1988 BMW 5 Series 528e review from North America

The odometer broke a month or two ago, not the worst thing in the world, but a bit irritating.

Driver's side seat is a bit worn out.

Has a minor oil leak.

I'm fairly amazed by this car, the engine is absolutely indestructable it seems, and after 170,000 miles runs quite well. If I keep it on the highway I average about 25mpg, which is quite good (especially for a BMW), though in city traffic the gas mileage is terrible.

My main complaint is that the car has exceedingly poor acceleration, I may be biased, since my previous car, a 300zx was a little rocket, but for a v6 (even a 2.7 liter one) there isn't much oomph (this seems to be a common complain about certain 5-series bimmers). That being said, once it does get up to speed it is quite nimble, I can get it up to 100mph with no problems at all, and the faster it goes the better it seems to handle (yes, everything I've heard about that legendary BMW handling is true, for a fairly large passenger car it handles better than my old 300zx). I'm a devoted convert to RWD now.

The interior is ergonomic, and has lots of little toys to play with (I love the little computer that reads out the average mpg and mph). Unfortunately, the driver's seat being a bit worn out can make long trips slightly uncomfortable, but its tolerable none-the-less.

I'm surprised sometimes, but the car does tend to turn heads, mainly because, perhaps, people expect to see someone my age in a more utilitarian vehicle, but I love my bimmer and would happily buy another (if I can ever find one in decent shape that is).