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Sedans BMW 5-Series BMW 5-Series Sedans
12528 messages, Last post on Oct 06, 2008 at 12:31 PM
You are in the BMW 5-Series Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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All of the e500's have the suspension that has the three settings.There is luxury,mid, and sport. The sport is sporty but is not harsh like my 3sport and the luxury setting is very smooth but controlled. It has air shocks which allow the adjustments.The air shocks while smooth in all settings seem a little isolated. I think I might prefer the spring shocks for feel.Yes, the 7 speed auto transmission is a dream and very reponsive. Not since my 1990 300zx twinturbo have I had a transmission that responded to the slightest nudge. I have also a 1998 e430 and it is less isolated and has spring shocks. I test drove a 550 auto nonsport before I bought the e500. First of all it was white which made it look like a large refrigerator this body style doesnt look good in white. Second, as I was driving alone without the salesman(I prefer it that way) I actually couldnt turn the radio off to hear whether the car was quiet or not! The idrive being that hard to deal with. I think the true test of whether a body style is good looking or not is how it looks in white.Everything looks good in black. The 550 has to be the perfect color with the right wheels to look just ok, still havent gotten use to the looks of it. Everything looks tacked on in person with no flow to the body. The e500 is gorgeous from any angle and I am a sucker for a really good looking car. Mercedes while maybe not having quite the driving dynamics as BMW's still look much better and along with the idrive fiasco tipped the scales.My mind is still with the BMW,they really connect with the driver and yet have a funny almost slight disregard for the looks department. Dont get me wrong they look better than Hondas and we are lucky to be driving any of these cars.
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Replying to: richardga73 (May 30, 2007 7:32 pm) Thank you
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Replying to: sdg380 (May 30, 2007 12:54 pm) I have not driven the 535, but have driven 335 for a day. I'd say it is VERY comparable to the v-8. I really did not think it was slower than my e39 M5 at all. It pulled hard without detectable turbo lag, whether launching or passing. The only thing I did not like about the power train was the sound, it just did not sound as good as the older I-6 engines.
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Replying to: richardga73 (May 30, 2007 7:32 pm) While I'd be tempted to also buy an E500, my E39 has low miles, so I'll probably just hang on for the new body styles in a couple of years (they look good in the spy photos), and maybe by that time they'll have iDrive sorted out. |
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Replying to: jb_shin (May 31, 2007 6:23 am) And thanks for the comments on the 335, I haven't driven one, so maybe the twin turbo is the "new V-8". I think I had also heard that exhaust note was note quite up to the typical I-6, but a turbo can do that. Has anybody driven a new 535?
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Ummm, I have to disagree. True a V8 is not as long as an I6 given that typical "V" engines are about 60%-65% as long as an inline engine with the same number of cylinders. Relative to these two engines, my bet is that the V8 would be roughly as long as an I5, meaning that the I6 is about one cylinder longer. That said, the I6 is WAY narrower than a V8, and as such will allow for lots of stuff to be positioned on either side of the mill where there would be no room in a "V" type of installation. With the above in mind, I think that saying that a V8 is more compact than an I6 is incorrect, it's simply shorter (and probably heavier). Best Regards, Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (May 31, 2007 7:44 am)  It would only be as long as a 4-banger since there's only 4 cylinders per bank.
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Replying to: sdg380 (May 31, 2007 7:01 am) I drove a 535xi last Saturday. It was everything I expected in terms of being smoother and quieter than my '06 330xi while still feeling sporty and responsive. The 535xi definitely felt more powerful than my current car, despite being heavier. One specific difference is the 535xi felt very responsive in regular Drive mode- I didn't feel the need to shift into Sports Drive mode like I sometimes do now. On the highway, as traffic would allow, I twice floored it while doing 70 mph with 3 people in the car. The car seemed to leap, smoothly, to 85 mph in a flash before I let up on the gas pedal. Thanks Bruce
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Apparently BMW recently staged a drive for the automotive press with all the current 5 series models. It started in Las vegas and ended up in California. I did a quick check on Edmunds and did not see anything on them being part of the event. Does anyone know if Edmunds has a write-up on this? Thanks Bruce |
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Does anyone know if the 535i and / or 535xi have an oil cooler? I seem to remember reading that some of the initial twin turbo 3 series cars did not come with an oil cooler. BMW later made oil coolers standard equipment, and the earlier cars were retrofitted with one. Thanks Bruce |
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