[lateshow]

As some of you who have seen my pictures from last week know, I just took delivery on a space gray 35i with all options aside from heads up display and BMW Apps. Yes, I opted for the 19" 309's as well. I've had the car for about a week now (roughly 200 miles of driving) and as all of my friends and family know.....yes, I've got opinions.

I'm no car expert, but I would consider myself a car enthusiast. My previous car was a 2009 Acura RDX, and before that (and before I was married) a 2002 Honda S2000. Both cars were reliable and enjoyable. The problem with the RDX was the ride on rough pavement. Even the S2000 was more forgiving over bumps. I got to the point with the Acura that I was always complaining to myself about the harsh ride, which I understand they made huge improvements on for the 2010 and up. I still have a great deal of respect for Honda and all of their products. The S2000 was one of the best cars they've ever made. The Acura's have great technology and they are slick and reliable, but they have gone in a horrible styling direction that I can't stand to look at. So....on to the X3.

Styling: I can't get enough of it. It's a beautiful redesign. I have received a lot of compliments on the car. 1 or 2 people have asked if I like my new X5, which I take as a compliment because I do like it's look. I think the best view of the car is from the driver side rear end with the exhaust and the fat 309's.

Interior: This is the first BMW that I've owned personally. I had a 320d as a company car when I lived in the UK for a couple of years around 2006, but it was fairly stripped down. The climate controls, radio, preset buttons, wiper and turn stalks, are unchanged from my 2006 3-series in the UK. They are all functional and tasteful. The sports seats are a HUGE upgrade from the standard. The white stitching on the black leather looks very classy with a sporty kick....I just hope it stays white, which is my only worry. I opted for the brushed aluminum trim over the wood. I think it's unfortunate that BMW doesn't offer more wood choices than the fineline and the wave. I think the fineline was too light and the wave looked too "stripey" for me. If you're in the market, make sure you physically see each trim selection before ordering. I ended up changing my order to the aluminum after I saw the wave trim in person.

Drive: It's not fair to talk too much about this yet as I'm still breaking in the car. I'm dying to turn it loose. I know from my test drive how much power is ready to be unleashsed. The handling is an elevated 3-series to me. It's tight, but not harsh. It provides me with just enough feedback in Normal mode to make me smile. The switch to Sport suspension is not a dramatic change, but I can certainly feel it. The higher rev's before shifting is quickly apparent as well. I'm really glad I went with the dynamic suspension with the 19's. I think if I stayed with the 18's I would have it in Sport mode, for the suspension at least, nearly all the time.

What do I love?:
1) The technology is fantastic and useful. The birds-eye camera is great for curb parking in cities and for avoiding objects around the car. The premium stereo sounds amazing. The 8.8" screen looks phenominal and the split screen funtion is very useful. I really like that it displays my ipod album art on the side. If you live in a large city, the horizon view of the navigation screen shows realistic, block images of buildings when in 400 ft or less view....so freaking cool. The wife loves the heated steering wheel. The 8 preset functions are fanstastic. You can even have a button be a preset for a Nav location.
2) It's a beautiful car. I can't stop staring at it. You know you've got a problem when you park somewhere and turn back around to look at it when you're walking into a store.
3) Interior fit and finish far exceeds my expectations based on what I saw on the old X3 models.
4) The grunt. I love the V6 grunt after having the 4 cylinder RDX turbo. The car's exhaust note sounds really good.
5) The drive quality is unmatched for an SUV.

What would I change?:
Note: Please guys, I know everyone here is a BMW fanatic, but let me communicate what I would change about the car and what annoys me without the haters coming out to tell me why I'm wrong for having my opinions. If you know a way to help me correct the settings to fix my annoyances, that's great, but please don't tell me to just get on life and enjoy my car. I do enjoy it, quite clearly, but as I've stated....I've got opinions.

1) Let's say you're dropping your kids off at school, or you want directions to a place, then you intend to drive past the destinations for one reason or another. The Nav arrows on the instrument cluster do not go away once you've reached your destination. I find that really annoying. I take my wife to work quite often because we share the car. When I drop her off the main Nav screen knows I've reached my destination because the guidance stops. If I don't turn the car off, which I don't, and start to drive somewhere else, the arrows keep telling he how to get back to her office. You can't make them go away. You can't "stop guidance" because it's already stopped. The only way to make the arrows on the instrument panel go away is to turn the car off or select another destination and then stop that guidance. I think it's a glitch, but it needs fixing.

2) The doors require more force to close than I'm used to. I have to shut the driver door more than once on occasion. Yes, it's probably made that way, but it requires more umph than I'm used to.

3) There is no idrive setting to have the doors all unlock when you put the car in park. Yes, you can tell it not to lock the doors when you put in in drive, but I do like that feature. My RDX had a setting when they would all unlock when in park. I miss that.

4) I would rather have a physical shift selector than the electronic one. That's just a personal preference. I'm sure I'll get over it.

Hope you enjoy this read if you're waiting on your car. I sure enjoyd reading all of your reviews. Let me know if you've got questions and I'll see what I can do to answer them. This is my first BMW, which has always been a dream of mine. I don't think I'm ever going back.

[jijioben]

Thank you for your impressions. Very nicely done. In my nav, I usually can get rid of the arrows by pushing the computer button on the left stalk (the one that controls the check computer and high beams). It cycles to different visualizations, and many of them do not have the arrow anymore. I hope it works for you: one less thing to worry about.

[lateshow]

Originally Posted by jijioben

Thank you for your impressions. Very nicely done. In my nav, I usually can get rid of the arrows by pushing the computer button on the left stalk (the one that controls the check computer and high beams). It cycles to different visualizations, and many of them do not have the arrow anymore. I hope it works for you: one less thing to worry about.

I've tried that...should have mentioned it in my post. It works for a few seconds, then the arrows come back on their own. It's very odd.

[sfax]

Re. nav, i know what you mean but i think you can stop guidance using iDrive on the nav menu and to save time, I think you can set a favourite button to kill it. I will check and let you know.

Aside from that, great feedback, glad you're enjoying. I also love the styling and technology. Oh, and the lights, DRLs, coming home lights, interior lights - JOY

[lateshow]

Originally Posted by sfax

Re. nav, i know what you mean but i think you can stop guidance using iDrive on the nav menu and to save time, I think you can set a favourite button to kill it. I will check and let you know.

Aside from that, great feedback, glad you're enjoying. I also love the styling and technology. Oh, and the lights, DRLs, coming home lights, interior lights - JOY

No one seems to get this, even my dealer representative, so I'm wondering if I've got a one-off glitch (doubtful). You can't stop navigation when this is going on in idrive because the navigation has stopped on the main screen. The main navigation screen recognizes that I've reached my destination and stops trying to navigate me. The trouble is the communication between my large screen and the arrow function on my dash. My dash arrows will not stop trying to get me to where I just reached without turning off the car completely and/or choosing another navigation route and then stopping the guidance to the new route.

I wouldn't believe this myself I wasn't experiencing it.

[Powerrunner]

Thanks for the detailed report on your first 200 miles of X3 experience. Oddly I have and share many of your observations and experiences. I currently havd around 1,500 miles, get lots of compliments and still look back at the X3 after parking it. The X3 has changed my desire to drive, loving it now and always looking for a reason to go out, which is not good considering the day to day increases with gas. With regards to the nav system not much experience with that option yet, but would think that after arriving to your destination that you could suspend guidance. Is that not the case here?

Again, thanks for our detailed report and congrats!

[Beesting]

Originally Posted by lateshow

No one seems to get this, even my dealer representative, so I'm wondering if I've got a one-off glitch (doubtful). You can't stop navigation when this is going on in idrive because the navigation has stopped on the main screen. The main navigation screen recognizes that I've reached my destination and stops trying to navigate me. The trouble is the communication between my large screen and the arrow function on my dash. My dash arrows will not stop trying to get me to where I just reached without turning off the car completely and/or choosing another navigation route and then stopping the guidance to the new route.

I wouldn't believe this myself I wasn't experiencing it.

I just picked up my X3 this Saturday and I've already experienced this. There's no way to kill the nav that I can figure out, once you're there it considers itself off (except for the arrows).

[BIMMER UK 76]

Originally Posted by Beesting

I just picked up my X3 this Saturday and I've already experienced this. There's no way to kill the nav that I can figure out, once you're there it considers itself off (except for the arrows).

Had this myself yesterday and was annoying - bloody arrows

Also had my first, "thats nice comment"

LATESHOW great review, I also considered the new RX Lexus and Q5 but X3 was superior

[torzeck]

Great to hear you are enjoying your x3. I have a space grey 35i with the 309's on order as well.
My question {again} is: what tires came on yours?
Did you go for the staggered summers or the all seasons?

Nothing I can do about my build, but just curious.

[tank531]

torzeck, with 309's in the UK (not sure about other EU states) you can only have 275r/245f performance tyres from the factory

[paul386]

Originally Posted by Beesting

I just picked up my X3 this Saturday and I've already experienced this. There's no way to kill the nav that I can figure out, once you're there it considers itself off (except for the arrows).

I noticed this during my test drive. I figured I just didn't know how to turn it off.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by lateshow

No one seems to get this, even my dealer representative, so I'm wondering if I've got a one-off glitch (doubtful). You can't stop navigation when this is going on in idrive because the navigation has stopped on the main screen. The main navigation screen recognizes that I've reached my destination and stops trying to navigate me. The trouble is the communication between my large screen and the arrow function on my dash. My dash arrows will not stop trying to get me to where I just reached without turning off the car completely and/or choosing another navigation route and then stopping the guidance to the new route.

I wouldn't believe this myself I wasn't experiencing it.

Apologies, I think I see what you mean now . I'll have another look at this. I guess it's not always noticeable as people often switch off once they "arrive"

[lateshow]

Originally Posted by torzeck

Great to hear you are enjoying your x3. I have a space grey 35i with the 309's on order as well.
My question {again} is: what tires came on yours?
Did you go for the staggered summers or the all seasons?

Nothing I can do about my build, but just curious.

Sorry...forgot to follow up on this for you. Mine has Pirelli Pzero's. Obviously, 275/40 R19 in the back and 245/45 R19 up front.

[torzeck]

Thanks.and nice tires too.

[midlifecrisis]

Originally Posted by lateshow

As some of you who have seen my pictures from last week know, I just took delivery on a space gray 35i with all options aside from heads up display and BMW Apps. Yes, I opted for the 19" 309's as well. I've had the car for about a week now (roughly 200 miles of driving) and as all of my friends and family know.....yes, I've got opinions.........

4) The grunt. I love the V6 grunt after having the 4 cylinder RDX turbo. The car's exhaust note sounds really good. .........

Welcome to the club! Before leasing our first X3 (an '07) we had two MDX's. We didn't need the big SUV anymore so we downsized. Even the much maligned E83 was so far superior to the Acura. The MDX loosened up after a couple of years and started feeling old. The X3 felt new until we turned it in. My wife wanted a Mini Cooper when the X3 lease was up in '09, but I miss it so much I had to order a new one. It's waiting at the performance center for pick up in 2 weeks.

By the way, I hate to be a PITA, but BMW doesn't make a V6 engine. They're all straight sixes, and I hope they never change! That's the reason they're so smooth.

[F48Hawk]

Lateshow, thanks for the review and congrats. Your F25 is almost identical to what I intend to order (when I leave Okinawa), and it was both fantastic and reassuring to read your observations and honest opinions. Only makes me want it more...

[LEDZEP]

1. For the Nav issue - press the voice command button and say "stop guidance". Done.
2. The engine is an inline six, not a V6

Good writeup, and good comments. Looking forward to my baby arriving.

[lateshow]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

1. For the Nav issue - press the voice command button and say "stop guidance". Done.
2. The engine is an inline six, not a V6

Good writeup, and good comments. Looking forward to my baby arriving.

1) Not done....the guidance already knows I'm there and therefore there is no option to "stop guidance." That's what I've been saying all along.

2) Yes, meant 6 cylinders...realize that's a big difference.

[LEDZEP]

Originally Posted by lateshow

1) Not done....the guidance already knows I'm there and therefore there is no option to "stop guidance." That's what I've been saying all along.

2) Yes, meant 6 cylinders...realize that's a big difference.

Hmmm.... could be a behavior of the new system. I have the previous generation iDrive/Nav in both current cars. Generally, if you use the voice command "stop guidance" it turns off navigation entirely. I'll check this out once I have my X3.

Does it only display the arrows in the info window, or is it also trying to guide you back using audible instructions?

[lateshow]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

Hmmm.... could be a behavior of the new system. I have the previous generation iDrive/Nav in both current cars. Generally, if you use the voice command "stop guidance" it turns off navigation entirely. I'll check this out once I have my X3.

Does it only display the arrows in the info window, or is it also trying to guide you back using audible instructions?

Only the arrows. The guidance has stopped. Hope this is just a software glitch that someone overlooked and it can be corrected with a firmware update.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by lateshow

Only the arrows. The guidance has stopped. Hope this is just a software glitch that someone overlooked and it can be corrected with a firmware update.

Just tried this on mine. I have a favourite button setup for "Stop Guidance" and it always kills the instruction and the arrows on the dash immediately. The arrows never remain on. I even switched the nav back on and retried, stop guidance always kills both.

[lateshow]

Originally Posted by sfax

Just tried this on mine. I have a favourite button setup for "Stop Guidance" and it always kills the instruction and the arrows on the dash immediately. The arrows never remain on. I even switched the nav back on and retried, stop guidance always kills both.

Yes....I do know how to stop my guidance, but to prove a point I just went out to my car and set "stop guidance" as a favorite button. Now, stop and listen to what I am saying people.....

My "stop guidance" works perfectly too BEFORE I get to my destination. To simulate what I'm talking about you will need to drive to your destination without stopping so the Nav knows you reached where you were going. Now, keep on driving past your destination without switching off your car and without "stopping navigation" before you get to where you're going. Your arrow will now point to where you've been and starting adding feet as you drive away even though your main screen is done navigating. At this point you shouldn't be able to "stop nav" because you are already there. In fact, after you reach the destination and your chick tells you you're there, pressing your favorite button that you've set on "stop navigation" will, in fact, restart your navigation because that's the same place your favorite switch was set up. Try it and see.

This thread is driving me nuts. Am I taking crazy pills here or is it just me and the other 2 people in this thread that this happens to???