2018 BMW 5-Series 101: EVERYTHING You Need To Know About BMW's All-New 5'er, Straight From THE Source

Priced right in the neighborhood of the Cadillac CT6(delivered) and looks 10 year old on its first day.

How many people interested in this car are cross-shopping a Cadillac?

I'd say 11, maybe 12.

The correct answer is 14..

The fact that it does not look new is compounded by the fact that there is nothing exciting about it. This isn't a case of the new 911 looking like the old one and that being OK. Sales on this will be difficult. Mercedes seems to understand visual impact done tastefully. The new 5 Series has utterly strange side detailing when examined in the up-close pictures.

It's the conglomeration of lines; and to make it worse, lines travelling in different directions: the beltline deviates away from the bottom of the window as it travels back to front, then sharply doubles-back at the front wheel well and becomes the character line, travelling backwards, and at yet a different angle. The whole thing looks like a "Z" stretched in a very tight vertical space. And then the hockey stick below.

tl;dr - a visual mess.

Mercedes will pull much farther ahead.

Read an interview of Mercedes' head designer and all future next generation Mercedes will have no side cut lines relying on flowing body contours to create a feeling of elegant movement. The new E Class Coupe is the first to reach market.
His approach will likely only strengthen the design difference with BMW and further make BMW sedans look much dated.

Yep (though I wouldn't mind keeping a subtle, tapering shoulder crease, though). Minimal lines, let the curves do the work. Porsche has ridden this timeless language since the 60s.

And I expect that, after implementing this in the W220 era, and then deviating from it (in a panicked reaction to flame surfacing IMO), Mercedes should now implement this for good. It is never dated. Never.

The new grill/headlight does look better and noticeably different from the existing model but other than that, I'm going to quote from a poster on another site called "DeadWeight" - B(oring)M(undane)W(aning)

I actually like the 5-series quite a bit. The surface detailing is cohesive and both the interior and exterior scream 'premium'.

At least BMW had the sense (unlike MB with their E300) to offer it with a range of engines. The 540i (6 cyl!)just smokes 0-60 in 4.7 seconds and the 540i is just a steamroller in 3.9 seconds.

It would be smart for BMW to water down the "M" performance into (1) an M-Sport line (like the M550i) that is crazy fast, high-performance, and visually distinctive but livable on a daily basis and then (2) make the true "M's" more upmarket - M3/M4 and M5/M6 into a super hard-core and highly bespoke (and much more expensive)model line that is low-volume to the point of being collectible.

Oh, and by the way, they should put the TT inline 6, into the i8 and make it the fastest hybrid supercar out there. BMW could even keep the body, ditch the hybrid powertrain to make room for the TT V8, and just make the i8 an 'M8'. That would be awesome.

The design is very conservative, but to me it looks elegant. Nothing spectacular visually, but nothing that is a huge turn off. This segment is very lease heavy...if BMW continues to be very aggressive with leases as they have been (ie. lease a 528xi for $500 a month with nothing down) then it will generate good sales volume.

All right, so this is what we have at this point:

-A new 5 that looks too much like the old one but that we hope will bring back some of the driving mojo. Too early to say, but for now I love the engine options as described by M30
-A new E that is difficult to recognize from a C but with the best interior in its class. The 4-cylinder engine is a disgrace for this car and reason enough to bypass the Merc dealership.
-An old GS representing Japan's usual combo of reliability and polarizing design (BTW, I am at peace now with the spindle grill). A replacement can't come soon enough.
-An even older looking 6 so conservative and minimalist that is borderline boring. Also in urgent need of an upgrade.

The M550i runs the risk of making the M3 obsolete. Only $8k steeper base price for more room and equal acceleration.

the exterior design is fine. it is crisp and purposeful, and will age well. it's more for the faithful than will attract new coverts, though. the main factor to it's success will be it's driving dynamics and steering. is it best in class, or not? If yes, then it'll do well but not break new sound barriers in sales.

BMW missed a huge opportunity with the new 5-Series. The new design is so similar to the old one that even Mercedes-Benz's decision to offer only a 4-cylinder engine for regular non-AMG E-Classes will be enough to drive customers over to Mercedes-Benz.

The new E-Class might look very similar to the new C-Class, but at least it looks different from the current E-Class. So while Mercedes-Benz won't get many C-Class customers looking to trade up due to the design similarities, it will get current E-Class owners to buy the new one because of the design difference.

BMW's current 5-Series owners will have very little reason to get the new one and that will be a huge problem for BMW and its new 5-Series.