4G-Lover

Because of family reasons I had to suddenly travel to Italy where I will spend one month..

I took delivery of a spanking new BMW 520d (diesel) xDrive, only 47 kilometers on the odometer.

The car is obviously not fully loaded but neither bare bone, I would say decently optioned.

Despite being 2 generations newer than the E60 5 Series that was on sale at the time of the 4G debut, it is surprising how a 4G owner would feel "at home" in this cabin with similarities in materials and assembly quality.

The main dashboard and upper door panel plastic has the same grainy feel and look of the 4G, so are the PVD trim pieces where actually the 4G had a more pleasant feel with the grid texture. Similar headliner material and rubber seals here and there. No more "vault feel" either. Same for the trunk area or the engine bay where actually the 4G is quite "tidier".

Basically it is not a cabin that would "wow" a 4G owner and make him/her feel he stepped in a higher end car from a material and assembly standpoint.....except for the technology equipment and the large high resolution infotainment screen and instrument cluster where obviously no comparison can be made given the age differences between the two cars.

For the seats there is no comparison, the 4G TL standard chairs are much more comfortable than these, you need to lay the extra thousands for the optional seats in the 5 Series to beat it.

Some may say that in the 5 Series you can get a leather wrapped dashboard and door panels, 3 different types of leather for the seats and different typed of wood or Carbon Fiber for the trim pieces...true but it is all matter of adding lipstick to the same pig so to speak.

The owner of a current Accord Touring would also feel "at home" aboard of this particular 5 Series specimen, he would have to look at the BMW logo on the steering wheel to realize that it is supposed to be a higher end car compared to his/her.

As a side note, these turbodiesel cars are amazingly fuel efficient for the power (190 horses from a 2 liter 4 banger) but the price to pay is the feeling of driving a tractor and no engine progression.....very strong diesel noise in the cabin, the Audi A6 does much better in that regard.

The G30 is a major improvement compared to the previous F10 in driving dynamics and general driving pleasure....still far from being Ghibli or CTS good but a step in the right direction back to the 5 Series roots.....












































Some "4Gesque" details....

JM2010 SH-AWD

Interesting. I've had the exact same experience. (Not in Italy or in a diesel 5 series, but otherwise, yes). And I agree with your observations.

Back when the 4G was new and people (like me) chose one over a competing BMW model, no shortage of fan boys on this and other boards would chime in with "the TL is not even in the same league, sorry" type of comments. There's not much constructive to reply to reasoning (?) like this but your observations and photos show that the cars are quite competitive, even comparing a 2019 5 series against a car that has been out of production now for 5 years.

Thanks for posting.

Nev05

Agreed ^

Thank you for this comparison by the way. Feels good to know that our TLs are ahead or on-par with some newer luxury vehicles. Sometimes I feel like our 4G TLs are under-rated and people don't know much about it. They think it's "just a TL" until they get in the passenger seat, and then I start ripping gears LOL.

On a side note, I know it is a diesel but only 190 HP for that big thing?! Gawd dayum.

hadokenuh

I've owned a 4G TL for 6 years. I am actually on the opposite.

We traded our 2008 E60 528 for the TL in 2013. Right off the bat, everything on the TL is a downgrade from the E60 except for the more modern interior. The BMW has better build quality, handling, smoothness, ride comfort, solid feel, quieter cabin. But after 6 years, the TL has proven to be a lot more reliable and cheaper to own than the BMW.

There shouldn't even be a comparison but we KNEW the differences before going in and were willing to compromise.

4G-Lover

Please explain the details like I did with my pics otherwise is a generic statement that does not mean anything.

My pictures clearly demonstrate that is not the case...sure in a 5 Series you can put more "lipstick on the pig" so to speak (optional leather wrapped dash and door panels, wood or carbon fiber trim pieces, etc...) but general quality feels and look exactly the same.

Let's not even mention the handling where the TL SH-AWD is excellent and quite capable to outshine non M grade 5 Series...