After 2 days of ownership, some comments regarding a few of the features:
- Gesture control: Originally I believed this to be a little bit of a gimmicky feature, but I am finding myself twirling my finger to adjust the volume more often than not. I also discovered my index finger needs some exercise.
- Lane departure assist: Wow - the first couple times I drove onto a lane (got over early to exit) it felt like it was fighting me to pull the car back. Kinda cool, just surprising at first. The vibrating steering wheel doesn't feel as strong as my wife's X1 with the M Sport wheel even in the strongest setting.
- Lane keep assist (DA Assistant Plus package): Works much better than I expected. I used it for a straight 25 mi on a 2 lane highway traveling 70 to 80 MPH. I intervened twice, but only because some other vehicles appeared to be texting while driving and not paying attention, and I was being cautious. Having to touch the steering wheel every few seconds is a little annoying, but I lowered my steering wheel and keep my hand on my leg and my thumb caressing the steering wheel. It would be easier with a thicker wheel!!! (umm like the M sport wheel - I won't start....). One time, the lane markings were faded and it began to follow the car in front. The car in front apparently liked to drive partly on the shoulder so my car followed it - ha.
- Traffic Jam assist: Works great! Under a certain speed (pretty slow). without looking it up, I would guess under 20 MPH it goes on its own. About 10 minutes of my commute today I was hands/feet free. Surprisingly nobody cut me off today). The only annoying piece is if the complete stop is more than a few seconds, you must either tap the accelerator or hit the resume button on the steering wheel - but this is no different than my wife's '17 X1. Not sure why that's needed. That slight delay in having to do that would allow people to sneak in front before the car gets back up to speed. People from PA and drive Rt. 422 in rush hour know what I mean.
- Heads up display: The heads-up is a masterpiece. Crystal clear, and when using the navigation, it's beautiful. You get the full lane markings, signs, arrows, etc.
- Drive Modes: I honestly don't feel what the "Adaptive"-ness of the adaptive setting, but I haven't taken it for a comfort ride combined with aggressive cornering, etc. My favorite mode for my daily commute is the Individual Sport where I have all settings set to Comfort except the Engine. Love the exhaust sound.
- Seat Belts: Do all X3s "cinch" the seatbelt tight when driving off after starting up the vehicle? My wife's doesn't do that.
- QUESTION: Upon starting up the vehicle, on the left side of the dynamic display there is a symbol that looks like 3 people. I don't have a pic handy right now, but what is that?
I'll post some more thoughts as I get more use.