Drove a 528 vs 535 - Preferred the 528

Seriously...??? No 6 sp MT?????

Too bad..... THAT is how you have fun with these cars.....

To me it seems like people who cannot either afford the more expensive 535/550 OR people who could afford but rather SAVE the money (call em cheap, conscious, whatever) will try to justify to themselves and then seek approval from the community about their decision.

I say: IF you made a decision (based on your means/needs/budget) and decided to get 528i.. then that is fine but please save the trouble of trying to justify why it is better than the higher models. I find reasons like "it feels much better to be able to go WOT on NA engine" pretty non convincing in a debate to show why 528 is "better" in general. It is only better for your needs.

Like someone already said earlier, If money was available in abundance one would not sit and contemplate whether to get the bottom of the barrel or top of the line model.

I love the inline 6-cylinder NA engines for reliability, smoothness, and mileage. I also like the 400+ HP of V8 550i to respond more quickly at times. The 535i is a good balance of key attributes for me, esp. with the 8-speed auto. Silky smooth, powerful, and gets good gas mileage for such a car (4000 pounds) ; it just compliments its luxury with engineering elegance.

The idea of the turbo did bother me some, but I understand they make them much better nowadays with higher temperature materials. I got the extended warranty and changed the oil after break-in just for some insurance.

I think 528i is still a great, luxurious, smooth and fun car, but I think the new 5-series - being "larger" cars - just needs more power to be enjoyed. Your experience - like your mileage - may vary.

I ordered a 528 with Sport and gunned with options. I had the 535 and enjoyed the car but was not happy with the reliabilty. I hear both sides of the arguement over performance differences of the 528, 535, and 550. I can afford any model but gun shy of the turbos. I test drove the 528 & 550 while shopping for a replacement for my 535.

I never thought of a BMW as a straight line runner but a car you take out in search of twistys and enjoy the Ultimate Driving machine for what the experiance was meant to be. With that said, I'm looking forward to taking her out to some of my favorite roads I'm currently enjoying with my 535.

Originally Posted by markl53

Anyway, you sound convinced with the 528i which is fine, but you really must have set yourself up for disappointment somehow as soon as you got into the 535i. Can't figure it out.

Perhaps because you haven't actually driven the F10 528? Maybe you should. Based on your post it sounds like your impression of what a 528i is was based on the E60 and not the F10. Compared to the E60, the F10 528i has a substantial 30 lb-ft more torque, the 8AT vs the 6AT, and only 200 lbs of additional weight. It's a half second faster to 60 mph than the E60 which is a nice improvement. There's definitely going to be a huge difference in performance between the E60 528 and any of the 535's, but not as much of a difference with the F10 528.

Also you sound shocked at actually having to floor the E60 528 as if that's a bad thing, whereas I relish the opportunity to do so. Personally if I can't crank it up to 10 in whatever vehicle I'm driving on a semi-regular basis I get restless, frustrated, and also bored. So that seems to be a marked difference between our driving styles. And mirroring your post a bit, I knew the instant I punched it in the F10 528i that there wasn't going to be any need for the 535 because it was more than quick enough "for me", my driving style, and for how I enjoy the vehicles that I drive.

Originally Posted by bikerboy

I can't imagine any reason in the world that anyone would prefer a 528 over a 535. The slower car is better sorted out? Seems more balanced? I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but just because you're in stop and go traffic all day, that doesn't mean your stuck there every weekend. Come on! What about contacting Dinan for a re map of the turbo 535? A re map of the turbo 335 boosts it up to 380 hp. Now you've got a 535 with almost the same power of a 550. Still prefer the 528?

LOL. That's because you live in Michigan.

Like I said, if I still lived out in the midwest I'd probably not even consider the 528 and want to go straight for at least the 535 too. Read about your adventures in the E55 in another thread, and yes that's exactly the kind of fun you can have out there that you can't have on the east coast, especially in and around major urban centers if you value holding onto your license and not getting arrested. Somewhere I have a shot of the gauge cluster in the car I had at the time cruising at 110 mph with traffic going through Michigan. Nobody seemed to be too worried about cops. I used to cruise at triple digit speeds for up to an hour at a time going through Minnesota and there were hardly ever any cars and never saw any cops. Going through Wisconsin there's a spot where you could easily top out any car, except I was always too chicken because of the rep of Wisconsin cops. You'd have to swing by the spot first and then do a u-turn and pray one didn't show up in the 5 minutes it'd take to get going back the other direction again to make your run, or have a scout car a few miles ahead of you, LOL. If you wanted to, you could do it though.

DC and the burbs are like driving in a school zone constantly in comparison, so if you value cranking it up to 10 on a semi-regular basis you have to go with a lower powered car to get your ya-yas out around here. Yes, I'd rather get an E90 328i 6MT with the Sport package than an M3 around here. But out in the midwest with some room to open it up an M3 would totally be worth it. Different regions, different preferences.

Found em. "Fun in Michigan."

Note the position of the white SUV (Jeep Grand Cherokee) in front of me.





Here's a minute or two later. He seems to be pulling away.



I wasn't exactly flying past the other cars. Everybody was going 100+. There was also an Audi A8L going 120+ that I didn't feel like keeping up with either.

If there was a place to go this fast around here in the DC burbs without too much worry about getting nailed by a cop and arrested I'd seriously consider something more than a 528, heh heh.

Originally Posted by BlackBerryCubed

To me it seems like people who cannot either afford the more expensive 535/550 OR people who could afford but rather SAVE the money (call em cheap, conscious, whatever) will try to justify to themselves and then seek approval from the community about their decision.

I say: IF you made a decision (based on your means/needs/budget) and decided to get 528i.. then that is fine but please save the trouble of trying to justify why it is better than the higher models. I find reasons like "it feels much better to be able to go WOT on NA engine" pretty non convincing in a debate to show why 528 is "better" in general. It is only better for your needs.

That's all anybody is really saying here.

Originally Posted by SteVTEC

Perhaps because you haven't actually driven the F10 528? Maybe you should. Based on your post it sounds like your impression of what a 528i is was based on the E60 and not the F10. Compared to the E60, the F10 528i has a substantial 30 lb-ft more torque, the 8AT vs the 6AT, and only 200 lbs of additional weight. It's a half second faster to 60 mph than the E60 which is a nice improvement. There's definitely going to be a huge difference in performance between the E60 528 and any of the 535's, but not as much of a difference with the F10 528.

OK, you're right there, I didn't drive the F10 528i. Still, I think I'm spoiled by my 335i, having the torque there wherever, whenever. I would have gotten the 6MT on the 535i, but as I mentioned, I plan on selling in 3-4 years and I just don't think I'd find many buyers for the stick. The auto seems good, I'll probably miss the stick sometimes, it's just a totally different experience.

Also you sound shocked at actually having to floor the E60 528 as if that's a bad thing, whereas I relish the opportunity to do so. Personally if I can't crank it up to 10 in whatever vehicle I'm driving on a semi-regular basis I get restless, frustrated, and also bored. So that seems to be a marked difference between our driving styles. And mirroring your post a bit, I knew the instant I punched it in the F10 528i that there wasn't going to be any need for the 535 because it was more than quick enough "for me", my driving style, and for how I enjoy the vehicles that I drive.

I think I'm more prone to driving harder when shifting myself. I don't think I'll be shifting the Step manually much, but of course, I'm still waiting for the car to arrive . Honestly, you might love a 535 6MT, it's fun when you get a stretch, or are the first one at a light and you can just gun it. But I see your point better now, given the differences between the E60 and F10 528i's. Of course, with the lower cost of the 528i, I suppose I could have added some other extras -- hmmm. Well I'm not going to 2nd guess it now. Thx, and enjoy your car!

Akter, did you order the 528 LI version?