New 5 series Launch :: Kyalami :: 3-11 March

[Rory]

Also drove the 530d. Definitely better than the F10 and plenty toys, although it seems like you'll pay an arm and a leg if you want the toys, as usual. The one I drove was marked at 1.1 something.
I feel like power delivery is so smooth on the newer 30d and 40d models that it's doesn't give you that satisfying ”shove" as much as my E60 did, even is sport/sport/manual.
The M Performance kitted car was a stunner.
My wife quite liked that you can switch the interior accent lighting to lilac

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[Schalk94]

I was there tonight and drove the 540i with a bunch of extras. Now that is what you call a proper car,I never really liked the 5 series because of the size of it,it is massive by my standards,but tonight changed my mind completely. It never feels heavy or big and with that x40i motor it runs damn well,it just has the thirst to match unfortunately.

The heads-up display is great and I love how big it is and how well it integrates the navigation. The interior looks absolutely stunning with all the interior lights and the digital instrument cluster is equally "flashy".

I was just a bit disappointed with the rear leg room,I really expected the 5 to be a bit more spacious in the back,but it didnt really feel much bigger than the f30.

All in all I thought it is an amazing car and handled a lot better than I was expecting it to. I am now convinced that the 5 is probably the pick of the bunch when it comes to luxury vs Perfromance, but R1122 000 is steeeeeep.

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To add to my opinion:

I just found the gesture control a bit of a pain in the butt. Your movement has to be very precise and at just the right speed to turn the volume up or down. I might maybe just be a bit "primitive" ,but if that was my car,the normal steering controls would work 20times more than the gesture control,because I honestly dont feel like struggling every time that I just want to change the volume.


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[325iSmk2]

I drove it yesterday, a 540i. A huge, and I mean huge step over the F10. I'd go as far as to say it's the best 5 yet. Tempted.

 

[Fordkoppie]

Only 2 year warranty?

I don't understand what this means, because doesn't motorplan cover everything?

 

[325iSmk2]

Only 2 year warranty?

I don't understand what this means, because doesn't motorplan cover everything?

MP is a maintenance contract which is 5 years, warranty is 2 years.

 

[Fordkoppie]

Only 2 year warranty?

I don't understand what this means, because doesn't motorplan cover everything?

MP is a maintenance contract which is 5 years, warranty is 2 years.

So if the conrod punches a hole in the block in year 4....
Or if the ECU's smoke comes out, and cant be put back...
Covered, or not?

 

[tinovittee]

All our BMW's have had that 2 yr warranty and 5 yr motorplan which is technically only supposed to cover maintenance but it operates differently. I think that's how its worded so they can legally refuse to fix something if you abused your car and broke it.

There's a member who recently bought an E90 with a full dealer service history that just came off motorplan. As soon as motorplan ended, his engine spun a bearing and the engine popped. BMWSA replaced his engine in good faith because of the car history... but guaranteed, there's nowhere in the motorplan documentation where they'll commit to major repairs/replacement.

 

[325iSmk2]

Only 2 year warranty?

I don't understand what this means, because doesn't motorplan cover everything?

MP is a maintenance contract which is 5 years, warranty is 2 years.

So if the conrod punches a hole in the block in year 4....
Or if the ECU's smoke comes out, and cant be put back...
Covered, or not?

Covered.

 

[Fordkoppie]

So what is the point in distinguishing between the 2, if 1 covers everything?

 

[///Maniac]

Warranty is covered by manufacturer. Motorplan is covered by 3rd party company. In the 1st 2 years, manufacturer pays for any component failures due to manufacturing faults. Thereafter motorplan takes over those items. Warranty does not cover wear and tear items like brakes and wiper blades. Motorplan covers those items from day 1. Makes no difference to the consumer essentially. Its just about who is paying the dealer for the repairs/replacement between Motorplan or manufacturer.

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[cOlDFuSiOn]

This was the highlight for me! E39, E34 M5.. Nice display of the original M's!

Onto the G chassis... The tech in the car is cool, I like a lot of the features and nothing beats that new display. That is just the best! Wanted to see the remote parking in action, but alas.. I got stuck with a base 530i unfortunately and as already said in my feedback to BMW I was not impressed with this model... Highly under powered and does not handle all too well, perhaps I am not used to such a big car? As a luxury saloon to cruise around in it is really nice, but it's not for me.
They offered to let me drive the 540i with the second group but it was getting late by then, maybe I'll go drive a B58 at a dealership to see.. All in all very luxurious car.. :coolShake:

 

[Rory]

I drove the 530d. While overall as a package it was very very "good" it certainly didn't excite me enough to consider paying over a million rand for one. I played with the configurator on the site and without going too mad, basically adding the things that I consider make it a "luxury" car as well as the cool new G30 bits I got to 350k in extras... Nuts. That's just a very well specced 530d m sport for 950+350k.
On the other hand I think my perception of what a million rand car should be could be quite out of date...

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[TurboLlew]

I really liked the show BMW put on for the reveal. Was a nice couple of hours and I had a couple of good chats. Drove the 540i which was nicely kitted out. Plenty of punch and you can feel that the car is a fair bit lighter. Not going to get any F10 M5 owner out of his or her car which is (bizarrely) what someone predicted I would be tempted to do LOL. From what I see though this bodes well for the M5 when it arrives. Steering was a bit too light for my liking, but doesn't feel disconnected in the way most Audis and Mercs do with their implementations. Apart from this the car certainly feels like a BMW should and despite the size it does still shrink around the driver.

I still prefer the look of the F10 (and E39 even over the F10), but this has definitely grown on me since it was announced and seeing it in the flesh with the right boxes ticked, it looks really good.

There are certainly a plethora of features that make this car very interesting even considering the 1.1M price point. If you are interested in screens, remote parking, driver aids, remote 3D surround view (a.k.a. witchcraft LOL), the LCD dash that changes in each of the modes (Colours, type of info and M logo appears in Sport etc) and the (much improved IMHO) HK sound system then you will not be disappointed. The large central screen is awesome to behold, but I am not sure the 'live tiles' approach is here to stay. Touch screen was very responsive, but gesture controls were a bit iffy... definitely a revision or three away from prime time.

The motor is very quiet and when you are on the juice there isn't much aural pleasure... Cabin is well insulated and the focus on comfort is evident. I do feel that for R1.1M you should get a better grade of leather, but I suppose that's what they want you to tick an 'individual' box for. Same goes for other manufacturers, but it doesn't stop it from being distasteful - sit in some 6-series and GCs which are supposed to be very premium and they are completely ruined without 'the right' leather.

If you are looking to tick the boxes I am interested in from a performance perspective, then unfortunately you need to wait and pony up an extra bar for an M5 when that gets launched...

Interesting that when the F10 M5 was launched it was the same price as these cars... shows how messed up the South African market has become! Is exchange rate really still the excuse for these escalations?

 

[zippy320]

Will we get the 550i ? read that it has more power then the previous M5 .

 

[TurboLlew]

M550i is 462hp... not kw...

It is faster to 100 due to all wheel drive

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

O yes the HK sound was good but I think the 60k option for Bang and Olufsen might be worth it.. I like good sound!

I asked about the M550i, will wait for a formal reply but don't bank on it.. I for one think the pricing is fair but the options as always is what adds on..

Also they had the standard keys, did not see the interactive key?

 

[Gizmo]

This was the highlight for me! E39, E34 M5.. Nice display of the original M's!

Onto the G chassis... The tech in the car is cool, I like a lot of the features and nothing beats that new display. That is just the best! Wanted to see the remote parking in action, but alas.. I got stuck with a base 530i unfortunately and as already said in my feedback to BMW I was not impressed with this model... Highly under powered and does not handle all too well, perhaps I am not used to such a big car? As a luxury saloon to cruise around in it is really nice, but it's not for me.
They offered to let me drive the 540i with the second group but it was getting late by then, maybe I'll go drive a B58 at a dealership to see.. All in all very luxurious car.. :coolShake:

That E34 looks familiar...:fencelook:

 

[Bernard///M3]

Will we get the 550i ? read that it has more power then the previous M5 .

No 550, M5 yes