Thank you, and I hope that somewhere down the line they change their philosophy of building blander cars to keep masses happy. I hope they start making cars whose steering wheels are alive with feel and feedback. The cars that have that perfect balance of sports and luxury. The cars that offer that connectedness feel to the driver like very few brands could.
There is a slight difference between your and my frustration. I was owner of a E39 5 series for 5 years before I moved to a E60 5 series. For you the looks were the make or break it deal. For me on the other hands the looks were important, but they were not the deal breaker ever. Because to be honest BMW's were not always the absolute gorgeous best looking cars even in their own class mostly. They were ok looking, but one thing you could count on was the driving dynamics and that special steering feel & connectedness of driver and car. So for me the E60 seemed evolutionary yet still offered that connected feel. Given it was less raw and slightly more sedated then the E39.
By the way congrats on your 3 series. The problem I believe is that one has to drive E9x equipped properly back to back with the F3x and you come out shaking your head that how they went backwards. I have driven all various versions of the F3x too, from 328i, 335i, 428i, to the new 340i sports pkg fully loaded to the teeth with added Dinan mods of 15K (i.e. Dinan exhaust, body enhancements, Diana software enhancement, etc.), and none of them were satisfying like the E9x. By the way it has nothing to do with the looks. As I absolutely like the looks of the new M4. Also, yes E9x gained some refinement over E46, but it was not like you would get out and shake your head and look again to see if you were actually driving a BMW.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that finding a proper new sports sedan can be very challenging now a days. The verdict is still out but maybe the new Alfa sedan might be the answer to the void that BMW left with its new direction.
In the meantime enjoy your F30 3 series in best of health.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sygazelle
I sounded a lot like you back in 2003 when the E60's came out with Bangled styling. I had a 97 540 and I was ready to buy the new 5er. When I saw the E60 I repelled. Instead, I bought slightly used 2003 E39 540 with m-tech so I could blow right through the E60 era. I vowed to never buy BMW again. Unfortunately, I wrecked my 2003 E39 or I would probably be still driving it lol. After I recovered from my car wreck I needed a new car. Being a 5er owner for 25 years, I test drove most of the sport luxury sedan competitors. The problem was for me there were no other brands that made me open my wallet. So, I went back and test drove the F10 first and hated it. All the things you said. Then I test drove the F30 and fell in love with the size. I got it equipped with options that made me happy (m-sport, tech, comfort, hud, hk, you name it. I've had it 3 years now and absolutely love it. Amazingly, it was $10k less than my 97 540 16 years later. It is just as fast, handles better, and gets twice the mileage.
Maybe BMW will eventually build something you want and you will be back like I was. Maybe they won't and you will have to go to another brand for a proper sports sedan. Good luck! I hope you find what you are looking for.
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