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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
🤦♂️ So this happened....
- Thread starter Bugger
- Start date
Bugger
///Member
Thanks man! Loving it so far I must admit.
Bugger
///Member
So a three and a half week update on my experience so far. Jekyll and Hyde. Fantastic daily, smooth, quiet, comfortable. The suspension is incredibly compliant and even in Sport + it is not bone jarringly hard. The gearbox in slushy mode is very responsive, in Sport it's as quick if not quicker than a DCT (comparing the power outputs of the F10 or F06 M5 and M6 I had and the DCTs in those cars). The cabin is a better build quality than my G12 7 Series, it feels more well put together. I've done some hard pulls and it just keeps going, the amount of torque it pushes is insane, even comparing to the 800Nm+ that the 760 had. It delivers its power very differently from the 7, which seemed to be geared for a far more gentle ride and less in your face acceleration.
It reminds me a lot of an F10 M5, with a better sound track. It sounds like an old school AMG in Sport mode, and the subtle crackles on the overrun in Sport is aural bliss. For the daily commute in traffic, it's incredibly docile. I live in Northcliff and commute to the middle of Sandton most mornings, so the traffic is horrendous, and the car handles it beautifully. Compared to the X4, it's a far more supple ride, but that X4 is still possibly the best BMW I've ever owned. I do miss the slightly higher driving position, but the visibility out of the 5 is very good, except for the A pillar which does provide a bit of a blindspot from time to time.
Acceleration is insane. I can only imagine what an F90 Comp must feel like. But this is usable power I have found. So you kinda get to use it a bit more without all the drama. And ultimately, sitting in traffic, the extra 70 odd Kw won't get you there any faster. What has impressed me is the agility of the car. For a relatively biggish sedan, it feels smaller than it's size, and it can cut through a gap like a hot knife through butter.
Cold start up. Lovely. Just lovely. It is very quiet in Eco Pro and Comfort, but wild and loud in Sport. I am incredibly impressed with the car overall, and definitely feel like I made a good choice in getting it, for bang for buck performance, I don't think there's anything else outside of M cars that will give you what this car delivers.
But not everything is golden.
Some of the things I am not completely happy with.
Fuel consumption sucks. Yes yes, I know what the response will be, and I agree. I didn't buy it to do sub 10/100, and I knew that up front. Luckily I can claim for my work mileage!
The gear shifter. It really is kak. It's the standard one out of any BMW of that generation, it's big and bulky and looks out of place in the car and detracts from a very well thought out and put together interior.
The sports seats are a little uncomfortable from time to time. I would have preferred the M Sport seats, the comfort ones I had in my 7 are the same as on offer in the 5 and they offer no lateral support. I'm probably nitpicking here but I have the M Sport seats in the X4 and they are just the bestest. I only saw one other M550 on Autotrader with those seats, and its mileage was way too high to be considered.
So overall, I am most impressed with the car's all round ability. It's like the Cheslin Kolbe of cars.
It reminds me a lot of an F10 M5, with a better sound track. It sounds like an old school AMG in Sport mode, and the subtle crackles on the overrun in Sport is aural bliss. For the daily commute in traffic, it's incredibly docile. I live in Northcliff and commute to the middle of Sandton most mornings, so the traffic is horrendous, and the car handles it beautifully. Compared to the X4, it's a far more supple ride, but that X4 is still possibly the best BMW I've ever owned. I do miss the slightly higher driving position, but the visibility out of the 5 is very good, except for the A pillar which does provide a bit of a blindspot from time to time.
Acceleration is insane. I can only imagine what an F90 Comp must feel like. But this is usable power I have found. So you kinda get to use it a bit more without all the drama. And ultimately, sitting in traffic, the extra 70 odd Kw won't get you there any faster. What has impressed me is the agility of the car. For a relatively biggish sedan, it feels smaller than it's size, and it can cut through a gap like a hot knife through butter.
Cold start up. Lovely. Just lovely. It is very quiet in Eco Pro and Comfort, but wild and loud in Sport. I am incredibly impressed with the car overall, and definitely feel like I made a good choice in getting it, for bang for buck performance, I don't think there's anything else outside of M cars that will give you what this car delivers.
But not everything is golden.
Some of the things I am not completely happy with.
Fuel consumption sucks. Yes yes, I know what the response will be, and I agree. I didn't buy it to do sub 10/100, and I knew that up front. Luckily I can claim for my work mileage!
The gear shifter. It really is kak. It's the standard one out of any BMW of that generation, it's big and bulky and looks out of place in the car and detracts from a very well thought out and put together interior.
The sports seats are a little uncomfortable from time to time. I would have preferred the M Sport seats, the comfort ones I had in my 7 are the same as on offer in the 5 and they offer no lateral support. I'm probably nitpicking here but I have the M Sport seats in the X4 and they are just the bestest. I only saw one other M550 on Autotrader with those seats, and its mileage was way too high to be considered.
So overall, I am most impressed with the car's all round ability. It's like the Cheslin Kolbe of cars.
Bugger
///Member
I'm not 100% sure because I haven't reset it since I got it, and when it was set on the "since" value to refuel, it was around 14.5/100 give or take. On the open road it is pretty efficient, doesn't like traffic though. That 14.5 is on par with what I was getting on the M6 and the M5. 760 was nothing less than 16.5.
Damn, that's heavy but thats a V8 for you I guess. I typically hover around 7/8 litres per 100. N55 tuned with hybrid turbo. Xcede did a lovely job with the map. In bumper to bumper traffic the worst I have seen is about 10 litres per 100.
PsyCLown
Well-known member
That seems really good, how much highway driving do you do though? Even 10L/100km around town I feel is on the lower side.
Friends 120i averages 10L/100km but he doesn't do highway really.
That is what I imagined it would average. On the plus side, lighter than your 7 series.
Bugger
///Member
That's a pretty good return! My cars spend 80% of their life sitting in traffic, so I'd expect the consumption to be pretty high. But it is still relatively on par with the S63 engines I've had, so not a complete unknown. I also have a habit of filling up at half tank. I'm not too hung up on it though, not as much as I used to be!
@PsyCLown I don't think a supertanker vessel fully loaded was as bad as that 7 🤦♂️
Unfortunately my side of joburg highway between 6:30am and 9, 4pm to 6:30 is basically bumper to bumper stop and go so I get the same as when I am driving on non-highway roads. Thats when I typically do 9/10 per 100. But the car sits in Eco though. Dont know if that makes a difference.
Non highway driving when I am going to the gym for example and the roads arent as busy (after 7pm) and during weekends (non hooligan weekends) i get the 7L/100Km. When I travel for holidays its also similar but thats long distance highway driving so that would make sense.
Teezoh
Well-known member
I average 15-16 per 100, I don't eco though, maybe I should try it one day. Yours is great.
Bugger
///Member
So an update, if it's worth anything. I have discovered that this car is far closer to an F10 M5 in terms of personality than I thought. It's just not as highly strung. But the general feel (other than the G30 being a much better build quality overall than the F10) is that the spirit of the F10 M5 kinda lives in this car. xDrive is a blessing though when putting twin turbo power down on the road.
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
Curious to know which aspects of the build quality you find to be better than the F10? I still feel like my F10 had higher quality materials in some areas, feel of buttons, trim pieces, carpet etc (F10 M vs F90 M) but of course design in the F90 is much 'fresher' and mechanically it fixes so much. It may just be my nostalgia talking (and my F10 was only a year or two old when I got it so the materials may age poorly 
)
)
Bugger
///Member
Dunno, it just feels better built than the F10, as one would expect from a newer generation car. The tech is obviously better, but there's a discernible quality sound when closing doors, the interior trim and fit seems a step up, the control panels for HVAC are great, found that the buttons in my F10 used to fade quite badly, the plastics feel a better quality. But again, the kind of things you'd expect from a newer gen car. Granted there's also a near 10 year difference between the 550 and my last M5, so horses for courses I'd guess. Not sure what pre-LCI G30's were like vs F10s though so just speaking from personal experience.Curious to know which aspects of the build quality you find to be better than the F10? I still feel like my F10 had higher quality materials in some areas, feel of buttons, trim pieces, carpet etc (F10 M vs F90 M) but of course design in the F90 is much 'fresher' and mechanically it fixes so much. It may just be my nostalgia talking (and my F10 was only a year or two old when I got it so the materials may age poorly
PsyCLown
Well-known member
In terms of G30 vs F10, I have never owned an F10 but test drove a few. Lovely cars, although the G30 feels more agile / nimble compared to the F10.
The interior look and feel of the G30 make it feel like a more pleasant cabin to be in, for me at least.
Hard for me to compare interior quality as its just test drive experience I have in an F10. Perhaps a small thing but something one interacts with on a fairly frequent basis when driving - the indicator stalk. The F10 has a better feel to it compared to the G30. It feels light and dampened, the G30's one feel a lot cheaper "clunky" in comparison. Small things but it adds up.
In my complex there is also a "ramp" when moving off of the tarred section onto the paved section and the creaks from the G30 are a little disappointing. Not something I would expect from a 5 series in general, cannot say whether the F10 does the same or not.
I also recall BMW reducing the auto dimming function to only the passengers side mirror where the F10 had it on both side mirrors if I am not mistaken.
The interior look and feel of the G30 make it feel like a more pleasant cabin to be in, for me at least.
Hard for me to compare interior quality as its just test drive experience I have in an F10. Perhaps a small thing but something one interacts with on a fairly frequent basis when driving - the indicator stalk. The F10 has a better feel to it compared to the G30. It feels light and dampened, the G30's one feel a lot cheaper "clunky" in comparison. Small things but it adds up.
In my complex there is also a "ramp" when moving off of the tarred section onto the paved section and the creaks from the G30 are a little disappointing. Not something I would expect from a 5 series in general, cannot say whether the F10 does the same or not.
I also recall BMW reducing the auto dimming function to only the passengers side mirror where the F10 had it on both side mirrors if I am not mistaken.
Bugger
///Member
Actually now that you mention the creaks, when I am pulling up into my car the body shell of the G30 does make like a flexing noise, which I only ever heard in my Audi. Look, don't get me wrong, the F10 interior and build quality was a big leap up from the E60, so again it must be generational. The F10 interior is a grand place to be, it cocoons you in there, but to the touch and feel I think the G30 is an improvement. I must admit I haven't noticed the indicator stalk aspect, I'll give it a good fondling when I am in the car tomorrow. One thing that is a big improvement is the headlight technology. I had Laser lights in my G12 7 Series and the ones in the 5 are much better (the 7 was a 2017 and the first gen Laser lights I think). The LEDs are also a lot better than in my F06 Gran Coupe M6. Look, I'll be honest, if you're going 5 Series and up the general build quality over the smaller models is better (guys in 1, 2, 3 and 4 Series don't kill me), but that's because the higher in the nomenclature you go the more you pay right? So a 7 is better than a 5, an 8 is better than a 5, an X3 is better than an X2 etc. etc.
Overall I must admit that I am very happy with the car. What I said about it having the spirit of an F10 M5 is something I will stick to, the characteristics of the two cars are very similar, just with a little less drama and theatre than the F10 M5, which was, in my opinion, already a heavily underrated car.
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
Make no mistake the quality is not poor... and I'd never swap my F90 for an F10... just that I feel in some areas a step backwards (or perhaps half a step backwards). There are those little things that @PsyCLown mentions that make it a bit more noticeable but we all focus on different things too.
The G-chassis feels much more nimble for sure as it has better chassis bracing, better suspension and also (in the case of the M5 and I am sure the RWD cars as well) weighs slightly less than the F1x equivalent.
Bugger
///Member
The quality of the leather in the G30 for me is a step backwards, especially on a "premium" model like the M550. I've got that crappy leather that sits just above Sensatec, Dakota leather I think, which is a bit poor (even if the first owner didn't specify a better leather). It is pretty durable and easy to maintain but yeah, after having Merino in my 7 and my M6 GC I am a bit disappointed in that. But I'm probably nitpicking. I hear you Llew, and agree with PsyClown, the chassis on the G30 is really good and responsive, and the suspension is far more agreeable than I expected. Even my F10 520d was a bit more stiff (was an M-Sport) than necessary.
