Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewjgreen1
Thanks all for your input so far...so my thoughts arising:
Xenon - the visibility package sounds good but I really am at the higher if not highest end of my budget, what would you sacrifice in order to include it?
Shake & Bake - thanks for the info re: the leather, my wife will be most pleased as she was leaning towards the Oyster/Black or even Oyster/Oyster combo. I'm glad to hear the standard seats are well regarded and take the point about the wheels - I just can't get away from the thought that the 17 in wheels look like they're too small for the car, though I suppose you'd do well to notice a 1in increase in diameter. I did read every post on the forum before posting so as to ensure I was well briefed and I noted the comments about slightly older cars struggling with, amongst other things, 7 digit postcodes; little niggles like that can wear over time.
Folding & dimming mirrors...I live on an air force base so traffic is very light and I'm not too worried about the folding function but I have an auto dimming rear-view mirror on my current 3 series and find myself annoyed that whilst it does it's job I'm still dazzled by badly adjusted headlights in the wing mirrors. I feel like to have one as standard I have to have the other or there's no point in either...does this seem reasonable or am I walking into an obvious trap?
Further questions (sorry)...my wife and I both use iPhones, I've read the options booklet and am still a little unclear what I need in order to have them work with the car. I get the impression that the standard USB integraton will play music but can I control that music from the steering wheel controls or for that kind of functionality do I need the telephone USB audio interface I specified?
As someone who simply uses the car to cruise in comfort, what are the advantages of the sport auto box? I can see that the idea is a nice one but, of those who have the sport box, how often do you actually use it (especially the paddles)?
Finally, I read something about it elsewhere but I feel I should ask...has anybody deselected the smoker's package? I presume doing do will have relatively little influence on ease of resale and means there'll be more of those little cubby-holes and small storage spaces knocking around the vehicle?
Thanks in anticipation...I know I'm full of questions but want to make sure I get this right, I'm hoping to buy a car for the family for (perhaps) the next five years.
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Like Xenon, I also consider the adaptive bi-xenon lights to be essential, but that's because I do a good deal of night driving on unlit Scottish country roads. Not only are they significantly brighter and whiter, but they turn with the steering wheel, thereby lighting your way around corners. If, however, you hardly ever venture away from well lit roads at night, you probably wouldn't realise the full benefit. As to where to find the extra money, I would delete 1. ambient lighting (nice but far from essential), 2. USB phone connection (any bluetooth phone will fully interface - check model compatibility and operational functions here:
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/nav...=EU&country=UK), 3. Sun protection glass (I think it looks odd with just the rear side windows and screen tinted), 4. Sport auto (it's very good, but based on your stated driving style, you probably wouldn't notice much difference).
I find the folding/dimming mirrors all but indispensable - they dim very effectively, but the main benefit for me is for is in negotiating tight spaces such as passing oncoming traffic on very narrow country lanes and getting in and out of my garage.
I had the smokers package deleted, but I don't think you get much extra storage space - either way you get the same number of power outlets.