New 5 series revealed

[Shug]

Oh well, predicably I am in the minority on this one Tricky one for BMW. They alienated a large proportion of their traditional customers with all the whacky Bangle designed cars, now they produce something a bit more conservative and they get panned for blandness. Still, looks nicely proportioned and much better than an E class, Jag XF, Audi A6 etc to my eyes. I'll have one fettled by Alpina for Xmas please, preferably a touring

Mark

Can't agree on the proportions at all mate. What BM used to do really well was stance - even a small-wheeled base model looked good. Look at the area around the rear wheel and tell me it doesn't look horribly messy and sitting up a mile. Stodgy.

Bland, I could live with if it sat properly, this doesn't

[graeme]

In my eyes, the new 5-series is duller than a really dull thing, but the new Z4 is easily in the top 10 best looking cars at any money today.

Go figure...

[ryallm]

Can't agree on the proportions at all mate. What BM used to do really well was stance - even a small-wheeled base model looked good. Look at the area around the rear wheel and tell me it doesn't look horribly messy and sitting up a mile.

Looking hard, and.......... it doesn't look horribly messy and sitting up a mile



I really dislike alot of BMWs recent efforts - X1, 5 series GT hatchback thing, and especially the X6, but nope, I do like this one.

[Shug]

Better in that shot with what one assumes are huge M Sport alloys - agree, looks good in that shot. The first one you posted looks horrible though. And not seen rear-forward (where the fore-shortening effect helps the rear no end) it still looks clumsy at the back.

Still, world would be a boring place if we all agreed

[ryallm]

Still, world would be a boring place if we all agreed

Very true I find my view on looks changes a lot over time too. I thought the 1 series was an absolute munter when it came out, now I quite like its quirkiness, probably influenced by the fact I have driven it and it is a rather good steer. The X6 will never be anything other than an abomination though

[Andy G]

Wheres the M5 ??

[mwmackenzie]

Rear 3/4 view much better but the other pic looks cr*p

[Mike Scib]

probably influenced by the fact I have driven it and it is a rather good steer.

In my opinion that's what i love about BMW's, just a nice place to be and does it all rather well with no fuss

[jamiey]

I quite like it.

As it's handsome

But the XF is beautiful...

Hopefully by the time we replace the 330d 2nd hand XF estates will be around...

If not, it's back to Menzies just before year end, with my wife bargaining as if she were buying a cheap carpet...

[campbell]

911's are dullsville, I don't think I wouldn't do the porsche thing even will a lottery win.

I really hope I can do the 911 thing before I shuffle off, TBH. Ideally a GT3, early vintage is fine if needs be, but a decent 4S would be fun too I think. Still ££££££ though.

More importantly, back on the BMW topic, Lisa really wanted one of these:



...but we had to settle for a Skoda instead. For now

If circumstances permit in 4 or 5 years' time, we will probably have a serious look at an Alpina D3 Touring, and just have to suffer the 100 litre luggage capacity drop

[ryallm]

More importantly, back on the BMW topic, Lisa really wanted one of these:

Cleary a lady of great taste. Ever since I got my 320d I have developed a serious yearning for a D3 Touring. Fantasic blend of looks, performance, comfort and ecomomy. Super rare and exclusive too. Currently there is only one on Autotrader ( a late bi-turbo at over £30k), but if an earlier single turbo model comes up at the right price and mileage I will be sorely tempted.

Mark

[Mike Scib]

Could you buy one over a 330d M-Sport? Not sure if i could but do think they are very cool

[campbell]

The 330d is a thirsty beast by comparison. And not nearly so "exclusive"! Although if finding a D3 touring proved tricky, we'd probably have a looksee just in case.

And as for Lisa's great taste...stands to reason eh, she married me, remember!

[Stevoraith]

Poor spec is the killer for me with the Alpina D3s. They don't even have cimate control as standard and you have to pay a £1500 surcharge to add any options so hardly any of them are anything other than boggo standard.

I would be tempted with a D3 Bi-turbo but the new 330d with 40bhp extra and only a few mpg less, and more importantly a six cylinder growl and the likelihood of having all the toys is the the winner for me.

Back on topic- agree the new fiver looks a bit bland from some angles but it there is something elegant about it. And the pic of the M Sport one looks really nice. I hear what Shug is saying about stance though, newer BMWs seem to need big wheels to look right. Thats ok with me though- just means you have to buy the M Sport one and then you can scoff at all the plebs with their 520ds on tiny wheels

[ryallm]

Poor spec is the killer for me with the Alpina D3s. They don't even have cimate control as standard and you have to pay a £1500 surcharge to add any options so hardly any of them are anything other than boggo standard.

I have looked into the D3 spec in detail and the only thing I would miss over an SE or MSport is cruise control, which apparently can be retro fitted for about £300, My E91 Beemer has climate control and I never use it as it always puts the fan on way too high. I much prefer setting it manually. The real killer with an E9* msport is the terrible ride quality which I just could not live with. By all accounts the D3 manages the remarkable feat of having rubber band profile tyres and a really comfortable ride, no doubt greatly helped by the fact Alpina correctly assess runflat tyres to be a fundamentally crap idea and optimise the suspension around conventional rubber. I came close to selling my E91 SE after the first 6 months because the tramlining and ride quality on the Bridgestone runflats irritated me so much. The ride and steering have been transformed by a switch to Falken 452s, but at the expense of a slight loss of sharpness on turn in to a corner. Alpinas don't suffer such compromises.