Carnutt

Well, thus far, I've had my 535 for two days and have driven over 120 miles. My impression in short is: no disappointment!

The fit and finish are perfect (at least so far I have not found even one defect; give me time though.) Driving and comparing it to my '06 3 series, I have a welcome familiarity, yet a more refined and luxury sensation. Driving it last night to dinner, I felt as if I had the luxury impression of a Lexus, yet a distinct sporting spirited feeling. And, that's what I wanted. The idrive, which btw, I never had a problem with, is another generation which means improved. For example, going from one given function to another, there are frequenly saved steps noted in comparing it with my '06 3 series. I note small things, the wheel is slightly padded and spins 360 degrees without the resistance as in the older one. This makes scrolling your cell phone book or other menu, much easier. The seats are among the MOST comfortable in any of the many cars that I've owned and it is easy to find the right configurations of seat, steering wheel and mirrors to satisfy one greatly. The lumbar support augments your feeling of comfort, my wife commenting that it aborted her muscular related backache. That said, if I had to order again, I would have ordered the upgraded comfort seats which are even better, more plush and great looking. (These are the same seats as on the sport package as a stand alone option.)

If I didn't emphasize it, this car is responsive, yet silky smooth in its execution. The electronic shift slushbox (my apologies to the purists) works great. It takes a BRIEF getting used to. When you reach your destination and stop, you push the "park" button and that's it, you exit the car. I must say that from the Logic 7 HK stereo to the comfort access and the Nav., everything has worked brilliantly so far with surprisingly good ergonomics, sometimes quirky in German cars.

Oh, and the worst gas mileage thus far has been 24mpg in mostly city driving.

That's it for now. More to follow.

zetableh

Very nice, man! I'm glad you're enjoying your car. I'm jealous, though; I thought my 21 mostly-city-combined MPG (with A/C) was good... until I saw your mileage!

siko

I found the car amazing when I tried it out... so I'm not surprised that you're enjoying it!

NarutoRamen

Nice initial review. I'm gonna try to find some time to go to my BMW dealer to drive one out.

cawimmer430

Good update and thanks.

Funny. You know what your cars have in common?

'07 MB E350
'07 Infiniti G35
'08 535


35 must be your lucky number.

Carnutt

I HAD A PROBLEM TODAY !

Well, not really a "problem" per se. I set off the alarm when I sat in it.

Actually the panic button was deployed when I sat in it. The key fob was in my back pocket (remember I have comfort access and the key doesn't need to go in the ignition.) To make things worse, it stopped when I got out of the car and WENT OFF AGAIN because I sat back down. I was disoriented not knowing what the f*#@ the noise was. Man, that thing is loud!


Really, I'm enjoying the drive more and more and really like the whole package, especially nice with the new window tint. Thanks to all who responded above.