[Jason]

Here's autoweek.nl's review of the F10 523i (first I've seen). For those of you who don't understand Dutch, there's nevertheless some nice video footage to ogle.

http://www.autoweek.nl/video/1816/Ri...essie-BMW-523i

[Erasmus]

NEWS: this is great. The car tested here is a car with standard suspension. No adds what-so-ever. The reporter claims that you can only tell how good a car has become when you've tested the standard version. The results:
@2:03: "... the five series is very (!) good". So, also with standard suspension.
@2:06: "... the greatest leap forward is the comfort factor. It approaches the MB E-class, but without losing the special BMW dynamics"
@2:17: "... steering is very direct, which you can't say of the MB E-class, and not at all of the Audi A6 ..."
@4:54: Green bullets 1st: Comfortable yet still dynamic, 2nd green bullet: flexible engine / mechanics. Red bullets: 1st: Expensive options and 2nd: Seats at the back less spacy than the MB E-class (*)

(*) at 4:04 he says: "not as spacious as the MB E-class, but then again, those cars are used as taxi's". Sarcasm towards MB : )

Man, I absolutely love that sound of the straight six-in-line petrol. Three weeks, can't wait ...

[PoleApart]

Originally Posted by Erasmus

NEWS: this is great. The car tested here is a car with standard suspension. No adds what-so-ever. The reporter claims that you can only tell how good a car has become when you've tested the standard version. The results:
@2:03: "... the five series is very (!) good". So, also with standard suspension.
@2:06: "... the greatest leap forward is the comfort factor. It approaches the MB E-class, but without losing the special BMW dynamics"
@2:17: "... steering is very direct, which you can't say of the MB E-class, and not at all of the Audi A6 ..."

Man, I absolutely love that sound of the straight six-in-line petrol. Three weeks, can't wait ...

Mine is May 10-14 production so delivery end of May. Can't wait too and very curious on how I will like the engine. I'm moving from a torquemeister rattly E60 530d to a revhappy 523i but I did spec the variable dampers. Please post on how you like the 528i, I'm really curious.

[carl_d]

Originally Posted by Erasmus

NEWS: this is great. The car tested here is a car with standard suspension. No adds what-so-ever. The reporter claims that you can only tell how good a car has become when you've tested the standard version. The results:
@2:03: "... the five series is very (!) good". So, also with standard suspension.
@2:06: "... the greatest leap forward is the comfort factor. It approaches the MB E-class, but without losing the special BMW dynamics"
@2:17: "... steering is very direct, which you can't say of the MB E-class, and not at all of the Audi A6 ..."

Man, I absolutely love that sound of the straight six-in-line petrol. Three weeks, can't wait ...

Does he say what size tyres on this test car and if RFTs?

Also love that engine sound!

[Erasmus]

@PoleApart: will do. You will love the sound of the engine. Way better than the diesel versions. You probably will miss the torque kick, but listening to the engine revs makes all good ...

[Erasmus]

Originally Posted by carl_d

Does he say what size tyres on this test car and if RFTs?

Also love that engine sound!

Those wheels are the 328 wheels, 18-inch 245/45 R 18 Run Flat.

[bm323]

Originally Posted by Erasmus

NEWS: this is great. The car tested here is a car with standard suspension. No adds what-so-ever. The reporter claims that you can only tell how good a car has become when you've tested the standard version. The results:
@2:03: "... the five series is very (!) good". So, also with standard suspension.
@2:06: "... the greatest leap forward is the comfort factor. It approaches the MB E-class, but without losing the special BMW dynamics"
@2:17: "... steering is very direct, which you can't say of the MB E-class, and not at all of the Audi A6 ..."
@4:54: Green bullets 1st: Comfortable yet still dynamic, 2nd green bullet: flexible engine / mechanics. Red bullets: 1st: Expensive options and 2nd: Seats at the back less spacy than the MB E-class (*)

(*) at 4:04 he says: "not as spacious as the MB E-class, but then again, those cars are used as taxi's". Sarcasm towards MB : )

Man, I absolutely love that sound of the straight six-in-line petrol. Three weeks, can't wait ...

Did he comment on the standard suspension compared with one with dynamic drive, adaptive drive and/or dynamic damping?

[Robin_NL]

Nice. And thanx for 'translating' Erasmus.

@carl d:Those are the 328 18"alloys I guess.(He did mention those are the 18"alloys on that particular car)

OK with M Technik suspension and the 331s I'll get a bit harsher ride, but also a bit sportier.

@bm323: The guy says the STANDARD suspension (on this 523i) is great, even without all the electronic gadgets.(He drove a 530d/535i back in Portugal with all that stuff) And on 18"RFT's. A big compliment.

Says enough.

Cheers
Robin

[bimmernic]

Originally Posted by Erasmus

NEWS: this is great. The car tested here is a car with standard suspension. No adds what-so-ever. The reporter claims that you can only tell how good a car has become when you've tested the standard version. The results:
@2:03: "... the five series is very (!) good". So, also with standard suspension.
@2:06: "... the greatest leap forward is the comfort factor. It approaches the MB E-class, but without losing the special BMW dynamics"
@2:17: "... steering is very direct, which you can't say of the MB E-class, and not at all of the Audi A6 ..."
@4:54: Green bullets 1st: Comfortable yet still dynamic, 2nd green bullet: flexible engine / mechanics. Red bullets: 1st: Expensive options and 2nd: Seats at the back less spacy than the MB E-class (*)

(*) at 4:04 he says: "not as spacious as the MB E-class, but then again, those cars are used as taxi's". Sarcasm towards MB : )

Man, I absolutely love that sound of the straight six-in-line petrol. Three weeks, can't wait ...

Erasmus, thanks for the translation. The comment @2:06 is fantastic. Makes me wonder why the Autocar test concluded that the ride was harsh.

Was there any mention of (a) the steering feel or (b) any increased body roll when cornering compared to the outgoing model (E60)?

[bimmernic]

Originally Posted by Robin Hood

@bm323: The guy says the STANDARD suspension (on this 523i) is great, even without all the electronic gadgets.(He drove a 530d/535i back in Portugal with all that stuff) And on 18"RFT's. A big compliment.

Yes, given that the tester had tried both the standard and adaptive suspension, that would be instructive. What a relieve.

[Erasmus]

Originally Posted by nfnc

Yes, given that the tester had tried both the standard and adaptive suspension, that would be instructive. What a relieve.

@nfnc: yes he did mention the steering and feel of it. He says that the steering feels direct en intuitive, way better than Audi A6 or MB E-class. Funny, if you think of it. The steering mechanisme is fully electronic. So that was certaintly no negative point. In contrary, the steering was top.

There was no specific information about roll behaviour. But if there was too much roll etc, he would certaintly have mentioned it.

[bimmernic]

Is the video available on any other site? It keeps cutting out past the 2+ minutes mark, whether using MS or Mac. Thanks.

[HighlandPete]

From my test drive in a standard 530d on 18" wheels, the steering is flawed, IMO, depending on road surfaces, gets a vague and numb feel. I find it is too light, a trait of basic electric assistance. On poor roads the ride is flawed and the front wheels fight for line. This disturbs the car, loses its composure, no way is this an ideal set of BMW dynamics. I like predictability and fluidity, the standard car lacks both, unless on really good roads. Strange vibration comes back to the steering wheel, on some surfaces, not good news.

HighlandPete

[Erasmus]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

From my test drive in a standard 530d on 18" wheels, the steering is flawed, IMO, depending on road surfaces, gets a vague and numb feel. I find it is too light, a trait of basic electric assistance. On poor roads the ride is flawed and the front wheels fight for line. This disturbs the car, loses its composure, no way is this an ideal set of BMW dynamics. I like predictability and fluidity, the standard car lacks both, unless on really good roads. Strange vibration comes back to the steering wheel, on some surfaces, not good news.

HighlandPete

mmm .... bad news. score 1-1. Then again, Autoweek is a very serious platform and the road on which they drove was far from perfect. I'm betting on Autoweek. They know what they are talking about, and test drive a lot of cars. Not saying of course, that I don't appreciate you're feedback, believe me I do, but I'll have to experience it myself. We all have different preferences, so ... let's wait and see. I expect it to be better than the current E60/E61 on run flat tyres. If not, I will skip the bloody RFT ... and replace them with 18-inch Michelin, as I have done on my current E61 ....

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Erasmus

mmm .... bad news. score 1-1. Then again, Autoweek is a very serious platform and the road on which they drove was far from perfect. I'm betting on Autoweek. They know what they are talking about, and test drive a lot of cars. Not saying of course, that I don't appreciate you're feedback, believe me I do, but I'll have to experience it myself. We all have different preferences, so ... let's wait and see. I expect it to be better than the current E60/E61 on run flat tyres. If not, I will skip the bloody RFT ... and replace them with 18-inch Michelin, as I have done on my current E61 ....

Don't get me wrong, it is a very good car. I'm talking from Scottish Highland road experience and I must say I was surprised that it showed up flawed. I'm hoping to buy one, but know it will require the Adaptive Drive package, to get the ride to be more consistent. I'm still not sure the run-flats are good enough to hide the inherent negatives from the steering feel and feedback, or from disturbing the composure. Unless we use some electronic trickery.

Driving the 'standard' 530d back to back with a 535i, which had different wheels and the sport box, hence adjustable steering response, etc., which was a much better drive, was clear these cars will be very much spec' sensitive. (What's new?) Since the test drives, I've looked up the UK car mag' test reports and most comment on a less than perfect drive in the standard offering. We are getting "the Jaguar XF is a more fluid drive", which I'm afraid I must agree with, against the standard off the shelf BMW. The XF does work well on UK roads.

HighlandPete

[Erasmus]

I reallly can't take the Autocar test serious. First they say:

It’s important to note that when we make comparisons between the 5-series and its competitors in terms of ride and handling, we are talking about differences you could only measure in nths of degrees, when tested back to back on the same stretch of demanding road or ride-and-handling test track.

Note, too, that the new 5-series is, in general, an excellent car to drive; it is quiet, it is comfortable, it soothes miles away with the same crushing ease with which it approaches going around corners. We would very happily recommend a 5-series to anyone who wants one to drive 50,000 miles a year and occasionally enjoy themselves while they are doing it.

And then they say:

However, to maximise its potential it’s important to optimise the specification, of which the choices are many. And even then, to note that in some areas the 5-series is a touch weaker than its best rivals.

So, it's all in the margin imo. Given the positive test of Autoweek, I'll take the bet.
Furthermore, even with the boxes checked Autocar thinks that the F10 is (a touch) weaker than its competition. B*llshit (sorry for the word), they stand alone in this conclusion. The majority of the press thinks this car belongs to the best of the best (with the boxes ticked), and Autoweek have tested both cars (standard and the fully equipped one).

However, I believe that when you take the effective mix of electronic adds, the BMW
F10 gets even better ... If it's worth the money? That's of course remains a personal decision.

PS Scotland: beautiful country !! With stunning roads !

Cheers Erasmus

[Robin_NL]

And that's why I just went for the M Technik suspension. A bit lowered and a bit more firm. No electronic tricks here. Just M Technik.
My current M3 is already a firm ride equipped with the EDC, which I NEVER use at all....

Just personal preferences.

Cheers
Robin

[Erasmus]

Originally Posted by Robin Hood

And that's why I just went for the M Technik suspension. A bit lowered and a bit more firm. No electronic tricks here. Just M Technik.
My current M3 is already a firm ride equipped with the EDC, which I NEVER use at all....

Just personal preferences.

Cheers
Robin

You're absolutely right. All these discussions are not worthwile. It's al abot personal preferences. A guy commented on the Autocar review (about 68 comments), he drove the 530d standard without elec. adds, and 18 inch RFT, and said that it drove like a dream (check the Autocar test, and then the reviews). Autoweek.nl drove the standard susp. car with 18RFT, and said that the biggest improvement (!) was the comfort factor, and the way it steered + feeling (qoute: outstanding, way better than Audi A6 and MB). Therefore, with you're choice (M-sport, 19RFT) it will be like the current E60 (I think), maybe a bit more comfortable. And there's nothing wrong with that I think.

With the standard suspension and the 18 RFT it will drive like a dream, I'm sure of that. Better than the E60 on 18RFT. Even Autocar itself says on the standard car that it is a good car (see my post above). But with all these extra's it can be made even better (if comfort is what you want, but then again you should better buy a Citroen C6 .... ).

[HighlandPete]

I will come back to this later, as I really do think it is worthwhile discussing. I Never bought an E60/1 due to BMW not getting the drive sorted on the original models, only the LCI M-sport model really got the best out of that chassis.

It is not just AutoCar who find the basic cars need some additions, UK's What Car?, also take issue with the basic car.

What Car? says (4 out of 5 stars, Total Rating)
A classy, spacious and refined executive saloon with low running costs and excellent engines. It's just a pity the standard car isn't better to drive.

Ride & Handling (3 out of 5 stars) With the active ride and integral active steering options, the Five drives beautifully and is everything any BMW buyer could ask for. The trouble is they're expensive options and not available on every model. Without them, it's less than satisfying to drive or ride in.

This is the common sort of comment coming through in the UK.

HighlandPete