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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 New to me 16 535i M Sport. Thoughts. |
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05-21-2019, 08:24 PM | #1 |
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New to me 16 535i M Sport. Thoughts.
For 15 years I always had a single car - mostly M cars since they are jack of all trades - 4 doors, sporty, manual, 3 to 5 HPDE per year, and good resale. After LOVING the E46, E90, E60/63 NA M cars, I tried an F80 M3 and M2. Sold them both after a few months, never warmed up to the new M car philosophy of overpowered turbo cars with numb steering that sound like a farting lawnmower. Although they do look fantastic. Tried a 991.1 GTS and C4s, but for $100k I kinda expected more. Decided to get an R8, bingo. But now I needed 2 cars.
Picked up a 14 320i w 20k miles on it for DD. What a pile of garbage. I always read about the "dead spots" on the F30 steering but never understood what it meant. After driving the car it feels like all 4 tires are flat while turning on the highway. LOL. I remember a test drive on a 12 335 and the steering was so over boosted. OMG. What a failed generation of 3 series. I even sold my F80 M3 after 6 months. Ok, enough bashing. So 2 cars works great. Sports car all shiny in the garage for when I'm in the mood to turn heads or wake the dead with the V8 race exhaust wailing at 8200 RPM. But needed a better DD. I do drive on the hwy for work so needed something practical and comfy. Decided on a 535i as the V8 sucks gas and the 4 is wimpy. Had to have M Sport, comfort seats, LCI, black/black. and prem pack. Picked up a 16 535i M sport / lux seat pack / HK / prem / HUD / comfort seats / and a few other options. 32k miles CPO through Dec 20 for $29k. Not a killer deal but a good deal, and the car is in decent shape overall. Random impressions 1. Look. The F10 is a bit dated but timeless. Handsome looking car, the M Sport w 19's has a good look to it. 2. Seats. Glad I stuck it out for the comf seats and M Sport pack. The seats are very comfy, however lacking in lateral support. You sit "on" them, you have to work hard to sit "in" them. 3. 704 suspension. I read over and over non 704, etc. Its a fantastic suspension on the 16. Suspension travel is shorter than my mag ride R8. Feels very buttoned down. Never harsh. But firm. Sweet spot for this size and class of car. 4. Trans. Love BMW trans sport settings. Always seems to shift at the right time. I drive in sport 100% of the time, with the shifter in sport mode. BMW always does a nice job matching the trans and motor for sporty daily driving. 5. Rattles. BMW quality has really fallen with the F30 and F10. I've had over 12 bmw, and none of my old cars had 1 single squeak or rattle. I hope BMW steps up their game. Things live shifting in my seat you hear noises, going over bumps there's weird vibration noises. Geez. 6. No longer solid built. see #5. The interior build quality feels very old, squishy, and just not solid. My 18 Q7 is a vault. So was my wife's MB ML350. Even my Caddy rentals are more solid built. I havent driven the new 5 yet, but BMW really needs to step up their game. 7. Sport sedan? Not really. The car is so dang big. This isnt a car that you take out looking for twisty roads, I imaging its scared to death it belongs on the highway, and driving from Starbucks to Nordstrom. 8. BMW DNA? Just hints of it here and there. If my E46 330i manual was a 50/50 jack and coke. This car is 10% jack and 90% coke. You can taste it but its very diluted. I wouldnt compare it to any M cars. Then its 0% jack lol. 9. Vent seat. they do nothing. had them in my E60 M6. Dont bother going out of your way to get them. 10... HUD. must have, wish every car had it. 11. Run flats. (puke in mouth). Cant wait to get rid of them. 12. Interior design. Nothing fancy but will age well. Better than the E60's that I had. Anyways. I always like reading others opinion. Thought to share mine. Overall the car is doing what its supposed to do - drive around daily in comfort with a tiny bit of the old BMW DNA
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Past Performance Cars: 01 M3, 05 M3, 06 M5, 08 M6, 08 M3, 11 M3, 13 M3, 15 M3, 911 C4S, 911 GTS, 17 M2,R8 V8, R8 RWS Last edited by Damage Inc; 05-21-2019 at 08:34 PM.. Reason: sp |
05-21-2019, 11:26 PM | #2 |
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Loved the review, thanks for sharing. I feel the same way. Not sure where the “sport” is in this sport sedan.
That said it’s a nice cruiser. Wife loves it for our long drives. Just waiting on a deal on a couple choices and I’ll probably get myself back into something more my speed. My wife can’t wait for me to hand down the F10, same as my old W204. |
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06-22-2019, 09:26 PM | #4 |
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F10 is a heavy highway car no question. Numb steering but comfy stable cruiser with the right tires. Style is timeless in and out. No rattles on mine yet.
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06-28-2019, 01:45 AM | #5 |
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Thank you for the review
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06-28-2019, 03:02 AM | #6 | |
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07-01-2019, 07:55 PM | #7 |
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Drives: '07 E90 335i 6MT, 2016 F10 535
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I'm very happy with mine. I just sold my 2007 E90 335i 6MT ZSP that was full bolt on with JB4. That was a great drivers car. My 2016 535i is totally different, but I welcome it. I did flash with MHD and it made a big difference with power and stuff, but it's more of a big comfy cruiser.
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2007 E90 335i 6MT, ZSP, Nav, PDC, CA, Montego Blue, Terra Dakota leather, CDV, clutch-stop, E46 M Shift Knob, Logic HVI, JB4 PnP, MS 3" downpipes, Koni Yellow adjustable sport shocks, RE 12mm(f)/BMS 15mm(r) spacers, Blacklines, LUX 5.0 LED halo ring lights, DAEOS (Vista) harness, GP Thunder 7500k fogs, 35% sides-20% rear tint, matt black kidney grill, matt black 335i trunk badge
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07-20-2019, 04:13 AM | #8 |
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Seems like u hate the F10, I think the car is very capable of twisty roads I have driven my f10 on a twisty mountain roads going pretty fast it feels pretty comfy whippin it compared to any of the f10s competitors of its size and Cadillacs interior feel like garbage 😂
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07-20-2019, 12:54 PM | #9 | |
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You have to understand for an old timer BMW guy like me who started with E36, E46 etc - those were sport sedans out of the box. You didn't have to have an M badge to have an engaging car. BMW had engaging steering, excellent feedback - they were "drivers cars". Try driving a 2003 ZHP manual. A slow car that's super engaging to drive fast. With that said there are times I want a luxo cruiser like this 535i - with a little sport, not bland like a Lexus - and that's what it specializes in. Which is what I bought it for. Interior wise its 'ok'. It was designed back in 2010 so its dated, so gotta keep that in mind. Its night / day comparing my wife's 18 Q7 however that's a new gen car vs. old gen. No rattles (yet) which is good.
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Past Performance Cars: 01 M3, 05 M3, 06 M5, 08 M6, 08 M3, 11 M3, 13 M3, 15 M3, 911 C4S, 911 GTS, 17 M2,R8 V8, R8 RWS Last edited by Damage Inc; 07-20-2019 at 01:10 PM.. Reason: sp |
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07-21-2019, 05:28 PM | #10 |
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I agree with most of what you said in your review. I went from a '02 330i 5MT which was great has it for more than 10 years to this so very very different. I'm mostly sitting in LA traffic with small mild bursts of dare I say speed, more like accelerate to 50 then back down. I like that it truly feels like 2 cars when you go from comfort to sport in SD mode. Both cars are big but one is definitely more sporty, just nothing like a smaller lighter car.
Its not been my experience with build quality. I felt lucky tho with mine, no squeaks (knock on wood) and very solid so far (4 years). And lastly I think the BMW DNA is more like the 7 series luxury side vs the classic 3 series. |
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07-21-2019, 06:05 PM | #11 | |
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I have yet to ever find my F10 "fun", even though it's faster and arguably more refined than other "fun" cars I've had. I'm putting KWv3s on my F10 as soon as I can sort out some issues (backordered, then they showed up with a damper shaft protruding from the box...). We'll see if that sharpens it up a bit to be more like my E39... MHD, xHP and larger anti-roll bars have made things somewhat better so far. |
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07-21-2019, 09:13 PM | #12 | |
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07-22-2019, 04:40 PM | #13 | ||
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I was thinking how funny it would be to take this car to autocross. It'd drive fine, but probably handle like a boat compared to most every other car there. I was thinking of getting a clean Z3 for the "fun". The complete opposite of this car. |
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07-22-2019, 08:36 PM | #14 | |
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As I've said, although at first I didn't think so, it's faster than all of the previous ones (esp w/ MHD), and it goes where you point it, it just isn't very fun or communicative while doing it. More than that, it never, ever seems to beg for more. It feels more like I've just "gotten away with" a 6-7/10ths handling maneuver and I should be sensible enough not to try it again. E39, E46 and E90s (with 704 suspension and good summer rubber) always seemed to beg me to try again, and go a little faster, cause it'll stick. I have lots of theories - the simple "progression" of "refinement" that the market demands, poor steering rack design, X-Drive suspension geometry designed to soak up torque steer also deadening roadfeel, I'm just getting old etc...etc... |
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07-22-2019, 09:08 PM | #15 | |
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07-23-2019, 08:02 AM | #16 |
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My 2016 535i is my first BMW ever. I really enjoy driving the car. I picked it over the 2016 A6. I appreciate the POV from members who've driven BMW over the years. You can see how the car company as evolved.
Compared to my last 3 cars (2016 Ford Edge Sport, 2013 Passat TDI, 2006 Audi A4) this car is a blast to drive. I find it very responsive to accelerate, sharp in turns and comfortable to ride in. I'm mostly driving around the suburbs of Atlanta and the associated freeways. Plus the car just looks cool so I feel awesome while running errands and stuff. My biggest gripe is the infotainment system. The USB on my car is hit or miss when playing media. I need to get it into the dealer and have them look at it. I've got a carplay mmi plus retro fit on the way. I need the USB to be rock solid so I can fully take advantage of that upgrade. |
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07-23-2019, 01:03 PM | #17 |
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I was thinking the same thing. To me, the X-Drive ruins the feel of the car. it's so weird and artificial. the 704 RWD is awesome and really fun to drive. It's weird to see people say their 5 series isn't fun to drive. probably should have purchased a RWD.....
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07-23-2019, 03:38 PM | #18 | ||
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07-23-2019, 03:39 PM | #19 | |
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07-23-2019, 06:14 PM | #20 | |
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ezaircon4jc : Sure, they're not to be reviewed back to back as comparables, but I've driven non-704 E39s, E46s, E90s and F30s too. The F-series lack in feedback and involvement, not just outright capability. dcbullets : X-Drive ruins the car by feeling artificial...? Yeah, but what about it does that? Having torque go to the front wheels? Audi's been doing quattro for a long time and I found the 2000 A6 reasonably entertaining. The new M5 is AWD too. Pre-LCI, anyways, everyone was praising that the X-Drive cars had hydraulic steering instead of the "weird and artificial" electrically boosted steering the RWD cars had. So what's the deal? I'm looking forward to giving xDelete (by the same folks as xHP) a try when it supports my chassis. It won't erase the weight or the suspension geometry of the X-Drive, but it could change the torque steer situation. On the other hand, I know that unplugging the transfer case is a diagnostic step in certain stages of debugging - I've never heard someone chasing a transfer case problem get this to step and ooh and aah about how the car now feels like it should with X-Drive disconnected. Also, when I'm running into a brisk lefthander trail braking, I'm not really sure the X-Drive is doing anything other than coming along for the ride anyways. It's not just on-throttle that things feel "off". As for "should have bought an RWD" - they don't sell any where I am and I have what I have. With all the M cars going AWD I think RWD is going to be a dying breed along with 6MT. I wonder if every F90 M5 owner thinks they're "weird and artificial". FWIW, I read a lot that something changed in the LCI that dramatically improved steering feel. Unfortunately most people reporting that aren't specific about AWD or RWD. Lo and behold, it seems like the big difference is the use of hydro bushings in the front end of the RWD, which the X-Drive already has, so... Anyways - rant over. I hope the KW's do something good. They are priced pretty dear. |
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07-23-2019, 06:18 PM | #21 |
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07-23-2019, 07:10 PM | #22 |
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