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      09-24-2019, 04:43 AM   #47
Wild Blue
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Drives: 2021 X7 M50i, 2004 330i w/ZHP
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Alaska

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I'll just go ahead and repost the full post I put in the X7 forum about these seats:

I'm very curious about the M Multifunction Front Seats that have been announced, coming to the X5, X6, and X7 in Dec 2019 as discussed in this thread here:

https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1653800

So today I went and tried out comparable seats in-person at a dealer, taking a couple hours on the seats and other things to really get a good feel. Thanks goes to BMW of Grapevine, TX, for letting me bum around their lot.

Seats I checked out the most were in a Competition M5, as pictured.














Seats have a very nice first appearance, looking both classy, and sporty with the headrest design and side "wings". I verified that yes, the M5 headrest logo does light up with the interior lights when a door is opened, then dims with the same when the door is closed. See comparative logo pics below, for the logo light on, and off.








I thought the M stitching on the seatbelt was a nice touch.

And I did confirm that these particular seats did have both ventilation and massaging features. Testing both of them out, they seemed to work the same as the non-M seats. No stronger or weaker than non-M seats. (and I do love the massage feature)











So, the biggest question for me was, how do they feel? Seat comfort is huge, if for no other reason than it's a feature you're directly affected by, 100% of the time you spend in the vehicle.

Sitting down, my immediate exact words were "Ohhhhhhhhhhh, baby..." VERY comfortable. Enhanced cushioning comfort on the butt, and some on the back as well. After spending some time in the seats, (stationary) I think I can say a qualified, "these are the most comfortable car seats I've ever sat in". FWIW, I'm a big tall guy.

Comparing directly to the X7 Multi-Contour seats, these M Multifunction seats seemed to have all the same functions and adjustments. For those who were wondering, yes, the headrest does still go up and down. The side bolsters seem to be just a bit more effective with the M Multifunction "wings". Since some owners with the ventilation and massage functions have reported their seat bottoms to be a bit harder, I can see how these Multifunction seats could counter that for more comfort.

For comparison, here's the M5 M Multifunction seat controls (top) and the X7 non-M Multi-contour seat controls:








There's only one way the non-M Multi-contour seats won, and that's headrest comfort. The M Multifunction headrests are VERY firm, whereas the non-M Multi-contour headrests (seat and headrest shown below for comparison) are luxuriously pillow soft and comfy. I thought about this for a while--when I drive, my head is upright, not leaning back against the headrest, so I don't really see this being an issue for me. I only foresee it being an issue for whomever is sitting in the front passenger seat, as they very well could be leaning back against the headrest.

The non-M Multi-Contour seat and headrest, for comparison:





Comparable seats seemed to have a little different design and implementation in the X3M Competition, X4M, and M4 convertible, as shown here. They also didn't necessarily have the same controls. One thing I got a kick out of, was on the M4 convertible, you can get "neck warmers", which are those little vents you see at the base of the headrest.














So in my book, other than the super hard firmness of the headrests, these seats are a DEFINITE heck yes, and a home run.

We'll have to see how BMW implements them in the X7 this December, if they're offered with some other packaging (as insinuated in the news article about "Individual Composition"), and what the cost will be. But unless they really bone something up, this is definitely going to be a "shut up and take my money" kind of thing for me on my upcoming X7.

As always, hope this helps other people make their decisions as well.

Here's some other picture fodder of the M5 seats:











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