New Car Time

[Mac]

The tech in this is way, way, WAAAY beyond my M3.

[NewNiceMrMe]

There was a massive upgrade in tech after the E90. 

 

We had the same contrast between the X6 and the 5 series although that was even stranger.

 

The X6 was 4 months newer than the 5 series but had the old technology because they waited for the new model to come out.

 

The tech is a major factor is why the 5 is the perfect car for me.  Space, engine, ride etc all count, hugely of course.  However, it isn't too long ago that I had a 520d SE with none of the options mine has - and I couldn't wait to get out of the bloody thing.  Great car, but nowhere near as suited to what I need a car to do from an interior tech perspective.

 

The 335d will be packed with tech and I think it's a lot of fun finding out what it all does.

[patently]

Yes, they do.   I use a lot more than the features you've described on almost every single trip I make (other than local driving). 

 

That may be because the majority of trips are between 120-380 miles so I'm in the car for very long periods of time on single outings and I use the features because of that.  It keeps me connected with what I need to know without breaking the law on a phone/iPad.

 

To be fair, I bet most people stuck for hours in a 2.0 diesel car would start to play with the toys...

[Mac]

Ahahah, harsh!

 

Yeah, it does seem to have loads. The 4 wheel drive thing is a bit weird after years in the M3 - loads more traction, but it doesn't feel as well planted as the M3. It 'skips' if you power it through a corner? Mind you, fairly sure my RS4 did that as well.

[NewNiceMrMe]

To be fair, I bet most people stuck for hours in a 2.0 diesel car would start to play with the toys...

 

Have you driven a 520d?

[patently]

Have you driven a 520d?

 

I may have, I can't remember

[Mac]

I have, repeatedly. Our pool cars were 320 and 520d units, although they were fairly poverty spec. Remember thinking the 320d seemed to be two variants - one was f**king terrible. Horribly noisy and slow, the other not so much. 

[CarMad]

Ahahah, harsh!

 

Yeah, it does seem to have loads. The 4 wheel drive thing is a bit weird after years in the M3 - loads more traction, but it doesn't feel as well planted as the M3. It 'skips' if you power it through a corner? Mind you, fairly sure my RS4 did that as well.

 

I suspect that might be the stiffer sidewalls of the runflats. I had the same with my old 330 before I move away from them. Personal preference some like them some don't but it helped settle the ride for me in that car but runflats and the tuning of the suspension have moved on. 

 

My barge doesn't seem to suffer from it at all but it was always there on the three with the RFs. 

 

On the tech and the latest sat nav BMW have made things rather clever, if you ignore it on the same run a few times it will take you the way you like the next time it learns the route you prefer - traffic allowing etc. with the real time data. 

[Tipex]

I sit in my my car all day most days, rarely use any of the tech, phone does everything easier.

[patently]

(just to clarify, I'm teasing! 520d is a nice car, 320d is a sensible choice of car)

[CarMad]

Have you driven a 520d?

 

I have when mines has been in any it was great, felt like slightly large and more grown up three series but the feel was the same but the ride more supple as you would expect. Strangely the first one I drove I felt the engine was great the last one sounded the same but didn't quite have the same go. It made me think more about staying with a 30d than going for a 20d in the next car as a result surprisingly. 

 

Compared to the GT they are quite different still the same overall BMW feel but the 5 GT is more 7 series like than 3 series like slower and enjoys being stroked along and not being taken by the scruff of the neck. 

 

As I've said elsewhere I might move to a 3 GT next not the best looker for some but meets most of my criteria and won't be too heavy on the wallet if the option of a second car comes along. 

[NewNiceMrMe]

The engine noise difference between the 320d and 520d is huge.

 

We had a 320d M Sport as a courtesy car for a few weeks before the X6 arrived.  Hated it.  Very, very noisy.

 

The noise insulation in the 5 series means it is an entirely different experience.

 

However, as with all of these things, you buy a car that suits your needs and I've tried being honest enough to appraise my cars on that basis in the past.

 

For example, and I think this is relevant to Mac's choice of a 335d (albeit in his case for different reasons) in looking at why people choose the car they do.  We all tend to assess others purchases based on our use of cars.

 

Here....

 

Would I buy a 520d M Sport if....

 

- I did very long trips, primarily on motorways and that's all the car would be used for - YES

- I did the above but also wanted the car to be fun - NO
- I wanted an economical car but only ever did local trips - NO

- I wanted an economical car and occasionally did long trips (maybe once a month) - NO

- I wanted a performance car - NO

- I wanted a car that was very quiet and very economical on motorways (and used them all the time) - YES

- I wanted to impress people - NO

- I was on a very tight budget - NO

- I had endless amounts of money - NO

 

That list could go on.  I've said previously I wouldn't buy a 520d if I only drove locally.  It is the best car I've ever owned but it wouldn't be my choice for that limited purpose.

I drove the old 730d and didn't think there was enough difference to change.  I am due to drive a new 730d at some point over the next 2 weeks so it'll make for an interesting comparison.

Mac's car is superb but it'd be absolutely not the car for me, just as mine would probably drive him insane and a 911 would be useless to me.

Edited May 1, 2016 by NewNiceMrMe

[RobK]

Must say I prefer to use Waze rather than the built in satnav in my car.

[Mac]

Not tried Waze - will have a look see.

[NewNiceMrMe]

Waze is superb.  As long as you switch off all other driver interaction you can't really go wrong with it.

 

MrsMe is using it in the C70 and loves it.

[CarMad]

Must say I prefer to use Waze rather than the built in satnav in my car.

Waze is very good, but I once had the BMW Nav tell me to leave the motorway and Waze to stay on it and Waze got it very wrong on that occasion for some reason and the hold up had been there for a good while.

 

I also use it to warn others of hold ups and accidents as well, its now Google owned and they integrate the alerts into its own mapping and I think Apple are still using it on theirs. 

[NewNiceMrMe]

I think all Nav systems have their faults.

 

I rate NavPro in the BMW very highly indeed.  However, it isn't too long ago that it told me to drive 2.5 miles to get to a building I was 1/2 mile from with a direct route of access to it!  It also took me to council offices in Yeovil that weren't the council offices in Yeovil because it was a lane that ran along the back of them!  I could see them but had to drive a mile or so around in a circle to get to them!

[E-bmw]

Having used it on Mrs E's previous 3er I have to say the interface is CR@P!

 

It works well, gives good instructions & tells you what the sign will say etc. but the UI is sh!t.

[Tipex]

Can't honestly say I rate Waze very highly, it takes some very odd routes and the traffic info is always very out of date.

I still generally use TomTom, it simply can't be beaten, yes it costs more money than other apps, but it's constantly updated and it's never sent me wrong.

[E-bmw]

This is the thing with satnav isn't it.

 

"it has never sent me wrong"

 

Unless you have 5 different cars leaving the same place at the same time using different platforms, you don't ACTUALLY know that, do you?

 

I know you will call me a pedantic th@, but you know what I mean.

[Chick]

I prefer Waze as it uses google maps ..... and so far has informed me of traffic problems.  I've never rated the Audi system although it has improved over the years but I still find it stupid at times (but least it never argues back).

[NewNiceMrMe]

E-BMW, you're right.  If you only ever use one system then you'll never know (within reason) if it is sending you on stupidly long routes or not.

 

If you do enough driving and to enough places, I think you tend to get to know when something isn't quite right.  However, most people only use Nav when they're going somewhere they've never been before so they never find out.

 

My car insists that the A1 North (of Boroughbridge) is the fastest route home for me.  It is factoring RTTI into that.

 

However, I know for certain that the A19 North (at Boroughbridge) is the fastest route home - by a good 10 minutes, sometimes more.  Time and time again, when I turn off at the A19, it'll try to get me to turnaround.  It'll keep saying the A1 is faster for 15 minutes - adding 30 minutes!  I can only presume there is a major routing issue in the software on that stretch because it is still telling me this after I've updated to the latest maps, so it clearly isn't a physical road knowledge issue (or maybe it is?).

 

Similarly, when I head down to Stevenage it'll always try taking me off the A1 South at the Stevenage North Junction.  Yet I know that the next junction down will work out 3-5 minutes quicker almost every time. 

I think we often presume SatNav is cleverer than it actually is.

 

Back on Waze though, I see the point about the UI but I think this is because they're tried to pack so much in and make the map element as easy to read as possible.  I think it is fiddly for zooming in/out and I also think it should be a bit easier to end a route.  But it is free and I still think it is a lot better than anything else I've seen that is comparable.  It is unfair to compare it to paid for products such as TomTom because it simply isn't a like for like comparison. 

The big thing with Waze is the ability to communicate and track your driving with those you choose (or those you don't!) and the fact that, the more you use it, the more it learns.  It is possibly the only real constantly updated Nav in the world because Google have data that others simply don't and resources that can't be matched too.  It learns what you drive like better than any other app I've seen. 

Edited May 3, 2016 by NewNiceMrMe

[E-bmw]

You may have misunderstood my complaint about UI NNMM, I was talking about the bmw satnav interface!

 

I think it is the WORST I have ever come across in 15 + years of sat nav interface experience

[NewNiceMrMe]

You may have misunderstood my complaint about UI NNMM, I was talking about the bmw satnav interface!

 

I think it is the WORST I have ever come across in 15 + years of sat nav interface experience

 

Oh I see.  I've got to say I'm surprised by that.  I find it the exact opposite.

 

Are you talking about the latest 2012 on interface?

 

I think it is excellent.

[Tipex]

I disagree about it being a fair comparison, it's a sat nav app, whether it was paid for or they make their money in other ways is largely irrelevant, it has to do the same job.

With regards to not knowing if it's sent you wrong or not, yes that's true to a degree, and for most it would be, but as MrMe mentions above, when you travel a lot, and you know routes yourself, you can get a pretty damned good idea if one of them is trying to send you on a dodgy route.

I'll often have more than one sat nav going, sad maybe, but it helps me work out exactly which is best, they are all always on silent, and generally I don't even need them on, but I'll often have a dedicated sat nav unit, my phone, and the cars built in nav going at the same time.

The Ford nav is by Tom Tom and consequently uses their maps and traffic alerts, so it always produces exactly the same routes and traffic diversions as my TomTom app, 9 times out of ten it'll use the routes I know from experience that are quicker.

Google maps is an absolute disaster, never, ever trust it to get me anywhere, the routes and the traffic info are terrible, somehow it's even worse than Waze even though it supposedly uses the same info.

Waze is in theory, a great idea, but it just isn't there yet, to be taken seriously it needs to lose the 'my first sat nav' UI, sort out it's route planning and filter the traffic info better, I don't doubt with Google behind it now it'll get much better and probably end up one of the best, so long as you accept Google will be spying on you wherever you go!

Edited May 3, 2016 by Tipex