Lizzie as a Mummy: Test Driving the F10

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Test Driving the F10

As one of the priviledged (priviledged ke??!!) members of the BMW White Club, we were invited for the launch of the F10, the brand new BMW 5 series. I am definitely not a big fan of checking out cars, especially ones which I cannot afford. The only thing I like about climbing into a brand new car is the smell of the leather seats. Which I can satisfy by just inhaling into a brand new Prada leather handbag as well. (Jalina, bring your Prada handbag again for lunch, okay? I need to satisfy this weird craving of mine.)

But Hubby, being a man and all, was extremely excited over the invite. Also being a man and all, he didn't even bother to read the card till the end, hence not noticing the requirement to RSVP for that test drive before attending. Halfway to the event, I eventually read the card - and since we were already on our way, I told Hubby to just pretend like we RSVPed and hopefully we would be able to get in!

Launching was held at The Gallery, Ara Damansara.

The reception where Hubby attempted to tipu his way in.

And it worked! Yeah, the poor reception went through her wholeeeee list twice just to find our names, and when she couldn't, she checked with her manager who in turn tried to squeeze us in the list for the test drive. There were a few others who walked in but didn't RSVP as well - they weren't turned away so they did get to see the cars but were told to come back another day if they wanted to test drive.

Fizzly, bubbly, non alcoholic drinks while we waited for our turn.

I was disappointed by the number of finger food and drinks that they served. We were seated quite far back, and everytime the server came along, everyone would pounce at him/her for food and by the time they get to our seats, the platters would already be empty.

Beautiful ambience.

The rare chances that we were served food. Check out the size of the serving as compared to my car key. Times that with approximately 3 servings. No wonder I was still hungry after that!

Measly sandwiches.

Finally! We were given pass cards for access to the test drive session.

And the event starts! First up, the General Manager (I think?) of Auto Bavaria giving a welcome speech.

Then a walk through the history of the BMW 5 series.

The prototype drawing of the exterior.

And the interior. Cool eh?

I wonder, what is underneath? Okay, lame joke.

They then invited 4 lucky men to unveil BMW's latest beauty! (Don't understand why someone would wear shorts and flip flops to an event like this!)

That lucky boy was the first to get to sit at the driver's seat.

The front. Did you know that the kidney grills is one of the features that has been preserved in all the generations of the 5 series?

Cool middle console! With a more sophisicated steering wheel.

The back. Higher butt and more garang looking.

After that, they called out the names of the selected few for the test drive. There were a total of 10 cars available for the test drive. I was given a pass to be in the car but not drive it. Aiden wasn't allowed in the test drive but the receptionist offered to baby sit him. Hubby and another guy were given the opportunity to drive car number 4. As we walked to the car outside, Aiden started wailing his lungs out, and as if on reflex, my stomach gave me this gut curdling memulas turn. I'll save you the details, but that whole morning I was nursing a diarrhea because of the stupid roti canai depan rumah. And Aiden simply refused to be handed over to the receptionist. But still, I was determined to get in the car! So Aiden and I quietly crept into the car at the back, I wore the seat belt and held Aiden tight while praying for the tummy ache and the urge to run to the ladies to at least wait until the test drive was done.

Surprisingly, the test drive was actually an independent convoy test drive. Usually during a test drive, there would be a salesperson sitting in the car with you while you drive it right? Well this one is very different and interesting. They divided the cars into two groups, so 5 cars per group. Each group had a lead car at the front. Each car had two people assigned to drive it. Each car were given a walkie talkie. Therefore, the lead car would lead the cars in a convoy while specific instructions were given through the walkie talkie - like "change the gear to Sports mode", or "speed up at this bend", or "Car number 6, please catch up with the convoy" - stuff like that. So you had the whole car to yourself! Feels as if you can just drive off with a brand new car (yeah right!).

Hubby, nervous that he had to drive a brand new car (which we cannot afford yet!) unsupervised... And that's the walkie talkie!

"Change to the middle lane as there are pot holes fast approaching us on the fast lane. Beware of the Proton Iswara on your left" says the walkie talkie.

Time to switch drivers. Meanwhile, more photo opportunities for me! The key slot is located behind the gear. And the key shape is even more unique than our generation! Double cool...

"Change into Sports mode and speed up at this bend" says the walkie talkie. (While Mummy and Aiden hold on to the seat for dear life.)

Finally! We completed the test drive safely without a single scratch on the car. This was our car - lucky number four!

Remember the pass cards we were given for the test drive? Most of us wanted to keep them as a keepsake. But we were told in exchange of the pass card, we would be given a gift (above) courtesy of Auto Bavaria.

Inside those boxes were chocolate brownies lightly dusted with fine sugar. Truth be told? I would have probably kept the pass instead!

We then left the launch and headed towards Bangsar to meet up with my mates from Matriculation which I have not seen for quite a while. The last time I met 2 out of 5 of them were about a year ago, when they came to visit 5-day-old Aiden and I in Prince Court. And the rest of them? The last time I probably met the lot was when I was still working in Malaysia, pre-Russia phase!

But fate didn't want me reunited with the gang. Remember the potholes that the test drive walkie talkie told us to avoid? Well brilliant hubby decided to dive my beloved Baby Beemer straight into it! Don't know what got into him. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush after driving such a powerful car plus the urge to replicate the same with our 3-series. Even when I shouted for him to slow down just before the potholes, it was as if he didn't hear me. And the sound of the undercarriage hitting the road was just so heart wrenching!!!! And the worse thing was that we must have broken something somewhere because when we slowed down the car, we heard something scraping along the road. We had no other choice but to drive slowly to AutoBavaria Glenmarie (with Mummy grumbling along the way). And just our luck, because it was a Sunday, no mechanics were around so we had to drive again looking for a tyre shop, and finally finally finally found one open.

The reckless driver looking at the damage.

My poor poor Baby Beemer.

Thankfully, none of the tyres were punctured or needed to be changed. Just some minor fixes, but the balancing and alignment were definitely off! More fixing at AutoBavaria needed (read: more $$$$!!!). When we finally left the tyre shop, it was already late so we decided to stop by KFC for some food and head over to the new house (since we were so close by).

And the glass panes were already installed!