I STILL love my B5!

**JMG** · 04-09-2008 10:35 PM

I recently got into an accident (not my fault) which took my B5 out of commission for 2 weeks. In the meantime I was driving a Honda Accord as a rental. Man, did it make me miss my B5... It was somewhat nice reliable mode of transportation, but joyless to drive. The Accord must have been a V6 cause it did have some decent power, but the little things REALLY bugged me. The car was obviously designed for short older people because the pedal was too close to the seat and feather light. Going over bumps caused the pedal to be depressed merely from the weight of my foot coupled with the up/down motion forces of the car from the bump. I'm only 5'9 and I had the seat ALL THE WAY back and still the pedal felt too close to me. Power steering kicked in when it didn't have to and I could feel it when hard cornering and only contributed to the feeling of instability. No wonder people get into so many accidents! It felt heavy and was too big for a normal person. It's a shame the current trend that bigger is better is coming back. We'll be driving around bloated car-boats that haven't seen the light of day since the 70s.

Anyway, got the B5 back today good as new and I couldn't be happier. My plans to get a the new M3 or 335i this year have been curbed. I think I'll hang on to the B5 for a little longer. Maybe next year when the new A4 (or S4) body style comes out, or when BMW replaces their crappy SMG with something proper... 'till then

for the B5. I love this car!

**Yaktizzle417** · 04-09-2008 11:29 PM

SMG isn't bad once you get the hang of it..

DSG is just better. =]

Plus, you do know that you can get 6speeds in pretty much every BMW right?

Just keep the B5 for a project and get an A3.. Best of both worlds.

**biketsai** · 04-09-2008 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by JMG

The car was obviously designed for short older people because the pedal was too close to the seat and feather light. Going over bumps caused the pedal to be depressed merely from the weight of my foot coupled with the up/down motion forces of the car from the bump. I'm only 5'9 and I had the seat ALL THE WAY back and still the pedal felt too close to me.

jsut SAY IT, asian people!! haha, jk

btw-i love my audi too

**JMG** · 04-10-2008 12:21 AM

Originally Posted by Yaktizzle417

SMG isn't bad once you get the hang of it..

DSG is just better. =]

Plus, you do know that you can get 6speeds in pretty much every BMW right?

Just keep the B5 for a project and get an A3.. Best of both worlds.

I'm either giving the B5 to my sister or keeping in on the side when I get a new car. It's already paid for anyway.

**generik777** · 04-10-2008 01:11 AM

I know the feeling, I was rear ended back in november and had a Mazda6 as a rental while mine was in the body shop. It made me love my car even more. The interior felt so cheap, And the FWD was so extremely weird to get used too after driving quattro seeing as how their was still snow and ice on the roads. And I like how my B5 makes me feel like part of the car while I'm driving rather than just someone sitting in it and steering. Although it was fun just beating on the rental while I had it.

**D's Avant** · 04-10-2008 04:39 PM

I am away on business almost every week and I can not wait to get back into my B5. Our interiors are still awesome compared to pretty much anything out there. My Avant on worn out sport suspension handles better than anything I have driven as a rental in the past couple of years. Always good to drop back into your car and just drive.

**Solaris** · 04-10-2008 05:16 PM

Since you mentioned Honda, I thought I'd chime in, as I have a 2006 Civic EX coupe manual. I know it's a bit different from the Accord in a few ways, though. I really enjoy my Civic, aside from it being wrong wheel drive and having no real guts. It's about 400lbs lighter than my A4 and that's quite noticeable. I put Si sway bars on it and the car is actually fun to toss around in corners. The stock seats have better bolsters than my A4's non sport seats, so it's a bit more comfortable. I slide around like a 3 year old on a vinyl bench seat in the A4. I'm 6'0" and have plenty of leg room with still some room to move the seat back. Not arguing your points, just saying that I've found my Civic to be a good car for what it is. 29-30MPG driving around town using regular gas, too.