BMW 5 Series 540i V8 Review

Overall Rating

Drives like it's on rails. Eye candy for many. Reliable performance. Excellent soundsystem. Practical in that you can take more than one other person in it if you are going out on the town.

Great styling both outside and inside.

Must have a beater car for your daily driving to and from work so that you don't get used to the BMW's performance, which will spoil you for all other vehicles. Lots of electronics, which can get pricey if the warranty is over, the electronics break down, and you have to service it at a BMW dealership.

Sucks back gas, but it's about the same as an SUV, but you'll get to where you are going faster.

You won't want to make it a daily commuter, so that you can baby this car. Not because you have to, but because you'll fall in love with it and WANT to.

Can use a arm-rest container option which doesn't exist. Seems like a little wasted space in between Driver and front-side passenger area.

I have had my BMW 5 Series 540i V8 Executive car for approximately 5 months now and I simply love it! I looked at Porsche, Mercedes, Acura, Lexus and Jaguar, but realized that they were all trying to be BMW (except for the Porsche, which is in a class all by itself). The 5 series sedan is the car that all other sports sedans want to be. This car is not cheap, whether it's gas for the powerful engine, or the regular maintenance that needs to be performed on a car of this magnitude. But, it's not super expensive either. It just depends on whether or not you want to spend the money to keep it looking top notch (which is the point of owning something as nice as this sedan is).

If your 540 is still under factory warranty, you will know that it is a pleasure to deal with the dealerships. If it isn't, the dealerships are still the best places to go...but it might do you good to haggle a little bit. For example: a full vehicle safety inspection can run you about $400 U.S. at BMW, whereas it's about $80 U.S. at domestic dealerships. The extra money is paid for the expertise that the BMW mechanics have with these vehicles.

For me, the 5 series is the best of both worlds: luxury and performance. It's not a lumbering beast, but rather, like riding on a thoroughbred race horse, in full flight down a track! It's true that this sedan will take you top speeds that you probably didn't dare tread prior. And this is because you won't realize you are going 100 mph, until you look at the speedometer. However, how often does one want to take their vehicle over this speed anyway? If speed, and being scared out of your mind, is your only criteria for buying a vehicle, then go and buy a "crotch rocket" racebike instead.

No, this car is about arriving somewhere in style, and if pushed, blowing the doors off of most vehicles that you will ever encounter in your travels to/from work or play.

If you bury the pedal at a dead stop, it takes just a half a heart beat before the power kicks in, and then you take off like a rocket.

It's awesome!

I strongly recommend this vehicle to those that can afford it. You won't be sorry.