I had an opportunity to buy the cleanest BMW you could find from my friend Ray's company, so I went for it. It's a 2012 535i Xdrive with the "M-Package".
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| The new car! |
Those who know me know that this is not the type of car that I usually go for. It's big, it's heavy and it's automatic. What can I say about the car after a couple of weeks of driving?
1) Highway driving
It is a dream on the highway... it is whisper quiet when compared to any other car I have ever owned. This generation of 5-series shares a platform with the Rolls Royce Ghost, and it shows. The seats are really nice and are ridiculously adjustable. The car eats up the miles.
2) The size
As for the size... you really feel the size. The car is loooong, and it's also wide. It is a challenge to fit in the garage, and even though it is not that low, it scrapes hard on the garage entrance. Annoying. It is not confidence inspiring when I have to parallel park, but at least there are sensors and a rear-facing camera to help out. I hope I will get used to the size soon.
3) The automatic
The car has a wonderful 8-speed automatic which helps it get much better fuel economy than the Saab or M3, but it makes the car more boring to drive... a lot more boring. I find that shifting into Sport Plus mode makes the throttle response more exciting, but that's about all you can do. I have tried shifting my own gears with the little paddles, but it adds nothing in the city. Maybe it would be more fun on a mountain road or a track, but otherwise, the car will stay in full automatic mode.
4) The performance
The automatic tranny does not hinder the car's performance... in fact it helps it. There are "only" 300 hp, but it's enough with this transmission. The car accelerates to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds... and this is the second lowest engine on the totem pole, out of 4.
5) The overall driving experience
It's hard for me to figure out so far if I accidentally bought an old man's car. The car looks sharp and sporty, thanks to the M-Sport package, but it's a large, heavy automatic luxury car. I think the rest of the family is enjoying the ridiculous amount of luxury, and I am old enough that I appreciate the luxury too. Should I have bought a 3-series with a manual transmission? Because of resale values, I would have had to pay 5 000 $ more for that, so I don't really regret buying this car instead. The fact is that, even though the car is not that engaging to drive, it is a pleasant experience, mainly due to the extreme (by my ustandards) level of luxury, comfort and features the car offers. Time will tell if this is the right car for me.
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| The car got a new water pump just after we bought it |
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| I have to admit, it is a good-looking BMW |
