[Paladin1]

Just picked up my 40i yesterday (after an almost 3 month wait). Several impressions, from driving previous F15 X5s, Audi Q7, and R8.

- The advanced driving/semi-autonomous features work great, combined highway/city driving. The car responds just as I expected - automatic lane change was flawless, and initiated with a single flick of turn signal initiating the "3 click" mode. The steering wheel was never wrenched from my hand, I didn't find it over-controlling, the car followed the lanes as well as my Audis or better, and the steering wheel mounted controls were a refreshing return to sanity from the Audi's column stalk. It does have the new Driving Assist graphic in the center of the dash if you configure it - nice touch. Everything electronically worked as advertised (so far), with the exception of the Remote 3-D on my Samsung, which my local Genius says is being worked on. I didn't find a setting where the ACC would automatically set the speed from the speed limit signs, but I don't think that's a "thing" with BMW. Great driver's interface between the touch screen, gestures (which worked perfectly), and control buttons/switches. HUD quality and info is fantastic. Love it.

-The battery was virtually dead on delivery. The side mirrors wouldn't automatically fold until I charged it a bit, so I put it on the battery tender for 24h. I suspect that may account for at least some of the electronic glitches on newly-delivered X5s - from Spartanburg to dealer, plenty of time for a battery to give up. I recommend a trickle charger/tender to everyone, with routine use every couple of weeks - modern vehicles have a ton of electronic doo-dads sucking current every minute, even when parked.

- The OEM tires are 20" Brookstone Alenzas - plenty of tire for this car, comfortable, and had them previously on a GX; all-weather performance is excellent. You can jack up the car with 22" and stagger the width, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I'm not fond of pothole rim repair or $500 tires, and 20s look just fine in proportion. YMMV, and for those going for that vroom-vroom Nurburgring look on a two-plus ton SUV, party on.

- Steering and throttle are orders of magnitude better than the Q7 in responsiveness and handling. Not an R8, but it's damn fine handling in an SUV.

- Spare tire is indeed configured to fit the M Sport brakes, with a wheel to accommodate.

- Four-wheel steering seems very slightly less tight than Audi's, but not significant enough to matter. Very glad I swapped the DHP for air suspension - Interstate and city driving don't require slalom ability, and it seems just fine for emergency maneuvering. There's an old cavalry saying - "If your horse doesn't want to go there, neither do you." If you really need a flat-handling suspension that corners like a fiend, maybe an SUV isn't really your thing. Ride is superb, even on RF tires.

- The seats are waaaaay more comfy than previous X5s (one diesel, one gas, F15). Not like my GX, but driving a Lexus is like driving your living room couch. Just a tad more comfortable than the Q7 as well. I could live for several hours in this car without needing an Orthopedic surgeon. The massaging seats are gentler - and nicer - than Audi's IMO, and I used them a lot in the Q.

- M Sport brakes are great, glad I got them.

- B&W sound system is fantastic, better than the B&O I had once, and acoustic glass actually made it usable.

- Voice-control is next level. Not Alexa perfect, but darn near as good. An order of magnitude better than previous gen, where you might ask for a rest stop and find your radio station switched to Heavy Metal Folk Rap.

- Just finished neighborhood night drive - cornering lights are active and work well - in fact, even low beams are some of the best lighting I've seen. High beams are awesome. Also tried Night Vision and just by happenstance a deer ran out in front (we live by a game preserve, goes with the territory), got a visual alert on the HUD - red leaping deer - in addition to the NV yellow marker, and the car braked itself, fairly abruptly. I'm impressed.

All my personal impressions so far, but very well thought-out, functional and useable SUV, with the best performance I've experienced in a truck, and great looking on top of that. The adventure continues....

[mattsrs]

Congrats. Photos?

[TurtleBoy]

Congratulations. Good luck, enjoy and be safe.

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by mattsrs

Congrats. Photos?

Coming up with good light; still pending the ceramic treatment and PPF. Really impressed with the Arctic Grey and Extended Shadowline....

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Congratulations. Good luck, enjoy and be safe.

Thanks! Really impressed with this car compared to previous generations. I rarely keep a car longer than three years, but this may be the one....

[jumpingpint]

Big congratulations

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by jumpingpint

Big congratulations

Thx - pics soon!

[BMWasia]

congratulations!!!

Great write up on your experience and observation.

post some pic pls.. thanks.

[Paladin1]

Newest arrival to the stable:

[Paladin1]

And actually, the next arrival, delivered to a different dealer but awaiting transport today - identically configured but in Ametrin:

[Marty in NY]

Paladin1,
Thanks for the initial review, it was so nice to read a positive experience for a change and I sure do hope that becomes a trend. I will be awaiting a subsequent review, say in about a month???

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm

Paladin1,
Thanks for the initial review, it was so nice to read a positive experience for a change and I sure do hope that becomes a trend. I will be awaiting a subsequent review, say in about a month???

Absolutely. I'm pretty familiar with BMW's iDrive, and have owned a broad range of Bimmers, including an M5 in Germany, so my expectations are fairly well calibrated. Also familiar with first'year blues in cars (ask me about a Fiat I owned once), so not unacquainted with some of the angst here, but so far (short time, true) this car has exhibited none of those traits. Headliner showed up white so I'll be replacing those, but other than that all good. Of the cars coming off a mass-produced line now, 99% will be fine, and my experience with BMW is that they address it quickly if not. Not so much my experience with Audi. The car is great, a benchmark step up from the previous generation, and really cutting edge driving technology in a "reasonably" priced car. Addendum to above - the Remote Start works just dandy, and the rear seats are almost wrinkle-free (Full Merino).

[poppop]

Originally Posted by Paladin1

And actually, the next arrival, delivered to a different dealer but awaiting transport today - identically configured but in Ametrin:

Can you take some pictures outdoors? Like to see Ametrin in more light. Thanks.

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by poppop

Can you take some pictures outdoors? Like to see Ametrin in more light. Thanks.

Will do when it arrives. I will say that this photo is lighter than the actual color indoors - camera compensating for exposure. Optically, the color is a deep, dark wine color - not as dark as Ruby Black, but definitely not light burgundy. The dark wine actually looks really sharp with the Extended Shadowline. Outdoors, in full sunlight, it might look like the photo.

[Sedan_Clan]

Congrats on the new X!

[wtwo3]

Congrats! They look great!

I'm hoping to pick up my own ametrin metallic sometime next month, so appreciate the picture you posted.

[Paladin1]

This is a little closer to the mark for interior lighting: