Stevej2001
04-12-2008, 08:57 PM
All you oldtimers-- do you remember your first real drive of a BMW? Mine was today.
My 535i is a few months old. I acquired it because I was tired of poor handling cars, most recently a Lexus ES330. But I'm just a middle aged guy who really doesn't know much about driving a performance car. Up to now I've driven my BMW in town, on he freeway, and a little bit on a curvy stretch of highway. My biggest attraction, up to now, are the electronic gadgets on the car. Yes, I like iDrive, actually. I've not been so clear on this 'Ultimate Driving Machine' business, however.
Today my wife was out of town and I had nothing I needed to to, so I drove the 100 miles or so to Yosemite from my home in Modesto, CA.
Going there was mostly a snore-- lots of slow traffic... until I was on one of the infrequent straight sections between Groveland and the Yosemite gate. I was stuck behind several slow moving tourists, and there was no opposing traffic. So I floored it. The pass happened quickly, despite it being up-hill. In no time I was around the cars and had experienced absolutely no instability or hesitation in the car. I looked at the speedometer- it was pushing 100. I've had cars up to that speed before, but they always felt loose, about to do something disastrous. My BMW was serene, stable, secure. I quickly slowed the car to near 55 mph. A good thing too, since beyond the next curve lurked a CHP officer.
So I decided to see just what this baby could do, while trying not to get a ticket. I thought, how fast can this car go through corners?
Now you need to understand that my wife and I moved to California to be close to Yosemite, and for 28 years I've driven that road so often I pretty much know every curve and how each car I've owned would handle them. It was time to see how my new BMW would fare, especially on the return (downhill) run where speed can build up quickly.
My overall impression: The Governator Arnold has installed rails in all the turns, and my car was riding them! With each successive turn, I'd push it a little harder, at least until the stability control started complaining. It never did; there was never the sound of tire squeal, no sliding, nothing but precise turning at high speed. My considerable weight came to appreciate the side bolster on the seat.
Understand I'm not an expert driver, so I have no doubt that one of you hot-shots could have gone considerably faster. But I was taking turns on which the Lexus felt unsafe over 30-- at 50 or more without any sense of insecurity whatsoever. The biggest limitation was traffic, and the motor made short work of that, even without bothering to switch to sport mode.
All too soon I was out of the hills on the relatively uninteresting flat road of the Central Valley. At this juncture I am supposed to say I had a enormous grin on my face, and I suspect that's true. But I was more amazed then exactly happy. How does BMW do it? How come my previous Lexus/Acura/Honda/Dodges, etc didn't do it?
Well, yeah, I was, and am, happy. Very happy. And I think I'm finally beginning to get this BMW Ultimate Driving Machine thing...
By the way, for all you suckers who don't live 2 hours from the most beautiful spot on earth, here's how Yosemite looked today:
My 535i is a few months old. I acquired it because I was tired of poor handling cars, most recently a Lexus ES330. But I'm just a middle aged guy who really doesn't know much about driving a performance car. Up to now I've driven my BMW in town, on he freeway, and a little bit on a curvy stretch of highway. My biggest attraction, up to now, are the electronic gadgets on the car. Yes, I like iDrive, actually. I've not been so clear on this 'Ultimate Driving Machine' business, however.
Today my wife was out of town and I had nothing I needed to to, so I drove the 100 miles or so to Yosemite from my home in Modesto, CA.
Going there was mostly a snore-- lots of slow traffic... until I was on one of the infrequent straight sections between Groveland and the Yosemite gate. I was stuck behind several slow moving tourists, and there was no opposing traffic. So I floored it. The pass happened quickly, despite it being up-hill. In no time I was around the cars and had experienced absolutely no instability or hesitation in the car. I looked at the speedometer- it was pushing 100. I've had cars up to that speed before, but they always felt loose, about to do something disastrous. My BMW was serene, stable, secure. I quickly slowed the car to near 55 mph. A good thing too, since beyond the next curve lurked a CHP officer.
So I decided to see just what this baby could do, while trying not to get a ticket. I thought, how fast can this car go through corners?
Now you need to understand that my wife and I moved to California to be close to Yosemite, and for 28 years I've driven that road so often I pretty much know every curve and how each car I've owned would handle them. It was time to see how my new BMW would fare, especially on the return (downhill) run where speed can build up quickly.
My overall impression: The Governator Arnold has installed rails in all the turns, and my car was riding them! With each successive turn, I'd push it a little harder, at least until the stability control started complaining. It never did; there was never the sound of tire squeal, no sliding, nothing but precise turning at high speed. My considerable weight came to appreciate the side bolster on the seat.
Understand I'm not an expert driver, so I have no doubt that one of you hot-shots could have gone considerably faster. But I was taking turns on which the Lexus felt unsafe over 30-- at 50 or more without any sense of insecurity whatsoever. The biggest limitation was traffic, and the motor made short work of that, even without bothering to switch to sport mode.
All too soon I was out of the hills on the relatively uninteresting flat road of the Central Valley. At this juncture I am supposed to say I had a enormous grin on my face, and I suspect that's true. But I was more amazed then exactly happy. How does BMW do it? How come my previous Lexus/Acura/Honda/Dodges, etc didn't do it?
Well, yeah, I was, and am, happy. Very happy. And I think I'm finally beginning to get this BMW Ultimate Driving Machine thing...
By the way, for all you suckers who don't live 2 hours from the most beautiful spot on earth, here's how Yosemite looked today: