German Car Zone

I don't know why I came to the realization now on this issue but I guess I wanted to bring it up to see what you guys thought.

The current 5er has just looked at me the wrong way. I don't know what it is, but the front, and the interior, finally spoke to me. I don't like it. I like the back and the overall style, but being particular about things I don't like the front headlights, bumper, or interior styling. The eyebrows just piss me off everytime I look at them. Furthermore, whenever I look at an A6 I think to myself, 'Gee that car looks bigger, nicer, and costier."

Adding on to what I have already said I don't know if the new 5er has been holding its value to well. I have looked at some 04 545i's fully loaded going for 34-36k. That is not bad at all considering many of them have about 29-36k of miles. What's up with this?


Do any of you share my thinking?

Is there an update on the facelift, if any?

Can't say I share your thoughts. Design is a very subjective thing and clearly the 5er doesn't work for you.

I personally love the front of the 5er but I'm a little biased as I drive one. I particularily like the 5er because it has, in my opinion, an aggressive look to it that neither the A6 nor the E-class have.

I think the facelift is suppose to be fairly minor and debut at Geneva, hitting North America as MY08.

I agree about the front bumper and headlights. Never gotten used to them. It looks alot better with the M package though.

I agree with you Michael that the 5er look disappointing from some angles, especially from a side angle view of the front, which makes it look a little dopey. I like the rest of the car however, and the M package really serves to correct the front issue with me.

One big issue I have with the 5er is that it has no LEDs at the back - this is especially irritating since the E39 has them.

Your opinion took me by surprise Michael, I feel the same about the headlights, I never liked them. One of my biggest issues with the front end is the grill. It`s just too small with all that mass and "flash" going on. The M or sport package just makes things worse because that adds even more mass! The profile I can live with, it`s unique, fresh and very BMW but the interior could use some work. Although it`s less busy looking than it`s new baby brother the 3er it still looks like it was designed by machines.. too much of an industerial feel about the look and "feel" of the design. BMW really needs to improve with their interiors imo. Mercedes and Audi do a far better job with interior designs.

Thank you guys. I am not putting the car down but rather just noticing an aging process. I think in retrospect the headlights should not have been so aggresive when it came to the eyebrows. Then again, like someone mentioned, that is subjective and truly in the eye of the beholder. The problem is that, for me, this has to be the first BMW that actually "ages" when I look at it. It doensn't appeal to me like the E39 did for such a long time.

If you notice the aggressivenesss and the way the M5's bumper is designed is as if it is to counter the design flaw that plays with the regular 5er car. The eyebrows are going up, so to counter tha M has aggresively designed the front bumper to draw the stance down.

I share your opinion. I have never liked the 5er. I'm not going to go as far as calling it ugly becasue it isn't but it doesn't score a 10 on my design scale, but it is a good car. Regarding the value of the car you have to remember that it is a mass produced large car and just like the E-class and A6 it loses a huge percentage of its value the first two years after having left the showroom.

Yep I can see that in a way.. but even here you can see the biggest flaw is the smallish grill from directly ahead. I always wondered why BMW did that.
Increasing the grill size with such a radicle design would have soften the "loudness" of the front-end design and would have made the car look a little more up-scale. -And yes the headlights, the way thay are shaped, I get your point here.. Like you I also like the E39 5 more. Don`t get me wrong with the latest 5 though.. it`s not a beautiful car I just call it unique... BMW could have been a little more rational.

Luw besides that I think there are some cars that can retain their vaule better especially being sold at 56k and then go down to 36k in 2 years.



I like the picture you posted. The M5 does look good in my opinion and it is because of the front bumper. It does away with that 'upward' look of the car that seems to be caused by the headlights.

I agree with you Mike. The E60 has a strange "face". The eyebrows , the rounded kidneys and some other details don't work for me either. Shame cause the middle part of the car (from A pillar to C pillar) is a well designed (with reference to classic BMW design language) car.