[FCX5]

Originally Posted by Chapel Hill

This is a good summary above. To me, the MSport package is not that useful from a functionality perspective. It's a cosmetic add on.

To some degree, it would be the same as asking if Tanzanite Blue Metallic paint is useful. Probably not, but to some people it's a must have and makes the SAV special to them...

The M Sport includes functional improvements as well like the suspension. I agree, it's the same decision as paying for premium paint. From what I can tell the quality of the paint is the same.

[sygazelle]

I got m-sport because I liked the look better; steering wheel, front, back, wheel well trim is painted instead of black plastic, window trim is black instead of chrome.

If I remember correctly, when I built it both ways with the other packages and options I wanted, the m-sport price difference went down because some things standard with m-sport I would have had to pay extra for them with x-line.

For me, it was worth it because I got the car I wanted the way I wanted it. If you are having your car built, isn't that the point?

[hiki08]

Resale might be a consideration if you're not leasing (i.e. M Sport will be more popular and command a premium, likely). I got the X Line but the standard 19" 735 wheels just made the whole thing look terrible (ferric grey colour of the wheels didn't help either) so I splashed a little on the 21" 745 X Line wheels. Now I think the car has much more character and is a proper alternative (a little more ruggedness and bright lines) to the M Sport.

Just my opinion. It's completely personal. I find the M steering wheel quite meh... body cladding makes it look very different though, so if you're after a sporty-looking ride, I would go for it. There's also a few interior differences too, including a little red white and blue M 'flag' if you opt for black leather seats. You also get brushed metal pedals (at least on my local stock) and the fish scale interior trim as opposed to wood. All cars (X Line and M package) come fitted with air suspension here, so that wasn't a point of difference for me.

[viperdoc]

The biggest visual difference for me is the body colored panels on the bottom of the car (bumpers and side skirts). I hate that with the x line they are black. On a black car, no biggie, but any other color car I think it looks cheap. I just saw a Nissan Versa with body colored trim for goodness sake. Plus, there are almost NO aftermarket mods that are geared toward the x line. Very depressing

[viperdoc]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I got m-sport because I liked the look better; steering wheel, front, back, wheel well trim is painted instead of black plastic, window trim is black instead of chrome.

If I remember correctly, when I built it both ways with the other packages and options I wanted, the m-sport price difference went down because some things standard with m-sport I would have had to pay extra for them with x-line.

For me, it was worth it because I got the car I wanted the way I wanted it. If you are having your car built, isn't that the point?

Agreed. For years I was under the impression that if you ordered a car you were forced to pay MSRP. Apparently my father was actually an idiot when it came to car shopping. Thanks to forums like this I know better and my next car will be ordered

[gqgambler]

Originally Posted by viperdoc

Agreed. For years I was under the impression that if you ordered a car you were forced to pay MSRP. Apparently my father was actually an idiot when it came to car shopping. Thanks to forums like this I know better and my next car will be ordered

[porterM]

Finally found a vehicle that matched what I was looking for - a Mineral White 2021 X5 xDrive with 3rd row option, Premium package, Tow , DAP. Didn't get the M package because 1) was hard to find all of these options together 2) can't build a new one with 3rd row option 3) trying to keep costs down to please the wife The dealer has traded for it so the vehicle is being transported to my local dealership, so haven't pulled the trigger yet. However, I'm not really digging the looks of the plain xLine on white, especially the black plastic around the wheel arches and in the rear bumper area. My wife is cool with it but I just think it's such a old styling for a 2021 car. So any suggestions? Can i change the wheel arch black plastic to the body paint pieces at least? Or should i just bail on this deal and get a Mpackage one, which judging by the availability of a third row optioned X5 with tow on an Xdrive, doesn't seem there's alot of availability around the country. Please suggest ya'll

[codex57]

3rd row is really rare. If you can't build one with it anymore, I'd just take the one they found and deal with the black plastic. You can always paint them.

[pragueX5]

M package definitely worth it.

Do not like the looks without it at all, this goes back to the F15 as well.

[rmorin1249]

The MSport option is one of the few options that does increase the value of the vehicle at trade in.

[porterM]

Originally Posted by codex57

3rd row is really rare. If you can't build one with it anymore, I'd just take the one they found and deal with the black plastic. You can always paint them.

Ya seems there's a chance we won't be able to order the third row option this year, at least according to reps at my dealership.my need for getting a third row xDrive right now is probably greater than waiting year long for an M package option to but I don't think it's impossible.

[Ebomb808]

Originally Posted by Ebomb808

No, it's not useful at all, it's purely aesthetics. On the 45e where the Air suspension is standard, it was a tough sell to spend $5k on cosmetics when the 20" wheel upgrade on the xLine was $600. Ultimately decided against it and am planning to powder coat the 20" xLine wheels black for my much more reasonable cosmetic upgrade.

I also have a 3 and a 5 year old that will be destroying the back seat, so Sensatec was preferred over leather, rendering the leather upgrade in the M Sport package a downgrade for us. YMMV.

Gonna quote myself here to talk about some regrets. We ordered an xLine with Sensatec after sitting in some vernasca seats that weren't impressive. While our order was in transit, stopped in the dealer to see a lot car that had merino, and realized we made a mistake as the Merino looked and felt amazing. We reordered an M Sport because with the leather choice, the M Sport value proposition became much better. So if you consider leather seats useful, I guess the M Sport is useful. This snafu will cost is 2 months delay, but thankfully our SA was amazing and let us reorder without issue. Didn't hurt that the 45e's in my area don't last more than a weekend on the lot.

[codex57]

Yeah, I've always felt Sensatec feels nicer than Vernasca leather. BMWs leather is just unacceptable at the $35,000+ range. Merino should be standard for a car the price of a X5, with a higher grade available (Napa?).

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by codex57

Yeah, I've always felt Sensatec feels nicer than Vernasca leather. BMWs leather is just unacceptable at the $35,000+ range. Merino should be standard for a car the price of a X5, with a higher grade available (Napa?).

Nappa is BMW's 2nd highest quality leather (full-grain, un-split, semi-aniline leather with light clear-coat finish for durability) option on regular production vehicles and primarily used on sedans, though F15 had two Nappa interior upholstery upgrades - ivory or mocha - over Dakota.

With Merino as BMW's top regular production vehicle leather, I agree that Nappa should at least be standard though I do see the need for durable leather options and eco-friendly SensaTec - and surprisingly comfortable.

But at least Vernasca is better than Dakota.

[akin67]

So they have (in order of quality) Merino, Nappa, Vernasco, and Dakota. Plus the have the Sensatec which is the fake leather. Why 4 different grades of leather? Wouldn't it be better to have the Sensatec and a base leather (either of which can be standard) and offer a single leather upgrade beyond that? For a luxury brand of BMW's caliber, shouldn't leather be a minimum standard?

[Ebomb808]

Originally Posted by akin67

So they have (in order of quality) Merino, Nappa, Vernasco, and Dakota. Plus the have the Sensatec which is the fake leather. Why 4 different grades of leather? Wouldn't it be better to have the Sensatec and a base leather (either of which can be standard) and offer a single leather upgrade beyond that? For a luxury brand of BMW's caliber, shouldn't leather be a minimum standard?

Sensatec is Vegan, an increasingly important aspect of its constitution. For that reason, I think it should be standard. I look at it from another perspective, why should someone who strongly values vegan products be forced to have a leather interior in order to get the other benefits of the M Sport package?

[codex57]

Damn, so there's no higher option than Merino? That's no bueno. I thought maybe the 7 series and that price range might offer something better.

BMW makes a pretty big deal about how green they are, how recyclable, etc. They've been doing so for years, more than many other companies. I'm not too surprised they offer Sensatec in part for that reason. It's just that the standard leather shouldn't be worse than it.

I wonder how they "grade" these leathers. The Vernasca in the X3 is noticeably worse than the Vernasca in the X5. I've tried multiple samples from cars at multiple dealers. It's been too many years since I sat in one, and I never actually owned a car with Dakota, but I do remember not liking it as well. They really need to change leather suppliers and just cut out Vernasca and Dakota.

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by codex57

Damn, so there's no higher option than Merino? That's no bueno. I thought maybe the 7 series and that price range might offer something better.

BMW makes a pretty big deal about how green they are, how recyclable, etc. They've been doing so for years, more than many other companies. I'm not too surprised they offer Sensatec in part for that reason. It's just that the standard leather shouldn't be worse than it.

I wonder how they "grade" these leathers. The Vernasca in the X3 is noticeably worse than the Vernasca in the X5. I've tried multiple samples from cars at multiple dealers. It's been too many years since I sat in one, and I never actually owned a car with Dakota, but I do remember not liking it as well. They really need to change leather suppliers and just cut out Vernasca and Dakota.

Well there's ALPINA exclusive Lavalina leather which is option and only available for international markets and NOT North America - USA and Canada.

Only select, non-salt-preserved cowhides from South Germany are used in making Lavalina leather. The hides are tanned and dyed using only natural dyes and it's the softest and most breathable of all of these leather options. The only downside is that it requires regular cleaning, using only boiled water and a pH-neutral soap.

[TK421BMW]

I don't think I'd ever buy any BMW without the M package. Whenever I have an X-line loaner, it feels/looks so much cheaper than mine. Well to me at any rate.

Just my $0.02

[porterM]

Originally Posted by TK421BMW

I don't think I'd ever buy any BMW without the M package. Whenever I have an X-line loaner, it feels/looks so much cheaper than mine. Well to me at any rate.

Just my $0.02

I'm probably going to still get the xLine one just because of this year's supply issues and the lack of fully optioned 3rd row seat xDrives, but I still agree with you the M package is the one to get. If the M package option did not exist I guess it wouldn't be so bad as there would be nothing to compare to and the xLine itself isn't all that bad. But once you see them side by side and have a chance to see both in person, it's a big difference I think in terms of the 'vibe' of the car. M is definitely sporty whereas the xLine even looks like a station wagon in some angles sometimes lol

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by akin67

So they have (in order of quality) Merino, Nappa, Vernasco, and Dakota. Plus the have the Sensatec which is the fake leather. Why 4 different grades of leather? Wouldn't it be better to have the Sensatec and a base leather (either of which can be standard) and offer a single leather upgrade beyond that? For a luxury brand of BMW's caliber, shouldn't leather be a minimum standard?

Vernasco and Dakota are the same type of leather. Only difference is in the embossing/finishing. They are both split leather with Vernasca having a softer finish.

The Merino leather on the new X5 is only around $1K more than Vernasca. It can't possibly be that much better, based on common logic. The piano black finish is $1080 over the regular wood finish - just for comparison.

[Chapel Hill]

Originally Posted by Jaffrey

Vernasco and Dakota are the same type of leather. Only difference is in the embossing/finishing. They are both split leather with Vernasca having a softer finish.

The Merino leather on the new X5 is only around $1K more than Vernasca. It can't possibly be that much better, based on common logic. The piano black finish is $1080 over the regular wood finish - just for comparison.

Originally Posted by Jaffrey

Vernasco and Dakota are the same type of leather. Only difference is in the embossing/finishing. They are both split leather with Vernasca having a softer finish.

The Merino leather on the new X5 is only around $1K more than Vernasca. It can't possibly be that much better, based on common logic. The piano black finish is $1080 over the regular wood finish - just for comparison.

I find the Merino leather really nice and far better than the Vernasca.