3.0 and 4.8 Test Drive
 

First a few disclaimers: I've driven BMW's for 35 years, and have owned 2 X5's. I do mostly City driving. I do not tow anything.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to do an extensive test drive of a 3.0, and a 4.8i. Before the test drives, I had my heart set on the 4.8.

First, a few observations concerning both: I think that BMW did a great job on the exterior & interior. The interior materials quality, and fit and finish are excellent. I was sad to see that they eliminated the fresh air vent control wheel that the E53 had. I was also thought that the key/start button was an answer to a question that no one asked. As much as I hate paying $1,000 for comfort access, I ordered it, because the location of the key slot is awkward, and required too many steps. The shifter is another example of how to re-invent something that worked just fine before. I assume that one would get used to its quirky operation, but I found myself always looking at the dash cluster to confirm that I was actually in Drive, Reverse, Park. And, if they went to all that trouble to re-invent the shifter, why did they not have the parking brake automatically engage when the "park" button is pressed? The parking brake should also release when the vehicle is put into drive, or reverse.

I-Drive was o.k., but the soft touch, programmable buttons should not be beneath the radio, they should circle the i-drive controller, similar to how Audi has done.

Both the 3.0 & the 4.8 drove well, shifted well, and I noticed much improved quiet in the cabin, and improved ride quality.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but the 4.8 really underwhelmed me. It sounds great, but to me, was all sizzle, and no steak. The salesman, who is also an old personal friend, agreed. I'm sure that at high speeds, there is a noticeable difference between the 3.0 & the 4.8, but for the type of driving that I do, I could not justify spending the extra $$$ for the 4.8. The new 3.0 has plenty of torque, and felt to me to be more responsive than the 4.8. The 4.8 also had major hesitation from a dead stop.

The other troubling news is that BMW is having a lot of supply problems, such as the rear sun shades, comfort seat supplier filing chapter 11, etc. Hopefully, they will sort this out quickly.

I agree with you. The 3.0si is adequate enough for most purposes. I don't mind the gear shift too much. Interior ergonomics are really lacking. My 03 had great controls. The E70 has a ton of cool gadgets, but it does take away from the driving experience. Are you going to order the 3.0si?

I'm on the fence between ordering the 3.0si, or buying an '06 4.8is. Even though the E70 does have a ton of cool features, I still love the E53

well if you can see that a 3.0 suits you then go for it. there is no need to get a 4.8 just because its the bigger engine. make the rational choice and get the 3.0 and the money and invest it in something else that doesnt depreciate

Unless you really need the engine to tow something, buy the 3.0si, you dont want to look back and see everyone else with a new model and you got the old one. and i think the E70 look more aggressive then the E53

The E53 has a different feeling totally from the E70. Everything is more simple on the E53. I have a feeling I'll be turning off the idrive screen because it just annoys me that its there. But that's just my opinion, and overall the E70 "fixed" the things that were "wrong" with the E53. It is an excellent vehicle. You can't go wrong :thumbup:

Coffeeman,

I also road tested both the 3.0 and 4.8L. Overall I realy liked the 3.0. The 4.8 had a sport package and 20" wheels. The tramlining was unbearable (to me) and I found the ride too stiff. The 3.0L had a much smoother ride and handled well (I can't recall whether it had the sport suspension). The problem with the 3.0 was performance at highway speeds. I found the 3.0 too weak for my taste, requiring transmission downshifting (sometimes several gears) to get up to passing speed on the highway. This is an issue for me.

I think the perfect fix for me will come in the form of the 3.5L twin turbo. So while the bugs get worked out on this new model and the availability of certain options (comfort seats, power lift gate, sunshades, etc.) gets worked out along with some reported drivability issues, Ill be ready to order one.

Fresh air vent control is now operated through I-drive. Go to vent settings.

CMan,
Well written and thoughtful review, imo!
BR,mD

Good write up! Some comments:
 

The shifter is another example of how to re-invent something that worked just fine before. I assume that one would get used to its quirky operation, but I found myself always looking at the dash cluster to confirm that I was actually in Drive, Reverse, Park.

Would be more intuitive (at least to me) to push forward to go forward and pull back to reverse. The shifter is just the opposite.



And, if they went to all that trouble to re-invent the shifter, why did they not have the parking brake automatically engage when the "park" button is pressed? The parking brake should also release when the vehicle is put into drive, or reverse.

Excellent suggestion!

I-Drive was o.k., but the soft touch, programmable buttons should not be beneath the radio, they should circle the i-drive controller, similar to how Audi has done.

Agree. I use the steering wheel controls for all radio functions.

The 4.8 also had major hesitation from a dead stop.

Sigh...., unfortunately so does the 3.0. Mine hesitates and others here have reported the same. Some have suggested a fuel pump issue.

I think the idea is to simulate the direction you would move a regular shift lever to put it into drive or reverse.

Which is based on the corresponding momentum of the car.

Great review. Did you notice the hesitation in the 3.0? I would really want to know because it is driving a friend nuts who claims it is a safety hazard.

No, the 3.0 that I drove did not have any hesitation that I could detect. I was looking for this, as I drove the 4.8 first, and the 4.8's hesitation was bad to the point of being scary. A push on the pedal, and nothing for a few milliseconds. BMW really needs to fix this, if this is in fact a problem that is widespread. My salesman claimed that this is a valvetronic problem, which is interesting...the 3.0 is valvetronic as well, and my brother's '06 750i, which is also valvetronic, has no hesitation at all....curious

Got to love that throttle by wire crap.

I noticed a hesitation on the 4.8 that I test drove the second time. I don't notice it on mine at all though.

I like the shifter. It's quick and easy to use, once you're used to it. I will agree that the parking brake should disengage automatically when you go into gear. The cool thing here is that this could simply be a software upgrade to make it do that.

I actually like the idrive, combined with voice control. I will say that Audi's system is better, and faster. My two complaints about the idrive system is its speed (slow) and in the navigation when trying to find stores or gas stations, etc. You have to go through a series of menus. I would really rather just be able to type "best buy" and let it tell me the closest one. Every other nav system allows this. Hopefully BMW will add this function.