Multi-Contour Seats
I have a 2010 550i M-Sport with the proper 20-way seats, and omission of the side bolster adjustment seems to be petty cost cutting on the part of BMW. Originally I thought the change was due to mounting the side impact airbags in the seats now, but the F01 and F07 have the 20-way seats with side airbags incorporated. We can only hope that they might be restored with the upcoming M-Sport package.
While BMW boasts that they have cut the price with the arrival of the F10, in reality, BMW has indeed saved lots of production costs with the new 5: The aluminum front spaceframe is gone, spare tires are gone, the map pockets (rear of front seats) are now really cheap - check them out; no more rechargeable key fob or real key slot, rear A/C (standard) no longer has temp adjustment, the aforementioned deletion of the side bolster adjustment, vinyl visors on all models (550i used to have fabric to match headliner), no more sport suspension available (forces more expensive options) and most significantly, the overall platform is shared with the 7 series. The 5 used to have its own, distinct chassis and tuning. Now we get a shortened, modified 7 platform, which you can say is a plus or minus, depending upon your point of view, but it save BMW AG a LOT of money. Almost makes you wish they would make a 4 series off a stretched 3er that would be a real replacement for the old E34/E39 vehicles which could be sporting w/o all the electronics. Autocar (UK) Magazine says the F10 is a fine car, but no longer the dynamic benchmark in its class. I guess that trophy must now fall to the Jag XF.
That said, I still plan to replace my E60 with the F10 M-Sport in 2012. Still the best mid-size (now large-size) sedan available. FYI, I always try to skip the first 12-18 months of production of a new chassis. Had some major bad experience with E34 and E39 first year production.