2019 540i Quick Review

[Nick M3]

First things first, this fucker is ENORMOUS. Although given the size, I kind of expected it to be a little bigger inside.

Driving experience. Numb. The actual capability of the chassis is pretty high, but the overall level of feedback and driving pleasure is more akin to my grandfather’s ES350 than any other car I’ve driven.

Engine. The B58 is *ok*, but it occupies a weird space between plenty and weak. A car like this should have effortless torque, but it just doesn’t. But when it finds the right gear, it’s plenty. Also, in this car, it sounds horrible. The noises aren’t just muted. They are bad.

Transmission. The usual BMW bizarre too sluggish or too aggressive mis-match. I don’t get it. Audi can make the same transmission feel way more responsive without being annoying. Why can’t BMW?

Interior. OK, but disco party at night.

Trunk. Uh, guess that’s where all the interior space went?

Electronics. The whole no CarPlay without a subscription thing is so fucking customer hostile and self defeating. The all around camera is weird and surprisingly artifacted. Also, I can’t understand what causes it to turn off randomly while i’m still parking.
Lane departure warnings got turned off immediately.

Ride quality. Good, but honestly, not really good enough. Also surprisingly similar to my impression of the ES350.

In summary, meh.