Useful BMW Features

[CocoPops]

Hi Guys..

So often guys when buying a new car are unsure of which features might actually be useful to them and which not.. which to spend money, and which will be a waste.

List the optional extra you think is a great must have and why.

This will make it easier for future buyers to have a look at and decide.

1. Keyless go. No need to sit and look for keys in your pocket. easy to open and lock. Useful for the muslim guys who wear kurtas. mums who have their hands full. I would get this on any car if an option.

2. Surround view. Absolutely love this feature. makes your park perfectly everytime. shows you your turning circle, and projected direction of vehicle. Makes parking/reversing anywhere an absolute breeze. for anyone, wife, sister, brother, mother, father whoever, its that simple.

3.Night Vision. I would never get this ever. Have it on the 5er and its a watse. never use it cause its useless. not sure of its purpose aside from picking up pedestrians?. it only works when the night vision is on (i.e you can only see that on ure info display and not anything else, cant work in the background and just wanr you if it picks up a pedestrian. who looks at the middle of dashboard while driving anyways.. you glance, but you dont look and watch, which night vision needs you to do.)

4. Heads up display. I really like this for the built in nav. makes navigation really easy and you know exactly where to turn and when.

Okay thats it from me..

 

[Nastaliq]

I have the headlight adjustment on my Xenons. Love it for long distance, switch it on and leave it alone. the headlights will dip when it picks up an oncoming vehicle so you dont have to keep flicking the lever on and off.

Also have the bluetooth and USB option. Great for pairing any phone with the car and not having to fiddle with the handset while driving. I normally have many telecons, so the fact that I can attend one on my way home, without having to sit in the office is a treat. i spend the hour in traffic and do a conference call. 2 birds with one stone.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

I have the headlight adjustment on my Xenons. Love it for long distance, switch it on and leave it alone. the headlights will dip when it picks up an oncoming vehicle so you dont have to keep flicking the lever on and off.

Have this feature as well, also the bluetooth is great

 

[herr bmw]

also have the adaptive headlights and zenons,driven cars with out it and people end up flashing me as i forget to dip:rollsmile:

to me run flat tyres(yes people hate them)but as i travel at night,then safer to get to a safe destination

also controls for me on the steering,dont have to fiddel on the dash

auto windscreen wipers,put on and it does the rest,goes on when needed.

cruise control,set it at 120 on the highway and cruise home,knowing i wont get a fine:rollsmile:

 

[distilledsilver]

Depends on the model. You need to rationalize your options or the prices just get silly. My 125i has over R100k of options and still doesn't have everything:shocked:

I think we all agree xenons are a must although the LED technology takes it to the next level. (Not available on all models+ flipping expensive)

Uprated sound system. I think the H/K sound system is really reasonably priced on the 1 and 3 series for what you get. The B&O system really can only be justified on the top end variants of the 5,6,7 etc cause its over R40k. But I reckon the professional hifi would be worth it.

PDC obviously and rear camera or surround view as the car get bigger.

Sunroof!!

M-sport pack. Model dependent but generally takes it to the next level on the non SUVs!

Auto, well sports auto specifically which gives you paddles on the wheel and supposedly faster software. Smooth as silk when left to its own devices, very responsive when you floor it and in manual it has a bit of a kick when you change gears that reminds me of SMG.

The list goes on. I would probably add more toys to a 335i than a 320i simply because you don't get much money back for a lot of them and your options vs base price is better. So yeah, very much model dependent.

 

[xcalibur]

Things I cant live without:

1. Sunroof - makes me feel like I'm on holiday when open

2. Cruise Control - this is standard anyway

3. Rear PDC - Saved me from backing into my MIL a few weeks back, so paid for itself already.

4. M-Sport - Shakes the CFO look and gives much better feedback to the driving enthusiast.

5. Bluetooth and USB - Seamless integration with my phone and I can play all my tunes at high sample rates. Makes a big difference in sound quality when streaming music from USB even on the Professional system. The BT also allows my phone to stream the turn-by-turn commands over the audio system via my iPhone.

 

[Caddy101]

Naturally aspirated six cylinder engine

Manual gearbox

Rear-wheel drive.... :rollsmile:

 

[moranor@axis]

Naturally aspirated six cylinder engine

Manual gearbox

Rear-wheel drive.... :rollsmile:

what more do you need :rollsmile:

 

[M3KW]

1. Lane Change warning. You have no idea how many times this saved my ass from hitting a car in my blind spot

2. Lane departure warning. Good to have to try prevent you from falling asleep and drifting.

3. Active protection. Why this is an option is beyond me, standard on Merc but something I would rather have.

4. Sunroof.

5. Park Assist. Yes, I am lazy to parallel park :=):

 

[Rayzor]

Naturally aspirated six cylinder engine

Manual gearbox

Rear-wheel drive.... :rollsmile:

So true :bravo::bravo::bravo:

 

[OppositeLockMT]

+1 on the straight 6, manual and RWD.

All these options are just making the cars heavier :fencelook:

 

[distilledsilver]

Electric seats + memory if you have different drivers often.

With the different profiles (standard feature) each key stores stuff like the last seat position and mirrors if you have elec seats, plus radio settings, climate control settings, stuff like that. So you get in and everything is like the last time you drove it.

Makes sharing a car much easier!

 

[ASH]

Some things I like about my BMW, well features, some are not options, but just particular to the model. Mine is also a M-Sport model, but the original owner specced it with the exclusive package as well..............:rollsmile:

1. Sunroof - on a coupe, it should be standard..........tilted or fully open when hot, its just a pleasure to have one.

2. Big windows - on the coupe, with the windows down, you dont have that claustrophobic feeling when driving a sedan.

3. Frameless doors - very cool, when you open the door the window drops down.......very nice touch.

4. Push out rear windows - well on the E46 coupe the rear windows can push outward just a little bit, I thought that was a small touch, but it was so cool, made the car look like it has bat wings.

5. Low roof, wider track - the E92 has a lower roof and wider track than sedan, gives excellent squat cornering.

6. Partially electric seats - these are a clever idea, even though not ground breaking, as the fully electric seats take just too damn long to move if fully electric. Back and forward is manual to allow the rear passengers in.

7. Through loading - this I feel is a must for any vehicle, I've owned BMWs in the past which didnt allow one to drop the rear seats, it was a pain of note! It really affects the usefullness of the vehicle when needing to transport long items.

8. Sport pack goodies always enhance the exterior

9. PDC at the rear is a must, because of the rear slope of the glass, it is impossible to judge parking at the rear, so thankful for that.

10. Auto, no need to worry about the wife burning the clutch out in traffic

11. Decent boot size, even allows me to carry the space saver spare wheel easily.

12. KMs left reading for the distance on current fuel, cant imagine driving without, these days.

13. High beam assist as mentioned previously, on night driving is brilliant, and really one of the most usefull features and improves safety, put it on and let the car manage/control the bright lights

14. Auto wipers - but I do feel they worked better on the E46 as a concept, because on the E46 it was easier to activate.

15. Adaptive headlights, I see these work when you in a dark parking lot etc, you notice the extra beam of light from the inner bulb.

16. Keyless go and comfort access - it is brilliant to be able to open the door and start the car without using the key at all. Especially if you are carrying a few packets from the shops, simply pull the door handle and it will open, jump in, hit the the start button and you are away.

17. LED lighting in the door handles is a cool touch.

18. Most probably use this, but I love it, the ability to close/open the windows and sunroof with the key.

19. NonRFTs, I noticed that the car is much more comfortable than my 320d, even though the 320d had a smaller 17" rim. Also the nonRFTs have better wear rates than the RFTs, not sure if this is model or compound dependant, but my rear tyres have given alot more mileage than the RFTs I had on the 320d. Any imperfection in the road used to bring a loud bang and bump into the cabin with the RFTs. I definitely do not miss those RFTS.

20. I love the inner detail in the headlights as well, I know it serves no purpose but the scripting on the surround of the headlight is an awesome touch.

You could spend alot as Distelledsilver mentioned and still not have all the options fitted. My daily drive is an Audi so I notice some features that are missing in the BMW, but come fitted with the Audi.

1. LED headlights with DRLs
2. Info display, my BMW does not have IDrive, but the Audi still has an info display as a standard feature.
3. Bluetooth cell prep. well, mine didnt have the option fitted, I wish it did, as for music and handsfree celllphone usage, I see its advantages.
4. Easy open bootlid, I notice that the bootlid on the Audi if you open with the key, it has a pnematic air release which pops open the trunk, this is something I miss in the BMW as everytime I open the boot, I think shit, Audi has done this briiliantly, and its such as easy solution. The F30 has the foot under the bumper open solution.
5. Electronic hand brake - why didnt the E9x have this? It is one of the neatest and space saving features for the interior ever.
6. Stop/start technology is featured on the A4 as standard, didnt come with the E92 pre Lci, saves fuel.

Sorry for the long write up.........lol

 

[Jerez]

Airbags/ curtains,,ABS and DSC a must on even entry level models ..... And thats a minimum of 6 at least - airbags that is

 

[distilledsilver]

5. Electronic hand brake - why didnt the E9x have this? It is one of the neatest and space saving features for the interior ever.

F20 and F30 still don't have this! Annoying especially as their interior storage spaces are very limited.:nonono:

 

[Kerrits]

1. dipstick. I would like to check the oil physically without having to drive the car for 5 min.

2. Multi function steering wheel.

3. Climate control

4. Hill start assist

5. Opening and closing sunroof and windows with a key.

I don't have PDC, but I think it would have been pretty useful. Same with bluetooth.

 

[ASH]

A normally aspirated straight six motor, seeing as this is going to be extinct soon or already is.................:nonono:

 

[Jerez]

5. Electronic hand brake - why didnt the E9x have this? It is one of the neatest and space saving features for the interior ever.

F20 and F30 still don't have this! Annoying especially as their interior storage spaces are very limited.:nonono:

Gimmick feature - how on eart will you do a handbrake turn:rollsmile:

 

[zaleonardz]

Comfort seats... that is alll....

 

[bmsportzn135i]

Features my 135 has. Now i bought it 2nd hand so i didnt spec it out.
Front and rear PDC, hill start assist, sunroof, hifi sound and Msport package. And honestly its all i need. Ok i think i would like to have had the blue tooth kit...