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This was my post on the UK web site with the pics you've seen, im not sure how much cross Atlantic sense it makes to youz guys, but thot In would share anyway, this from a Scotsman, who, loves his 5T and is feeling a bit Brave!!!!
Heres the post..................
Recently took delivery of my new F11 520d M Sport in Sophisto Grey and wanted to give some comparisons to my previous 2011 F11 which was also a 2.0d M Sport but in Alpine White.
So, firstly a short summary of specs and previous ownerships.
2008 – 2011 E61 525i M Sport in Le Mans Blue with 19” 172M’s. (I still miss this car so much!!)
2011 – 2014 Alpine White model had the N47 engine and was fairly decently spec’d. I put the OEM black grilles on it and also taped the chrome indicator surrounds. (didn’t spec the ambient ltg so there was no need to worry about the chrome strips on the door handles!). De badged. Kept the standard 19” 351M’s. So with the exception of the alloys it was a black and white car (or should that be white and black??). Eight Speed Sports auto transmission.
Current model has the new B47 engine version (more of which later), manual gearbox (more of which later), Matt Aluminium exterior trim and roof rails, M Sport Plus package (Harmon/Karmon, SPG, and the 19” 351’s) Pano sun roof, LED adaptive headlights, ambient ltg, Pro Sat Nav, the MFIP as i call it (Multi Function Instrument Panel), VDC and the always lovely Grey Shade band. In keeping with the chrome feel i stuck the kidney grilles from the Modern Touring on it as well. Chose a set of 20” 464M’s for her as I was desperate for the mixed wheel look and something a little more distinctive overall.
The main difference or change I wanted to make was to get as far away from an automatic gearbox as fast as I could. The auto gearbox made me a lazy driver and the longer it went on the more “disconnected“ I felt from the car. Specifying the manual box was the easiest decision i was ever going to make and it has been more than worth it. On taking delivery and driving away the driving sensation was immediately back, I could feel the car, the biting point, the ability to flip the throttle, the driving vibration through the clutch pedal and just the overall sense of being in charge of that throttle again without some piece of software making decisions for you. On the previous F11, I used the paddles a handful of times in 3 years and whilst they are good on roads where you don’t have to turn the wheel and can keep your fingers on the paddles continuously as soon as the wheel needs to do a 90 deg plus turn, you don’t have control of the gears any longer. Would appreciate your feedback on this point, yes there’s a case to be made that you make the gear changes before turning into the corner, hence no need to make a shift up (or down) when you are in the corner, I just felt that the shifts between the gears were quite short and needed to be made more quickly as you were exiting a corner and crucially before the wheel was back to less than the 90deg and then having to get your fingers back on the paddles again..........
The improved engine is an exceptional piece of engineering. The previous N47 as I have stated before (not on this forum) was like starting a cold tractor and despite all of its good points (torque, /power ratios) I never quite got away from the farmer in the morning carry on. This new B47 has been dramatically improved, not just with its cold start “noise” which has been improved beyond measure, but i’m sure i can hear it purr when in any mode above Eco Pro. I don’t feel a tremendous difference for the increased lower end torque/power output over the old version but the refinement is undeniable.
LED Adaptive Headlights/High Beam Assistant – WOW!!! what a package this is. I must admit my first reason for specifying this was for its looks, the eyebrow indicator light and the goddam mean sporty look of the headlights themselves with the distinctive flattened corona rings and the LED light display split across the centre of each of the 4 rings. I realised from the start after some research there was a lot more to this package that its good looks. There’s a BMW video on YouTube of their operational aspects and it is just awesome. Are they better than the Visibility Package/Bi Xenons on the old F11, yes would be my opinion all day long. They do take some getting used to at night, when you push the High Beam Assistant to “on” and there’s a car coming towards you, your first instinct is to switch it off as the headlights are still on full beam, but only after a while do you realise no–one is flashing back at you to put the high beam down, the adaptive tech is doing all the work (the video explains how it works).
VDC – specified this time round as I was putting the 20” 464M’s on the car, the previous model was the standard M Sport suspension. I see a noticeable improved difference in the ride across all settings but overall when I look at the car I think it sits higher than the M Sport suspension model particularly at the front. The gap from the top edge of the wheel to the wheel arch is more than i recall. I see there has been some debate on this and wondered if there was a definitive answer? Seems that the M Sport suspension is deleted when you spec the VDC and that is making the difference???? Overall tho, I think having the VDC is needed with the rims I chose. I’m not planning a “drop” at all.
MFIP – quite simply put, a marvellous piece of tech. From the “flashing lights” to advise gear changes in “sports” mode to the vastly improved “Eco Pro” screen, this piece of kit just keeps giving and giving. The Sat Nav aspect display improvement on their is sublime and so much easier to follow than what wasn’t a bad version before. I thought the full black panel display on the previous version was excellent but this tops it 10 fold. Where this tech takes us in the future is something I’m really looking forward too. Will we be able to customise our own displays and colours within the required parameters of what needs to be shown on it – who knows how far this could go!!!
In summary, a vastly improved car from the previous model, the engine refinements, interior spec improvements, headlights and that manual gearbox have made me one happy Han Solo.
So there you have it, hopefully some good feedback for you and now may I present my new Falcon (via some rather poor iPhone camera pics)
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