New 5-series

[J4CKO]

Business as usual, reasonably handsome, decent technical update, will sell like mad in M Sport 2.0 D form and a do a fine job, BMW really cant mess too much with the 3 and 5 series formula too much so its always going to be a fairly conservative restyle.

[Nickbrapp]

And people say all audis look the same

[ChocolateFrog]

berlintaxi said:

Like that, is there a hybrid version?

Yes. Plug-in hybrid capable of 28 miles on electric. CO2 of 46g/km.

[philmots]

J4CKO said:

Business as usual, reasonably handsome, decent technical update, will sell like mad in M Sport 2.0 D form and a do a fine job, BMW really cant mess too much with the 3 and 5 series formula too much so its always going to be a fairly conservative restyle.

Basically this!

M550i sounds interesting too.

[Resolutionary]

Looks a bit like a 'BMW greatest hits' compilation saloon. Not a bad looking thing at all, but I wonder what the boggo SE diesels will end up looking like, as no doubt we'll see a lot more of them than anything else!

[iSore]

Ares said:

And yet when they did something different (see Bangle) they got slagged off for it....

When you have a winning formula, why fk it up?

Wow, Mr Defensive! :-)

Did the E60 not outsell the E39 in the end?

[C7 JFW]

Wait a minute.

///M550 xDrive that looks very close to a standard diesel? Hello.

Re-paint the calipers black or graphite, swap the wheels for similar width, less jazzy ones and de-badge. Perfect.

[kambites]

It's handsome enough as modern cars go in a dull sort of way - evolution rather than revolution, as one would generally expect in a sector dominated by people buying a company car on the basis of what's least likely to offend their clients.

[George111]

Looks just like the old one, which looked the same as the old one, which looked the same . . .

If Volvo can create something distinctive and modern in the S90/V90, hen why not BMW ?

[Agent XXX]

George111 said:

Looks just like the old one, which looked the same as the old one, which looked the same . . .

If Volvo can create something distinctive and modern in the S90/V90, hen why not BMW ?

Because they're boring. Like the people that lease them.

[M1C]

Looks a bit 'meh' doesn't it.

The side profile looks like a 2003 7 series in my eyes. A bit...slab sided and heavy.

May be a lot nicer in the metal i guess.

[RobM77]

They've got rid of the iDrive screen moulded into the dash! This new car has what looks like an afterthought from Halfords screwed onto the dash instead. Why do manufacturers do this? I can understand it in a low budget car like a Fiesta or Corsa, but a 5 series?! Even the new DB11's got it. I can understand saving money on a car's build and subsequent maintenance where the customer doesn't notice or it doesn't really matter, but surely this is just shouting 'cheap and nasty' at the owner every time he gets in the car, which is a bit much on what will often be a £40k or even £50k+ car?

Other than that, yes, I like the understated look With the XF and Merc competition (and to a lesser extent the Audi A6) looking so flashy it's nice to have a car in this sector that blends in a bit more.

[Ninja59]

I wonder how many will be X drive...a lot of the new 7 line up is.

Over the idrive controller based on mine without the latest update to the new version that all new MY models have got/will get yes it is touch sensitive for writing recognition. Fairly accurate as well, although mine does not like my doing anything with a K in oddly.

[Ares]

iSore said:

Ares said:

And yet when they did something different (see Bangle) they got slagged off for it....

When you have a winning formula, why fk it up?

Wow, Mr Defensive! :-)

Did the E60 not outsell the E39 in the end?

Far from. Just highlighting that when a manufacturer does ditch boring/corporate identity, they get slammed for it.

[Ares]

C7 JFW said:

Wait a minute.

///M550 xDrive that looks very close to a standard diesel? Hello.

Re-paint the calipers black or graphite, swap the wheels for similar width, less jazzy ones and de-badge. Perfect.

It is with the current model.....just not in RHD (AWD compliance with RHD).

Hopefully the new one has been engineered to allow AWD so we'll get the M550d

[Ares]

George111 said:

Looks just like the old one, which looked the same as the old one, which looked the same . . .

If Volvo can create something distinctive and modern in the S90/V90, hen why not BMW ?

Because Volvo don't have a winning formula and desperately wanted to ditch the poor sales volume, crap car image. They needed to be different. They needed to take a risk.

BMW/Merc/Audi dominate. To risk it (again the other 2) would be commercial suicide. Especially when they all have the 6-series/A7/CLS to do the funky option job.

That said, the new E-Class is so bland and truly indistinguishable from the C-Class that it may work against them.

[Wills2]

If it builds on the strengths of the F series (which it will I guess) this will be a lovely mile muncher, a little lighter as well up to 100kg on some models.

[Ares]

RobM77 said:

They've got rid of the iDrive screen moulded into the dash! This new car has what looks like an afterthought from Halfords screwed onto the dash instead. Why do manufacturers do this? I can understand it in a low budget car like a Fiesta or Corsa, but a 5 series?! Even the new DB11's got it. I can understand saving money on a car's build and subsequent maintenance where the customer doesn't notice or it doesn't really matter, but surely this is just shouting 'cheap and nasty' at the owner every time he gets in the car, which is a bit much on what will often be a £40k or even £50k+ car?

Other than that, yes, I like the understated look With the XF and Merc competition (and to a lesser extent the Audi A6) looking so flashy it's nice to have a car in this sector that blends in a bit more.

EU regs. Screens have to be above a certain level, and less integral to comply.

[milkbackwards]

The front & back look identical to the new 7,making the latter,despite its technical merits,look even more banal.

[RobM77]

Ares said:

RobM77 said:

They've got rid of the iDrive screen moulded into the dash! This new car has what looks like an afterthought from Halfords screwed onto the dash instead. Why do manufacturers do this? I can understand it in a low budget car like a Fiesta or Corsa, but a 5 series?! Even the new DB11's got it. I can understand saving money on a car's build and subsequent maintenance where the customer doesn't notice or it doesn't really matter, but surely this is just shouting 'cheap and nasty' at the owner every time he gets in the car, which is a bit much on what will often be a £40k or even £50k+ car?

Other than that, yes, I like the understated look With the XF and Merc competition (and to a lesser extent the Audi A6) looking so flashy it's nice to have a car in this sector that blends in a bit more.

EU regs. Screens have to be above a certain level, and less integral to comply.

That's fascinating, thanks. I first saw screens like this on hire Corsas and cars like that. I thought it was a great way to get the functionality into a cheaper (<£15k) car in a modular way as an optional extra. Seeing such a screen in a BMW 5 series, Jag or an Aston though is to me like seeing a Savile Row suit worn with Clarks shoes, it just looks so, so wrong.

Do you know any more info? Surely a screen sticking out of the dash is worse for occupant safety in an accident. What exactly is it about these stick on screens that regulations favour?