E60 looks more fabulous at least on the exterior looks.

The pics as well as the review is very detailed.
Thanks for sharing.


P.S. Whose E60 is it? loved the curves

[GTO]

Originally Posted by turbochrgd

Love the F10. Nice pics GTO.
Is this the test car , cause the 525d i drove was also a of the same color , Interior as well as exterior .

If you tested the car in Mumbai, and the number started with HR, I presume it is.

The good part about the manual is that it up shifts when you reach the peak rpm, unless some cars eg- Honda Accord (new one).

This is probably the first automatic car I enjoyed driving so much (EDIT : Actually, I loved the A4 3.2 FSI too). And I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the aggressive 8 speed.

Did some insane speed within no time and the computer showed FE -18 km./ltrs .. i doubt its that much , must be around 12 i guess. please put some light on it.

I guess you misread? After hard driving, the MID should read more like 18L / 100 kms!

Second thing i dont know if people have noticed is the small slot near the front bottle holders which is specifically made for the key.

Don't know how I missed mentioning that. Thanks for sharing, added to the review.

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

GTO, Nice review there, when the car was launched I told you its the best 4 door car in the planet (I drove the 535 and 550 in the US) so do you agree now that you have driven it?

Don't know about the 4 door bit, but within the segment, yes.

3. GTO, the steering wheel you refer to in the 535i, is also present on the 530d. So that should be chunky to hold.

That's good to hear.

4. While I personally dislike the W212, the 250 CDI engines are quite refined and very competitive and from 2011 will be mated to the 7G transmission which should up the game very well for Mercedes-Benz.

Agreed. The E is formidable competition to the 5.

but then in Feb 2011 the 520d might completely kill the competition.

BMW played out a similar strategy with the E60; had all the 6 cylinder buyers first and then brought in the 4 cylinder for volumes. Thing is, the 6 cylinder is already priced on par with the competition's 4 cylinder. Next year, the 520d will presumably be priced atleast 2 lakhs lower?

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego

Whose E60 is it? loved the curves

Distinguished BHPian Sahil

[S350L-E240]

GTO, The 520d will be launched by Q1 2011 at an ex-showroom price of about 37L. Will really sell in great figures considering the 320d highline is only few lacs less,

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

GTO, The 520d will be launched by Q1 2011 at an ex-showroom price of about 37L. Will really sell in great figures considering the 320d highline is only few lacs less,

I highly doubt the 520d will be a mere 2 lakhs less. It should at least be 10% less than the 525d for customers to be tempted to pick a lower engine.

A price correction is likely in the 3,C & A4 segment of cars. As they are now available in stripped down editions which is making the higher end models look HUGELY overpriced. Also because competition like the Superb & Passat already give better value in every aspect. Hence once these car prices correct, the 520d will not conflict with the 320d.

[vinaydas]

6 meters almost turning radius, same as the Q7(??) U turns in tight roads will be a pain.
i anyday pick this over the in your face prev gen 5, its got the clean, understated look.
But im SURE the A6 will look much better(i still prefer the current A6 over this 5, that car looks simply beautiful from all angles)

All said and done , I will anyway prefer the a6 3.2FSI (can catch up with almost all cars sub 1 cr,maybe the 3.0 Diesel for Long drives) with the B&O system and i will be quiet for a reasonably long time(in the field of purchasing cars )


P.S good write up as usual, kudos.

[AirbusA340]

* Based on the reports about the same platform as the '7'..maybe! But 90% of the time, when u look at your car in the morning and when u see others on the road, U gotta tell yourself continuously that its based on the '7', based on the '7'. Its not the 7! BMW has always had its unique image for all its series' and when the drain flow valves are opened for equalization, you can see that the styling automatically becomes a disaster.

* Headlamps are considerably different from the 7 and similar only by a miniscule percentage. They are different. The ones on the 7 are not the best looking too along with its giant ugly grille but the 7 somehow carries it well and you cannot stop staring at it. The LED's are a nice touch but they are far from anything that would grab your attention these days ever since the Audis have hit the roads and nevertheless, some Honda Civics and Innovas with aftermarket LED's all over their vehicle fronts.

* These taillights are only half similar to the 7's with the fat tubes running down the aisle. Otherwise, the 7's taillights are L shaped but with a big bend at the corner which somehow magically accentuates the look tenfold. The F10's taillights are not bad but please stop comparing it to the '7'. It is not the '7'. If the car does not get its stars without being compared to the '7', it is a downer (period)! I am seeing '7' more times in its reviews than '5' itself!

There is truly nothing wrong in bringing down some classy elements from a higher more expensive series but it has effectively destroyed the uniqueness of this series. I still see it as a bigger '3' than a scaled down '7'. It has lot more design cues from the 3 especially from the side. Believe me, time runs fast and it does not take much time for a 100 of these to hit the roads, especially in Hyderabad. I, then, wonder at a signal if a cute looking girl at the wheel of a new Honda Accord would even take a glance. Not even the rims are worth a glance. After, invariably, seeing the larger electronic memo display under the instrument cluster on the 7, this one looked small and not great as per 7's standards. So did the center pedestal housing the gear lever and the iDrive controller. The whole pedestal feels way too large in flesh in the '7'. It was of normal dimensions in the F10. But i guess, comparing it to the 7 would always make it feel smaller and less expensive. Its got to get its market space straight.

I'm sure it will be a pain to operate the iDrive being on the other side of the gear lever when you are alone at the wheel. And what happened to the Temperature adjustment roller for the rear seaters? Anyways,…,

In flesh, i felt cramped around my shoulders at the rear due to the shape. I felt exactly like in my '3'. After opening the doors to step out, the door trims were comparably smaller and more in line with the '3'. Nothing to complain of but i prefer the 3's image to be its own.

The 3's ride quality is very stiff and firm. I, personally, love it. The E60's delivered over the last few months have also gone smooth on their ride quality. They even came with the new generation iDrives. What more to complain and miss! By the way, exceptionally smooth compared to the older rides and i hardly feel the roughness on our typical roads. It still packs the BMW feel when you kick it hard!

All said and done, some new goodies and things like ambient lighting, Lumbar support, 6 DVD changer, suspension settings for different rides etc., are a breath of fresh air. At least the interior is of very high quality and up to BMW's image.

I bought the E60 recently after numerous reviews of the F10 and have been following up the Zurich launch also. Bimmerpost.com had everyone glued to their seats including me. I sure went back to my company mail after the unveil. I thought i should see it in flesh and take my pick and finally caught one in London. I do not remember not smiling every time I look at the E60. One of my best buys alongside the '3'. The Z4, X6 or the M3 next time is not a bad idea!

All in all, your review is very good GTO and the pictures are a boon. A lot of inputs from a lot of variants has only made a khichidi, IMHO, of the '5'. Thank god, its not the worst looking car. No head turner but i guess will be lost in some corner amidst tens of other cars at a busy crossroad at any given time of the day!

[quattroa4]

after reading , feels like buying !!!
havent wrote anything about the brakes , how they are modulated so is the throttle and how it feels to turn in and out of a corner over thr E60 with the added wheelbase. should have helped to differenciate from the E60 much more better .

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by quattroa4

after reading , feels like buying !!!
havent wrote anything about the brakes , how they are modulated so is the throttle and how it feels to turn in and out of a corner over thr E60 with the added wheelbase. should have helped to differenciate from the E60 much more better .

Brakes are excellent ! Not like they were a problem in the E60 either, so it braking remains top notch.

The E60 will send you into a corner more confidently and you feel it having more crispness/edgy feeling. But the F10 gives similar grip but with a totally different steering feedback.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DNS

I say this due to the introduction of "Blue Efficiency" in the MB models. It has caused a great loss of surge.

Now that you mention it, absolutely right! I do remember the power delivery of the E350 CDI being a lot less peaky than the previous gen E280 CDI. In fact, it was very linear, much like the F10.

A Point that seems to be forgotten is that there are another 2 players in this segment. The Quite prominent Audi A6 and the Volvo S80.

See, thats the problem. Even customers have forgotten that they exist . The A6' numbers are miniscule compared to the E & the 5 who truly dominate the 40 - 50 lakh segment. Volvo is nowhere in the picture.

Of course, all of that could change with the all new generation A6 that's expected soon. In addition to the car, Audi needs to pull its socks on a lousy sales experience. Merc & BMW dealers have great reach and literally pamper you. Audi isn't anywhere close on the distribution factor.

This was a great review GTO, very to the point and in detail. No waste of words.
Great stuff.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Ash_vtec

BTW, as futuristic as the 5 is, i like the fact that the good ol' temp. gauge is back. I don't know about the others, but it just feels right to have one of those

Took the words right out of my mouth. Please do visit this thread.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Also because competition like the Superb & Passat already give better value in every aspect.

If everyone went by value, no one would shell over 20 lakhs for any car. High end luxo-barges sell as much on prestige, image and brand power as the car itself.

Originally Posted by vinaydas

i anyday pick this over the in your face prev gen 5, its got the clean, understated look.
But im SURE the A6 will look much better(i still prefer the current A6 over this 5, that car looks simply beautiful from all angles)

So true. While the E60 & new Mercs are quirky, Audi has stuck to honest clean designs. Gotta love the A4! A6? Looking outdated now.

Originally Posted by AirbusA340

The 3's ride quality is very stiff and firm. I, personally, love it.

You would, but thats probably a percent of the market. The 3s stiff ride quality is the no.1 owner complaint. Thats precisely why BMW softened the 3's suspension in recent times. I can understand a harsh ride on a sports car, but will certainly not accept it in a 4 door luxury sedan.

All in all, your review is very good GTO and the pictures are a boon.

Thanks

Originally Posted by quattroa4

havent wrote anything about the brakes , how they are modulated so is the throttle and how it feels to turn in and out of a corner over thr E60 with the added wheelbase. should have helped to differenciate from the E60 much more better .

From my review:

It's a given that European cars from this segment will have excellent brakes. Well, the 5 series anchors are even better than you'd expect. Both, in feel and in effectiveness. The car can shed a serious amount of speed under hard braking. The pedal is easy to modulate, whether you are driving within the city or at full clip on the expressway. They greatly enhance your confidence levels while driving. BMW equips the F10 with a regenerative braking system. The energy that is normally wasted when you brake is instead used to drive the alternator. Get this, the alternator is engaged only during deceleration. When accelerating, the alternator is completely disengaged. Of course, if the battery charge falls too low, then the system will switch back to a conventional charging mode.

[quattroa4]

got it ! thanks !
just imagine that they are giving it a proper gated 6 speed manual transmission ......
and that will be a hoot to drive like no other... only GTO and SAHIL can imagine that as they are the one who have driver this machine ....