Just picked up my 2012 528i xDrive

[St_louis_Scott]

Love it! Will give a thorough review after driving for a little while but it is all I was hoping for. Quite great pick up and absolutely beautiful. A piece of art.

[Smizzle535i]

Congrats on your delivery Scott! Look forward to seeing pictures soon!

[Jimvir]

Congrats!!

[BMW_ACURA]

PICS ASAP:thumbup:

[Mr. Grumpy]

:thumbup: Congrats.

[1985mb]

Congrats and look forward to a thorough review, plus pics

[BobRBob]

Excellent! Looking forward to your review and pix.

[Stealth.Pilot]

Congrats!

[pony_trekker]

4 Cyl?

[1985mb]

A 2012 528 is powered by an N20 2.0T by definition. Why are you asking such a redundant question?

[Heartsurg997]

4 Cyl?

http://cache.ohinternet.com/images/f/f3/Fanserviceftw_7538_Obvious_troll_is_obvious.jpg

[Stealth.Pilot]

Actually I would love if you shot a YouTube video. I am looking forward to hearing the sound of the new turbo 4.

[soulunderdog]

I really want to hear about this start/stop thing. Seems almost impossible for it to work as seamless as advertised. I will be really impressed if it does. As someone posts all the time, the car does not exist without pictures. Proof of life.......

[bmwarchitect]

Congrats!. Did you get sport package, or M sport? What size, brand and type of tires did your car come with?

[Needsdecaf]

I really want to hear about this start/stop thing. Seems almost impossible for it to work as seamless as advertised. I will be really impressed if it does. As someone posts all the time, the car does not exist without pictures. Proof of life.......

Why do people doubt the start / stop so much? It's been available for years in Europe and works fine.

OP: Congrats, I think that must be the first one delivered on here!

[rrachapudi]

I really want to hear about this start/stop thing. Seems almost impossible for it to work as seamless as advertised. I will be really impressed if it does. As someone posts all the time, the car does not exist without pictures. Proof of life.......

First of all, hearty congratulations to St_louis_scott. I'll also look forward to his big review.

I test drove the 2012 528ix Monday evening. (I currently have a 2009 528ix). I am not an expert in engine noises. But, I could not tell any obvious differences in the engine noise between 2009 and 2012 528 ix. It accelerated well and was cruising very well. The start-stop function works like a charm and if you do not want to be bothered, you can turn it off. For a driver like me and the traffic conditions we (in New Jersey/NYC) have, 528 (N20) is more than enough. I don't understand all these people who pass negative comments without even test driving.

However, I just committed to buying a 2012 535ix (not because of the extra power that some people seem to crave, without even test driving) only because the color combination I wanted. Even though I am perfectly happy with my current 528 and was impressed with the 2012 528 (N20), I had to go for 535ix because of the ready availability of the following:

Alpine White, Cinnamon Brown, CWP, PP, TP, Comfort Access, Sat Radio.

My first preference was 528 ix, if absolutely not available (before end of this month), then 535ix. Was not willing to wait for 6-8 weeks to order and wait. The CA located one and said he'll procure it for me. If they allow me to use BMW drive event credit ($1000), I should end up paying ~53570 + Tax. This factors the Nav credit, Loyalty and hopefully, Drive event credit. Do you guys think it is a fair deal?

Thanks to many people that post on this forum who have enriched my knowledge about BMW 5 series.

[mdk888]

Gratz!

[PlzDuntBanMe]

Great Scott!

[Leslierc]

I just committed to buying a 2012 535ix (not because of the extra power that some people seem to crave, without even test driving) only because the color combination I wanted.

Sounds a lot like the people who used to say they read Playboy magazine for the interesting articles inside! [Just kidding!]:)

[St_louis_Scott]

First, thanks for all the positive posts. It's my first BMW and I'm so happy. I will post some proper pictures this weekend as proof if it's existence. I'm taking it on a 500 mile trip today so I'm going to get some quality drive time.

A couple if points. My wife drove a camry hybrid for 3 years. Start stop works exactly the same in this car. Some people find it annoying but you get used to it and after a while you forget it is even happening. You can turn it off. I'll leave it on.

Initial impression on the engine is that many people are going to love it and others are going to hate it --- no in between. It is very smooth and quite but it sounds like a 4 cylinder engine (as it should). People get venomous in this forum about this issue so I'll just admit it... it is not a 6 cylinder and never will be. I DON'T CARE! It's quite, smooth and absolutely beautiful inside. That's why I bought it. I'm rarely going to drive above 70 and I'm a grandpa driver with regard to acceleration. If I had a 550 I'd be passed by fiat 500's off the line on a regular basis. It's the perfect car for me so no nasty comments please.

More to come....

[bighungry618]

People get venomous in this forum about this issue so I'll just admit it... it is not a 6 cylinder and never will be. I DON'T CARE! It's quite, smooth and absolutely beautiful inside. That's why I bought it. I'm rarely going to drive above 70 and I'm a grandpa driver with regard to acceleration. If I had a 550 I'd be passed by fiat 500's off the line on a regular basis. It's the perfect car for me so no nasty comments please.

More to come....

Kudos and Congrats!...Enjoy your roadtrip :thumbup:

[yogi799]

Sounds a lot like the people who used to say they read Playboy magazine for the interesting articles inside! [Just kidding!]:)

LOL


I'm a grandpa driver with regard to acceleration

Then you definitely did not need 535. So congrats on a great decision (in fact some even weaker model would do, if it was available). I nearly floor mine every time I can. My only issue is not getting caught. The thrill of experiencing some forceful torque and being pushed into the seat is so awesome. I just don't get nearly enough of that kind of fun on my daily commute (and don't really want to take another route just to burn some gas and rubber LOL).

[tdepetra]

Congratulations. Pictures, please, of course. Sometimes we forget how sweet the right 4 cylinder engine can be. Remember the S2000?

I kind of wish I had the new 528.

[soulunderdog]

First, thanks for all the positive posts. It's my first BMW and I'm so happy. I will post some proper pictures this weekend as proof if it's existence. I'm taking it on a 500 mile trip today so I'm going to get some quality drive time.

A couple if points. My wife drove a camry hybrid for 3 years. Start stop works exactly the same in this car. Some people find it annoying but you get used to it and after a while you forget it is even happening. You can turn it off. I'll leave it on.

Initial impression on the engine is that many people are going to love it and others are going to hate it --- no in between. It is very smooth and quite but it sounds like a 4 cylinder engine (as it should). People get venomous in this forum about this issue so I'll just admit it... it is not a 6 cylinder and never will be. I DON'T CARE! It's quite, smooth and absolutely beautiful inside. That's why I bought it. I'm rarely going to drive above 70 and I'm a grandpa driver with regard to acceleration. If I had a 550 I'd be passed by fiat 500's off the line on a regular basis. It's the perfect car for me so no nasty comments please.

More to come....

Enjoy the long trip. Looking forward to pictures and other observations. BTW - I would bet many here are grandpa drivers on a regular basis just probably won't admit it..

Sent from my PC36100 using Bimmer

[1985mb]

Just remember to vary the RPM a bit

[BobRBob]

I'm a grandpa driver with regard to acceleration...

Not me. Just yesterday I was in a street race with a GTR...:p
Not.

[St_louis_Scott]

Well I had a great day trip to Kansas City yesterday. It was a little under 500 miles and I felt like it was the perfect way to get to know the car and the control. While my dealer did a great job explaining stuff to me, you learn by doing and I got about 8 hours doing just that. Here are a couple of points:

1) Quite, quite, quite: First, I'll say, I switched the tires right away. I don't like the looks of the 17 inch rims that came with it. I put on 245/45/18 Pirelli PZero Nero A/S tires on Rial Como Bright Satin Sil rims. (I'll put pictures up after I get it detailed...lots of bugs after the trip). Very little road noise. I did take the time to open the sun roof on the way home and the sound was very tolerable. I couldn't discern any tire noise or engine noise to speak of at 70 mph.
2) Ride comfort: I know it's also a function of the tires, but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm coming from a VW CC with similar sized 17 inch tires and every imperfection was felt by my a$$. After 9 hours in the car on typical highway miles (i.e. uneven patchwork highway) my a$$ felt just fine. This was a BIG motivator for me...so I am VERY happy.
3) Start/Stop: I got caught in TERRIBLE traffic for about 1.5 hours leaving KC. True bumper to bumper never getting about 10-15 mph. Word of advise...DO NOT use the start/stop with the auto hold engaged. My salesman really talked up the auto hold and I just don't like it. I have to have my foot on the break. The start/stop just engages too often with the auto hold. I like being able to give just a little tap tap of the breaks when just drifting and then the start/stop doesn't engage. After turning of the auto hold I just loved the start/stop. It's like there is a teeny tiny super fast starter motor that just starts it instantly when you push the accelerator. Very difficult to describe but I can already tell that I won't even notice it after a few weeks.
4) EcoPro Mode: WOW this was cool. I'm not 100% sure what it does, but it was really neat. I got almost 34 mpg on the trip (that's the FIRST 500 miles folks) driving mostly in EcoPro. It has a different kind of fuel economy gauge that tries to guide you to the sweet spot of easy acceleration. It calculates how many extra miles of fuel you are saving by driving in EcoPro (it said I gained about 90 miles on the trip). It makes the cruise control do only gentle acceleration. I think it does something to the throttle because you can notice something with the RPMs when you switch from comfort to EcoPro. I'll have to read more about this feature to find out more about it, but I thought it was just great.
5) Acceleration/power: As you might expect from my EcoPro comments, I wasn't really going to for the land speed record. Only thing I can say on this is that I was going up and down some fairly steep hills between columbus and KC and while on cruise control I watched the RPMs as I kept a constant speed and passed trucks on the right. Didn't move at all. Constant speed, RPM and engine sound. That's all I need.

Of course the interior was fabulous and I enjoyed riding in it at night for the first time. Very cool lights and looks. I'll post some occasional comments as I drive a little more, but that's it for now.

[spaghetti]

Congrats! Thanks for the write-up.

[Needsdecaf]

Eco pro also manages the "hotel load " (accessories) to keep the consumption down.

Sent from my DROIDX using Bimmer

[ruok303]

Not me. Just yesterday I was in a street race with a GTR...:p
Not.
Sounds great! Which tires were on the car at delivery?

[soulunderdog]

Nice review - you seem to be very happy with the performance thus far. Thanks for the write up..

Sent from my PC36100 using Bimmer

[Leslierc]

I hope you realize that it never happened without pictures.:)

[Ausfahrt]

I don't believe that you even have a 528! I didn't see any pictures of your car! It's December and still no Pictures.:thumbdwn:

Which dealership did you get your car from? Autohaus, Plaza?

[St_louis_Scott]

I don't believe that you even have a 528! I didn't see any pictures of your car! It's December and still no Pictures.:thumbdwn:

Which dealership did you get your car from? Autohaus, Plaza?

Ha! Here is a pic from October.

Got it at Autohaus. Very happy with it so far.

[Ausfahrt]

Ha! Here is a pic from October.

Got it at Autohaus. Very happy with it so far.

I like the wheels, what wheels are those, are they OEM wheels for the 528? Yeah I got my car delivered to Autohaus, Tim was the person who helped me. If you go in for service the best service advisor is Linda. I followed her from Plaza. Good to know another F10 is near the stl area.

[St_louis_Scott]

I like the wheels, what wheels are those, are they OEM wheels for the 528? Yeah I got my car delivered to Autohaus, Tim was the person who helped me. If you go in for service the best service advisor is Linda. I followed her from Plaza. Good to know another F10 is near the stl area.


Thanks. Good to know about Linda. I'll definitely request he if trouble.

I didn't like the oem wheels. Theses are 18" rial Como from tire rack. Still trying to sell the oem wheels. Any suggestions? Tried Craig's list with little response.

Pics if yours please.

[Ausfahrt]

Thanks. Good to know about Linda. I'll definitely request he if trouble.

I didn't like the oem wheels. Theses are 18" rial Como from tire rack. Still trying to sell the oem wheels. Any suggestions? Tried Craig's list with little response.

Pics if yours please.

I dont know anybody who would want them. Why dont you just use them for winter and use the Rial Como during the summer. When I get my DPE's that's what I'm planning on doing. I actually do that now on my E46 and have a summer winter setup. But here is my car. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=586987

[dgolf]

Scott
Do you have any vibration in your driver's or passenger side seats??

[GunsBMW]

[


Then you definitely did not need 535. So congrats on a great decision (in fact some even weaker model would do, if it was available). I nearly floor mine every time I can. My only issue is not getting caught. The thrill of experiencing some forceful torque and being pushed into the seat is so awesome. I just don't get nearly enough of that kind of fun on my daily commute (and don't really want to take another route just to burn some gas and rubber LOL).[/QUOTE]

Congrats on you purchase OP...528s are still fun to drive.

But yogi im with you I floor mine every chance I get and pray that there is not a cop around. :D

[St_louis_Scott]

Scott
Do you have any vibration in your driver's or passenger side seats??

Nope. Quite as a church mouse.

[awesomeo3000]

I really want to hear about this start/stop thing. Seems almost impossible for it to work as seamless as advertised. I will be really impressed if it does. As someone posts all the time, the car does not exist without pictures. Proof of life.......

The start/stop really is seamless. It takes you by surprise the first time it does it, especially if you're not expecting it. I'm actually picking up my 2012 528xi tomorrow, but i test drove it several times, and the engine always kicks on and is ready to go before you even have time to shift your foot between the break and the gas pedals!

[awesomeo3000]

Alpine White, Cinnamon Brown, CWP, PP, TP, Comfort Access, Sat Radio.

My first preference was 528 ix, if absolutely not available (before end of this month), then 535ix. Was not willing to wait for 6-8 weeks to order and wait. The CA located one and said he'll procure it for me. If they allow me to use BMW drive event credit ($1000), I should end up paying ~53570 + Tax. This factors the Nav credit, Loyalty and hopefully, Drive event credit. Do you guys think it is a fair deal?

Thanks to many people that post on this forum who have enriched my knowledge about BMW 5 series.

$53570 for a 535xi?? I think that's an awesome deal! I just ordered (actually already picking up tomorrow!) my 2012 528xi in imperial blue with gray leather, and with drivers assistance, heated seats, navi (free with credit), split fold down rear seats, and the multi-contour seats, the total was $52000+tax.