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Sedans BMW 5-Series BMW 5-Series Sedans
12657 messages, Last post on Nov 05, 2009 at 6:14 PM
You are in the BMW 5-Series Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: anon3 (Mar 24, 2008 1:36 pm) I think it shows that they are spot on. It's not as though AWD has been around (in large numbers) since the beginning of cars and every car sold in the snowbelt had it. Years ago, people had to make due with FWD/RWD or 4X4. I think how BMW is interpretting it is that if people are so gung-ho about AWD and absolutely must have it to survive inclement weather, they aren't too confident in their driving abilities or aren't truly into spirited/performance driving. And I agree with that interpretation. I think this reliance on AWD stems from a fear that the car might actually get sideways. Fear of the unexpected causes panic. Panic causes accidents in an otherwise recoverable situation, not the lack of AWD. I'm with the camp that says a set of snow tires will do a car fine. Though, I've never mounted anything more climate specific than a good set of A/S tires and have always been just fine; even driving through a blizzard in Vail, CO in January in a Chevy S10 with an open differential and no ballast in the back, and I think those were actually BFG touring tires.
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Replying to: anon3 (Mar 24, 2008 1:36 pm) I'm wondering if the replacement for the current 5 series will offer AWD with the V-8, and a sport suspension option for the AWD cars, as they can design that in from the get-go. BMW seems to be evolving the performance aspects of their AWD system, or at least starting to lean in that direction. They now offer Dynamic Performance Control for the X-6, with hints that DPC could migrate to other AWD vehciles. And they now offer an aftermarket sport suspension for the 328Xi, with speculation they may offer one for the 335Xi. Bruce |
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Replying to: tayl0rd (Mar 25, 2008 4:31 am) BMW has always been driver centric and gives us the option to equip a car according to the individual's driving preferences. Most people buy AWD sedans for peace of mind knowing that AWD is there during the 1% of driving conditions when four wheels are better than two. But they buy a BMW for the way it handles and performs in the other 99% of driving. The market generally perceives AWD as a way to drive through snow. But BMW designed xDrive as a performance system to manage under/over steer and to enhance control, safety, and agility in all conditions. The issue is the BMW driving experience on dry pavement when a sport suspension is needed, not how it handles snow.
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Several owners have told me their SA advised them on the newer cars if your valve stems are black you can use the metal valve stem caps, yet if they are grey then you have to use plastic caps. The reason being they have changed the tire pressure monitoring on cars with grey valve stems and the metal caps would cause faulty readings. Something to do with the pressure readings reflecting back off the caps. However I checked my valve stems and they are grey and I have the metal Roundel caps on them... with no issues. Go figure.  Anyone else heard of know of this issue? |
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Replying to: anon3 (Mar 25, 2008 9:31 am) hmph... I did not know that. Learn something new ever (yes, ever) day! Still not as good as its RWD brethren, though. 
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| Interestingly enough, I had rarely seen all wheel drive BMW (admittedly, they did not make many of those until the current gen models and e34 and e30 were not as plentiful by then, and I had one of the few e30 Tourings with AWD) during my 3 years in Germany or Mercedes 4 Matic/Audi Quattro/VW 4 Motion, for that matter. I don't think I remember seeing e46 AWD ever, in fact. The certainly get decent amount of snow and people just put the snow tires on as one would put gloves on in winter and drive away. This was more or less true in most of Western European countries, but especially in Germany. | |
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Replying to: orion53 (Mar 14, 2008 8:33 pm) I passed on the active steering as to me it felt a bit artificial and not what I am used to from BMW. I am very happy after 5K miles and consider it to be the best all around car I've owned to date (several BMWs MB's, Lexus, Infinitis etc have been in my past). Good luck. |
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I've had all wheel drives but reluctant to spend more on the car or even a little more on gas to get 535xi rather than 535i. Trying to reconcile good car performance with absurd I-drive, and substandard BMW service and problem dealer attitudes. I either pay inflated price at my local dealership or get it elsewhere. But BMW, unlike other brands, does NOT provide loaner for warranty service, but lets dealer decide, meaning dealrs don't provide loaner unless you bought it there. You're right about M35-- if I did that, I'd get the BMW. G35 -- main argument for it is that it has all the features and is very, very cost-effective. But it's sightly smaller than the others and not a much car. I'm really conflicted, because the last two years in my BMW I've had to deal with excess air conditioning that is noisy, stupid I-drive, substandard navigation, and burdensome changing of radio stations between satellite and AM. The latter corrected somewhat; the nav still archaic but with real traffic. 535i more powerful, but gas mileage down. I would have preferred a bit more powerful, and not quite the loss in mpg. G35 mileage is quite disappointing. Also, my lease turn in experience for BMW was very disappointing. Again, I feel I was treated poorly because I did not get the car at my local dealership where I imprudently turned it in. -- If I go BMW again, does anyone reading this now any dealership in So Calif that would sell one at invoice, then lease it with net money factor, without markup? There is not enough value in the BMW without trying to get a deal, because the MSRP is too inflated. Also, my last one -- 530i -- was in the shop twice for 2 weeks+, for the same safety problem-- passenger air bag sensor. BMW sells too many cars and cannot adequately service them. The service writers are insensitive yuppies. Problem is I want a rear wheel drive car and don't see much in the way of alternatives. But the I-drive shows a culture of arrogance at BMW that extends to dealerships. I do want to praise the Internet folks at Pacific BMW in Glendale.
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Replying to: asteinberg (Mar 29, 2008 7:03 am) FWIW, I don't think there is a BMW dealer anywhere in North America that sells cars at invoice. Period, full stop, the end. Best Regards, Shipo |
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He states "BMW sells too many cars and cannot adequately service them. The service writers are insensitive yuppies. Problem is I want a rear wheel drive car and don't see much in the way of alternatives." Man, you've sure been dealing with the wrong BMW dealer. Now on my third BMW, the service is comparable to my service experience with Lexus, having previously owned six of them. Maybe I've been lucky but I actually had my Lexi' in more frequently for problems. BTW, I'm getting 27.3 mpg in mixed city/highway driving which for the performance level I'm enjoying with my '08 535, is fantastic. In contrast, with my '06 M35, I achieved only 20-21 mpg at best. Yes, the Nav. ergonomics were better than iDrive, but iDrive is improving with each generation and I have no issue with it. I agree with Shipo that you should try a different make car (than a BMW) or at least find a good (BMW) dealer to enhance your experience.
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