Took my first long road trip with the bimmer from Stuttgart to Prague (about a 5-6 hour drive). It was a real opportunity to determine it's road worthy capabilities. Fortunately it was a weekday and as such the autobahn was not overly congested with open roads most of the way. Cruising 80-100 mph was easy breezy gliding for the bimmer. No stress easy going. It felt like the sweet spot and could cruise all day long without any stress on the motor. It was picking up the paces and working moderately harder at about 120 mph and definitely earning it's money at 150 mph.
The roll-on acceleration from 90 mph to 150 mph (rather roll-on acceleration from any speed really) is just unbelievably sweet. The distant wail of the exhaust burble and leaving ornery competing cars in the dust was just amazing. On a couple occasions with no cars in front, I took it to the limit and the cars behind me just disappeared from my rear view mirror (this on a long straight stretch). A couple times other similar performance brand cars would test their performance limits and kind of egg me on on the autobahn. The bimmer just left them in the dust in a humiliating way. It was no contest. All I can say is "WOW".
The virtues of variable assist steering truly comes into play when driving at higher limits. The ease, stability, and precision during high speed driving is just out of this world. The ease and relaxation of driving at 120 mph was just as relaxed and pleasant as going 60 mph. No nervous jitters, just easy peasy and loping along at 120 mph as if you were cruising down a boulevard.
I adjusted the sports seat with the extended leg support to hold my thighs. The front edge of the seat was up as far as it would go and the back edge of the seat was down all the way. The back rest was tilted more towards vertical but not uncomfortably so. It was so comfortable that after driving 6 hours, I could easily have driven another 6 hours without any problems.
I would be remiss it I didn't mention the variable sport suspension is a class act. The previous 330i would float and wallow with jittery steering during high speed maneuvers. This thing just felt planted like it was on rails all the way to the limits. I believe the DHP probably gives it that high performance edge for the true sporting enthusiast.
Well the good news is that this bimmer has in many ways exceeded my expectations. I was somewhat skeptical that I would be impressed much less enthralled with the bimmer's overall performance especially coming from a Porsche Cayman. But I gotta say, it has a unique character all it's own and I'm more then impressed with the overall results so far.
Unfortunately there is a downside to all this exceptional performance. It will be difficult at best to unleash it's true potential and utilize (unleash) it's full potential in the states. It's just a sad reality. I blew past a Policia van doing 130 mph on the autobahn while it was chugging along at 80 mph.
Unless you have experienced sustained high speeds, pushing the limits at whim, leaving other performance cars in the dust, and driving on an open stretch of German engineered highway designed for sustained high performance driving, you'll never really know the true capabilities of your bimmer. It is a true luxury GT in every sense of the word.
Can you imagine doing 60 mph on the highway for sustained periods in a masterpiece? It's just too painful to imagine.
