I got an invite to the local main dealer to try out the new 5 series. I has the pick of the 530e, 540 & 550 (last two are petrol). I decided on the hybrid as I'd never driven a hybrid anything before.
Well, very nice looking car, inside and out, except for the aluminum effect on the dash that looked like it belonged in a child's sticker book. (I was told wood was also available and I'm sure it would look much nicer.)
Well, the drive was quite uneventful. It was a perfectly nice car, but not a particularly fast or sporty one. I thought BMWs were supposed to be a bit special. Getting back in the FFRR afterwards was no let down at all.
Overall, I was really unimpressed. I thought it would have been better in so many areas than my 9 year old RR. But no. Other than some tech gimmicks with the stereo, and some rather clever parking cameras, there wasn't anything.
And out fuel economy? About 8.5 L/100km in urban driving. Now that would be GREAT in a petrol FFRR, but there are many non-hybrid petrol sedans that can match that figure.

PS I drove a relative's brand new VW Golf GTI 5 dr a few weeks earlier. Very nice. And about 1/3-1/2 the price.

Good info. Thanks