BL330
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I read with great pleasure today a review of the new BMW 5 series by Andy Enright in the March Issue of Unique Cars Magazine.
He expressed the following points which exactly map the stance I have taken. It's nice to be agreed with, officially.
Under the title - "It's a total tech-fest but is this what you want from a BMW?"
He said - ' Luxury is a trap. What is one generation's luxury becomes the next's necessity"
" The introduction to the vehicle focused on driver assist functions, iDrive inputs, connectivity and drag and drop screen tiles."
"The inference was clear. BMW feels that it can't offer the buying public much in the way of improvements to vehicle dynamics and that electronic do-dads are an easier sell"
" So have we reached a point where rather than buying a car with a computer inside it, we're now buying an entertainment hub that just happens to be able to move under its own power"
He went on to point out some of the tech included - wave hand gesture controls, it listens to your words for commands and there is even an option key fob control to reverse the car back if someone has parked too close. FFS!
" Call me a Luddite if you like but the one feature I longed for was the '1999' button that switched off all the chimes, screens, electronic assists, settings for damper control, adaptive drive, integral steering active steering and head up display, in return for steering that told you what's happening at the front contact patch, a manual handbrake and a reassuring degree of mechanical cohesion" Here, Here!
He also stated BMW is not the only brand he could have chosen for these comments.
Four years ago I chose not spend a shed load of money on a new BMW with tech I did not need or want, but chose a GS instead.
Am I preaching to the converted?
He expressed the following points which exactly map the stance I have taken. It's nice to be agreed with, officially.
Under the title - "It's a total tech-fest but is this what you want from a BMW?"
He said - ' Luxury is a trap. What is one generation's luxury becomes the next's necessity"
" The introduction to the vehicle focused on driver assist functions, iDrive inputs, connectivity and drag and drop screen tiles."
"The inference was clear. BMW feels that it can't offer the buying public much in the way of improvements to vehicle dynamics and that electronic do-dads are an easier sell"
" So have we reached a point where rather than buying a car with a computer inside it, we're now buying an entertainment hub that just happens to be able to move under its own power"
He went on to point out some of the tech included - wave hand gesture controls, it listens to your words for commands and there is even an option key fob control to reverse the car back if someone has parked too close. FFS!
" Call me a Luddite if you like but the one feature I longed for was the '1999' button that switched off all the chimes, screens, electronic assists, settings for damper control, adaptive drive, integral steering active steering and head up display, in return for steering that told you what's happening at the front contact patch, a manual handbrake and a reassuring degree of mechanical cohesion" Here, Here!
He also stated BMW is not the only brand he could have chosen for these comments.
Four years ago I chose not spend a shed load of money on a new BMW with tech I did not need or want, but chose a GS instead.
Am I preaching to the converted?
