A friend came by with his BMW 530 so I took the opportunity to take some side by side shots of his car and mine. These were taken at night and without a tri pod so the quality is not that great. Nevertheless, it'll give some good comparison on how both cars compare in the 'looks' department. I must also state that the BMW had the better lighting due to its position...














I still think the E wins in the looks department.

Having had a chance to drive the 530, I must admit it is a fun car to drive. Very smooth, very responsive and the Active Steering is a fantastic feature. It also felt like the 530 had more cabin room in comparison to the E320....strange...

 

WOW looks good man!! nice car both of them1!

 

From an Aesthetic point the E puts the 5 to shame.

 

Pics look great, thanks. I would take the "E" over the 5 series without a second thought.

 

Dunno, both cars look OK (at least from those angles). You wouldn't happen to have any pics of the interiors, would you? That'd be the decision-maker for me.

 

The 5 in black looks nice. But the E would win the interior comparision by a mile.. the 5's interior looks so cheap especially the wood trim.

 

The 5 looks like an overgrown mutant crossbreed of a cracked out hawk and a rodent..

no contest.

 

E-class I drool. 5 series I laugh.

 

I didn't bother taking the interior pics cuz the 5 interior is not very nice at all. It's very sparse, very cheap looking....very low end Japanese type of interior. The feel of the 5 leather is nice though.

Here are some pic's I took at the launch of the 5 in Adelaide. It doesn't show that much, but there's not much to show in the first place ...heh..:





Some Negatives (interior):
I spoke to a 7 series owner who thought the I-Drive of the 5 is a big improvement over the 7 but still not good enough.

The cup holders of the 5 are just horrid. Good location but just plain ole horrid looking holder and it is not hidden away enough. The E cup holder is just cool!

The door handles of the 5 looks really cheap.

The rear lighting controls of the 5 (in the roof of the cabin) looks cheap.

The rear center arm rest is one big ugly looking beast with cup holder cavities that cannot be hidden.

Some Positives (interior):
The leather feels nicer than the E. But I'm not sure if the 5 had the better quality leather like the E's Nappa.

The back feels slightly roomier.

Rear passengers can easily put their feet beneath the front seat.

More head room for rear passengers.

The 5 drives really really well. The exterior will grow on you, or so I've been told. I was driving in another city last week and was just looking a this car through the show room window, I could not see the center portion of the car as it was blocked by a pillar. I thought is that a new Honda? Then as my car moved foward I saw the BMW grill and noticed it was a BMW dealership. That was an honest account. It also reaffirmed my unbias thoughts that I did not like the new 5 shape.

It's a shame they stuffed up the interior and exterior of the 5. It drives really really well. The active steering is just superb. I also feel the braking and acceleration is smoother than the E.

 

I still think I made the right call for me in getting the E500 instead of the new 5.

 

 

I'd recommend to check interior of 5 in person. It looks really good, so I think about replacing E by 5.

 

I had a new 5 on order until I saw it in person and eventually cancelled it in favor of an E320 CDI. The interior is just plain nasty in the 5. Not worth the money at any stretch of the imagination.

 

from some perspectives the BMW 5 looks quiet nice, i.e. the front. but from other angles the 5 looks very bad, in my opinion.

here is one photo to show what i mean. follow the lines und curves of the 5 with your eyes! it´s not a beauty, not very sporty or elegant.... may the small wheels will make this worse, but the whole shape of this car don´t attract me.

 

Felix, maybe I have to apologize for not having an artistic eye because the car looks really ugly to me at that angle. It's almost tolerable until I look at the back area...

 

Almost ordered a 545i with SMG instead. Test drove a couple 530i. Front end isn't bad but the back is something to get use too. As my friend's puts it, the back end looks too much like a Nissan. I'm sure in the twisties the BMW will shine but in a straight line and with the E500 getting the 7G, it should be close. The 5s interior is sparse and somewhat cheap (IMO). The IDrive and soon to be color HUD is nice but you just gotta love where they put the cupholders.

 

the more we look at the new 5 series.. i admit it that the looks is not that bad...

 

The exterior looks may grow on you...but it'll take a while. However, as many have already stated the interior is just horrid. I can't imagine ever liking the interior