Topic: Test Drive: 2011 BMW 528i

[MMMB89]

I used to be a big BMW lover back in the 90s - then Chris Bangle came in and ruined the brand for me.  Also, BMW's reliability has always been spotty - everyone I knew who had a BMW loved them, but they always were having electrical glitches and a few other material issues as well.

Then when I was looking at pre-owned E36s and E46s a few years back - they all had noticeable wear and tear (and I looked a lot from various dealers) which was disappointing.  Still, they were much better than most used Audis and VWs I've seen.

[CatsEye68]

Gorgeous car, and I would love to own one, but isn't an 8-speed automatic tempting fate? How many speeds does one really need? One hears of issues with 6-speed automatics in terms of hunting for the right gear, etc. One can only imagine the amount of thinking and hunting and additional complexity that comes with having 8 gears to choose from. Is this typical German engineering overkill at the cost of a huge maintenance headache? A 8-speed box full of neutrals really isn't progress.

[mmret]

I used to be a big BMW lover back in the 90s - then Chris Bangle came in and ruined the brand for me.  Also, BMW's reliability has always been spotty - everyone I knew who had a BMW loved them, but they always were having electrical glitches and a few other material issues as well.

Then when I was looking at pre-owned E36s and E46s a few years back - they all had noticeable wear and tear (and I looked a lot from various dealers) which was disappointing.  Still, they were much better than most used Audis and VWs I've seen.

You should be aware, of course, that Bangle was made chief of design in 1992.

[aaronk]

Gorgeous car, and I would love to own one, but isn't an 8-speed automatic tempting fate? How many speeds does one really need? One hears of issues with 6-speed automatics in terms of hunting for the right gear, etc. One can only imagine the amount of thinking and hunting and additional complexity that comes with having 8 gears to choose from. Is this typical German engineering overkill at the cost of a huge maintenance headache? A 8-speed box full of neutrals really isn't progress.

This is exactly how I found the real-world experience - the engine is always 'between gears', especially with light throttle. Our car at home has a 6-speed auto and under light throttle it has enough torque not to shift until you are properly pressing on the accelerator. In the 5'er, it seemed even during tepid acceleration the car was shifting through 1, 2, 3, 4 speeds even before 50 km/h...why? If each of those gears was purposeful I have no problem, but it seems the car has enough power to make do with fewer gears allowing for a less complex transmission. I read an article a while back in a popular car magazine about transmission gears becoming the new numbers race - it has become less about functionality and more about keeping up with the Jones'. Pretty soon luxury sedans will have more speeds than my mountain bike...