100 mile review of a new 540xi

[JoeFromPA]

Hi all,

I was blessed with a loaner car on friday on which I put 100 miles in about 24 hours - a new, well equipped 540xi in alpine white on "night blue" full leather with sensatec dash in a luxury line package.

Thought I'd write a brief review as a nearly 3 year f80 owner who was actually interested in the g30 as a potential option for a long-trip highway commuter car.

A few notes:

Exterior: The design is deliberately made to have "presence" and is huge in look as well as dimensions. This is because it's squared off heavily - there is no narrowing or significant curvature. Everything is pushed to it's maximum for it's wheelbase size, which creates a very pronounced 'full' look and feel. White is not a good color for this car and makes it look land-yachtish - darker colors bring alot more sporty character while suppressing it's size.

The grill up close was bothersome. It is cartoonish looking - like a 2nd generation Mini's center speedometer. It also bothers me that it is so large and yet airflow is heavily blocked off - it's like a fake air vent in the hood of a car.

Also, the front and rear designs did not grow on me at all - in fact, they got old on me quite fast.

Interior: The leather and seats are simply superb. Great feel, good look and design, great comfort and support. The seats felt like perfectly balanced sport seats that would remain comfortable for a long time. And....ahhh...manually adjustable thigh support. Oh how I missed you, despite the excellent f80 seats.

The overall interior design is simply very well executed. I think BMW has carried forward the design of the f10 in a very nice manner and found a superb way to create a consistent, ergonomic layout that customers find enjoyable and comfortable and then try out different material layouts to create interesting design. Well done BMW.

The level of luxury of the 5 is superb. I don't know why, from a luxury perspective, you'd opt up to a 7.

Space on the other hand....it was more than adequate, but it's amazing how there isn't MORE space in any seating position considering the size of the vehicle. Nonethless, it's a meaningful increase in interior roominess over an f80 - as it should be, given the size penalty.

Engine/drivetrain/transmission: I haven't driven this engine in a bit, but man it's an excellent pairing - it sounded solid all around, pulled amazing for the weight of the vehicle, and loafed at high speed. This is still my favorite automatic transmission ever, but a few notes on that: It was actually firm/hard shifting on a number of occasions. I was surprised the first few times that I actually felt it shift hard. Never seen that in a Zf 8 before.

The only "problem" with the transmission is that when you shift into drive OR reverse, it doesn't move UNTIL YOU HIT THE GAS. It holds still as if it's not engaged. While perhaps a nice safety feature, it was off-putting.

The AWD was seamless. I heard it scrubbing tires as I was driving it hard through some twisties, but I never felt it in action.

Handling: The car handles better than any non-sport package, AWD, 5-series should. It's just confidence inspiring to toss around. But it's still enormous and thus while you might make a single turn fast or whip around an on-ramp, you won't be dancing with agility in rapid transitions. Steering feel....it's not there. Good chassis feel though - you can be confident how close you are to the edge of the tires capability through the chassis.

Braking: Superb for the street. Enough said.

Technology: I truly didn't feel anything was a step up from my 2015 model iDrive and a number of things were annoying.

For example, if I start the car and switch it into reverse the camera comes up - but then the warning screen comes up to make me hit "accept" - and the camera doesn't come back on. What the heck? How did this happen to me like 8 times where I'd be reversing with the rear view camera off? Poorly tested BMW.

The latest iDrive is fast and easy to navigate. Menus have been re-arranged, which is annoying, but it's likely a nice improvement. Speed was likely faster, but my 2015 is pretty damn fast. It's like comparing the speed of an iPhone 6s with an iPhone 7 at scrolling through e-mail.

...

Lasting impressions: It's too big for me and my preferences, but I loved the luxury feel. The thing that struck me most was how nice it was to cruise down the highway at 80mph. It was just exceptionally enjoyable in terms of comfort, tracking, and yet still remained connected. In another thread, people talked about the f80 being more "fun" for long highway commutes. I can't agree with that.

I have some experiences in an f10, and the g30 is definitely a more engaging drive. I can't say it if it's because it's lighter, stiffer, whatever - but BMW definitely moved in the right direction with it. I think it's a tad more connected/firmer to the road than I remember the f10 being.

That being said, I can't get behind the cost/benefit/size of this car for my own ownership.

Just wanted to share these impressions.

[mkoesel]

Thanks for posting, Joe. Great to read this kind of writeup from someone with the M3 perspective.

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

The only "problem" with the transmission is that when you shift into drive OR reverse, it doesn't move UNTIL YOU HIT THE GAS. It holds still as if it's not engaged. While perhaps a nice safety feature, it was off-putting.

Ah, so they made it more like a DCT it seems. My recollection is that your F80 has a manual transmission, so you may not be familiar.

I was wondering about this with respect to the new F90 M5 - whether they would make the ZF8 auto behave like a DCT in this regard. It seems they probably did not only for the M5 but for the 540i too, and I would guess all other 5 Series as well.

A follow up on this: does it also not creep when you bring it to a full stop? Or is the no-creep feature only there when you first shift from P (or perhaps N too) to D/R?

[F80Dreamer]

Great write up, thanks for sharing...considering getting the X5 to replace my wife's 4 year old 4Runner.

[JoeFromPA]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

Thanks for posting, Joe. Great to read this kind of writeup from someone with the M3 perspective.



Ah, so they made it more like a DCT it seems. My recollection is that your F80 has a manual transmission, so you may not be familiar.

I was wondering about this with respect to the new F90 M5 - whether they would make the ZF8 auto behave like a DCT in this regard. It seems they probably did not only for the M5 but for the 540i too, and I would guess all other 5 Series as well.

A follow up on this: does it also not creep when you bring it to a full stop? Or is the no-creep feature only there when you first shift from P (or perhaps N too) to D/R?

In my memory, it was only when I first shifted gears. In traffic, it crept.

[gatorfast]

Nice writeup. I loved my F10 for what it was and the G30 sounds like a nice step up. For the mix of comfort, style, luxury, and performance the 5 series is hard to beat.

I think your comments about highway cruising are spot on. The 5er just gobbles up miles with ease.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

In my memory, it was only when I first shifted gears. In traffic, it crept.

Thanks for the info. I wonder if it might require you to be very firm on the brake in order for it to disable creep. The DCT operates in that way. If you bring it to a near stop (or even what many would perceive to be a stop) it will keep the clutch engaged and still move forward once you lift off the brake. You have to have the pedal pushed fully to completely disengage. Of course the ZF8 uses a torque converter so its a little different, but clearly they have some way of disconnecting the engine from the wheels give the behavior you observed when first shifting into gear.