My favorite part on any BMW product are the brakes. They work right now with excellent pedal feel and you quickly build tremendous confidence. Other safety features are antilock brakes, a stability control system, dynamic brake control, front and side-impact airbags, head protection airbags for both the front and rear occupants, seatbelt automatic tensioners and force limiters that can automatically adjust the upper anchor point as the seat is adjusted. Overall, the safety ratings for this model were good.
It rained nearly every day we had the 540i so I didn't' get to use the standard sunroof. I did find the power seat and tilt/telescope steering wheel easy to manage, but the rim of the wheel hid the most important part of the speedometer when I found my most comfortable settings.
The trunk was quite usable except for the way it opened. I only hope manufacturers talk to woman the next time they design a remote trunk opener. When we hit the button to open the trunk we don't want it to go click and move up a half inch so we have to get our hands dirty opening it or worse, lose a fingernail. We want the trunk lid to goes up about six to eight inches so we can easily get our hand under it or nudge it open with the shopping bags we are usually carying. The trunk should never open all the way up because it could clip our heads, or, when the weather is inclement, get the trunk wet.
I loved the heated seats with the three levels of warmth clearly indicated. This option comes with the $600 cold weather package. I also found the driver's computer easy to master, but every time you turned off the ignition it reset itself, which was disconcerting. The interior's look was business like with nothing puffy except for a little space hidden under a roll-up lid that was essentially useless. The dual-zone automatic climate control, heated power mirrors, and automatic day/night rearview mirror were appropriate for this price range. The xenon headlights were terrific.
The 5 Series center console is much more elegantly designed than the somewhat disappointing console in the 3 Series cars. the console seem out of place in an otherwise beautiful 5 Series interior, however.