Originally Posted by Pacecar
I got my F11 520d since a few weeks. I have the following configuration
Alpine white exterior
Black Tudor leather/tissu trim
Sport seats
Sport automatic transmission
Sport M Suspension
Sport Steering Wheel
Panoramic sunroof
Hifi Loudspeaker upgrade
Sunblinds rear windows
Ext. mirrors - folding, auto dimming
USB connection
Bluetooth
Black roofrails
Overall impression, great car and I love driving it. Although some of you will just see this as a list of futile "complaints", my reason for the list with "gripes" below is
(a) I think some things should/could be done differently (even very good always can be better), and although I am not naive enough to think that writing this on a forum would make any difference, I am just interested to get your opinion; and
(b) maybe I just didn't find the way to make it work as I think it should, and someone else on the forum can help me
So, my list of things I don't like:
1) light indicator
this is the first car I drive that has no indicator for the low beams: you cannot see whether the car has the low beams or the daytime running lights switched on. The indicator on the dashboard is always the same. And it is the same whether you use the "auto" function, or whether you switch manually from DRL to low beam: on the dashboard it's the same symbol.
2) auto hold not part of personal profile (so needs to be switched on every time)
I could understand that when you start up the car, the autohold is not immediately enabled, because you often are maneuvering, which is easier without autohold, but there could be the functionality that once you have passed the 20 km/h, it is switched on automatically (if you choose so in your personal profile).
3) idem for sport setting
Discussed elsewhere on the forum. I appreciate BMW's concerns for CO2 emissions, and maybe it is even a legal requirement that if BMW wants to use the low CO2 emission numbers (which are by far not met if you drive in sport mode) as official numbers for the car (which has a tax impact in several countries). But I would have liked the possibility to have it switched on permanently.
4) "nav" button on idrive even if the navigation option was not taken
Ok, I did not take the satnav option, and maybe I am as such part of a very small minority, but I think that in a premium car, in that case the "nav" button on the iDrive should have a different label and functionality (USB/external source? trip computer?).
5) ipod connection does not work for older ipod models (iPod mini and iPod nano G1 are not recognized)
Only my latest (G6) nano is recognized. My (very old) mini, and Nano G1 are no recognized. Which is a pity, because I like to keep an old ipod in the car, and keep my latest nano elsewhere. Ok, this might be an Apple problem, but it was a disappointment anyways.
6) higher gear on motorways in sport stand
The auto gearbox is a dream, in particular in sport mode. BUT, for cruising on motorways (hence no changes in speed), it keeps the car in a lower gear than in the normal mode. This is great in the city, but on motorways very annoying. Even if you use the paddle to switch from 7th to 8th gear, and you maintain the same speed, it switches automatically back to 7th after a few seconds. You could say, put it in normal mode on motorways, but then I loose the advantage of the firmer steering, which mitigates a little bit gripe n°11
7) plastic ridge on top of dashboard (even without head-up display installed)
When driving in sunlight, you "see" the reflection in the windscreen of the outline (ridges) of where the head-up display is installed if you took that option. For best visibility, the top of the dashboard should be very dark/black and as flat/smooth as possible, but this is unfortunately not the case in the F10/11. The reflection of these ridges are straight in my line of view, and quite annoying.
8) kids lock on back doors not electric
Well, maybe there is a safety reason for this, but a button on the dashboard (or next to window controls on the door panel) or a setting in the iDrive would be better than a mechanical switch on the inside of the back doors. This is so outdated??
9) cruise control controls
It just does not work as conveniently as I wish. The first time you switch it on, it's ok. But when you want to change to a different speed (which you reached either by braking, or accelerating with the pedals), you either have to manually change it with the "roller wheel", or you have to switch off completely, and switch on again. It would have been so easy that pushing the "roller wheel" would just set the new current speed as cruising speed.
10) not enough space to put "junk" (glove box, armrest, ...)
Quite self explanatory. Where do I keep all the stuff that I have in my pockets, and like to put somewhere in the car around me (wallet, keys, car key, phone, my wife's phone, credit card to pay toll, toll tickets, ipods, anti-radar device, etc.)
11) steering stability at cruising speeds
Widely reported, and true. This is my only "real" gripe about driving/handling an otherwise quite perfect car.
12) comfort close : keep on pushing until all is closed
Very annoying: if you have windows/sunroof open, you have to continue pushing until all are closed. There is the very probably risk that you released the button too early, and a window or sunroof are still partially open, so you almost have to make a visual inspection whether all did fully close. Did someone measure how long it takes to go from all windows sunroof open to all closed? I would not be surprised if this would be 20 seconds or more. So this is the minimum time you have to push the button to close everything. It should work like, if you push a bit longer (2 sec), all should start closing, but without you having to keep on pushing; so once you see hear that the window start closing, or mirror start folding, you can release button, walk away from the car, and you can be confident that all will be closed.
13) radio/CD/USB input keeps on playing for a long time (5 minutes) or until you lock the car
Why? If I switch of the car, and open a door, music should stop playing. If it's radio, no problem (although neighbors might not like it if you arrive late at night and keep the doors open for a while to unload the car), but if it's CD or Ipod, I don't want that the playback continues when I am doing things around the car (putting coats on, getting the kids' stuff out of the boot, etc. etc.). Again, maybe some people think this is just a good feature, but I would love that this could be customized in the personal profile.
14) the green LED on the lever when you activate automatic wipers mode. The LED is completely invisible if you sit behind the wheel! Why not an indicator on the dashboard?
So that's it. Nevertheless, great car, and I would definitely re-order the F11 if I had the choice again. Maybe only a very few changes in my options list, but that's it.
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