Finally got a chance to drive some back roads late yesterday in Sport mode. Many reviews by folks more expert than I have already been written so I will just compare with the 2011, 12, and 15 X3 35is we have owned.
The engine and power are marked improvements in acceleration. There was no hesitation from start as occ noted with our older versions, and it was smooth and powerful. Cornering is confident without give or sway, and I like the 19" performance Yokohama ADVAN Sport ZPS which came on our M40i (245/50R19 105W, Treadwear 240, Traction A, Temp A). I didn't sense the road ruts as much as my wife indicated she had when driving home, but we didn't hit some of the bad stretches of road she did when we came home from the Dealership.
The HK sound system is excellent. Just getting a feel for the Tech which has been markely elevated it seems. The gesture control for the screen is simple and works great, and the interface is intuitive and she is really enjoying the Apple Car Play. We received some texts and the nice female voice read them aloud to us and asked if we wished to reply, so a simple dictation is taken (without any words missed), and after saying 'send' the reply was sent back immediately. This may have been around for a while but it is our first experience with it. Coupling that with the nice HUD, one really doesn't have to take their eyes off the road much at all to handle a number of tasks.
The ventilated seats work as advertised and are comfortable. As I haven't had a chance to sit in the non-vent seats I can't compare, but down here in the South we're glad we got them. The cameras continue to improve with each new version, and these are excellent providing about anything one could possibly need in visual references while maneuvering in parking.
I just feel more comfortable and confident driving the M40i c/w our 2nd Gens. It really is going to be a great car to drive on Interstates and should be much more adept at taming metropolitan on-ramps with steep and/or short and/or curved slopes with fast moving traffic.
Here are a few pictures of our G01 next to our 2015 LCI in the garage, showing some of the exterior design changes from the side and front views.
