Superb handling, workmanship/quality, reponsiveness, engine, interior, looks.... and pretty much anything else you can think of.

Weird and almost un-upgradeable sound system, with very poor sound quality. The Nav system user interface is horrible, especially as compared to the Alpine Nav.

Absolutely the best car in its class, short of the 540i and the M5 of course, but then again those are in their own class by themselves :) High class automobile with the best sport precision handling and a great ride. Silky smooth engine with a lot of power and torque. Absolutely perfect cabin layout and a huge trunk. The car is gorgeous, extremely cool yet tactfully understated. The sport/premium pack makes the car - highly recommended. The only imperfections I listed in the "weaknesses" but since they really are just an add-on equipment I do not count them against the car itself. BMW NA on the other hand should address those issues ASAP as many people hate the sound system in particular. Furthermore, there is no easy way to upgrade it and absolutely no way to replace the head unit!

This car is a work of art. The 528i is my second BMW, after a 1996 328is, and the leap in quality is tremendous. And the 528i is only $4k more than the E46 328i!

If you enjoy driving you will love this car. However, if you are an average american transportee who doesn't know what blinkers are for and just looking for something to move your butt around in, look elsewhere since you will spend mega bucks and won't be able to appreciate what you have.

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MB E320: The BMW is much sportier and high tech. The MB is more of a very well built family transporter, where the BMW is for an automotive conneseur.

One word. WOW. From the moment you enter the car to the moment you exit, the car will give you the most exilerating ride of your life. Smooth ride along the pavement completely silent. the ride is so smooth, you will forget how fast you are going if you forget to look at your speed O meter. With that, the car adds more comfort and fun with the heated seats, heated handle grip, leather seats, back support, smooth handling, exellent acceleration, honorable brakes, always clean window, auto trans, clear visibility, nice headrest, and good looks. Top that the car has a exellently designed, all reachable dashboard with incredable multimedia system that plays music with an angel's voice. The engine never chokes nor whine. Unbelieveable, 007-like gadgets such as the outside view mirrors that moves with Reverse and Drive, Locks that automatically locks when you take off, and all the little warning sounds that never seems to annoy.

Winter of 2000 feb. When the blizzard hit, the rear wheel drive on the BMW always got stuck when my 1993 Toyota Corolla with Front-wheel drive always passed through. Hugh dissapointment was discovered with the ice hit. The wheels completely lost traction. The BMW was stuck on the middle of our driveway for days when the corolla powered its way through without a skid. Hmm...that says something there.

I recommend it for thoughs who has alot of money and wants a good luxury car for a CLEAN and DRY roads like California. Not for thoughs who wants a car for power to reach places.

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None.

Built like a tank and quality materials throughout. Comments I've noticed about quality versus MB are suspect (I've owned both). Brakes.

The first one (528i) was such an electrical nightmare the leasing company took it back. Its a heavy feeling car lacking any handling grace. A Jag that sneaked some Viagra.

Leased. This is a somewhat different write-up than I've seen so far. Forget about the electrical problems with the first as I assume its abnormal. The rest is based on owning two of them in Switzerland.

The 528 is a much better balanced car and a lovely engine with smoother torque characteristics and enough power.

These cars do not handle. Yes, driving down the long straight highway in the USA at 70 mph they may be great. But deal with alpine driving and it understeers like an elephant on ice. It was well enough recognized that after the first model year the Swiss dealers only sold them with the special handling package. This helps but by brute force -- certainly not elegance. Not to mention the A pillar which completely blocks any site of the road on left hand curves.

At anything over 200 kmh they start to float and wander all over the road. Continentals were a joke, 16" Michelins were a vast improvement without losing all concept of ride quality (17" wheels). For you Europeans with a front air dam, take it off if you're into the autobahn and it will help tame the its wandering spirit.

A good "executive car with a sporty image. If you want a great road car, get a C-class, an E-class or a 7 series.

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C/E/SL series MB, 7 series BMW

Dreamlike responsiveness and brakes, 25 mpg average, perfect reliability, quiet, comfortable, beautiful, FAST.

No hope to upgrade strange factory stereo (NOT DIN), should have gotten SPORT seats (car demand spirited cornering!)3-piece factory wheels collect more dust than my shop vac.

Black with black leather and sports package. Everyone should get to drive a car like this for 1000 miles. Afterwards, the Japanese and American car makers would have a lot of explaining to do. You can't imagine the isolation of road noise and vibration yet retain the road feel and impeccable steering precision. This is a luxurious velvet rocket ship with civilized mileage. Southern California traffic makes me long for a Steptronic rather than 5 speed, but oh well.
$50K out the door for a car I'll pamper for 10 years or so.
All our neighbors love the looks and ride of the car too, which makes us feel good about it. We love the car in every way.

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300ZX

sports car handling with luxury car ride, expecially with the sports package.
sexy exterior
quiet inside (yet still sporty)
all the safety features - mucho air bags, dynamic steering
control, traction control, dynamic brake control, xenon lights, etc.
nicely shaped seats
torquey engines

interior leather & wood not as good as Mercedes
small rear legroom, tight fit for 5
small glovebox
rear head-rests don't retract
not really auto-climate controls
these are all small quibbles

Best in class (by far in my opinion)

Definitely a drivers car. If you're buying it for the passengers, the Mercedes E-series might be a better choice.

If you can afford it, it's not a mistake to spend the $$$ on
this car.

Engine and Handling-absolutely best in class. The Lexus and Mercedes E-class are left in the dust.

Fit and finish is not as good as Lexus or Mercedes.
Climate control is weak.

Best handling sedan in class. Only slight inferior to M3 in handling but much more civilized (quiet as opposed to constant engine roar from M3). Much better handling and road feel compared to Mercedes E-class.
Only gripe is interior and fit and finish not as good as Mercedes or Lexus.
Also lousy climate control-constantly needs readjustment in hot weather.
Still is overall best in class in my opinion.

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Lexus, Mercedes

Looks, handling, engine sound, interior design, options, everything!

Maybe not as reliable electrically compared to Benz or the new Audis? Maybe. That's it though.

Wow. The 528i is AMAZING and while I haven't tried the manual, is fast enough in auto (for '99+ they have torquier engines all across the board). But the 540i...

Ok, comapared to 740i/L...aluminum suspension, thus you see better handling automatically, nevermind the reduced weight. Looks the SAME from the inside. Less space in the back and headroom overall, but I'm 6"3 and I'm saying it's good enough for 5 people! 4 people? Perfect! For some reason, the V-8 (identical to 740) sounds better than in the 7!!! Try it, it's true.

Handling!!! I would say overall the 540i with the optional 17 inch rims is a better handler than the M3, it's THAT good (heavier so on a given day on a *RACETRACK* M3 would be better). I just can't explain how incredible the combo of luxury, solidity, stability, and controlled handling in any situation up to well into triple digit speeds.

By far, the best overall sedan ever made, ever. If you really don't want to compromise much over ANYTHING when you say "overall" you would agree with me. The 6-spd is even more desirable...lightning 0-60 and highway passing, better sportiness (but harsher 1-2nd gear shifts and ride). Don't consider Lexus/Benz unless you really prefer their interiors (I think the 5 and 7 series interiors are the most gorgeous in the class by far).

If you can afford a pre-owned or a new one BUY BUY BUY!!! Just have a nice warranty, and you will have MORE THAN a nice life! Can't afford? Get the 528i. Incredible.

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Everything else in the class pretty much.

Astonishing car. Solid, quiet, tons of grip. All traditional BMW virtues with 'grown up' refinement.

Small glove box. What a knock!

To anyone who can afford a 528, it is a no brainer.

The BMW drives really well, and has an extremely professional "feel" to it. It accelerates nicely, and really stops when you hit the brakes. Also, the anti-skid control works surprisingly well :)

The boot is huge, and there's enough leg and head room for tall people both front and back. The stereo sounds great, too.

The air condition is just great. No more foggy windows, and the temparature can be set individually for the left and right sides of the cabin. Very neat.

The on-board computer is nifty, but could use some refinement. For example, it tells me my average fuel consumption and speed, from the last time I reset it, but does not tell me how many kms ago that was.

Great car. If you can afford the price, buy it: the sheer pleasure of driving it makes it worthwhile.

Great looks. Good interior ergonomics. Good response, smooth automatic.

The doors squeaks. For a luxury car like this, there should be silence when you drive it. The squeaks and rattles are so annoying I keep the stereo up to drown the unwanted sounds. The door sill moulding (thats the silver and plastic part with the initial BMW on it that you see when you open the doors)are broken on all 4 doors. All 4, that's amazing - looks like product defect to me. The car is still under warranty but the dealer won't fix it. Aside from these things, I like the car.

The BMW 528i is a good car but it has the potential to be the great car. It drives and rides very well but the quality of some components are not up to par for cars in the luxury division. And the annoying squeaks, that alone is enough to bring this car to the level of an economy car.
I can recommend the car for its performance, but for us this may be our first and last BMW. If we want a quality car we will buy another Mercedes.

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This is our first BMW, we currently have 2 Mercedes Benzes and have owned several others MBs in the past. The MBs are definitely a lot more quality built than the BMW. There are no door rattles nor broken sill mouldings or any major problems at that. The MB we bought brand new in 1993 - we only took it once to the dealer for a warranty repair and it is very minor at that. The products speak for themselves.