Long-term update: 2010 BMW 535i GT interior

Long-term update: 2010 BMW 535i GT interior


The BMW 535i Gran Turismo is not with us any more. It was taken away from us in less than a month for “internal use” but after asking for it back numerous times, we’ve given up on seeing it again. We figured we should give it some proper coverage before closing the chapter on it, so here is a look at this luxury car’s luxurious interior.

When you enter the 5-Series GT, the first thing that strikes you is how it makes the 7-Series redundant, because you get the same luxuries here. Indeed, word is a good chunk of 5-Series GT buyers are conservative older folks as well as former 7-Series owners who were happy to get the same luxuries at a lower price. Almost every inch of the cabin is covered in soft-touch materials, aside from the real matte light-wood trim and the piano-black control panels. It is easily a cushier interior than the one in our former 2011 Infiniti QX56 long-termer.

As if to taunt upstart luxury brands further, there are even more unique features, such as the overly-adjustable front seats that has a two-piece power-adjustable back, power-adjustable thigh extension, automatically-readjusting side bolsters, and a power-adjustable headrest that can be reshaped to fit your head like a glove. The only things missing in our tester were the optional ventilation and massage features.

Rear passengers simply enjoy lots of space. Again, our tester did not come with the optional ventilation, massage and leaning features, but it did come with dual DVD screens with a separate remote, a panoramic glass roof, power sun-blinds and individual rear a/c controls.

In terms of gadgets, everything was there, such as the iDrive computer, the auto parking brake, the kick-ass stereo, the Bluetooth phone, the DVD navigation, the adaptive cruise control, the overhead parking-camera view, and the heads-up display. And yet, my finicky friend found out that he couldn’t stream music off his iPhone via Bluetooth. Hardly a deal-breaker.

There are some unique touches that seem to be there just for the sake of being there. The frameless doors are one, supposedly to give you a “coupe” feel. And then there is the tailgate that opens in two ways; after a couple of weeks of using one or the other, we still couldn’t figure out why it needed to open in two different ways other than to “wow” your friends.

For a test car that has spent nearly 30,000 km in the hands of testers in almost a year, the leather and trim has held up perfectly. This may seem like empty praise to some, but we’ve driven Audis with worn leather and Infinitis with loose wood trim that shouldn’t be so worn out in less than a year. Of course, it wasn’t fully perfect, as a couple of a/c fan buttons looked a bit worn. That’s about it.

The 5-Series GT may be a hard car to swallow in terms of exterior styling, but once you’re cruising in that interior, hardly anything else matters.

Original Mileage When Borrowed: 27,410 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 29,500 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 12.7 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0

Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Borrowed: Dhs 0

Read all 2010 BMW 535i GT long-term updates

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Comments

  1. I hate the light shaded upper dash. It just don’t match with the beige leathers.

  2. one word…ugly

    Inside out, its a disgrace, especially that ugly fat back…what were they thinking!!!

  3. 1 thing i jus’t don’t undersand about BMW is that SAD BLACK STEERING WHEEL….Take 7 Series for reference, the interior look’s well designed with the trim and leather…which is the most distracting and design flaw in the interior…it’s just that plain stupid black wheel with no combination of wooden trim…look’s really dull…BMW needs to watch what Mercedes is offering in the S-class..Complete luxury and class!!!

    • Author

      I actually hate wooden steering wheels. I’m always afraid they’ll slip when I do quick turns with one hand. And beige-leather steering wheels, the leather will wear out in a month. BMW was possibly taking these into account, but I agree with you, it looks cheap and unfitting.

  4. Hey Mash…Please take a test of the 2011 G55 AMG…That’s one ride which needs a test report…and I want to know your take on it..a detailed report that covers inside out of the vehicle would be great…cheers…tc

    • Author

      Thanks to a racist new PR agency hired by that company, I am blocked from testing their cars. Sorry, mate.

  5. Damn them…Is he from the UK by any chance? 😉 😛

  6. i wanted to ask you something…Do you approach the principle company or the distributor company to get a test drive permission??…tc..cheers

    • Author

      Mostly the Middle East HQ. And a couple of dealers when they don’t have an HQ here. The rest of the smaller dealers never heard of me.

  7. the rear legroom too small !

  8. I LOVE mine.

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