rollo
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Background and full disclosure; 51 years young, family of 5, my last five cars have been BMW's for daily drivers, two 3's and three 5's, my favorite being an Alpine White E39 with a manual tranny (loved that car). Last two 5's were E60's 545 with SMG (hated it) and my current 535xi.
I have been whining here for the last few years about Bangle, the looks of my E60, BMW adopting rock hard RFT's, the "JOY" marketing campaign, model proliferation and what seemed like a slow and painful retreat by BMW away from their classic and enviable "DNA".
So my lease is running out this November and I always order cars built to my liking, nothing off the lot for this old-timer. So I went out with a new attitude, blank piece of paper, best car for me this time please, regardless of brand.
Mercedes Benz:
I actually like the styling of the new E class, looks much better than its predecessor to me and it received fairly high marks from the critics. So I gave the E550 with sport package a go. Rock solid feeling, not a big fan of the interior IRL. The steering (too loose) and the suspension (too compliant in comfort and too jittery in sport mode) were deal breakers however. Bottom line, I would have kept my current E60 535xi over this car.
Next up, the beautiful new CLS550. I also think that this car is more attractive and masculine then its predecessor. Very nice IRL, a little larger than I thought it would be also, especially in width. Inside the car, outstanding fit and finish, very impressive. Rear seat ingress is a problem, duck down quite a bit or be prepared for a good jolt to your nugget! On the road, much better steering than the E but it still felt a tad synthetic to me and a little on the light side, still very good though. Suspension was quite good and boy does this car move. Quite easy to upset the rear end, even under moderate acceleration. I assumed that the addition of 4matic would calm down the tail. I liked this car, major concern for me was the rear seats and it is a little pricey.
Audi:
A6: I had high expectations for this car after reading some reviews and seeing it in action in a few videos, but I passed on driving it because I couldn't warm up to the looks and thought it was too small for my needs.
A7: Better looking then the A6 in my view and generally good-looking IRL. A little cramped height-wise but easier access to the rear seats than the CLS. Interior to me was good but not near CLS quality. After spending a few minutes walking around the car, I decided it wasn't for me. Just too something, maybe its my age or preferences in general, but I couldn't see myself driving this car.
Before we left (had the Mrs. with me) I walked by a Phantom Black short A8 with a nougat brown interior and thought, well I am here. So I climbed in.....terrific interior, fit and finish that is simply beautiful. I was blown away, and still plenty of rear seat room for a non-L version. Outside, looks better to me IRL than in photo's, dark color for this car is a must to calm down that oversized grille. But to me, the appearance works, even a tad "stately" in a contemporary Bentley kind of way. So lets get the keys and take this thing for a spin! Light steering but weights up appropriately, not blistering but quick, sport mode helps, suspension very impressive albeit tuned to the compliant side. The car feels like it drives smaller than it is, don't quite know how else to phrase that. Maybe it's the weight which is pretty modest for such a large vehicle. I really liked this car, asked the General Manager to start working the numbers in fact and went straight to the Audi website to confiure one. Settled on a Sport Oolong Gray over black interior, Assam wood trim and a black headliner as a finishing touch. I was smitten. More money than I wanted to spend but this isn't a dress rehearsal you know, can't take it with you, never seen a coffin with pockets and all that sort of stuff.
BMW:
The car was in for service today, electric window anti-trap fault. So I scheduled a few test drives while I waited although I was already convinced that the A8 would be my next drive. I had previously driven the 7 series and didn't like it compared with the A8 short. Also more expensive, in the states at least. But I couldn't completely pass up sampling the new "joy" thing, that wouldn't be fair, so........
535xi: Much better looking on the outside than the E60, reminds me of the E39 a bit. I really think this design will withstand the test of time. Inside also much better, higher marks here than anything in its class although not as nice as the CLS or the A8. So how does it drive, in a word fine. This car was not equipped with the sport or active handling packages but it strikes a nice balance I guess, more compliant than my E60 I would say. I was worried about the steering, but given this is the trend and considering my other test drives, I thought it was good. Certainly not worse than the other cars I had driven and probably a little heavier at speed which I like. I didn't notice a big difference with the 8 speed tranny over my current cars 6 speed (I believe). Bottom line, I liked it but I wasn't blown away. Still preferred the A8 but I started thinking about the $ delta.
550xi: Equipped with Sport Package (not the m-sport which is too showy for this guys taste), active handling, comfort seats etc. Black Saphire over Oyster and Black leather, very nice combo BTW. So how did this thing drive? Holy crap. This car is seriously quick, stable, solid and most importantly fun. The TTV8 totally changes the character (including engne note) of this car and the Sport and Active systems do a great job keeping this rather heavy car in check. It has BMW "DNA", but it's smoother and feels more "refined" then the cars of old to me. Frankly, I was blown away and it's about $15K to $20K less than the A8 to boot.
Kudos for the new CLS and even more so to the A8 surprisingly, but in the end, come next month, its back to the future for this gentleman when I order my next car. After all my complaining and whining, I will gladly return to what I know and love, a contemporary looking E39, that is familiar, has a great engine tone, is very fast and most importantly, fun. I am smiling ear to ear but I wouldn't call it "joy".
The F10 V8, my next car.
I have been whining here for the last few years about Bangle, the looks of my E60, BMW adopting rock hard RFT's, the "JOY" marketing campaign, model proliferation and what seemed like a slow and painful retreat by BMW away from their classic and enviable "DNA".
So my lease is running out this November and I always order cars built to my liking, nothing off the lot for this old-timer. So I went out with a new attitude, blank piece of paper, best car for me this time please, regardless of brand.
Mercedes Benz:
I actually like the styling of the new E class, looks much better than its predecessor to me and it received fairly high marks from the critics. So I gave the E550 with sport package a go. Rock solid feeling, not a big fan of the interior IRL. The steering (too loose) and the suspension (too compliant in comfort and too jittery in sport mode) were deal breakers however. Bottom line, I would have kept my current E60 535xi over this car.
Next up, the beautiful new CLS550. I also think that this car is more attractive and masculine then its predecessor. Very nice IRL, a little larger than I thought it would be also, especially in width. Inside the car, outstanding fit and finish, very impressive. Rear seat ingress is a problem, duck down quite a bit or be prepared for a good jolt to your nugget! On the road, much better steering than the E but it still felt a tad synthetic to me and a little on the light side, still very good though. Suspension was quite good and boy does this car move. Quite easy to upset the rear end, even under moderate acceleration. I assumed that the addition of 4matic would calm down the tail. I liked this car, major concern for me was the rear seats and it is a little pricey.
Audi:
A6: I had high expectations for this car after reading some reviews and seeing it in action in a few videos, but I passed on driving it because I couldn't warm up to the looks and thought it was too small for my needs.
A7: Better looking then the A6 in my view and generally good-looking IRL. A little cramped height-wise but easier access to the rear seats than the CLS. Interior to me was good but not near CLS quality. After spending a few minutes walking around the car, I decided it wasn't for me. Just too something, maybe its my age or preferences in general, but I couldn't see myself driving this car.
Before we left (had the Mrs. with me) I walked by a Phantom Black short A8 with a nougat brown interior and thought, well I am here. So I climbed in.....terrific interior, fit and finish that is simply beautiful. I was blown away, and still plenty of rear seat room for a non-L version. Outside, looks better to me IRL than in photo's, dark color for this car is a must to calm down that oversized grille. But to me, the appearance works, even a tad "stately" in a contemporary Bentley kind of way. So lets get the keys and take this thing for a spin! Light steering but weights up appropriately, not blistering but quick, sport mode helps, suspension very impressive albeit tuned to the compliant side. The car feels like it drives smaller than it is, don't quite know how else to phrase that. Maybe it's the weight which is pretty modest for such a large vehicle. I really liked this car, asked the General Manager to start working the numbers in fact and went straight to the Audi website to confiure one. Settled on a Sport Oolong Gray over black interior, Assam wood trim and a black headliner as a finishing touch. I was smitten. More money than I wanted to spend but this isn't a dress rehearsal you know, can't take it with you, never seen a coffin with pockets and all that sort of stuff.
BMW:
The car was in for service today, electric window anti-trap fault. So I scheduled a few test drives while I waited although I was already convinced that the A8 would be my next drive. I had previously driven the 7 series and didn't like it compared with the A8 short. Also more expensive, in the states at least. But I couldn't completely pass up sampling the new "joy" thing, that wouldn't be fair, so........
535xi: Much better looking on the outside than the E60, reminds me of the E39 a bit. I really think this design will withstand the test of time. Inside also much better, higher marks here than anything in its class although not as nice as the CLS or the A8. So how does it drive, in a word fine. This car was not equipped with the sport or active handling packages but it strikes a nice balance I guess, more compliant than my E60 I would say. I was worried about the steering, but given this is the trend and considering my other test drives, I thought it was good. Certainly not worse than the other cars I had driven and probably a little heavier at speed which I like. I didn't notice a big difference with the 8 speed tranny over my current cars 6 speed (I believe). Bottom line, I liked it but I wasn't blown away. Still preferred the A8 but I started thinking about the $ delta.
550xi: Equipped with Sport Package (not the m-sport which is too showy for this guys taste), active handling, comfort seats etc. Black Saphire over Oyster and Black leather, very nice combo BTW. So how did this thing drive? Holy crap. This car is seriously quick, stable, solid and most importantly fun. The TTV8 totally changes the character (including engne note) of this car and the Sport and Active systems do a great job keeping this rather heavy car in check. It has BMW "DNA", but it's smoother and feels more "refined" then the cars of old to me. Frankly, I was blown away and it's about $15K to $20K less than the A8 to boot.
Kudos for the new CLS and even more so to the A8 surprisingly, but in the end, come next month, its back to the future for this gentleman when I order my next car. After all my complaining and whining, I will gladly return to what I know and love, a contemporary looking E39, that is familiar, has a great engine tone, is very fast and most importantly, fun. I am smiling ear to ear but I wouldn't call it "joy".
The F10 V8, my next car.
