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I saw it yesterday at my dealer's grand re-opening. It's growing on me. It looks much better in person than in any picture I've seen, and it's filled with very cool features.
The one at the dealer was Space Gray with black interior. The trunk/hatch is very handy, and the rear seat room with individual reclining buckets is tremendous.
Still, I'm not sure they're positioning it properly in the marketplace. I understand that it's the first of the new 5 Series and is starting off in the most premium mode, but this car would be more appealing to me if it were equipped differently.
How about as a super-efficient "all purpose" family car? As much as I admire the twin turbo V8, I'd like the car better if it had a diesel that could get over 30mpg on the highway. X-drive would be handy, too. From a size perspective, it looks to have almost the same amount of cargo room as the X5, but the GT's lower profile and weight would make it a better, more efficient highway cruiser. The hot rod powertrain seems out of place with the look and utility of the body.
It reminds me of the old SAAB 9000 in terms of utility potential. SAAB sold a lot more cars when they positioned their product as the thinking man's sport sedan. With everybody running away from trucks these days, there may be a place for this kind of car again. I think BMW should reposition it to attract that kind of buyer. I bet they'd sell more of them.
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