I really don't understand this "fairly poor interior" statement you keep coming out with.
To be fair it's hardly just me
Compared to what?? The plastics are fine, ok there aren't swathes of leather but then its a car that starts at focus prices... all the control surfaces are superb as are the majority of the areas you actually come into contact with.
It just doesn't feel that great - it's mostly design aspects rather than material quality, vast swathes of plain matte black plastic (ie around the gear shifter and climate controls etc), the way the centre console and the dash itself don't blend into one, it just sort of stops leaving a large gap, the way the passenger side is assymetrical, etc. It just doesn't seem to flow nicely. Plus whats going on with the climate panel etc? Why does it have E90-esque dot matrix display rather than the black panel tech BMW introduced 5 years ago now? Why is the instrument binnacle so squashed and cramped? Room for only 2 gauges - how come?
If you look at something like an E46 3 Series you can see it's interior was quite obviously influenced by the 5 Series - it's a smaller 5 Series and as a result for it's time the interior of the E46 was excellent. The 3 and 4 Series now end up with an interior thats almost identical to the 1 Series, so the approach has changed, hence the criticism its picking up from some.
I kinda get it in the 1/2 Series. The interior is probably what you'd expect from a car of that level (Though I guess its a nuisance for the M235i owners because although the base car is entry level the M235i is hardly cheap!) but its a particular shame in the 4 Series. It's exterior promises so much, to open the door and be greeted by what could be mistaken for the inside of a 114d is a real shame - the 4 Series had the potential to be a mini 6 Series and the interior absolutely stops that.
Plus exterior wise the BMW tradition of giving the pre LCI the crap lights and then magically upgrading to LED's on the LCI is getting really boring now. Come on BMW, it's 2014, LED's are it now. Stop deliberately gimping cars so you can facelift them 4 years later, the introduction of CELIS LED's in 2000 really should have been the end of conventional lights across the range. 14 years later you shouldn't get filament rear bulbs as standard in your £60,000 M3!
But then I suppose thats why you hung on to the 530i for so long to you it was what you felt right when to me it looks and feels very dated...each to their own...
Of course the E39 feels dated - it came out 19 years ago!
Though as interesting as this conversation is - and it's always good to have opposing views - I wonder if we ought move it to the BMW thread rather than Show Us Your Motors
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