[Max Well]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

My wife’s 2022 LCI X3MC ZDM in BG/Blk was delivered over the weekend. Although she really liked her 2020 X3MC PB/Blk, it was purchased with a pano off a Dealer’s lot. As we never use that it’s useless weight on top, and over the nearly 2 years of ownership it was surprising to us how much it seemed to change the handling c/w my X3MC w/o pano (as they were otherwise identical builds). So this time we custom-ordered w/o a pano thanks to BMWNA’s new option for the US market – ‘ZDM’, which provides simple pano-delete capability. Previously one could only order a slick top by ordering the M Driver’s Pkg (which also deletes the speed limiter).

It is Brooklyn Grey Met ‘C4P’ with pretty much everything - Exec ‘ZPX’, Driving Assist Pro Pkg ‘ZDY’, Comp Pkg ‘ZCP’, M Comp Pkg ‘7MN’, Remote Eng Start ‘1CR’, Mobility Kit (so she doesn’t have the heavy spare) ‘2VC’, and Front Vent Seats ‘4FH’ with Blk Extended Merino Leather ‘LKSW’. I removed the Competition badge from the back, changed out the rear wiper to IND-Distribution's gloss black painted version (which really cleans up the look), and blacked out all of the ‘X3M’ chrome lettering on the front grill and sides.

Compared to my 2020 X3MC without pano, it reminds us of the difference we felt when we moved from our F25 X3 35i to the LCI F25 X3 35i – just a sense that everything has had time to mature and provide an overall improved experience. Pulls from starts are stronger - whether that is from the claimed increase in torque or just programming, they clearly have listened to Enthusiasts who expected more off the line. The transition from iD6 to iD7 (our first experience with it) was seamless and intuitive. Although we’re partial to the analog gauge appearance in the pre-LCI, honestly so little of one’s focus is down at the cluster that I really don’t even notice the change. And to be fair, the new software does offer so much more information capability that it is a worthwhile upgrade even if one loses the analog look.

Some comments have been made about the rear light appearance, and although I admit to preferring the pre-LCI’s version, I spent considerable time comparing the aerodynamic lines of the rear and front and there is no doubt that wind tunnel testing and CFD have refined the airflow. Would be an interesting interview if someone could get the M Aero Design team to discuss how the changes affect drag, lift and downforce.

Took an extended drive yesterday so got some good seat time and have to say it is an improved version. To what extent becomes very subjective, and since I have my 2020 exactly like I want it now with the roof rail deletion I don’t feel a need to jump up to the LCI at this time. But for my wife who definitely wanted to get rid of the pano, ‘ZDM’ allowed a perfect opportunity for her to upgrade.

Although I don’t want to appear greedy, now if BMWNA would allow roof rail delete option with full painted roof and side windshield trim like the F96, I’d be tempted to trade mine in. And if they offered CFRP aero roof along with that, sign me up for an allocation…

[Spoonhead]

Absolutely fantastic. Love the wheels. I've never been a fan of sunroofs, so not having one in my order sounds like the right choice.

That colour has certainly become popular.

[JP30]

Congrats. Looks amazing - BG really looks different at various angles, and the more I see these rims the more I am jealous. They really make the car look much more aggressive from the side in my opinion.
Interesting what you say about torque/being quicker off the line. What is your opinion on ride quality, especially in comfort?

[GoFastGoFish]

Congrats !! looks awesome!! enjoy!!

[RoWoX3M]

Great spec and feedback! Enjoy!

[sittingmongoose]

Two questions.

Did you have your older x3m updated to the new istep that improved ride quality? That greatly altered suspension, throttle, steering and transmission tuning.

How does the driving assistant pro compare to the older adaptive cruise control?(which also improved with the above software update)

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by JP30

Congrats. Looks amazing - BG really looks different at various angles, and the more I see these rims the more I am jealous. They really make the car look much more aggressive from the side in my opinion.
Interesting what you say about torque/being quicker off the line. What is your opinion on ride quality, especially in comfort?

Thanks, JP30. We haven't noticed much difference between the LCI and the pre-LCI from a comfort standpoint, but keep in mind we both had the ISTA-P March update on our 2020 models, and we've thought the ride is pretty much what we expected it to be in a M Comp model.

Originally Posted by sittingmongoose

Two questions. Did you have your older x3m updated to the new istep that improved ride quality? That greatly altered suspension, throttle, steering and transmission tuning.

How does the driving assistant pro compare to the older adaptive cruise control?(which also improved with the above software update)

Edit to add sittingmongoose's questions which posted simultaneously as I was working on JP30's.

Just saw your questions after I posted my reply to JP30, so yes, we had the ISTA-P March updates on our pre-LCI models. I didn't try out the Driving Asst Pro during my extended drive as I wanted to get a solid hands-on feeling of it's handling and response. Good question, though, and I'll share more on that in the future once I get a chance to try it out.


Forgot to mention three things in initial post:

1. It came with Contis so our Dealership switched them out for her 10-month-old Michelin PS4S which only had about 6K miles on them

2. Appears BMW is still using the newer flimsy rear license plate bracket design, so we took her old one (background on that issue: https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1652123 )

3. Active Sound Design (‘ASD) – with iD7 we’ve now lost the ability to use the bypass harness which we had in her iD6 HK sound system. As we were set with the harness, I admit to not keeping up with the discussion in the iD7 world, but on searching it appears the only way to get rid of it now is to code it off? For those who don’t want to DIY code with Bimmercode or other Apps, is the only other way contacting Svc Dept to have them turn it off? Will that be a one-time deal or do their changes also get overwritten with software updates? Would be helpful in the next gen series to just have a simple end-user setting to get rid of it…

[sittingmongoose]

Originally Posted by Max Well

Thanks, JP30. We haven't noticed much difference between the LCI and the pre-LCI from a comfort standpoint, but keep in mind we both had the ISTA-P March update on our 2020 models, and we've thought the ride is pretty much what we expected it to be in a M Comp model.

Edit to add sittingmongoose's questions which posted simultaneously as I was working on JP30's.

Just saw your questions after I posted my reply to JP30, so yes, we had the ISTA-P March updates on our pre-LCI models. I didn't try out the Driving Asst Pro during my extended drive as I wanted to get a solid hands-on feeling of it's handling and response. Good question, though, and I'll share more on that in the future once I get a chance to try it out.


Forgot to mention three things in initial post:

1. It came with Contis so our Dealership switched them out for her 10-month-old Michelin PS4S which only had about 6K miles on them

2. Appears BMW is still using the newer flimsy rear license plate bracket design, so we took her old one (background on that issue: https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1652123 )

3. Active Sound Design (‘ASD) – with iD7 we’ve now lost the ability to use the bypass harness which we had in her iD6 HK sound system. As we were set with the harness, I admit to not keeping up with the discussion in the iD7 world, but on searching it appears the only way to get rid of it now is to code it off? For those who don’t want to DIY code with Bimmercode or other Apps, is the only other way contacting Svc Dept to have them turn it off? Will that be a one-time deal or do their changes also get overwritten with software updates? Would be helpful in the next gen series to just have a simple end-user setting to get rid of it…

Nice! Yea I'm super interested in the change to adaptive cruise!

As for active sound, don't go to your service center, they won't do it. If you don't want to do it yourself, code my bimmer is quite good! I recommend them. They are responsive, accommodating and fairly priced.

[thestimp]

Just code it out yourself, bimmercode and a veepak should come with every car, so many things to shift over that OEM just never does.

[Shtey]

Car looks amazing.

The more I see it in this color, the more I'm growing to ordering BG vs MBB.

Also, taillights look dark/tinted. Is that the default/stock option?

[///minh]

Congrats on the new beautiful ride Max! Gosh she's so beautiful in BGM.

[danniexi]

looking good mate

[Sniper260687]

Those tail lights....

Why BMW

[///minh]

Originally Posted by Sniper260687

Those tail lights....

Why BMW

It's not that bad. At first, I didn't like it and now its growing on me. Makes the rear end very aggressive.

[buds115]

If you're looking to get rid of those rims (892M) let me know

[doveer]

Looks good! Congrats!

[f82fanatic]

Originally Posted by ///minh

It's not that bad. At first, I didn't like it and now its growing on me. Makes the rear end very aggressive.

I don't get all the hate towards the rear lights. I really do think they look substantially better than the old ones. They make the car look more modern too.

I understand not liking the new design and preferring the old one, but making it a point to bash them every chance one gets sounds iffy to me. Almost as if someone has the older model and wants to justify not switching… just saying

I remember going through the same thing when the f80 changed tail lights with the LCI…

[V8MAN]

Car looks awesome mi amigo, thanks for taking pictures of the roof, finally a good picture of what the car looks like without the pano.

Originally Posted by Max Well

My wife’s 2022 LCI X3MC ZDM in BG/Blk was delivered over the weekend. Although she really liked her 2020 X3MC PB/Blk, it was purchased with a pano off a Dealer’s lot. As we never use that it’s useless weight on top, and over the nearly 2 years of ownership it was surprising to us how much it seemed to change the handling c/w my X3MC w/o pano (as they were otherwise identical builds). So this time we custom-ordered w/o a pano thanks to BMWNA’s new option for the US market – ‘ZDM’, which provides simple pano-delete capability. Previously one could only order a slick top by ordering the M Driver’s Pkg (which also deletes the speed limiter).

It is Brooklyn Grey Met ‘C4P’ with pretty much everything - Exec ‘ZPX’, Driving Assist Pro Pkg ‘ZDY’, Comp Pkg ‘ZCP’, M Comp Pkg ‘7MN’, Remote Eng Start ‘1CR’, Mobility Kit (so she doesn’t have the heavy spare) ‘2VC’, and Front Vent Seats ‘4FH’ with Blk Extended Merino Leather ‘LKSW’. I removed the Competition badge from the back, changed out the rear wiper to IND-Distribution's gloss black painted version (which really cleans up the look), and blacked out all of the ‘X3M’ chrome lettering on the front grill and sides.

Compared to my 2020 X3MC without pano, it reminds us of the difference we felt when we moved from our F25 X3 35i to the LCI F25 X3 35i – just a sense that everything has had time to mature and provide an overall improved experience. Pulls from starts are stronger - whether that is from the claimed increase in torque or just programming, they clearly have listened to Enthusiasts who expected more off the line. The transition from iD6 to iD7 (our first experience with it) was seamless and intuitive. Although we’re partial to the analog gauge appearance in the pre-LCI, honestly so little of one’s focus is down at the cluster that I really don’t even notice the change. And to be fair, the new software does offer so much more information capability that it is a worthwhile upgrade even if one loses the analog look.

Some comments have been made about the rear light appearance, and although I admit to preferring the pre-LCI’s version, I spent considerable time comparing the aerodynamic lines of the rear and front and there is no doubt that wind tunnel testing and CFD have refined the airflow. Would be an interesting interview if someone could get the M Aero Design team to discuss how the changes affect drag, lift and downforce.

Took an extended drive yesterday so got some good seat time and have to say it is an improved version. To what extent becomes very subjective, and since I have my 2020 exactly like I want it now with the roof rail deletion I don’t feel a need to jump up to the LCI at this time. But for my wife who definitely wanted to get rid of the pano, ‘ZDM’ allowed a perfect opportunity for her to upgrade.

Although I don’t want to appear greedy, now if BMWNA would allow roof rail delete option with full painted roof and side windshield trim like the F96, I’d be tempted to trade mine in. And if they offered CFRP aero roof along with that, sign me up for an allocation…

[f82fanatic]

Originally Posted by V8MAN

Car looks awesome mi amigo, thanks for taking pictures of the roof, finally a good picture of what the car looks like without the pano.

It does look great!!!

[kozzi]

Beautiful X3MC!

[bSwiazzy]

tail lights look like the energy sword from halo lol

[rodo94]

Can you be more specific about the low end torque?