jeskeca

I've been stalking my local MB dealer wanting an E550 4matic for a month or so. Here in sunny CA they only rarely get E550 4matics, so you either take the one they have, or you special order. Being ready to order a car has been harder than I thought - paradox of choice. ( Silver with the black/maple interior? steel grey with the almond or ash? White with almond? It's harder to pick than I thought. Not to mention waiting 3+ months to get it. )

In the meantime, friends told me to check out the 2011 5-series (F10). I was able to take it for a spin today, so I figured I'd share my reactions.

* F10 plusses...

Styling - The F10 hood, though a bit dramatic, seems much more interesting than the E60. The car visually appears to be much much wider, when in fact the charts say it's less than an inch wider than either the old model, or the nearly identical width of the E550. The F10 rear end looks better than the E60 (and better than the E550) IMO. They finally captured a bit more of what made the 7series rear-end work. Overall, I'm not immediately drawn to the styling, but I trust BMW's designers. They have a track record of shipping designs that look a bit much at first but then become classic. Overall the W212 has more immediate curb appeal to me, but I do like the F10 styling. I seem to be a minority here in preferring the W212 over the W211 here. I really like this E rear end better, but I guess that was a test car. What is that a picture of?!?!?

Interior - I found the F10 interior console and controls classier looking and easier to immediately use than the W212 (coming from Audi). I think they seriously improved the interior for the F10 vs the E60. For example, the old E60 ventilation controls felt like cheap gauges chiseled in cheap plastic to me, where the new ventilation 'invisible' LED readouts look really classy. Dual fan-speed controls is something my wife and I would love and use every day (me mid-high, her low/off). The E550 dash seems busy in comparison. Some of that is simply a decision to put more buttons on the dash than on the center-island, a decision which probably helps driver safety. However, I felt the F10 console was a notch above the W212. This is even more striking in the nav-system software. The F10 has classy 3d building displays in the city and really attractive menus. The W212 command seems blocky and clunky looking in comparison, with repetitive stamped out square icons to indicate traffic, instead of slick looking lines. They seem more similar in functionality, with a couple other MB dings like the off-button (why?), the odd-placed mute-button, and occasional 'hourglass delay' which I never saw on the BMW.

The F10 model I drove had a color scheme very similar to a steel-grey exterior with a almond/black/walnut interior. The BMW wood was a bit better looking against black than the MB Walnut, which I think looks it's best against brown (almond/mocha).

* F10 minuses...

Rear Seat Room - The F10 felt like a magic case of the disappearing backseats. In a car this big I couldn't figure out where all the rear-seat legroom went. I'm 6'2", and so I like to drive around and make myself comfortable, then hop in behind myself to see if it's possible. The W212 is almost exactly the same length, but has noticeably more rear seat legroom IMO. In fact, there somehow seems to be more rear legroom in the 2010 Audi A4 than the F10. Maybe it's the heft of that crazy F10 multi-contour seat?

Throttle - The 550i turbo engine/trans combo seemed a little twitchy compared to the super-smooth E550. I don't know if I was catching it mid-shift, or what, but I felt had to be careful about getting on-or-off the gas in the F10 to avoid the minor abruptness. However minor this was, the E550 had no such manners. When I stomped them both, they both took off with about the same sense of urgency.

Suspension - As for suspension, the 550i I drove was equipped with BMW's "efficient dynamics" package. On city streets, the 'comfort' setting seemed bouncy and wallowy. When the street got bumpy the car actually seemed to be springing up and down. I'll give them credit for having 3 settings where the difference between the top and bottom is actually noticeable, though the comfort setting didn't seem useful. I put it back to sport for the rest of the ride, and even that was pretty reasonable over city bumps. None of the settings felt like the E550, which at it's softest I feel glides over the bumps with hardly any body movement, with only vibration to communicate them to you, but without the springy wallow of the F10 'comfort' mode. In the end, it seems like the best 'comfort setting' is the E550, where the best sport setting is to drop down a car-size and get the M3.

OceanView

I haven't driven the new 5 Series yet but I'm sure it drives nice.
I personally like the new design over the previous model.
The only thing I don't like is the area under the front bumper. Just looks too plain and boring. Maybe the M5 will be better.

As for the looks of the W212 over the W211, the W212 is miles better.
I've had the W211 and it's just too feminine looking compared to the W212.
It always takes some time for people to warm over to a new model and I suspect that in a few years, most people will prefer the look of the W212.

Hope you get yours soon.

K-A

Thanks for the Review.

Both cars seem to be fighting it out something rough in subjective Reviews. BMW usually will win the objective, performance oriented stuff, which seems to be the case right now.

The F10 is a real winner because it replaces a very upsetting "odd duck" in the 5'er lineage, while the F10 brings back the quality interior feel, and classic/understated exterior vibe of the E39.

Looks wise, it seems many enthusiasts love the F10's simplicity and clean elegance, in comparison with the E's challenging and funky design (kind of the same reason enthusiasts jumped on the Bangle Cars). However, and I can say this from personal experience as well, the E seems to be the "show stopper" to the masses this time around (more current "Curb Appeal" as you say), just like the Bangle Cars were. The exterior roles have basically been reversed.

One thing I can't really understand, is how many people seem to think the E's dash is more cluttered, while the 5's is more clean and simple? I felt it was the other way around? Either way, the F10 has a beautiful interior. Really a toss up/preference thing between the two.

Enjoy, whichever decision you make! You can't really lose with either of these. Like I said when I drove the F10, I can literally flip a coin at a Dealer, not know which car won, sign the papers, click the Key FOB with my eyes closed, open them, and be happy with whichever car goes "Beep".

jeskeca

w212 console - f10 console

For me it's really the big grid of buttons in the middle of the W212 dash. They both have climate controls on the bottom, and they both have a screen on the top. In the middle, however, the F10 has a volume *** and ~10 buttons, wheras the W212 has a volume *** and ~30 buttons that are a mixture of radio, nav screen, and seat controls.

Where did the extra buttons go? The F10 only has call buttons on the steering wheel, not the dash. The F10 has the 5 nav-screen buttons located next to the iDrive wheel instead of on the dash. The F10 has no mute button (you just push the volume ***), and the F10 seating controls are in the climate pack, which ends up looking modestly more complicated on the F10 than the W212.

However, certainly some others agree with you.

Thanks! I dig that philosophy, and I do very much agree with you. Both cars really are fantastic.

I'm finding it hardest to pick colors. Neither of these cars come in my preferred car color (red), nor should they, and therein lies my challenge -- sticking with a color choice for 2-4 days so I feel comfortable waiting 2-3 months for a 4matic to show up after I order it. We should all be blessed to be stuck with such luxury problems!

DerekACS

Maybe you should delay your decision until you have read the August issue of Car & Driver, where the 535i is ranked last in a comparison with the Audi A6 Quattro and the Infiniti M37.

Apparently, the biggest complaint against the 535i is the steering feel or lack thereof. I too found the new 535i electric steering to be rather numb and lifeless. It is nothing like the telepathic steering of a 3 Series or the earlier E39 5 Series (535i).

Other aspects of the new 5er that really bugged me were the small side mirrors, the huge turning circle that restricts its agility, the very restricted rearward vision, the convoluted shifter, the "hidden" from view seat controls (you have to open the door and bend over to see them), the lack of any adjustment for headrest angle and the very confined feel with an all-black interior.

In addition, the car feels like the large machine that it is. However, it rides well over uneven and broken pavement and it is very quiet. The engine sounds are rather muted.

I've been told that the 535i really must have the Dynamic Handling Package in addition to the Sport Package in order to perform like a BMW should.
Throw in the Executive package and the car lists for $74,100 + PDI/Frt. in Canada. This is only $3000 less than an E550 4Matic with Premium
package !!!

The E550 offers not only all wheel drive (standard in Canada), but considerably more HP and torque, panoramic roof, dynamic driver's seat, and airmatic suspension (adjustable for height, up and down). The E 550 V8 is a naturally aspirated, well proven engine with a strong record of dependability. On the other hand, BMW's reputation for Direct Injection I6 engines has taken a real beating over the past four years with its HPFP problems.

Yes, I agree that both cars appear to be "fantastic" choices. However, when considering all of the factors, some of which I have mentioned above, my choice for the "ultimate driving machine" will likely be an E550.

jeskeca

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definetly check out the review.

For the record, if I did get swayed to the BMW darkside, it would be from the E550 4matic to a loaded 550i xdrive (october 2010 availability), not the 535i. Price really isn't a factor, only choice. However, I'm not excited to wait around until October to 'maybe' want one.

In fact, if the dealer had an E550 4matic with P2, fold downs, and parktronic in a color combo I could get behind, he'd have already have sold me one. They've only had one 4matic E550 more than a month ago, it was steel grey on black on black. I wasn't ready for purchase then and I'm not interested in all dark darth vader mobiles. I'd probably own a regular silver E550 if the one he has was ordered with fold-downs. These ala-carte option package dealer orders make it really hard to buy a car on the lot. Score one for the japanese with there "base or everything" style packages.

Don't all these cars have bland steering compared to a 3-series?

From just a few test drives, I felt the E550 and 550i drive experiences are not terribly far off. I've never driven a W211, but from what I've read it seems like MB moved closer to BMW 'tightness' with the W212. From my drive, I think BMW moved closer to MB smoothness with the F10. As in my original post, I think the ride/throttle in the E550 seemed smoother and better than the 550i, since that seems the target of both cars, I think the E550 wins there by a hair.


Interesting. I didn't notice the side mirror size. I prefer the 'hidden' seat controls to the MB door-style. It's not something I use more than once a year, and I find them gawdy sitting there all the time on the door. When I do use them, feel is enough for me. I drove a loaded 550i, so the multicontour seat could bend the entire 1/5th of the top of the seat, which included the headrest. The seat looked cool and beefy, but it was a monster eating up rear seat legroom imo. The interior was beige/tan, which worked well. I could see the full-black interior F10 feeling much more confined than the E550. The F10 console and seats take up so much more space that it certainly felt more cosy or cramped, depending on how you look at it.

In this nitpick category, I'm in disbelief that I can't order power folding mirrors on the US E550, especially when they are available in Europe and Canada!?!? I live in the city and use them frequently enough on my 2005 S4. Someone should kit out the DIY approach.

DerekACS

Too bad you don't live in Canada, where the E350 & E550 come standard with fold-down seats, 4Matic, bi-zenons, heated seats, etc.

jeskeca

Smart up there those Canucks.

petee1997

Be careful what you wish for. The base price in Canada for the E350 is 62,900.00. It is still cheaper to load up the US car with P2 and all the goodies than a comparably equipped Canadian car. It works out the US car is about 6,000.00 less.

DerekACS

Yes, I'm very aware of the price differences between Canada and the US. My point was that here in Canada, the E350/550 come with more goodies as standard (4Matic, bizenons, heated seats, folding seats, etc.) than the comparable model in the US.

Dema

I do not like new iDrive, at least you should get used to it to blindly press buttons, previous iDrive was better I could do everything just manipulating knob. Dialers on steering wheels are misleading, they scroll over something when I expect just volume change. Regarding driving impression, BMW feels a bit stiffer. Acceleration not really overcomes E350. So I guess only 550i gives real boost. At least small improvements BMW has over Mercedes do not cost 10%-15% more as you should pay for them.

DCist

Did you try the vents or the under knee extension on the 550i? The reason I ask is that I am a bit disappointed in both pf these features on my E550. Vents are barely making a difference and the under knee seat extension (inflatable) is a complete joke. Other than those two things I like my seats.

220S

I could never understand why MB doesn't have proper thigh adjustments.

It's what I think is a major issue with the seats. Even my E46 330i (with ZSP) has them.