[sward]

I just got an invitation to test drive the i5 on october 2 here in Sweden. 3 weeks ahead of the official release date. I’m bummed that I can’t that date…..

[Semicolin82]

Is this through your local dealer or like one of those bmw driving events?

[sward]

Originally Posted by Semicolin82

Is this through your local dealer or like one of those bmw driving events?

All local dealers has the same event at the same time.

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by sward

All local dealers has the same event at the same time.

In Denmark they invited potential customers a test drive this weekend. I will be testing it tomorrow at 11.00. Really looking forward to it.

The salesman said that it is very special that they are allowing test drives this early. We have to sign a document stating that we will not post pictures, and unfortunately an employee has to go along on the ride.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing it in person. I still feel like I am trying to like it.

[Semicolin82]

Originally Posted by Felixen

In Denmark they invited potential customers a test drive this weekend. I will be testing it tomorrow at 11.00. Really looking forward to it.

The salesman said that it is very special that they are allowing test drives this early. We have to sign a document stating that we will not post pictures, and unfortunately an employee has to go along on the ride.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing it in person. I still feel like I am trying to like it.

Eager to hear about the drive and which one you test drive

[AP]

Why are they asking not to post pictures?
It’s not like the car is a secret. I sat in one last week at the IAA in Munich and too several, which I posted on these forums

Their rules but seems odd

I’m sure everyone here will be interested in your views on the car

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by AP

Why are they asking not to post pictures?
It’s not like the car is a secret. I sat in one last week at the IAA in Munich and too several, which I posted on these forums

Their rules but seems odd

I’m sure everyone here will be interested in your views on the car

I don’t know why we were not allowed to post pictures. I weren’t even allowed to take pictures for my own use. They said it was very rare, that they were allowed to let people test drive this early. But I agree, we all know what it looks like by now.

Anyway, it looked much better to me in person that it does in pictures. I still think my G31 beats it in the looks department, but it does look more modern and probably more aggressive. It certainly looks like a BMW to me. It doesn’t look like a Camry 😄

The car they had was en eDrive 40 with m-sport pack. The color was frozen pure grey. It had most of the extra packages I believe and the panoramic roof (the one that doesn’t open). It also had blue brake calipers.

The drive is very very comfortable, and the cabin is very silent. At least after I turned on the Hans Zimmer sounds. I drove mostly city driving in traffic, but did try 5 KM on the motorway. Acceleration is very smooth. It certainly doesn’t lack power to me.

My current car is a G31 520i, so naturally this one should feel more powerful, but it is also a lot heavier. That is not something I felt on the drive. It is actually something a thought about afterwards, and I wish I would have had a chance to try some sharper corners on it.

Driving home, my G31 did feel a bit dated, but maybe not in a bad way. Maybe in a more classic way 😄

I am still considering if I should make the switch. I still love my G31, so I have a hard time letting it go. I will probably end up in a G60 or G61 at some point.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Felixen

I don’t know why we were not allowed to post pictures. I weren’t even allowed to take pictures for my own use. They said it was very rare, that they were allowed to let people test drive this early. But I agree, we all know what it looks like by now.

Anyway, it looked much better to me in person that it does in pictures. I still think my G31 beats it in the looks department, but it does look more modern and probably more aggressive. It certainly looks like a BMW to me. It doesn’t look like a Camry 😄

The car they had was en eDrive 40 with m-sport pack. The color was frozen pure grey. It had most of the extra packages I believe and the panoramic roof (the one that doesn’t open). It also had blue brake calipers.

The drive is very very comfortable, and the cabin is very silent. At least after I turned on the Hans Zimmer sounds. I drove mostly city driving in traffic, but did try 5 KM on the motorway. Acceleration is very smooth. It certainly doesn’t lack power to me.

My current car is a G31 520i, so naturally this one should feel more powerful, but it is also a lot heavier. That is not something I felt on the drive. It is actually something a thought about afterwards, and I wish I would have had a chance to try some sharper corners on it.

Driving home, my G31 did feel a bit dated, but maybe not in a bad way. Maybe in a more classic way 😄

I am still considering if I should make the switch. I still love my G31, so I have a hard time letting it go. I will probably end up in a G60 or G61 at some point.

Thanks for your review! Some more questions that you may or may not have tested:
1 Is the car equipped with 19 or 20 wheel?
2. Driving Assist Professional Pack?
3. How is iDrive 8.5?
4. What is the interior trim and how does it feel?

[iptv1922]

Originally Posted by AP

Why are they asking not to post pictures?
It’s not like the car is a secret. I sat in one last week at the IAA in Munich and too several, which I posted on these forums

Their rules but seems odd

I’m sure everyone here will be interested in your views on the car

Perhaps because the cars that have been shown are pre-production models, and this will be the model to be sold.
There are always some differences.
As the official launch will only be in October...

[AP]

Maybe , thought it might be the other way round
Pre production specs, yeh wouldn’t be surprised if those change, they vary by market anyway so what we see now may not be representative of what appears for production
Quality could be less than perfect as these are the first cars to be built and server a purpose of making sure the production process is all correct so there might be quality issues. Having said that those on display have no doubt be checked over given there will ne hundreds of the public looking over them

Whilst this car is. It for me, I am still interested to see the reviews of the car from real people. How it compares to the outgoing g30 will be interesting

[DHDCF]

I'm mostly concerned w how the m60 drives. Looks are second although I'm 100% good w them.

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by Travis

I am still considering if I should make the switch. I still love my G31, so I have a hard time letting it go. I will probably end up in a G60 or G61 at some point.

Thanks for your review! Some more questions that you may or may not have tested:
1 Is the car equipped with 19 or 20 wheel?
2. Driving Assist Professional Pack?
3. How is iDrive 8.5?
4. What is the interior trim and how does it feel?

1. I believe it had the 19 inch 935M wheels, but not 100 percent sure. Whatever it was it seemed to suit the car just fine. Looked very classy and not like “typical” e-car aero wheels. If you know what I mean.

2. I’m not sure if it was Plus or Professional. What is the difference?

3. iDrive 8.5 seems a bit messy to me, but this is coming from a guy who uses 6.0 on a daily basis.. 8.5 does look very pretty though, and I’m sure I could get used to it. One thing I didn’t like was that you need to swipe left from the right side of the screen to access some kind of main menu. According to the sales rep, who was with me in the car, this could not be done from the iDrive controller. Maybe he was wrong.. personally I prefer to touch the screen as little as possible

I’m also not a big fan of the driving modes. It just seems slightly gimmicky to me.

4. It seems very nice to me. On par with my G31 I believe.

• Steering wheel feels premium. Indicator and wiper stalks. Feels just like on G30. Buttons on the steering wheel feels ok, although I didn’t quite get used to them.
• Seats were alcantara/veganza combo. Both materials feels nice. I could have been fooled into thinking the veganza is leather.
• Middle console/armrest feels nice. Same level as G30.
• I actually forgot what material was on the top of the dash and “top of the doors”. Maybe it was just plastic, but felt decent.
• The side mirrors look awesome from the inside.
• It had B&W sound system, but I didnt get to try it. I wish I did, as a good sound system is important to me. I just didn’t have the time for it.
• Gear selector feels fine. Not flimsy as I feared a bit.

Bonus info. The glove box is opened by pressing a button to the left of it. Seems a bit weird, but fine I guess. It’s the same thing in an is if anyone cares ��

One other thing I miss is that the iDrive controller cannot be tilted to the sides or up/down anymore. I actually use this feature a lot in my current car. E.g to go to the “next song” when using CarPlay. Not a major loss, but still something I noticed.

Keep in mind that I was only in the car for about 30 minutes.

Just ask if you have any other questions.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Felixen

1. I believe it had the 19 inch 935M wheels, but not 100 percent sure. Whatever it was it seemed to suit the car just fine. Looked very classy and not like “typical” e-car aero wheels. If you know what I mean.

2. I’m not sure if it was Plus or Professional. What is the difference?

3. iDrive 8.5 seems a bit messy to me, but this is coming from a guy who uses 6.0 on a daily basis.. 8.5 does look very pretty though, and I’m sure I could get used to it. One thing I didn’t like was that you need to swipe left from the right side of the screen to access some kind of main menu. According to the sales rep, who was with me in the car, this could not be done from the iDrive controller. Maybe he was wrong.. personally I prefer to touch the screen as little as possible

I’m also not a big fan of the driving modes. It just seems slightly gimmicky to me.

4. It seems very nice to me. On par with my G31 I believe. [LIST][*]Steering wheel feels premium. Indicator and wiper stalks. Feels just like on G30. Buttons on the steering wheel feels ok, although I didn’t quite get used to them. [*]Seats were alcantara/veganza combo. Both materials feels nice. I could have been fooled into thinking the veganza is leather. [*]Middle console/armrest feels nice. Same level as G30.[*]I actually forgot what material was on the top of the dash and “top of the doors”. Maybe it was just plastic, but felt decent. [*]The side mirrors look awesome from the inside.[*]It had B&W sound system, but I didnt get to try it. I wish I did, as a good sound system is important to me. I just didn’t have [...]

For 30 min in the car, that is some impressive review. Thanks so much.

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by Travis

For 30 min in the car, that is some impressive review. Thanks so much.

Thanks a lot.

I wish I could have had at least an hour in it. The driving itself is naturally the most important part. It felt super comfortable in the 30 minutes, but I am still not sure if it is more or less dynamic than my G31.

I just thought about one more thing. If you set the mode to “efficient” there is an extra “maximum range function”. I tried to use it and it lowers the ac level and stopped ventilating the seats. I believe it resulted in about 100 KM range. From about 460 to 560 at the time. Seemed pretty cool.

[iptv1922]

Originally Posted by Felixen

Just ask if you have any other questions.

Do you notice any difference between this car and the pre-production ones that have appeared in photos and videos?
Thanks.

[cpt]

Originally Posted by Felixen

Thanks a lot.
I just thought about one more thing. If you set the mode to “efficient” there is an extra “maximum range function”. I tried to use it and it lowers the ac level and stopped ventilating the seats. I believe it resulted in about 100 KM range. From about 460 to 560 at the time. Seemed pretty cool.

If I remember correctly, the efficient mode feature was brought up in one of the bmwblog reviews; they mentioned a 20% boost in range. Looks like the numbers you observed are very close to that as well.

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by iptv1922

Do you notice any difference between this car and the pre-production ones that have appeared in photos and videos?
Thanks.

No. I didn’t notice any differences at all. It looked exactly like I’ve seen in videos. But better in real life to me.

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by cpt

If I remember correctly, the efficient mode feature was brought up in one of the bmwblog reviews; they mentioned a 20% boost in range. Looks like the numbers you observed are very close to that as well.

Cool. I haven’t seen that on bmwblog.

Sounds pretty spot on. I was actually impressed that the increase in range was that big. The lowered AC volume was quite apparent though. So it would be a less comfortable ride. But nice to know that you can squeeze out 20% more if needed.

I tried an iX afterwards. Just for the heck of it :-)
First thing I looked for was the max range mode - it didn’t have that feature.

It was the 40 model. Range is just far too limited to me. I think it said 66% charge and 267 km left.
The i5 seems much more efficient.

[Travis]

Compared with the previous gens, does it feel too big?
I test drived i4 and it feels amazing so I ordered i5 (because i4 backseat is a little tight for my need).
I am wondering would the new 5 be nimble enough to handle the crazy NYC streets (or any narrow streets in Europe)

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by Travis

Compared with the previous gens, does it feel too big?
I test drived i4 and it feels amazing so I ordered i5 (because i4 backseat is a little tight for my need).
I am wondering would the new 5 be nimble enough to handle the crazy NYC streets (or any narrow streets in Europe)

The size felt the same to me as my G31. I know it is both longer and wider (and taller), but it wasn’t noticeable when driving. For its size it actually felt nimble. The driving position also felt just about the same - classic 5 Series 😀

The size increase will probably be noticeable in the narrow parking spaces of Copenhagen, which have been made with a VW Up in mind.

I also tried the i4 about a year ago, but the backseat is also to small for us (family of 5 here).

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Felixen

The size felt the same to me as my G31. I know it is both longer and wider (and taller), but it wasn’t noticeable when driving. For its size it actually felt nimble. The driving position also felt just about the same - classic 5 Series 😀

The size increase will probably be noticeable in the narrow parking spaces of Copenhagen, which have been made with a VW Up in mind.

I also tried the i4 about a year ago, but the backseat is also to small for us (family of 5 here).

I guess you are driving a wagon so the new sedan is actually smaller thanks so much for the reply.

[Felixen]

Originally Posted by Travis

I guess you are driving a wagon so the new sedan is actually smaller thanks so much for the reply.

Nah. Length and width are actually exactly the same - G30 compared to G31.