Visited the Dealership today to decide whether to trade in the 535i for the new 5 series. I was not expecting to have an opportunity to drive one so early especially end of January here in Southern California. As a heads up in advance the dealer I went to requests a 5K premium over sticker. In any event, here is my brief impression of the 540i M sport that I got a chance to drive:
Exterior:
It looks almost exactly like the new 7 series. When we went to the lot to see the new 5 series the salesperson and myself kept confusing the two when we were walking to it. The front of the car looks great but the hood definitely looks more elegant now. Reminded me of the E39 hood... Overall, looks great but it has strong similarities to the outgoing F10 and a few cues from the new 7 series.
INTERIOR:
Now this was a total change compared to the F10. Interior was much more driver oriented and I felt that the road was much more visible.
Seats & Dakota Leather:
The seats were comfortable and hug you much more than the F10. The dashboard leather looks kind of cheap to be honest. Seats still have same amount of adjustments as the outgoing F10.
Buttons and whatnot
Oddly there is no plastic covering of the spedometer so you can touch the plastic gauge part and LCD screen. Not sure if it will be the same for the all digital cluster. The head up display is bigger and I personally prefer the old style because it was much smaller. The speed shown now has a box frame around it. I would assume it looks much better at night because I drove it during the day. However, I prefer the white lettering font for the speed currently in the F10. It just felt distracting with the new heads up display.
iDrive & Screen
The new iDrive and touch screen is definitely much better and faster. I think it will take some getting used to but I foresee never using the physical toggle and buttons near the gear shifter again. Gesture control was just a gimmick and I would probably never use it. Changing the volume was useless because it lagged and it would transition too fast. I can see using it for taking a call or rejecting one but I would probably just press the button on the steering wheel. Wireless charging did not work with my iPhone 6s Plus too when we were testing it...
Drive & Experience
The power of the 540i is much more present than my 535i with M Performance kit. The sound of the engine is non-existent in the 540i but when you step on it you can really feel the car pull especially in sport mode. Steering is much more precise and smooth. The car also did not feel heavy as it felt with my 535i without the performance upgrades. This car is way more forgiving on bumps and road imperfections compared to the F10 M Sport suspension. When I hit a bump in the F10 it is very cringe worthy but with the new one it felt smoother.
OVERALL:
I don't feel that the new 5 series is a major upgrade compared to the outgoing F10. The one thing I wish my F10 had was the touch screen Navigation, LED color change for the interior & the much more precise steering. Will I be trading the F10? Yes, but most likely for the M550i or M5. =)
PICTURES:
Forgot to mention: Picture of interior was a 530i I also looked at. Sorry for no photo of the 540i interior but it was practically identical.
