[SDRX]

Hello everyone....

The time has come to trade in my E92 335d M Sport (JAN 08 MODEL) for the new F10. The model I am considering is F10 530D MSPORT with the following spec....

Black Dakota leather
Titanium Silver
19" M Double-spoke style 351M alloy wheels
M Sport Package
Visibility package
Media package - BMW Professional
Sport automatic transmission
Bootlid operation, powered
Reversing Assist camera
Ext. mirrors - folding, auto dimming
Elec Fr Seats + Driver Memory
Sport seats, front (Part of M Sport Package)
Seat heating, front
Fine Brushed Aluminium interior trim (Part of M Sport Package)
Xenon headlights (Part of Visibility package)
Adaptive Headlights (Part of Visibility package)
High-beam Assistant (Part of Visibility package)
Lane departure warning system
Lane change warning system
Active Cruise Control with "Stop and Go" function
Surround-view
Navigation system-BMW Professional Multimedia (Part of Media package - BMW Professional)
Head-up Display
Bluetooth phone prep + telematics
DAB digital radio
Loudspeaker system - BMW Professional
USB interface
M Sport suspension (Part of M Sport Package)
M Steering Wheel (Part of M Sport Package)
M aerodynamic bodystyling (Part of M Sport Package)
M rear spoiler
Exterior trim, High-gloss Shadowline (Part of M Sport Package)
Sun protection glass
Speed limit display


Questions and advice needed:

1. Any thoughts on choice of titanium silver for this model?
2. Any members had problems with the aluminium interior trim?
3. Any thoughts on the optional extras? Have i gone mad? Or i have missed something critical that could affect the resale of the car? In particular what are you thoughts on the 4 zone Air con system? Is it just madness or can it control the temperature of the vehicle more efficiently?
4. Also I am stepping down in terms of power.... 335d to 530d... Will i need counselling?

I am thinking of ordering on Friday.... you advice and comments would be very much appreciated, critical or applause :-)

Thanks in advance

[ShereKhan]

That's one hell of a spec. I had a 530d demo in TiAG.
Didn't think it looked anything special. I'd want to go for Alpine White or Carbon Black though - assuming you are keeping M Sport non leather trim.

[SDRX]

Originally Posted by ShereKhan

That's one hell of a spec. I had a 530d demo in TiAG.
Didn't think it looked anything special. I'd want to go for Alpine White or Carbon Black though - assuming you are keeping M Sport non leather trim.

Hey ShereKhan,

I am very tempted to go for Alpine White but worry is that its popularity may quickly reverse and I will be left with something difficult to sell. I always think that black/sliver are safe colours....

I am going for black dakota leather.... not interested in the nappa leather option, its not as hard wearing/crease resistant.

Carbon Black... would love to see some pics of this colour on any BMW.... Anyone like to show some please?

[deejaygee]

Hi. The fine brushed aluminium is not part of the m sport package. It can be added as an option for about £ 300.

[ShereKhan]

Originally Posted by SDRX

Hey ShereKhan,

I am very tempted to go for Alpine White but worry is that its popularity may quickly reverse and I will be left with something difficult to sell. I always think that black/sliver are safe colours....

I am going for black dakota leather.... not interested in the nappa leather option, its not as hard wearing/crease resistant.

Carbon Black... would love to see some pics of this colour on any BMW.... Anyone like to show some please?

I've tried looking last night, I can only see it on BMW configurator. I'm sure it will look good though. I'm sure AW will sell in next few years. I've seen a AW with beige leather....!

[papahotel]

if you have young children DONT GET 4 ZONE AIRCO.
they will play with that thing like a nintendo!!!!

[pmw103]

@SDRX
Great spec :-) My Dad has ordered a similar non M car due for delivery end of sept.

Did you consider 358 Climate comfort windscreen?
Dad specified this as he couldn't get the windscreen sunband with the head up display.
Its not expensive and would compliment the sun protection glass

Did you also consider Glass Sunroof 403 and Comfort Seats 456? (Or are they not available on the 530D M model)

Have you seen the Aliminum interior trim?
Did you consider the wood options?

The Xirallic paints really sparkle, Dad went for Sophisto Grey.

When you say USB interface that's standard right?
Or did you specify 6NF Bluetooth connection ?
We concluded with the com box changes for September 2010 it wasn't really required.
Dad has an Iphone and doesn't really need the ability to snap into the cradle.


Sounds like a great car anyway! Enjoy :-)

Cheers
Paul

[SDRX]

Originally Posted by pmw103

@SDRX
Great spec :-) My Dad has ordered a similar non M car due for delivery end of sept.

Did you consider 358 Climate comfort windscreen?

Did you also consider Glass Sunroof 403 and Comfort Seats 456? (Or are they not available on the 530D M model)

Have you seen the Aliminum interior trim?
Did you consider the wood options?

The Xirallic paints really sparkle, Dad went for Sophisto Grey.

When you say USB interface that's standard right?
Or did you specify 6NF Bluetooth connection ?

Cheers
Paul

I was wondering about the climate comfort windscreen, but was just wondering if its a bit too gimmicky? Having said i'm sure some would argue half of my options are gimmicks but I know I will make regular use of them

I'm big fan of the sports seats, just like that hugged feeling! So probably will give the comfort seats a miss, although I would love to have ventilated sports seats!

I am already thinking about carbon black, I just saw some pics of 730d's in carbon black on the used car market..... very imposing colour!!

Yes, the USB port is standard, I did not realise my cut n paste from the configurator spec included standard items too.

Thanks for the info Paul.... Bet your Dad cant wait!!!

[rsyed]

This is so my spec that i ordered last week...

I just ordered mine in white outside, black inside with the standard m-package trim.

If you insist on not taking white, I would recommend taking space gray.

I would also recommend taking hte comfort seats. if you are already paying the premium to take the electric seats, you might aswell pay a few hundred quid more to take the comfort seats. they are worth every cent, sorry i meant pence.

apart from that, are you sure about the driver assis like lane departure warning or lane change warning or surroound view?

regardless, please do take the comfort seats - they are worth the money...

[rsyed]

edit: witht the comfort seats, the "hug" feeling is there big time because the side bolsters are adjustable and you can adjust it to hug you like your own mum

[SDRX]

Originally Posted by rsyed

This is so my spec that i ordered last week...

I would also recommend taking hte comfort seats. if you are already paying the premium to take the electric seats, you might aswell pay a few hundred quid more to take the comfort seats. they are worth every cent, sorry i meant pence.

apart from that, are you sure about the driver assis like lane departure warning or lane change warning or surroound view?

regardless, please do take the comfort seats - they are worth the money...

Yes very good point, I actually did not realise that comfort seats are just a few hundred pounds and of course elec lumbar support is included i think?

As far as the surround view is concerned, the demo model had this and I think its incredible esp for avoiding hitting your alloys into kerbs, something I think I will prone to do in the first few weeks.

Lane change/depart I selected because i do around 25000 miles a year, of which 80% is motorway, and so safety not a bad thing. Also they integrate well into the head up display, and I had them demonstrated to me on a 730d, they work well.

Thanks for the tip on comfort seats. Does any know if they are firm? One of the reasons I like sports seats is that they offer firm support.

[rsyed]

yup - elec lumbar support is included too in the price. I have had comfort seats on my previous 4 e60 and it is amazing, specially when you do this much mileage.

oh ja - dab: are there that many stations in the UK? in germany, DAB is slowly dying.

when are you expecting your delivery?

[pmw103]

@SDRX

Thanks for the feedback, with regard to the climate comfort windscreen.

I don't think so, as far as I could see its basically a graduated tint, I was surprised it wasn't part of the sun protection glass.

I used to live in Malaysia and I had a full tint on my car there and you can really notice the difference, particularly on the windscreen.

When I drove other cars, long story my first car got stolen, I really could tell they didn't have a tint. So when I got my second car I got the tint again.

Appreciate the UK climate is different, but given the relatively low cost I would do it if it was my car. It actually does mean the air con doesn't work so hard.

I think it will make the interior of the car that bit more pleasant in the sun. I don't think its a gimik. I would however make sure I had good windscreen insurance and if necessary take the car back to BMW for a new windscreen, with the headup display and high beam assist not sure I would trust anyone but BMW!

Just to echo @rsyed I would definitly got for the comfort seats, Dad wanted electricc seats so they only cost an additonal 525 pounds on the SE model.

I see what your saying about the close fit of the sports seats, but couldn't you do a simlar thing with the comfort seats? We actually never saw a 5 with comfort seats but from reading the forums I think you can adjust the side bolsters at least on the seats in the UK can be adjusted to hug you, but not 100% sure on that.

Have a look on the BMW USA website owner area and download the pdf handbook for the 550i. Its not 100% doesn't have spped limit display, DAB or ambient lighting, but it gives you an idea.

Have a look at the blind spot and lane departure descriptions, Dad went for them and I think they are still good.

The only thing that waas a bit of surprise, and perhaps it shouldn't have been, is that the blind spot warning only issues a strong wanrning if you indicate before changing lanes ! If you don't indicate and move it doesn't issue a warning, just an indication something is in your lane.

Still useful though, but not perhaps as cleaver as you thought it would be!

Carbon Black sounds cool, in some lights the Imperial Blue and Sophisto Grey also look black ;-)

No problem :-) Happy to share! Indeed he can't but I think I am the most excited of all ;-)

I bet you can't wait either! Its a good plan to get a September build car too if you didn't see it already, take a look at this site, http://bmw.connecteddrive.info/stage.php

Curiosuly it says the you get the rear end collison avoidance in the UK but I have seen no evidence of that.
Very curious to see what actually arrives on the car the implication is its part of the adaptive cruise control. I thought though I read somewhere for whatever reason the UK doesn't get it.

Enjoy! Good luck with the final order. Interested to hear what you decide on ;-)
Cheers
Paul

[pmw103]

@rsyed

DAB is doing ok here in the UK
The UK government was aiming to switch to digital radio by 2015 but now its pushed to 2020 or beyond!

Some people like it some don't we live in London so we get good coverage, but its not so good in rural areas or outside of the major cities, but its getting there. I have a DAB radio in my house and would love one in my car.

I would love to get these stations.


DAB only
Planet Rock
Absolute Classic Rock
Gold
Heat
Jazz FM
Absolute 80s
Absolute 90s
Kerrang! Radio
Amazing Radio
Chill
Galaxy
The Hits
LBC News
BBC World Service
Traffic Radio

Mini actually gives you a DAB radio as standard on all but one of their models, its a shame BMW doesn't ! There is talk of a second higher definition DAB format that of course the current receivers won't take advantage of.

Interesting to hear its dying in Germany .....

Good to hear the the comfort seats can hug! I am sold on them and we didn't even get to sit in them :-)

Cheers
Paul

[Jon D]

I'm in a similar position, but not quite as far advanced as you are, primarily because of the seats and that's why I'm going to have to wait and try before I buy.
Yes, I know that I'll lose £1,250 with the VAT increase, but with seats being such a critical issue, I'm not prepared to take the risk.
I currently drive an E92 330d M Sport and, apart from the lack of adjustable lumbar support, they're just about perfect for me and I would like something as good, if not better, in the F10.
I've briefly driven the 530d SE and was generally impressed, especially with the cabin and, seeing as that's where you spend all your time when driving, it's a priority issue. One thing I noticed with the standard SE seats was the intrusive head restraint; it doesn't retract as far as mine and after a few miles I was very aware of it's presence on the back of my head - I kept wanting to stretch my neck, but the restraint prevented my doing so regardless of utilising all available adjustments.
I'm very tempted to go for the multi-adjust comfort seats, but I'm concerned about the side bolsters - if they hold you in as well as those on the E92, I'll place an order this week and save loads of cash if I get delivery before next January.
If anyone has tried the comfort seats, I'd greatly appreciate your opinions, particularly with regard to side bolsters and head restraint intrusion - I can't find a dealer in my area who has a car with this option, otherwise I'd try for myself.

[SDRX]

Originally Posted by pmw103

@SDRX
I used to live in Malaysia and I had a full tint on my car there and you can really notice the difference, particularly on the windscreen.

When I drove other cars, long story my first car got stolen, I really could tell they didn't have a tint. So when I got my second car I got the tint again.

I think it will make the interior of the car that bit more pleasant in the sun. I don't think its a gimik. I would however make sure I had good windscreen insurance and if necessary take the car back to BMW for a new windscreen, with the headup display and high beam assist not sure I would trust anyone but BMW!

Just to echo @rsyed I would definitly got for the comfort seats, Dad wanted electricc seats so they only cost an additonal 525 pounds on the SE model.

I see what your saying about the close fit of the sports seats, but couldn't you do a simlar thing with the comfort seats? We actually never saw a 5 with comfort seats but from reading the forums I think you can adjust the side bolsters at least on the seats in the UK can be adjusted to hug you, but not 100% sure on that.

Have a look on the BMW USA website owner area and download the pdf handbook for the 550i. Its not 100% doesn't have spped limit display, DAB or ambient lighting, but it gives you an idea.

Have a look at the blind spot and lane departure descriptions, Dad went for them and I think they are still good.


Curiosuly it says the you get the rear end collison avoidance in the UK but I have seen no evidence of that.
Very curious to see what actually arrives on the car the implication is its part of the adaptive cruise control. I thought though I read somewhere for whatever reason the UK doesn't get it.

Enjoy! Good luck with the final order. Interested to hear what you decide on ;-)
Cheers
Paul

I will check with dealer about the rear end collision. That was one of the main attractions for me. I do believe it is present in UK spec cars because on the UK BMW configurator, you can see the rear end collision system button appear on the driver assistance panel - where other button such as night vision, lane depature etc can also be seen. If you select the ACC, then quickly jump to the side view of the interior, you can see an additional button appear on the driver assistance systems panel as the Java app loads the changes.

I really do have free time on my hands?

[SDRX]

Originally Posted by Jon D

I'm in a similar position, but not quite as far
I'm very tempted to go for the multi-adjust comfort seats, but I'm concerned about the side bolsters - if they hold you in as well as those on the E92, I'll place an order this week and save loads of cash if I get delivery before next January.
If anyone has tried the comfort seats, I'd greatly appreciate your opinions, particularly with regard to side bolsters and head restraint intrusion - I can't find a dealer in my area who has a car with this option, otherwise I'd try for myself.

Hey

Why not find a 7 series with comfort seats fitted and give them a try? I'm sure dealer wont mind. We could not find a 5 series with lane change/departure systems fitted and so the dealer arrange to see a 730d with both systems operating well

[pmw103]

Hi @SDRX,
Lol you an me both ;-) but you are obviously much more observant than I am!
Snap it was one of my main interests by proxy of course ;-)
I was quite sad when our dealer confirmed that the UK cars don't have the collision avoidance. Not just one dealer, two in fact, however they are not always right! Sometimes they give bad info. I would love for them to be proved wrong on this one. I was very clear when I asked the question they were adamant not in the UK.

Very interested to hear what your dealer says, after seeing the connected drive website I have hope that the UK cars do have it. Have you seen the You Tube video with it being
demonstrated, looks cool :-) I will take a look at the configorator now, thanks for the tip!


Good luck!
cheers
Paul

Hi All,
Is there any one out there with an F10 with adaptive cruise control that could comment?

We couldn't find a dealer with a car that had it.

[SDRX]

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/about/new...uffeur,00.html

This link confirm that active cruise control in the UK does come with rear end collision warning system

[pmw103]

@SDRX,
Some how my copy paste didn't work,

This is what I was trying to say about the lane change,

The only thing that waas a bit of surprise, and perhaps it shouldn't have been, is that the blind spot warning only issues a strong wanrning if you indicate before changing lanes !

Still useful though, but not perhaps as cleaver as you thought it would be!

Cheers
Paul

[pmw103]

@SDRX,

Cool thanks for the link, I hope it does, but perhaps I am being too pesamistic, but it says

"Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of the original issued by BMW headquarters in Germany. No adaptations have been made to cater for the UK market."

It doesn't actually says it will be in the UK.

We ended up talking to the sales manager at our dealership and he was adamant cars in the UK don't have it !

I hope he is wrong though!
Perhaps BMW customer services could clarify?
Cheers
Paul

[SDRX]

Originally Posted by pmw103

@SDRX,
The only thing that waas a bit of surprise, and perhaps it shouldn't have been, is that the blind spot warning only issues a strong wanrning if you indicate before changing lanes !

Still useful though, but not perhaps as cleaver as you thought it would be!

Cheers
Paul

Yes I definitely agree. The indicator has to be active for the final warning to be given. However, if you also have lane departure system, and you fail to indicate but start to drift, that will alert the driver regardless of whether a car is present in the blind zone. So i guess the two systems are complimentary.

I cant wait to start playing with them. Actually, not a good idea to start playing bumper cars on the M6