excellent awd 530xi

Author's Rating:

Pros: great handling, performance, stability, looks and comfort... go in snow without too much worry

Cons: i drive still is a pain after 6 months

The Bottom Line: 
Buy it. Worth the few buck more than the acura rl, infinity m and the lexus gs300. I'm thrilled. Glad I waited for the 5 with awd.

Author's Review
bmw 530 xi took delivery dec 12, 2006 ordered 11/9/05... delivered as promised. Drove through snowy winter of 2006 with tires as supplied (all weather). Snow tires not needed that season with brand new all weathers. Ride and performance are impressive, along with feeling that you are on rails during bad weather. 6 cl 530 power is adequate with enough pull to easily enter highways and pass when desired, even uphill with 4 passengers. Leather interior is a plus, get it. One disc cd changer is a pain. Handling and sense of control is excellent. Get the Ipod accessory to hood up your mp3 player... Navigation system is remarkable, don't know how I reached my destinations before having one. It is accurate and easy to use. I drive is too cumbersome yet works after you spend 30 hours to figure it out. Paint job is nice as is fit and finish. Seating is comfortable.. just took a 10 hour drive to maine with no fatigue. Seat position is flexible, works for 6'0" with ease. Back seat less roomy when drivers seat is fully back. Good trunk room... Average 24 miles per g, no surprise. Not bad for a luxury car that doubles as a SUV. No mechanical issues at all... first oil change ? when? the car will tell you when... right now projected at 18k miles... seems like too long an interval but the dealer tells me the car knows best when service is required. Added one quart of oil at 14500 miles... so far that is the only maintenance required. I am quite impressed. this is my first BMW and now, I realized on how much I have been missing... used to drive saabs abd acura's. this is much much better. Looks better than the lexus gs 300 and the infinity M and the acura rl and test drove better that the other 3. Worth the several extra 1,000's. The cd slot accepts mp3 disc's formated by computer as data files. I keep about 100 songs of 4-6 megabytes size per song per disc. Sound quality is very good, even with playing mp3 files, shows playlist info in the viewscreen which is a plus. cigarette lighter in the ashtray is not good for cell phone power, can close the ashtray without removing the 12v adapter. needs standalone 12 source in front in addition to ash tray. Not enough storage in front... center console is pretty much useless to store anything more than 6 quarters and a box of tic tacks and 1 condom.