BMW G30 540i xDrive M Sport Saloon
Jun 8, 2017 10:43:01 GMT
Post by Hofmeister on Jun 8, 2017 10:43:01 GMT
The Car: BMW G30 540i xDrive M Sport Saloon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_5_Series_(G30)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_B58
Collected it from the dealer, and there it sat looking very smart, sophisticated yet understated and discrete in its Sophisto Grey Xirallic Metalic coat, tho the optional 20 inch 759 alloy wheels were a bit Essex girl stilletos for me, and they worried me a tad.
Opened the door and climbed into the ivory white nappa leather comfort seat, and with the aid of 2 memory electrical adjusters for seat and steering quickly got very very comfy indeed. The seats are fab because the upper and lower backrest adjust independently as well as the seat squab, and Mrs Z, who is very picky about seats, was able to get the ideal posture for her ageing complaining bones.
Plenty of room in the footwell, door sides and central tunnel not intruding or claustrophobic, and the top of the dash is not too high. The electrically retracting/lifting steering column aids entry and exit a treat.
Dump the spare key (Dealer didnt give me the “info” key) into one of the two cup holders, and press the button to the left of the wheel. The previously blank dash lit up into garish red M sport mode, one of four types depending on what mode, Eco – Comfort – Sport1 - Sport 2 you have the car set to. The engine, turbine smooth, starts and idles at surprisingly high revs when first fired up, hot or cold. The auto gear selector seems to me to be a little bit of faff, with a separate park button, the lock button being in an awkward place, and the switch like process of using it made manoeuvring a bit clumsy till I got the hang of it. So into drive, gingerly squeezing the bottom hinged throttle, the auto hand brake ticks off and we ease into Cobham rush hour traffic.
Its a genuinely easy car to bimble about in traffic. The ride on the silly wheels is actually rather good, not falling into potholes with a thud, the throttle response is relaxed, visibility seemed good (more of that later) and for a big car it drove small. I had of course by this time put the car in “comfort” mode. Despite the rampant horsepower, the M sport moniker, this is a car you can genuinely mimse around, in a quiet comfortable hassle free bubble. It has start stop. They have tried to make it a clever start stop, but in so doing its a PITA, turning on and off at the wrong moments, its easy to disable the thing. So it was.
Of course for a normal red blooded bloke with over 330hp under his foot that wont last long, but more of that later as well.
Ergonomically its a dream, perfect driving postion, no dash reflections – except the HUD, did I mention it has a HUD? Thats a real WOW moment that lasts about 2 hours, then gets ignored till your first night drive when you frantically scrabble about in the I drive menu to dim the damn thing Wont be spcifying that. The central functions display is good and clear, but a bit limited in what you can do without diving into the idrive, it had gesture control which was too much hassle to set up. It has a cd slot if you look carefully, but the climate and other buttons are, despite being very tactile, a bit small and thoughtlessly scattered. The Volvo V90 system works much better. Voice control for the most part worked OK on both navigation and audio functions. The audio was no better than my current set up in the XC70 despite the fancy Harman Kardman monikers on the speaker grilles, and the DAB kept cutting out. The climate is very difficult to manipulate in manual mode, no easy way to direct air around the cabin in spots you wish.
And now to the performance:
Ruddy hell. Its animal. In a “tiger bites your head off” type of animal. I found a straight stretch, checked it was relatively clear and safe and then I buried my foot in the floor. - Nothing. Literally nothing happens, for a noticeable while, then BANG. Your head hits the headrest, and if you haven’t got the seat back sorted correctly your arms and hands leave the steering wheel. You are then transported by light to the spot hundreds of yards down the road you were looking at in the far distance. Fortunately the huge dustbin lid brakes have phenomenal stopping power with no drama, just STOP.
The wait for power moment is a bit off putting, its a combination of turbo lag and gearbox electronics, and unless you have the thing lined up its going to catch the unwary out. With a little
thought you can get instant power, but you have to plan or work for it. Don't be in Eco or Comfort mode, take control of the gearbox manually, have the turbo slightly pre spooled and then bury the foot. Its there, instantly. Off a roundabout and long slip road over the top of the A3, I had the car prepped and ready to leap, there was a gap available, 200 yards away, and it pounced, jumped into the gap in a heart beat, the car behind you a mere spec in the rear view mirror. The engine noise heard inside is a little insipid.
The gearbox is a peach, from bimbling about to doing aerobatics, its always in perfect gear. Its always possible from any mode to flip a flappy paddle and select a gear, tho when not in manual mode it quickly reverts back to auto, so for long hill descents, engine braked, you ned to flip it to manual mode.
Cruising at speed, 70 mph, there is road noise, generated from the tyres. I will be testing a less aggressively shod version to see if its just the low profile tyres.
I left the real hooligan antics till night time. We had a storm that night, it rained like hell, tree branches came down, heavy standing water, the weather was foul. So I took it up to the Surrey Hills, and I caned it round the back roads. Lord this thing handles, perfect balance, If you say meh it doesent have the BMW rear drive feel you are right. There is no RWD feel, there is no FWD feel, there is four paws on the floor all the time feel. I hit a deep stream of water across the road, on a donwhill right left wiggle, at 80mph, It aquaplaned, for a second, in a perfectly balanced four wheel slide to my right, the front and rear staying in line, and having a bit of room I let it. No drama, no bum twitch, just a “hmmmmm” moment. Of course, I am not stupid so stability control was on.
I hammered it round the back roads, the bends and swoops, and it was a joy and delight, despite the horrid road conditions. The main beam is fantastic with perfect visibility, tho shortish and patchy at dip. The auto wipers work seamlessly well.
I took a wrong turn, and had to reverse in a dead end road for a three point turn. Hopeless.
The view through the rear window is too high, and the reversing camera at night with spray over the lens is a splodgy orange mess, the reversing lights are crap, the door mirrors too small, so there is about 6 feet of space behind the boot (huge boot inside) that I had absolutely no idea what was there, not good on a back road with ditches and rocks to catch out the unwary. Reversing was blind faith using only the obstacle sensors, not a reassuring moment.
Get the car home, park it up, turn it off and climb out. I thought the side air vents in the wing behind the wheels were a stick on gimmick. I was rudely informed this was not the case, as my legs were blasted with hot air, as the car sat there, fans roaring, gulping air through the now electrically opened grill vents
Reluctantly I took it back the next morning.
Model ZM5C G30 540i xDrive M Sport Saloon B58 3.0i
Colour A90 Sophisto Grey Xirallic Metallic
Upholstery LZFI Ivory White Nappa leather with exclusive
Option 2QR 20" BMW Ind V-spoke style 759 alloy whee
Option 248 Steering wheel heating
Option 3AG Reversing Assist camera
Option 4HA Seat heating. front and rear
Option 4LQ Poplar Grain Grey interior trim with Pea
Option 4NM Ambient Air package
Option 4T8 Exterior Mirrors - folding with anti-daz
Option 456 Comfort seats. front
Option 465 Split-folding rear seats
Option 575 12V power sockets
Option 6CP Apple CarPlay preparation
Package ZMS M Sport Plus package
Package Z0C Visibility package
Package Z0J Technology package
100% N/Req 21P 19" M Double-spoke style 664M alloy wheel
On the road price £58290
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_5_Series_(G30)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_B58
Collected it from the dealer, and there it sat looking very smart, sophisticated yet understated and discrete in its Sophisto Grey Xirallic Metalic coat, tho the optional 20 inch 759 alloy wheels were a bit Essex girl stilletos for me, and they worried me a tad.
Opened the door and climbed into the ivory white nappa leather comfort seat, and with the aid of 2 memory electrical adjusters for seat and steering quickly got very very comfy indeed. The seats are fab because the upper and lower backrest adjust independently as well as the seat squab, and Mrs Z, who is very picky about seats, was able to get the ideal posture for her ageing complaining bones.
Plenty of room in the footwell, door sides and central tunnel not intruding or claustrophobic, and the top of the dash is not too high. The electrically retracting/lifting steering column aids entry and exit a treat.
Dump the spare key (Dealer didnt give me the “info” key) into one of the two cup holders, and press the button to the left of the wheel. The previously blank dash lit up into garish red M sport mode, one of four types depending on what mode, Eco – Comfort – Sport1 - Sport 2 you have the car set to. The engine, turbine smooth, starts and idles at surprisingly high revs when first fired up, hot or cold. The auto gear selector seems to me to be a little bit of faff, with a separate park button, the lock button being in an awkward place, and the switch like process of using it made manoeuvring a bit clumsy till I got the hang of it. So into drive, gingerly squeezing the bottom hinged throttle, the auto hand brake ticks off and we ease into Cobham rush hour traffic.
Its a genuinely easy car to bimble about in traffic. The ride on the silly wheels is actually rather good, not falling into potholes with a thud, the throttle response is relaxed, visibility seemed good (more of that later) and for a big car it drove small. I had of course by this time put the car in “comfort” mode. Despite the rampant horsepower, the M sport moniker, this is a car you can genuinely mimse around, in a quiet comfortable hassle free bubble. It has start stop. They have tried to make it a clever start stop, but in so doing its a PITA, turning on and off at the wrong moments, its easy to disable the thing. So it was.
Of course for a normal red blooded bloke with over 330hp under his foot that wont last long, but more of that later as well.
Ergonomically its a dream, perfect driving postion, no dash reflections – except the HUD, did I mention it has a HUD? Thats a real WOW moment that lasts about 2 hours, then gets ignored till your first night drive when you frantically scrabble about in the I drive menu to dim the damn thing Wont be spcifying that. The central functions display is good and clear, but a bit limited in what you can do without diving into the idrive, it had gesture control which was too much hassle to set up. It has a cd slot if you look carefully, but the climate and other buttons are, despite being very tactile, a bit small and thoughtlessly scattered. The Volvo V90 system works much better. Voice control for the most part worked OK on both navigation and audio functions. The audio was no better than my current set up in the XC70 despite the fancy Harman Kardman monikers on the speaker grilles, and the DAB kept cutting out. The climate is very difficult to manipulate in manual mode, no easy way to direct air around the cabin in spots you wish.
And now to the performance:
Ruddy hell. Its animal. In a “tiger bites your head off” type of animal. I found a straight stretch, checked it was relatively clear and safe and then I buried my foot in the floor. - Nothing. Literally nothing happens, for a noticeable while, then BANG. Your head hits the headrest, and if you haven’t got the seat back sorted correctly your arms and hands leave the steering wheel. You are then transported by light to the spot hundreds of yards down the road you were looking at in the far distance. Fortunately the huge dustbin lid brakes have phenomenal stopping power with no drama, just STOP.
The wait for power moment is a bit off putting, its a combination of turbo lag and gearbox electronics, and unless you have the thing lined up its going to catch the unwary out. With a little
thought you can get instant power, but you have to plan or work for it. Don't be in Eco or Comfort mode, take control of the gearbox manually, have the turbo slightly pre spooled and then bury the foot. Its there, instantly. Off a roundabout and long slip road over the top of the A3, I had the car prepped and ready to leap, there was a gap available, 200 yards away, and it pounced, jumped into the gap in a heart beat, the car behind you a mere spec in the rear view mirror. The engine noise heard inside is a little insipid.
The gearbox is a peach, from bimbling about to doing aerobatics, its always in perfect gear. Its always possible from any mode to flip a flappy paddle and select a gear, tho when not in manual mode it quickly reverts back to auto, so for long hill descents, engine braked, you ned to flip it to manual mode.
Cruising at speed, 70 mph, there is road noise, generated from the tyres. I will be testing a less aggressively shod version to see if its just the low profile tyres.
I left the real hooligan antics till night time. We had a storm that night, it rained like hell, tree branches came down, heavy standing water, the weather was foul. So I took it up to the Surrey Hills, and I caned it round the back roads. Lord this thing handles, perfect balance, If you say meh it doesent have the BMW rear drive feel you are right. There is no RWD feel, there is no FWD feel, there is four paws on the floor all the time feel. I hit a deep stream of water across the road, on a donwhill right left wiggle, at 80mph, It aquaplaned, for a second, in a perfectly balanced four wheel slide to my right, the front and rear staying in line, and having a bit of room I let it. No drama, no bum twitch, just a “hmmmmm” moment. Of course, I am not stupid so stability control was on.
I hammered it round the back roads, the bends and swoops, and it was a joy and delight, despite the horrid road conditions. The main beam is fantastic with perfect visibility, tho shortish and patchy at dip. The auto wipers work seamlessly well.
I took a wrong turn, and had to reverse in a dead end road for a three point turn. Hopeless.
The view through the rear window is too high, and the reversing camera at night with spray over the lens is a splodgy orange mess, the reversing lights are crap, the door mirrors too small, so there is about 6 feet of space behind the boot (huge boot inside) that I had absolutely no idea what was there, not good on a back road with ditches and rocks to catch out the unwary. Reversing was blind faith using only the obstacle sensors, not a reassuring moment.
Get the car home, park it up, turn it off and climb out. I thought the side air vents in the wing behind the wheels were a stick on gimmick. I was rudely informed this was not the case, as my legs were blasted with hot air, as the car sat there, fans roaring, gulping air through the now electrically opened grill vents
Reluctantly I took it back the next morning.
Model ZM5C G30 540i xDrive M Sport Saloon B58 3.0i
Colour A90 Sophisto Grey Xirallic Metallic
Upholstery LZFI Ivory White Nappa leather with exclusive
Option 2QR 20" BMW Ind V-spoke style 759 alloy whee
Option 248 Steering wheel heating
Option 3AG Reversing Assist camera
Option 4HA Seat heating. front and rear
Option 4LQ Poplar Grain Grey interior trim with Pea
Option 4NM Ambient Air package
Option 4T8 Exterior Mirrors - folding with anti-daz
Option 456 Comfort seats. front
Option 465 Split-folding rear seats
Option 575 12V power sockets
Option 6CP Apple CarPlay preparation
Package ZMS M Sport Plus package
Package Z0C Visibility package
Package Z0J Technology package
100% N/Req 21P 19" M Double-spoke style 664M alloy wheel
On the road price £58290
