[K-A]

-STEERING: Let me cut to the chase and say that I noticed NO major steering differences (a good thing as I for one find the steering of my F10 to have the perfect Luxury-Sport Sedan feel, sporty-ish yet still very smooth and comfortable with a solid and hefty weight to it).

That said, I and several others have commented on the M suspension ('13) cars having a better steering feel over your "standard" F10, which I am pretty confident on. Granted, the LCI M Sport doesn't have its own M suspension yet, so I'm essentially comparing my car to a standard/non M Sport LCI steering feel....

.... Therefore, in that regard I guess you can say the steering is a improvement to a standard aka non-M suspension pre-LCI.

If I had to nitpick here, I'd say the LCI steering felt ever so slightly more direct and fluid, however ever so slightly more artificial/artificially boosted and definitely a tiny bit lighter than my steering (I like the slightly heavier feel on mine though the LCI steering could be considered a little easier to pilot around I guess). Again, the LCI M suspension will give a closer comparison, I think. Also, I did notice a pretty noticeable difference in steering weight when I put the LCI into Sport mode, while my car the steering is always fairly heavy, therefore I notice less of a difference in Sport (the difference is there though it's more noticeably changed via each setting on the LCI than it is on my car).

-SUSPENSION: We all know now about this suspension being an interim for the M Sport, so I'm essentially comparing my M suspension pre-LCI to a "Base" suspension LCI with the same 19" wheels. The car drives VERY, VERY, V.E.R.Y smoothly, yet not as floaty or artificial as the pre LCI Base suspension. Compared to the M suspension pre-LCI (my car), it does feel a little more artificial, a little softer, certainly a little bit more "in the clouds"/floaty (and I mean a LITTLE, not a night and day difference, but you will notice it being less sporty edged and more float-over-the-pavement edged) and not as direct, but on the flip side it travels over every road imperfection flawlessly, even ones that can upset my more connected M suspension seemed to swallowed and then spat out by the LCI Base suspension. Part of having a Sports suspension is feeling more of the road, including rough patches. The beauty of my cars M Suspension though is that if defies logic in how it rides incredibly smoothly yet at the same times feels sporty. It is the most dynamic suspension I've still ever encountered.... it can feel semi-"floaty" when you'd want it to but once you start attacking corners it transmits no body roll or lean, as if it can do it all and knows exactly what you want from it.... BUT, the LCI Base suspension isn't some POS, it's a bit less sporty/direct but with more emphasis on keeping harshness out of the cabin.

Those wanting the ultimate in F10 sportiness will not be as pleased with the LCI Base suspension as they will be with the pre-LCI M suspension, no doubt about that, but it's not a gigantic difference, and there are tradeoffs.

As for ride height, the '13 M suspension seems to sit about 1/4 lower or so.

-INTERIOR: I DO NOT like the new M STEERING WHEEL as much. It looks more playful and "toy-ish", which can be fun, but IMO doesn't compliment the mature elegance of the F10 interior as much. The lower pillar feels extremely cheap, like hard Fischer-Price plastic, therefore I find the quality of the pre-LCI M wheel to be overall more refined, however the LCI M wheel has a larger diameter (which is a give and take, the "take" being that you can finally see the gauges in front of you well). What I *REALLY* didn't like from it is how it feels a little skinnier than the pre-LCI M wheel, the rim is definitely not as beefy i.e the new M wheel feels slightly thinner to the grip compared to my cars thicker grip which I prefer.

I like the new aluminum borders around the screen. Not a huge thing but a nice subtle touch, as is the aluminum center-console-release button replacing the pre-LCI's matte plastic one.

The SEATS on the LCI are much nicer, the black Dakota had a much more complex and interesting pattern, with contrast stitching than my black Dakota (simple) seats.

As for those wondering about IVORY WHITE NAPPA, the car I drove had this and honestly, with under 10 miles on the car they were already starting to look worn out. IMO it's a nightmare in the making, kind of like the equivalent to black paint (a second job) but could be even more consuming. As for seat comfort, I found my Dakota pre-LCI seats to be about as comfortable and padded as the LCI Nappa seats, at least not a large enough difference to truly notice.

Other than that, the interior looks and feels identical.

-TAILLIGHTS: Honestly, I like the pre-LCI taillights more as the thicker LED tubes look fresher and more sporty to me, and I like the more interesting pattern of the upper tube being cut off at the middle. The worst part of the LCI taillights are how the upper blinker portion look like incandescent halogen bulb housings, just a more old-tech look in that particular regard than the pre-LCI upper portions with very visible and more visually appealing LED dots. The LCI taillights are very defined and have more complex internal graphics and elements (aside from the upper blinker portion), however.

-HEADLIGHTS: The LED headlights look simply awesome though I in theory prefer the classic round coronas especially on a smoother/more rounded design like the F10. However if I got an LCI I'd need those LCI headlights. The xenon headlights are more tricky when comparing to the pre-LCI headlights. On one hand they are a clear downgrade as you go back in time and downmarket with a VERY visible and eyesore orange turn signal bulb smack dab in front of you. Yet at the same time, it has an upper LED tube and this little amber horizontal LED tube in front of the halogen amber bulb. I think Xenon VS Xenons in regards to pre-LCI VS LCI will be down to personal preference, i.e do you like the additional LED strips enough to cancel out that unfortunate old school halogen bulb that will sheepishly light up when you hit your signals, not to mention is all too visual and noticeable even when you're looking at the headlight unit while it's not even on. As for the actual headlights and Angel Eyes, they seem to be identical on both the pre and post LCI Xenon units (though I didn't to a comparison with the headlights or Angel Eyes while on and next to each other).

-GRILL: I actually found them to be more alike in person than in pics. I do like the LCI grills slightly more though, if I had to choose. They have 2 less slats on each side and seem very slightly recessed inwards more (the chrome "ring" around them is larger). This is also down to personal preference and IMO both look realistically equally as well designed, and most people probably couldn't tell a difference (I barely could), but I wouldn't mind seeing my car with the LCI grills.

-FOGLIGHTS AND HOUSING: I prefer the more corner-angled pre-LCI foglights as they give off a wider impression to the front, however this is so subtle that you might not even notice it. The side intake grille treatment on the LCI M Sport bumper is different, it's a plastic kind of "t" pattern with no mesh. I'll say I prefer the pre LCI intake grills ONLY because they match the same material and pattern as the center air dam grille (on the pre LCI it's all that same flat black honeycomb pattern while on the LCI the middle air dam retains that same grille material and look but the side intakes now have a shinier black grille that doesn't match it). Again, preference and maybe I'm just used to mine more. I can see people prefering the more "open" look of the LCI side intake grilles. Of course, the LCI has LED fog lights which will give off a better visual effect while on (though apparently makes them less functional as actual fog lights).

-IDRIVE: Just as the 13 iDrive's look a little crisper than the 11/12 iDrive's, the '14 seemed very slightly crisper than mine. The touchpad knob feels about the same quality as the pre-LCI knob, and I for one LOVE the touchpad as I feel it can come in major handy. BMW doesn't have a physical keypad which as Mercedes shows can be an eyesore, so entering text and numbers can be a pain, which is resolved with the touchpad.

-Oh, and the car I drove even with M Sport DID NOT have the Sport + feature, which was obviously because it didn't have SAT. Something to keep in mind as I know there was confusion as to what gives you Sport + on the pre-LCI's.

I think that's about it. All in all, the LCI upholds the winning formula and "doesn't mess with perfection" at all, just subtle changes or evolutions which is the way it should be on such a winning and supremely designed/engineered vehicle. :roundel:

The salesman were all really cool and the coolest part was they were all checking out my car. Seemed the general consensus was that my particular cars appearance and deal I got would make it unwise to switch out of, hehe.

Oh, on the way there I noticed a new S Class with no chamo on it, in black, and TOTALLY filthy. Gotta say I wasn't very impressed with its real world presence or look. Maybe how filthy it was had to do with that.

'13 VS '14 Pics:

[Grumpy514]

Awesome review man!!! Thanks a lot. Excited to be picking up my car next week.

[K-A]

Originally Posted by Grumpy514

Awesome review man!!! Thanks a lot. Excited to be picking up my car next week.

No problem bud! Congrats!

[grimlock]

Nice, KA.
I think your preceptions on the 'steering changes' are probably accurate, as the steering rack is probably the exact same one (or an interation, with minor changes which still has to fit in with the other old components) but with software changes instead. These are 'steering changes' they are touting.
The steering was updated after the first yr by software update - reviews said it was slightly heavier in normal mode - perhaps to correct the complaints of wandering/drifting to the right/left.
I did not like this change so I didn't bring it in to get updated.
Now if it is lighter again (+what other changes they may have made) I find this ironic.
Anyways excellent review, saves having to try it yourself!

[K-A]

Thanks, grimlock. Yeah, that makes sense. For the record I'd assume the LCI steering to maybe be heavier than the Base suspension pre-LCI, however I feel the steering got a little heavier feeling with the addition of the M suspension on the pre-LCI cars, or at least heavier with the launch of the 2013 models (I've only driven an M Sport 2013 so far). Therefore I'm considering the LCI steering maybe sliiiiightly less heavy than my M suspension car.

Now, what I'm REALLY curious of is how the steering feels when connected to the lower and stiffer M suspension LCI (when we finally get them here in several months) as I'd assume that may stiffen it up some, as that will be a perfect comparison to my M suspension 2013 car.