BMW 5 Series #4
BMW 5 Series #4
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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BMW 5 Series #5
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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BMW 5 Series #6
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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BMW 5 Series #7
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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BMW 5 Series #8
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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At first glance all the trademarks are there - the bone line running down the length of the car, the concave surfaces, the complex light structures, All the hallmarks of modern BMW design, make of them what you will.
This is undoubtedly an improvement on the E60, simply because it's been toned down, more considered, less confronting. the interior, especially, is a beautiful touch of modern luxury.
But for the most part these things are inconsequential, because there are two huge problems for this car.
1) save for scale and detail, it is amazingly close to the 7-series in overall appearance. hell, the proportions are incredibly close...
2) BMW design seems to have lost their nerve. they've come over all conventional, normal, even boring. After looking away from my monitor I couldn't tell you a specific detail about the exterior, other than the design set that all BMW models have. I guess this is almost a Return to form for them, as this is bound to be a big seller because it deftly mixes the odd avant garde design of the E60 with the smooth flowing and universally appreciated E39. I suppose I'm just looking for it to have some sort of character of it's own.
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BMW 5 Series #9
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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BMW 5 Series #10
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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The BMW 5 Series is like the Volkswagen Golf, it's the safe choice for those who don't want think too hard about it. You won't go wrong with either of them, but they are usually not exactly exciting or characterful.
Having said that I mainly agree with your analysis. However while it definitely is an improvement over the old E60, hardly and accomplishment though, I can't quite see this new F10 being a future classic in the way an E39, or especially an E34, will be or are.
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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The E34 was contemporary for it's time, somewhat avant garde? perhaps not, but it was certainly not behind the times.
The E39 was a very well proportioned, simple design that was eye catching in the way a good suit is - familiar silhouette, but great details.
The E60 was flashy and overwrought. simple.
What I mean by Character is that the E34 has it's own character that is linked but seperate from the E39 and E60. By mashing two types of car together (The flashy E60 and the considered E39) the F10 risks losing it's chance to influence the 5 Series legacy.
It's essentially Golf IV.
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I'm disappointed that the two North American engines offered at launch are both turbocharged.
But then I guess that soon enough everything is gonna be turbocharged, so I guess BMW is ahead of the trend.
I'd say that ever since the E12 was launched back in the 70's, 5 series BMWs have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary. For instance the second generation E28 can be seen clearly as a modernised E12, and hardly brings anything new to the table for 5 Series design.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing I'd say. 5 Series were always understated, elegant and quite handsome sports saloons. They weren't meant to be over the top, overtly shouty or avant garde. That's something that brands like Citroen or Lancia do much better.
In my opinion, the E60 is the odd one out, not this new F10.
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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Far more disappointing is that now the normally aspirated 3 litre engine produces 258bhp instead of the previous 272bhp. That's also been the case in the new Z4 and X1. Why? To further differenciate is from the 535i? Then take it further up the power scale, but don't down grade the normally aspirated six. In fact it isn't called 530i anymore, but 528i.
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
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I'm with the Oz-lander.
It doesn't look bad at all, even if I'd have tried to design a thinner C-pillar, but then it would have been just a modern E39 (and what's wrong with that? we already have too many retro/evocative designs).
I don't like the recent trend in the interior though, since the 6 Series I started disliking the central console and it's minuscule black buttons, as if the i-Drive was going to make such a difference even aesthetically.
This, and the safe choice for this segment is the Audi A6, that's officially the car for slightly rich old men who don't car about cars but won't to look good in one. The 5er is a more of a choice, as an E-Klasse.
All in all, it's good looking, but also "meh", but I'm definitely relieved it doesn't look like the 5er GT.
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