DonMoonsio - Happy First Birthday

Fan - After a half-hour or so of driving around, a fan located behind the glove box turns on and produces a very quite, but still audible white noise. The noise can only be heard when the stereo is off, so it is not that big a deal, just an annoyance. I have been told that the fan in question is the car's ECU cooling fan and there is nothing that can be done about it (the forums confirm this). Ironic that years of professing my love of huge computer case fans is rewarded with having one actually annoy me.

Paint - All new BMW's have a very severe orange peel effect to their paint. Next time you are out and about, check it out. BMW claims the orange peel is due to their paint process and the newer, eco-friendly water based paints that must be used. While this may be true, I think BMW needs to update their painting process as all manufacturers have to use eco-paint nowadays but only BMW cars sport this annoying orange peel texture. Dear BMW, if Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Porsche have figured it you, so can you!

Dipstick - My car (along with all new BMWs) does not have a dipstick with which one can check the oil level in the motor. Rather, BMW has installed an elaborate array of electronic sensors that produce a digital readout in the car showing the oil level. The kicker - the car's motor must be running for around 15 minutes before the sensors will produce an accurate reading. If the motor is low on oil to begin with, the 15 minute run-time required to display this low level could in fact damage the motor. All of this could be prevented by supplying an old fashion dipstick.

Stereo - Perhaps the stereo is listed here unjustly. In fact, the Logic 7 premium sound system in the car is absolutely fantastic. So good is the sound system that it may be too good - any imperfections in the music being played through the sound system are amplified. Case in point - I am a huge Sirius Satellite Radio fan and of course, I have a factory installed Sirius receiver in Big Blue. For years I had read complaints that the sound quality from Sirius was poor due to heavy compression but I was never able to really confirm these complaints on my portable unit at home (which I pumped through to my Acura's stereo via a FM transmitter). Once I got Big Blue, all the complaints hit home and hit home hard. Because the Logic 7 amplifier and sound processor are so good, the old mantra of "garbage in - garbage out" is very true. Much of the Sirius content does sound compressed and less than perfect. Don't misunderstand, Sirius is still more than listenable, it is just not the CD quality that is advertised. This phenomenon is also true of low quality mp3's, so much so that I have re-encoded most of my collection using either the Windows media lossless codec or Apple's lossless codec.

Cost - Everything BMW, whether it is a headlight, oil change, or T-Shirt is way more expensive than my Acura's counterparts. The saying that you "have to pay to play" is very true when dealing with BMW. I am sure this concept is true for Mercedes, Porsche and Audi as well. All maintenance is free of charge for the first four years, but after that, plan on spending $150 for an oil change and easily $1800 for a set of tires mounted, balanced, installed and aligned. Oh sure, there are independent shops that could do the work cheaper, but it would take SEVERAL first-hand, well known endorsements before I would ever consider letting someone work on Big Blue

Engine - Almost impossible to find anything wrong with the N54 power plant found under the hood of my car. It features the classic straight-6 motor that BMW has perfected over years, but to spice it up a bit, they added two turbo chargers, each working three cylinders. The result is an experience almost void of turbo-lag and an incredibly flat-powerful torque curve that makes stop-and-go daily driving an absolute joy. Couple this with the incredible ease of upgrades ((just load a new version of ECU software), and the car can quickly become a monster. I expect years of joy with this motor.

Cruise Control - BMW's implementation of the cruise control is really fantastic. They have installed a second stalk below the turn indicator stalk to operate the cruise control. To engage cruise control, push the stalk forward, pull the stalk back, or push the 'resume' button embedded in the end of the stalk. When engaged, a small square LED illuminates in a ring that surrounds the speedometer showing the cruise control's set-point. If you need to speed up, tap the stalk forward (each click = 1 mph increase) or hold the stick forward for a smooth linear increase in speed. Slowing down is exactly the same except for pulling the stalk back rather than pushing forward. To disengage cruise control move the stalk either up or down or tap the break pedal. Working the accelerator or clutch (very cool) does not disengage cruise control. It works, in fact it works so well, I may be hooked for life on BMW's design.

Wipers - Sounds weird to like something as simple as wind shield wipers, but Big Blue's are simply amazing. Quiet and powerful, they make driving in Florida downpours almost enjoyable. These are not wimpy, thin metal arm single blades, no BMW has equipped Big Blue with stubby, thick arms that just look cool. Of course at $60 to replace, they should not only look cool but work as well as they do.

Lights - The adaptive Xenon lights are amazing. Once while driving behind a massive truck, I could see my headlights adjust down to minimize the reflected light from the truck's back bumper. When turning into my driveway, you can see the headlight track with the steering wheel, illuminating the area you are turning into for maximum visibility. Then of course are the iconic daytime running lights - the Angel Eyes. These things let all around know that a Bimmer is in their presence.

Stereo - As stated above, the stereo is good, very good. I also love the USB port found in the center console's arm rest. This port allows me to connect any thumb drive filled with mp3/wav/aac/mp4 files and play directly to the stereo. Originally intended as an iPod interface, this USB port is far more versatile than originally thought.

Styling - BMW styling is a major point of controversy. Personally, I dislike virtually all BMW styling with the exception of the 335i Coupe and the Z4. The current 5 series has goofy head and taillights, the 6 series has ugly headlights, and the 7 series looks too much like a Lexus. The X3 and X5 are okay, but I am not a big SUV guy. The X6 looks decent in photos, but in person, I am really not a fan. For me, BMW absolutely nailed the exterior design of the 335i Coupe. Of course I am biased :)

 

Performance wise, the car has been a joy to drive. On Christmas Eve, Matic and I took Big Blue on it's longest road trip to date - all the way to Orlando! I have only been on the highway a few times and never more than a few miles at a time over the course of the year. As such 96% of all the 4,692 miles I drove this year were 'city' miles. While driving to Orlando, I was truly impressed at the car's ability on the highway. Passing was effortless, even while cruising in 6th gear - jaunts from 80 mph to over 100 mph took mere seconds and amazingly did not require a downshift from 6th. As great as this car is in the city, it really is a different beast at speed on the highway - oh how I wish I could get her on the Autobahn one day...