Who has switched from E39 to F10?

I am close to pulling the trigger on a 2013 550i. Now I wonder if my '02 540i is too good to leave behind and whether the 550i is a step up or a comedown.

Former E39 owner experiences welcome please.

I had an e60 535i xdrive in between 2 e39 540 6sp and my F10 550i xdrive msport full load. The e39 were more fun to drive but less dependable. The F10 is a significantly more modern car and probably a much faster car...I miss driving a stick but the 8 speed is probably a better/faster shifting tranny. Reasonable answer?

I'm keeping my 540i. She is too well maintained to sell to someone else.

I came from a 2002 535 E39. They are completely different cars from a driving perspective. The F10 is much more responsive to the throttle. F10 steering feel is much less connected to the road than the E39. One of the reasons I bought the E39 535 vs. the 540 was better steering response (the two E39s had completely different steering mechanicals). Because of this you may not notice as much of a difference between the 540 E39 and F10.

Handling of the E39 is superior to the F10 due to the fact that the F10 is larger, heavier and more softly sprung than the E39. It's hard to compensate for the added weight and size even with a more modern suspension. I have automatic roll stabilization and electronic dampers on my F10 and the E39 is still superior in this respect. The new for 2013 M suspension without the electronic suspension might be an improvement over what I have. I don't know.

The F30 series is much closer to the E39 n size and handing characteristics than the F10. That might be a consideration for you. I bought the F10 because the added interior and trunk space plus the luxurious feel of the F10 appealed to me, but I do miss the E39 from time to time.

Originally Posted by Elmanzah

I'm keeping my 540i. She is too well maintained to sell to someone else.

Mine is well maintained also. Do you end up driving the old 540 also or does it just sit?

Originally Posted by tedb1965

I had an e60 535i xdrive in between 2 e39 540 6sp and my F10 550i xdrive msport full load. The e39 were more fun to drive but less dependable. The F10 is a significantly more modern car and probably a much faster car...I miss driving a stick but the 8 speed is probably a better/faster shifting tranny. Reasonable answer?

Yes, thanks.

Radarguy's post just about sums it up from my perspective. I've had three e39s (1997, 2000, 2002), but not V8s, and they were completely different than my new F10.

BTW...Be sure to test-drive an F10 with DHP before you make your final choice. The DHP's uto roll stabilization and electronic dampeners are a must for this car. Set and configure them to sport+ (for chassis and drivetrain) and drive it! Thats the best the F10 will get (handling wise) in stock form.

Otherwise, you might find yourself planning mods (springs, sways, and exhaust) like me just to get back that e 39 feel and sound.

I went from a 2002 530i to a 2011 528i. The E39 handled better and had better throttle response than my F10. I don't think it's a question of my 528 being underpowered. It's the throttle delay/tip in issue that makes the difference. The steering and road feel was far superior in the E39.

As for comfort and luxury, the F10 wins hands down.

If you're in love with it don't break your heart as I did. But if you want technological advancement/improvement go for the F10. Yeah, I nearly cried as I left my 2000 at the "stealer" would have kept it but didn't want the expense of long term storage cost. I love the F10 and enjoy it and you'll find that it size will surprise you compared to the F10. It's a bit larger and feels like it. The one down-side that gets me is the run-flats and no designed place to store a spare tire. Other than that I'm happy and I agree with DavidZ.

Originally Posted by CA540

Mine is well maintained also. Do you end up driving the old 540 also or does it just sit?

My F10 is still on order. I expect it first week of March. I will continue to drive it especially in bad weather or on bad roads. When I get it I will be posting a follow up to this post:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=674138

MAYBE KEEP BOTH. I would love a e39 V8 six speed for fun while having the new F10 for when I have to act my age (lol)

Good idea.

My 550 should arrive in June. I think the E39 530 was the best balanced having owned that for 4 years before moving on to the 540 which is front heavy and has recirculating ball steering.

Despite the F10 being larger, softer and subjectively lacking in steering feel, the 540 although ok in the handling department isn't something to write home about although greatly improved with an M5 RSB and steering gearbox.

In the end, I think the overall dimensions and looks will be what is missed most about the E39 - the stars were aligned when BMW built that car.


F30? meh..

The E39 was one of the biggest home runs of any modern mass produced car, as well as perhaps the highest on the "modern classic" Sedan totem pole.

I used to drive my Mom's every now and then when I was younger and dreaming of one day being able to afford my own (hers was a 528i, noticeably underpowered but that distinctive I6 sound and feel was always engrained in my blood and man was it smooth), and I do remember it feeling a bit more connected than my F10....

.... but speaking relative to time (i.e, basically every car nowadays is quieter, bigger and softer than its forefathers), I really feel like the spirit of the E39 in terms of design at least has been recaptured by the F10. My Mom had an E60 after her E39 and it gave me no impressions of the spirit of the E39.

The interior of the F10 is very elegant and premium, just like the E39, the lines are smooth and the car has a balanced essence of finesse that teeters the lines of sportiness and stateliness that I feel the E39 also captured during its time.

I feel that in overall refinement, the F10 captures the E39 during its time and then some, but as far as driving I'm sure those longing for the E39 feel will find it massive, soft and floatier.

As for a universal judgement of car Vs car in the appliance Vs appliance sense, the F10 is a vastly superior automobile, as of course it should be, considering it is essentially an 15+ year evolution of the E39.

I currently have both. Different cars obviously, but similar in driving experience, except the F10 handles like a go-kart. I think the F10 will someday be as much of a classic as the E39. I HATED the E60, still do, makes the F10 look SO much nicer.

Originally Posted by K-A

I feel that in overall refinement, the F10 captures the E39 during its time and then some, but as far as driving I'm sure those longing for the E39 feel will find it massive, soft and floatier.

As for a universal judgement of car Vs car in the appliance Vs appliance sense, the F10 is a vastly superior automobile, as of course it should be, considering it is essentially an 15+ year evolution of the E39.

well stated. I also see the F10 as the evolution of the E39 - it's even starting to look like it which is a good thing

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW

I HATED the E60, still do, makes the F10 look SO much nicer.

very, very well said. funny how the E60 looks so dated now, still disappointing, still ugly, still a mystery - but - drove very well I will give it that.

Originally Posted by demas

well stated. I also see the F10 as the evolution of the E39 - it's even starting to look like it which is a good thing




very, very well said. funny how the E60 looks so dated now, still disappointing, still ugly, still a mystery - but - drove very well I will give it that.

Totally agreed. I saw a silver F10 behind a silver E39 a few months ago and I just got this chill down my spine in how amazingly well resolved the F10 was as a (finally) proper evolution to the E39, after the IMO aesthetic blunder of the E60. It's one of the many factors that got me really itching to get into an F10 as of recent.

"Grabby" designs like the E60 that are meant to look so "futuristic" at launch almost always age poorly, as they become tiring eye sores. I think the E60 had so many gimmicks, though revolutionary (no one can call it a copy cat, it was a leader, just very rough around the edges to say the least), that it just aged very prematurely. The hard edges, jarring crease line of the trunk, overly sharp/complex corners all helped it age poorly I think.

Some criticized the F10 for being too simple and smooth, yet that's the beauty of it, just like the E39. It's proportionally driven and just a design full of balanced finesse, like the E39. I think the F10 will look just as good as it does today in several years after the next 5 comes out (unlike the E60 looks now VS the F10, IMO), and also think it'll be right next to the E39 in being considered one of BMW's most Classic designs.

A

Originally Posted by radarguy

I came from a 2002 535 E39. They are completely different cars from a driving perspective. The F10 is much more responsive to the throttle. F10 steering feel is much less connected to the road than the E39. One of the reasons I bought the E39 535 vs. the 540 was better steering response (the two E39s had completely different steering mechanicals). Because of this you may not notice as much of a difference between the 540 E39 and F10.

Do you mean 530i E39, because there was no 535i E39. I love the looks of the F10 5-series. A 550I with the sports suspension would be awesome.

Originally Posted by senser

A

Do you mean 530i E39, because there was no 535i E39. I love the looks of the F10 5-series. A 550I with the sports suspension would be awesome.

My bad. It was a 530i.

This is a great picture that shows how the 5 Series has evolved through the generations.

Love that pic. The E60 so seems like the odd duck. If you took it out, the lineage would look very evolutionary.

I feel like actually a lot of the F10's aesthetic inspiration came from the E34 as much as the E39. I feel it has the "grace" of the E39, but lots of things like the L shaped taillights and most notably the Hofmeister Kink are very E34 inspired. Namely the fact that not since the E34 has any BMW had such a strongly penned Hofmeister Kink, as if BMW is sticking it to all those copycats who apply the Hof Kink on especially FWD cars by making the F10's "Kink" so dramatic, so sweeping, so stated.

Originally Posted by demas

My 550 should arrive in June. I think the E39 530 was the best balanced having owned that for 4 years before moving on to the 540 which is front heavy and has recirculating ball steering.

Despite the F10 being larger, softer and subjectively lacking in steering feel, the 540 although ok in the handling department isn't something to write home about although greatly improved with an M5 RSB and steering gearbox.

In the end, I think the overall dimensions and looks will be what is missed most about the E39 - the stars were aligned when BMW built that car.


F30? meh..

Agree with the "stars were aligned" comment. Many here might not remember it, but one of the popular car magazines (Car and Driver?) tested the E39 530i and said it was the best car they had EVER tested. I really miss that car

But my F10 is growing on me.

The E39 is one of the coolest cars I ever owned. It was also the most problematic.

I would take an F10 over an E39 any day.

Life is too short .

Originally Posted by shredace

This is a great picture that shows how the 5 Series has evolved through the generations.

Picture fabulous. It helps to make the move on feel natural. Thanks.

I still have my 2000 528I with the Sport Package and bought a 2011 535 XI with the Sport and Aero Kit. For sheer "get in the car and row the gearbox and go through twisty turny corners", the old E39 wins hands down.

For long cruises I have taken the F10 is a great starship - however you are talking Cadillac experince (even with Sport Mode turned on) and not the driving feeling that made BMW famous.

To misquote an old song - BMW has lost that driving feeling ...

The F10 is a good car - but let's face it - my neighbour's Lincoln has better electronics and most of the features at $30K less ...