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      01-07-2014, 03:56 PM   #18
ezmaass
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Drives: '17 650xi GC / '15 Audi R8 V10
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: CT

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I've taken a few pictures so you can see the seat buttons, seat surface, and the extra control in the dash for the ventilation function.

Yes, after driving at night a few more times now, I've definitely noticed the difference with the LEDs over xenon. Will it matter THAT much to you, I don't know. I can, however, now say that there's a noticeable difference... and I'd probably recommend the LEDs, not just for their crisper/whiter appearance but also because of the auto highbeams. I'm finding that they're a nice convenience.

All of this said, what I can't say ENOUGH good things about is the Dynamic Handling Package (DHP). I'd seriously consider getting this option. I'd sacrifice the LED lights and luxury seating, combined if necessary, to get DHP. I've driven the car with the regular suspension, and it's good. But it's nowhere near the experience of the DHP in my opinion.

While coming back from an errand today, I drove the car mostly in Comfort Mode, and it was pleasant and refined as I cruised over broken asphalt due to winter's toll. As I got off the highway and onto the back twisty roads leading to my house, I put the car in Sport Mode, and for the first time (while breaking in carefully) I really pushed the car for a few miles. My God. Not only was the suspension nice and tight - and I could now feel the road, including all its bumps and imperfections - but the anti-roll is simply AMAZING. This is a heavy car, but it took the corners like a car that's 1,000 pounds lighter in this mode and with the anti-roll hard at work. With xDrive, as well, it really makes for an amazing combination of systems. The car felt like a muscular athlete quickly maneuvering from side to side as I tossed it through some pretty tight turns at high speed, and not once did I feel the sensation of a heavy car causing roll in the corners. If I sound like I'm oozing support for this system, well... I am. I was on the fence about DHP at first, but I'm so, so, so glad I ended up getting it. It really gives me the best of both worlds in one car - the ability to have split personalities at the click of a button - and with the active anti-roll, the car feels more composed under hard cornering than any standard, passive system I've driven on a sedan of this size. The DHP has, by far, become my favorite option and best bang for the buck. As I've said, I'd take it over the LED package or the luxury seating if you had to choose. After all, BMWs are about driving first and foremost - the LED and luxury seating packages, to me, are ancillary to the way the car drives.

Here are the pics, as requested. The first pic shows the side controls. I don't play with half of these, but I do find it nice that the thigh support is now motorized, as well - was manual on my 335i. The second pic shows the perforations in the leather to allow the ventilation system to work. They're hardly noticeable unless you get right up close to it in person. And the last pic is just showing that there's an extra button on the HVAC controls to turn on the ventilation (just to the left of the Sync button). It works just like heating the seats - three stages of cooling. I didn't take a pic of it, but on the door there's also an extra button, next to the memory buttons, to turn on/off the Active Seats.

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__________________
2017 BMW 650xi Gran Coupe | MSport | Exec Package | Driver Assist Plus | ACC Stop & Go | Adaptive Drive | B&O | Night Vision | Cold Weather | Active Seats
2015 Audi R8 V10 | Brilliant Red on Black | S-Tronic | Carbon Sideblades | Carbon Trim | Full Leather | Sport Exhaust | Illuminated Doorsills | I-Pod | Contrast Stitching
Previous: '14 550xi, '07 335i, '01 325i
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