Pulling the trigger on a 2012 5er : post test drive ruminations

[Nurburgringer]

Hi all, first post.
Have been reading a bunch of helpful threads here, good little community you've got!

In preparation for impending child(ren) and a new job that will require driving a bit I'm getting ready to sell or trade-in my impractical, unsafe, gas gulping, totally awesome snow-conquering '98 Grand Cherokee 5.9L.
Was thinking something wagony (i.e. Dodge Magnum or low mileage '99-'03 E39 BMW for around $10k; I know E39s inside and out) or mini-vanny (i.e $10k Mazda MPV or $20k new 5).

Tomorrow we're test driving a low mileage '06 MPV (want to see what ~$10k less spendage will buy), but after sampling a couple 2012 5s last weekend I don't think anything else will do.

So last Saturday the wife and I take ~30 minute test drives in both a silver/black manual and white/over sand cloth Touring w/ sunroof.

The wife has never noticed any 5 on the roads before and was clearly skeptical about the "super effin cool mini-mini-van" description I gave her. To my delight, approximately 5 seconds after sliding open the side door and climbing in she absolutely fell in love with it! Moving about the cabin only increased her delight. She was legit delighted, I'm delighted to report.

I (and especially she) didn't go in expecting to prefer the 6-sp base model, or the black interior, but having sampled both versions the 6-sp is the one we'd go for. Even though 4th, 5th and 6th ratios are so close together 1 or even 2 of the 3 are virtually unnecessary (seriously, look at the ratios: 1st: 3.45, 2nd 1.84, 3rd 1.23, 4th 0.91, 5th 0.76, 6th 0.68 - THREE overdrive gears!), we found that shifting ourselves totally suited the involved, joy-of-driving nature of the car. And contrary to just about every review I'd read, the auto-box just didn't impress us. Except for holding a chosen gear up to, and bouncing off, redline. Respect!
Nevertheless, a sweet shifting manual minivan is just too cool to pass up, plus the extra $900 or so in my pocket wouldn't hurt.

The only options missing on the 'base' we'd miss is bluetooth and possibly leather (they didn't have any GT in stock). Every other 'upgrade' on the touring model didn't seem like an upgrade at all IMO:

- leather steering wheel and trans knob did not have a quality/luxury look or feel. Stitching seemed crude and leather quite hard. Easy enough to replace the 6-sp shift knob with a nice leather one. Base steering wheel seemed just fine to us, and I'm somewhat of a steering wheel connoisseur! Momos grace the columns in my '86 CRX Si and '85 308 GTS, and various classic wheels adorn the garage wall.
- the sand colored cloth somehow looks and felt cheaper than the black, and with the cream headliner and pillars the black interior isn't as gloomy as expected. Red over black would look superb, but doesn't seem to be available :mad:
An interior swap out a wrecked 5 is always an option I suppose.

- the sunroof seemed small, doesn't open fully (a consequence of the outside-opening, headroom saving design I realize), and generates a good bit of wind noise at highway speeds. It's also set back quite a bit so the driver and passenger have to look straight up to just see sky out of the front part.
- foglights? does anyone ever use these correctly?
- side skirts and rear spoiler don't substantially improve the appearance.
- we only drove it during the day, but unless the stock halogens are really bad Zenons are a luxury I can do without.
- I put winter tires on all of my cars that see winter duty, so a cheap and stylish set of 17"ers from tirerack shod with Blizzaks or the like would be ordered soon. Can deal with 16s the other 8-9 months.
- like I said built-in BT and Sirius would be nice, but can always get https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned) and then https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)

Then a nav system, damn I'm gonna have wires running everywhere...

Anyway, later this week I'll be talking turkey with the dealer.
See how bad he wants to move the silver/black 6-sp we drove (had 9 miles when we took it out, 30 when we brought it back)

Thanks again for all the great info here (including the very good review by 90210). Will post any news!
cheers
Kurt
Milwaukee

 

[Nurburgringer]

Trigger Pulled

Yesterday drove home a silver/black 2012 6-sp.
Sport (base) model, only option is wheel locks (I hate these things - anybody want em for $20?).

We almost bought a very clean silver/gray 2006 MPV with 46k miles for $11k (drove great, more power, more space, more boring, good tires, no DSC or side airbags, annoying shifter location, exhaust thoroughly rusty) and test drove two $13k, ~50k mile 2007 M5 Touring models at the dealer (drove fine if less refined than the 2012, seats less comfy, cheaper interior, harder to read stereo display, less attractive exterior IMO).
My father in NJ also checked out this $7k MPV listed on Ebay for me.
Drove ok but no books, no keychain remote, no way to open power doors (which the ES should have), check engine light, sketchy place. Not worth it.

Finally got the 2012 for $19,120 + tax out the door, financed 4 years @ 1.74%. Probably could have saved a few bucks shopping other dealers but this one is very convenient and reasonable for servicing.

"Options" I'll be adding:

- front splash guards, tailgate step plate, and leather Miata shift knob

-https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned) and maybe a https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned) at some point.

- set of rims w/ winter tires from Tirerack. Probably 17" since snow tires have more give than regs.

- Weathertech Floorliners

- Side winder deflectors. I have Weathertechs on my Jeep and love them. They don't have them (yet?) for 5s but will look around.

Anybody in the rust-belt do their own undercoating? It doesn't feel like there is much of any coating inside the fender lip, so might try to do my own at least in this area.

Also, anybody have the rear cargo liner? . Looks like it may be slippery for smaller cargo.

Looking forward to many, many happy miles in the 5! Lot of car for the money.
I'll be taking it easy on the new motor for a few hundred miles (doesn't seem to like being zinged up to redline anyway, better to use the good torque and shift fairly early), but couldn't resist lighting up the tires pulling out of the dealers lot
cheers!

 

[Rockin03mp5]

Very nice!

That sport has 16'' wheels right? I would put winter tires on them and get 17's or 18's with summer rubber on them.

What brand are the oem tires?

Also, the car doesn't come from the factory with the locks. The extra lug nuts should be somewhere. Wherever the key is. It would be dumb if the dealer didn't give you them.

 

[Nurburgringer]

Thanks!

That's right - 16"ers with Bridgestone rubber.
I'm very happy with the ride/grip/noise of these for non-snowy months, was thinking 17" with winter tires would have roughly the same sidewall flex since snows are generally 'softer'.
Why do you suggest 17 or 18s for summer? I really can't imagine wanting more grip than it has now, although bigger wheels certainly look nicer!

Next time I'm by the dealer will stop in and ask about the 4 lugs. They gave me the lug 'key', but the 4 original lugs are nowhere in the vehicle.

Couple more pics from this morning

 

[90210]

Congrats. Glad my review was helpful

 

[vinisterz]

Congrats! I got a silver too

 

[Rockin03mp5]

I say 17s since that is what was standard on the 2006-2010 models.

I have 16s for winter use.

 

[Nurburgringer]

Congrats. Glad my review was helpful

Thanks!

Congrats! I got a silver too

Domo! Yesterday I parked next to our Titanium Silver '99 BMW, and it struck me just how much lighter most 'silvers' are than the 5's "liquid" silver. I like it very much - sparkles when clean and like all such colors is just about the best at hiding road grime, dirt, salt, etc.
I'm pretty lazy about washing my cars, so that's a nice feature

I say 17s since that is what was standard on the 2006-2010 models.
I have 16s for winter use.

Ah. I've been browsing wheels on tirerack but have to next look at tires. If 17s are significantly more expensive (doubt it, but 18+ surely are) 16" for winters might get the nod.
My neighbor's new Ford Edge has factory 22s!!! No use trying to compete with that.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

Yeah... 22'' wheels = expensive tires.

bet people dont think about that.

 

[90210]

Yeah... 22'' wheels = expensive tires.

bet people dont think about that.

It also depends on what type of tires. I have 16" on a sports car, that tires cost more than 24" tires do. Most guys running the 20-26" are running cheapo nexens.

 

[dieseldriver]

Congrats! I wished they had the Grand Touring with Manual option, I would have loved that. Auto is okay, still feels very peppy however. But all my cars in the last 15 years or so have been standard, except for the 2001 Jetta that I owned previously was auto. I like that gray color too, that shifter looks extra cool though. I also did not care for the BT handsfree at first but when I saw that it had Audio Streaming, I had to get the GT. Also, I got spoiled already with the Xenon headlamps, they light up the night. We have lots of roads near my house that's not lit up at night so the Xenon is a plus. BTW, did you know that the Xenon on the GT are elevation adjustable from the interior? Salesman showed me that and I was really impressed. Maybe you should talk to your wife about his/hers deal where you drive the Touring, and get her the GT I know I will speak for myself because I got my wife the CX-9 GT the other day. She was first impressed with the M5 at first but now that I got her the CX-9, she won't go near it LOL.

Yesterday drove home a silver/black 2012 6-sp.
Sport (base) model, only option is wheel locks (I hate these things - anybody want em for $20?).

We almost bought a very clean silver/gray 2006 MPV with 46k miles for $11k (drove great, more power, more space, more boring, good tires, no DSC or side airbags, annoying shifter location, exhaust thoroughly rusty) and test drove two $13k, ~50k mile 2007 M5 Touring models at the dealer (drove fine if less refined than the 2012, seats less comfy, cheaper interior, harder to read stereo display, less attractive exterior IMO).
My father in NJ also checked out this $7k MPV listed on Ebay for me.
Drove ok but no books, no keychain remote, no way to open power doors (which the ES should have), check engine light, sketchy place. Not worth it.

Finally got the 2012 for $19,120 + tax out the door, financed 4 years @ 1.74%. Probably could have saved a few bucks shopping other dealers but this one is very convenient and reasonable for servicing.

"Options" I'll be adding:

- front splash guards, tailgate step plate, and leather Miata shift knob

-https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned) and maybe a https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned) at some point.

- set of rims w/ winter tires from Tirerack. Probably 17" since snow tires have more give than regs.

- Weathertech Floorliners

- Side winder deflectors. I have Weathertechs on my Jeep and love them. They don't have them (yet?) for 5s but will look around.

Anybody in the rust-belt do their own undercoating? It doesn't feel like there is much of any coating inside the fender lip, so might try to do my own at least in this area.

Also, anybody have the rear cargo liner? . Looks like it may be slippery for smaller cargo.

Looking forward to many, many happy miles in the 5! Lot of car for the money.
I'll be taking it easy on the new motor for a few hundred miles (doesn't seem to like being zinged up to redline anyway, better to use the good torque and shift fairly early), but couldn't resist lighting up the tires pulling out of the dealers lot
cheers!

 

[ErikO]

Congrats on the purchase!

I was close to getting the 6MT, but practicality beckoned and we went with the auto.

 

[Nurburgringer]

BTW, did you know that the Xenon on the GT are elevation adjustable from the interior?

Most cars in Europe have adjustable headlights - the intent is to be able to adjust the lights down when you're carrying a heavy load in the back.

Congrats on the purchase!

I was close to getting the 6MT, but practicality beckoned and we went with the auto.

Thanks! Like I said if you'd have asked me whether we'd likely get the 6MT or auto before we drove them, I'd have said with 90% certainty that we'd get an auto. 2 of my other 3 cars are manual, but I didn't imagine wanting to shift a 'minivan' myself. As it turns out both me and my wife really took to the 6MT...

This week I put over 300 miles on ours driving down to Chicago, then Joliet, and back. There was some traffic, but luckily not too much stop-and-go so I could creep along in 2nd when it got bad.
So far I've been happy with our choice ~90% of the time; 10% wish we had the auto.
Averaged 29.7mpg on the 300 mile trip, nice!

 

[neoplasticity]

Hi all, first post.
- the sunroof seemed small, doesn't open fully (a consequence of the outside-opening, headroom saving design I realize), and generates a good bit of wind noise at highway speeds. It's also set back quite a bit so the driver and passenger have to look straight up to just see sky out of the front part.

so does the sunroof generate noise even when its closed?

 

[Nurburgringer]

so does the sunroof generate noise even when its closed?

I don't think so, it just seemed unusually noisy (compared to the open sunroofs in our BMW 528 and '86 Honda CRX - which also slides up on top of the roof but at less of an angle than the 5). It was a pretty windy day, so maybe others who have a sunroof (we ended up buying the 6MT Sport w/o a sunroof) can comment.

 

[chandlerGTi]

Funny I came from a 5spd E39 528it to my mazda5. Got the red with 6spd, would love to trade my sand interior for a black one. Moon roof is the only option I wanted but couldn't get. Love it.

 

[Nurburgringer]

Hey Chandler sorry I never saw your post. The black interior is pretty sharp looking, but the thin-feeling seat covers and masses of black plastic sure do collect dust/dirt/hairs/scratches :/
Minor complaints though, overall we're still very happy with ours.

She just crossed 20k miles after just over 1 yr.

Main issues are pretty small but can be annoying:
- interior noise can get tiresome. Been thinking about going the same route as Diesel with dyna-mat above the headliner...
- sunshade is small, a problem when I'm occasionally driving south towards Chicago in the morning and there's a 6"+ gap the sun can blaze through. Wouldn't have cost that much more to have one of the extending shades Mazda...
- heated seats would be nice. I'm on the hunt for black leather seats to retrofit, but not many 2012 M5's have been wrecked yet :/
- passenger side windshield wiper pauses right in front of my sight line at the peak of it's path. Wipers like the MPV that are hinged at either corner of the windshield would be less distracting.
- plastic door panels, center console and lower dash scratch easily. We take the dogs in it frequently and while they don't scratch on purpose (much) even a light claw swipe will leave a mark. Just have to be vigilant and keep an eye on them.

Still no regrets with the 6-sp. Very few of the first 20k miles were in traffic and I enjoy rowing through the gears. Love the Miata leather shift knob, thinking about getting a leather-wrap for the steering wheel.
Cruise control works well, nicely shaped button for clicking up or down a few MPH.

Stereo could be stronger but guess I'm too old to jam out too frequently, more often listen to NPR or talk radio.

That's all I can think of, very happy we bought the 5 and looking forward to the next 20k miles!!
cheers
Kurt