645 and X3 interior versus 545 & x5 3.0 interiors...YUCK

[lemming]

was at the dealer again this morning for a small glitch.

while waiting, i sat in all four vehicles solely for the purpose of comparing the BMW that "we" all seem to know well versus the new ones. okay. i sat in a z4 also.

good grief.

the x3 is flat out horrible. the rear inside panel of the tailgate is cheaper plastic than on a CRV. the door sill paneling is awful plastic (think e36 awful). the "leather" is something cheapass like something from one of my old bravadas.

the x5 3.0, by comparison, is rich. the surfaces on the doors are supple and rich. the leather in the x5 is marvelous and the plastic parts are not so shoddy.

the 545 is a level above the 645ci, but not by much. what the hell is going on with all of this cheapass chrome-look plastic on around the gauges, the steering wheel and the shifter? it's pukey. why when cadillac does it is it "cheap" but here it's "tasteful". puke.

the throws on the 545i 6speed are much like the e39 m5. longish, but spring loaded and not notchiness. smooth.

so, masskrug, if you're out there, i take back my critique of the x5, they've upgraded the interior significantly and it's quite nice. e39 nice. all of the new stuff is awful.

[FC]

I agree with all this.

[Masskrug]

was at the dealer again this morning for a small glitch.

while waiting, i sat in all four vehicles solely for the purpose of comparing the BMW that "we" all seem to know well versus the new ones. okay. i sat in a z4 also.

good grief.

the x3 is flat out horrible. the rear inside panel of the tailgate is cheaper plastic than on a CRV. the door sill paneling is awful plastic (think e36 awful). the "leather" is something cheapass like something from one of my old bravadas.

the x5 3.0, by comparison, is rich. the surfaces on the doors are supple and rich. the leather in the x5 is marvelous and the plastic parts are not so shoddy.

the 545 is a level above the 645ci, but not by much. what the hell is going on with all of this cheapass chrome-look plastic on around the gauges, the steering wheel and the shifter? it's pukey. why when cadillac does it is it "cheap" but here it's "tasteful". puke.

the throws on the 545i 6speed are much like the e39 m5. longish, but spring loaded and not notchiness. smooth.

so, masskrug, if you're out there, i take back my critique of the x5, they've upgraded the interior significantly and it's quite nice. e39 nice. all of the new stuff is awful.


No offense ever taken.

The X5 Dakota leather is really, really nice. I don't know if anything else has changed interior-wise from pre-2003 to post-2003. The door pulls and grab bars also went from a silver-painted plastic to a darker 'titanium'-painted plastic. I think that's about it.

Otherwise, if one liked the E46 layout and materials, one should also like the E53 layout and materials. They are VERY similar.

The 2002 CRV I owned, OTOH, was terrible on the interior and had horrible amounts of road noise. The plastics on the CRV would scratch if you gave them a dirty look.

[Rob]

Somtimes, I think we forget what cheap plastic really is. We buy these great cars . . .

Check out the MINI. It's a 20k car and it feels like it in some aspects. It has very cheap plastic. THe controls feel like they might break at any time. The plastic around the cargo area is color impregnated crap ala 1980's GM. It's cheap and feels like it and the stuff in the BMW is several steps up. You forget all about that when you hit the twisties though.

That doesn't mean it shouldn't be better than it is at these price points, though.