[SwissBeemer]

Originally Posted by Heavyd

Someone from Norway said he has dealer confirmation from week 48 for IAS.

While I'm not saying I know for a fact it won't ever be available I'd take ANYTHING a dealer says with a big pinch of salt.

As you've already noted: Communication has been lacking, to put it mildly, every part of the way. Anything other than a official press release from BMW is essentially hearsay and even those press releases will then be disputed by dealers more often than not. I feel like dealers have quite the habit of simply making things up and are quite often less informed than the average customer.

[FIOSCH]

Originally Posted by SwissBeemer

I've asked him about it and he said he'd get back to me. I'm confident it's because it is a press car/prototype.

Very hard to conceive of BMW providing a prototype 50e for the Autogefuhl test drive at this time, in Germany, 4 months after production started, and in fact the car in question has OS 8.5.

And surely BMW would be fully aware, considering the very thorough reviews that Autogefuhl carry out, that Thomas would demonstrate the rear wheel steering (as he did earlier when testing the facelift Cayenne) as would implicitly, this being the 50e, be promoting that model as available with that option, at least in the European market.

I‘m therefore now more optimistic that IAS will before too long become available again as an option, not just as standard on the M60i. However, I accept that possibly it was some error or oversight that led to Autogefuhl being provided with a 50e in a ‘one off’ specification that BMW in Germany have for their own use, not intended for public consumption as it were. Hopefully further information will be forthcoming from Thomas on this that will shed some light!

Originally Posted by SwissBeemer

Quite sure it doesn't have it. I've seen tons of cars being advertised with extras that they didn't have, some of which weren't even available at any point in time for the car.

Previously I tended to think the same but now given the information indicating that the 50e is being built for the Canadian market with IAS (as optional extra) it seems to me a distinct possibility that some have been supplied to the UK, perhaps to fulfil dealership orders placed at an early stage. Indeed the emergence of the 50e with IAS test driven by Autogefuhl shows that there was not a complete ban on production of the 50e with this specification from start of the LCI.

[SwissBeemer]

Originally Posted by FIOSCH

Very hard to conceive of BMW providing a prototype 50e for the Autogefuhl test drive at this time, in Germany, 4 months after production started, and in fact the car in question has OS 8.5.

What I was trying to say is that right now I can say that 100% of the orders I know all over Europe that were actually produced, and that is A LOT especially in the D/A/CH region, are without IAS. So the car Thomas' tested is certainly no "ordinary" 50e.

And I'm with you that the fact he recieved a 50e with IAS and apparently no special comment on the IAS not being available would be an indicator for the IAS possibly becoming available again. Certainly sucks for some (including me) who had to order it without it but oh well ...

[biterror]

Originally Posted by Bmwx5z

Have you noticed increased road noise in the driver side that for which there is a whole other thread?

I think there was a little bit more road noise than on my 45e, but the 50e has 22" tires and I have 21" tires, so that could explain it. I didn't notice anything special about the driver's side, but I forgot to compare the noise levels on different sides. But now that I think about it, I probably noticed the noise when I was driving the car, not sitting on the passenger's side.

At certain speeds, there was some kind of a "resonant" or "ringing" sound coming from the tires (I have had the same problem with other cars/tires before). We have very rough tarmac here, thanks to the winters and studded tires.

[flatland]

Originally Posted by SwissBeemer

While I'm not saying I know for a fact it won't ever be available I'd take ANYTHING a dealer says with a big pinch of salt.

As you've already noted: Communication has been lacking, to put it mildly, every part of the way. Anything other than a official press release from BMW is essentially hearsay and even those press releases will then be disputed by dealers more often than not. I feel like dealers have quite the habit of simply making things up and are quite often less informed than the average customer.

I see IAS now available on the 40d version on the Belgian configurator (not in 30d nor 40i though). I don't know if it was the case before. Maybe they are rolling it out.

[BMWFLYNN]

Originally Posted by flatland

I see IAS now available on the 40d version on the Belgian configurator (not in 30d nor 40i though). I don't know if it was the case before. Maybe they are rolling it out.

It was available on the configurator for the 50e here in Ireland, I signed up for and paid the deposit with it included, only to be told it wasn’t available a few weeks later

[FIOSCH]

Originally Posted by flatland

I see IAS now available on the 40d version on the Belgian configurator (not in 30d nor 40i though). I don't know if it was the case before. Maybe they are rolling it out.

You’re not wrong - just configured a 40d myself on the Belgian site and was able to specify IAS and also M Adaptive Suspension Pro, whilst both of those options continue to be unselectable on the UK configurator for any model though haven’t been deleted from the ‘Add More Extras’ page.

As you say, perhaps it’s a gradual roll out.

However, browsing the Belgian site, I see that, similar to Germany, there’s a significantly greater range of optional extras, wheels etc available than in the UK.

Pity there’s not also a ‘Right Hand Drive’ option. Then could go back to what was common in the 1980s - the British doing personal imports of BMWs (and other makes of car) purchased from Belgian dealers, although that was because Belgian prices before tax at that time were much lower than in the UK, whereas now they appear to be much the same.

[FIOSCH]

Originally Posted by SwissBeemer

What I was trying to say is that right now I can say that 100% of the orders I know all over Europe that were actually produced, and that is A LOT especially in the D/A/CH region, are without IAS. So the car Thomas' tested is certainly no "ordinary" 50e.

And I'm with you that the fact he recieved a 50e with IAS and apparently no special comment on the IAS not being available would be an indicator for the IAS possibly becoming available again. Certainly sucks for some (including me) who had to order it without it but oh well ...

I agree that (Canada apart) that 50e tested by Thomas certainly was a ‘special’ but perhaps not unique?

Whilst I did at a late stage cancel the order that I’d placed in February for a 50e having come to the realisation that I wasn’t going to be satisfied with the build, that was with respect to wheels and M Sport trim, as well as lack of confidence that it would be compatible with OS 8.5, not absence of IAS, though I wanted that.

But having cancelled, I’ve decided to delay placing another order for a while to see whether IAS does become available. If not, I think probably I’d still go ahead with another order, having now test driven a 45e and a 40d both with IAS, and two 50e without (of course) and can’t say there was such a difference for that to be a deal breaker for me.

However, it would appear from Thomas’s test drive that there have been enhancements to the rear axle steering - now functioning at a lower speed and a greater steering angle if I understood correctly? So perhaps if I got to test drive a 50e with IAS I’d notice a greater difference?

Buying a car these days is really very complicated - much more straightforward in the old days!

[Heavyd]

Originally Posted by flatland

I see IAS now available on the 40d version on the Belgian configurator (not in 30d nor 40i though). I don't know if it was the case before. Maybe they are rolling it out.

But not available on the more expensive 50e

Maybe it's because nobody buys diesel in Belgium anymore they make it available on the 40d? They sell a shit load 50e's and their supply chain can't take it for IAS?

[jad03060]

Assuming it's a supply chain issue, BMW will tend to allocate the option to markets based on their estimated/historic take rate. This lets them be more likely to get the sales and supply to match.

Note also that some options may require different testing or certification before they can be offered in some markets, and that cost versus potential impacts on sales may not make financial sense.

[FIOSCH]

Below is the reply Thomas has come back with, presumably from BMW, in response to comment regarding IAS currently not being available to order for the 50e - ‘Delivery shortage’ - nothing about when it will become available. A matter of wait and see I guess

[Heavyd]

BS

[apw2607]

Well if anything, its nice to see such an international cast in this thread.

[Lionel Hutz]

Originally Posted by apw2607

Well if anything, its nice to see such an international cast in this thread.

My takeaway is that the Euros are *really* picky about rear wheel steering.

[Mtn2Srf]

A parts shortage makes sense. Put it on your higher margin vehicle only ?

[Heavyd]

Originally Posted by Lionel Hutz

My takeaway is that the Euros are *really* picky about rear wheel steering.

We have tight crappy roads and parking spaces. The X5 is already a huge asocial car in Europe

[MartieNYBK]

Originally Posted by FIOSCH

Below is the reply Thomas has come back with, presumably from BMW, in response to comment regarding IAS currently not being available to order for the 50e - ‘Delivery shortage’ - nothing about when it will become available. A matter of wait and see I guess


Attachment 3255049

Who is Thomas?

[SwissBeemer]

Originally Posted by MartieNYBK

Who is Thomas?

The guy running the Youtube channel "Autogefühl".

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by Heavyd

We have tight crappy roads and parking spaces. The X5 is already a huge asocial car in Europe

"asocial car"?

[SwissBeemer]

Originally Posted by cobramite

"asocial car"?

Anti-social would probably be the correct translation.

People that drive big cars are perceived as not caring about others and taking up way more space than everybody else, wasting resources, being "loud" or "extroverted", etc. and the X5 is a very big car for European standards and especially SUVs get singled out quite often in the public discourse as being the main culprit for broken roads, no space in cities for pedestrians due to cars being parked everywhere, CO2, wasting resources, etc. even though their weight, fuel consumption, etc quite often isn't even a lot worse than say family vans but they have a point in that usually these cars offer less space on the same footprint and use up a lot more resources in production. But the main issue seems to be that they are expensive & luxurious which is frowned upon in a lot of places in Europe, where you are supposed to keep a low profile. (At least in the D/A/CH region that I'm very familiar with.)

Let's say it's a very different culture than the US.

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by SwissBeemer

Anti-social would probably be the correct translation.

People that drive big cars are perceived as not caring about others and taking up way more space than everybody else, wasting resources, etc. and the X5 is a very big car for European standards and especially SUVs get singled out quite often in the public discourse as being the main culprit for broken roads, no space in cities for pedestrians due to cars being parked everywhere, CO2, wasting resources, etc. even though their weight, fuel consumption, etc quite often isn't even a lot worse than say family vans. But they are expensive & luxurious which is frowned upon in a lot of places in Europe.

Let's say it's a very different culture than the US.

Really?
SUVs are blamed for lousy roads? Simply amazing.
"wasting resources"
There is nothing anti-social in a rational world about our X5s and X6s here or anywhere else.
Sounds like jealousy to me.

[SwissBeemer]

Originally Posted by cobramite

Really?
SUVs are blamed for lousy roads? Simply amazing.
"wasting resources"
There is nothing anti-social in a rational world about our X5s and X6s here or anywhere else.
Sounds like jealousy to me.

They weigh a lot more than smaller cars. The X5 50e has 2.5t whereas a say Peugeot 208 would be half that weight. Heavier cars = More road damage & more resources being used in both production and running it, that's just facts honestly. They also (obviously) take up more space than smaller cars.

Whether people should be able to enjoy their luxury and have the rest of society carry the increased cost & resource burden is usually at the heart of these discussions.

Jealousy certainly plays a part but there is also a true core to this argument.