[Captain Cow Pat]

Well I'm now two thirds of the way through the running in process and I'm quite pleased to have only strayed outside of the guidelines a few time. Boy have I wanted to stray.

Mechanically I've had no problems, no clonks or bangs. What a relief.

The colour is fantastic, it changes from very sparkly when clean and the sun is out, to a dark amber when the weather is overcast.

Most of the time I don't remember that the car is AWD. It is only in situations that I would expect wheel spin that I remember. If I'm going for a quick get away at a junction, the car just grips the road and gets on with it no fuss. At fast corners you can just boot it and the AWD pulls you round, it's great!

The H/K hifi setup is very clear but needs setting up to get the best out of it.

The HUD is a revelation. So much easier to keep on the right side of the law. And great for sorting through ones musical selection without taking your eyes off the road. The Speed Limit Display is on the whole accurate. Although it can look at the wrong road signs, e.g. on the A3 going towards Kingston the limit is 50mph, there are residential road running parallel which are 30mph. You've guessed it, it picks the 30mph to display.

The Heated Steering Wheel is just right not too hot for me and not too cold. Which is good as there is no adjustment like there is on the seats.

Still haven't sussed the indicators, not used to the self centring aspect of them, how to best cancel them is sometimes a mystery to me, other times I get it right. People behind must think that I'm having a fit with the amount of right and left blinks I get through when trying to cancel them.

The Sport Gearbox is wonderful, smooth and silent when needed. But quick and harsh when rapid progress is requested.

The Active Cruise Control with "Stop and Go" is fantastic, just set the distance required from the other vehicle and relax. If they slow, you slow, if they speed up, you speed up (until you reach your set speed). If they slow down from say 70mph to an almost stop, that's exactly what you do. I find it a great tool.

I haven't as yet discovered the joys of High-beam Assist. Is there a list of parameter that have to be met for it to work? Or do you just push the auto button and wait for the light show to start.

The Surround-View Cameras are very useful, especially the ones on the front edge of the front wheel arch. The car does have a long bonnet and being tall I sit almost behind the B pillar, so seeing out of my drive or at junctions or out of parking spaces is almost impossible, these cameras are a life saver. The door mirror cameras are useful for parking in narrow spaces, like next to a brick wall. I park about an inch away from a brick wall every night when I get home. The Reversing Assist Camera is also very good. It shows limits of wheel arc, distance lines/grid. You can also set virtual markers on objects that if reversed into could cause damage. I have yet to try the tow bar view camera setting.

Speaking of which the Tow Bar, Fully Electric makes towing almost seem effortless. One press on the button (behind the First Aid box door) and it swings down and round into place with the electric socket easily in view. No more messy hands, no more trying to get the tow bar out of its socket and then trying to find somewhere to put it without covering everything else with grease.

I am finding that I'm using the Information Plus service quite a lot. It's easily than trying to use Sat. Nav. which as we know isn't great at finding postcodes. The service is available 24/7, poke a button, speak to a operator, they send the car a data package, you open it and 'press start guidance', and off you go. Once there you can save it to the address book.

The VSS and the Adaptive Suspension are noticeable when entering Sports mode. Steering does become heavier as opposed to the light feel in Comfort and Eco-Pro. The suspension also firms up and you can feel the road surface a lot more and there seems to be less body roll. The sports seat take the strain. My 18" Conti's are surprisingly quiet on most road surfaces. I was expecting more road noise after reading about other peoples experiences or is it more the fact that I have 18" rims as opposed to 19" rims?

The Comfort Access is good, as I quite often have messy hands and full hands, so being able to open the tailgate with a wave of the foot is great. If the car is locked, the tailgate can be opened and the rest stays locked. Then press the lock button on the tailgate door and hey presto the cars all locked up again (with the alarm on).

I'm very pleased with the interior. The seats are wonderful to touch, so smooth and soft. The carbon fibre is dark and non reflective (which makes a change) and provides a lot of grip as you can feel the weave. I'm still waiting on the gear selector trim pieces, they are on back order in Germany. So my car isn't quite complete.

I have been waiting years to buy a modern phone. So I bit the bullet and bought an iPhone 4s and then a dock for the car. Managed to negotiate a healthy discount on it. So now i can use the cars' antenna, charge the battery and make hands free calls. I have an old iPod classic (120Gb) permanently plugged into the USB port.

I've fitted a pair of Thule Wing bars which come in a silver finish. I shall most probably get them re-anodised in black so that they blend in with the rest of the car.

The only issue I'm having with the car is a software one. It's all to do with the BMW Apps, and their integration with the car (or lack of). At the moment Germany are dealing with it as a priority. It seems a lot of customers with the latest version new iDrive package are having problems. So Germany has got to pull its finger out!

[sunscreemer]

Glad all is good. On the high beam assist you push the button in then watch in wonder as you get a weird shadowy box around the vehicle in front and watch in awe at the constant readjustment that goes in in my opinion!

[Zero71]

Sounds great CCP. What settings have you settled on for the HK?

[derekh929]

Nice report re your point below this is a very good question but after research last night I thing is may be more to do with X Drive and non S Drive with the different suspension , as on the site the split of different tyres was huge, but I may be wrong sand most roads with us they just put a layer of chipping to make it last



The VSS and the Adaptive Suspension are noticeable when entering Sports mode. Steering does become heavier as opposed to the light feel in Comfort and Eco-Pro. The suspension also firms up and you can feel the road surface a lot more and there seems to be less body roll. The sports seat take the strain. My 18" Conti's are surprisingly quiet on most road surfaces. I was expecting more road noise after reading about other peoples experiences or is it more the fact that I have 18" rims as opposed to 19" rims?

[Captain Cow Pat]

Originally Posted by zerolight

What settings have you settled on for the HK?

I haven't finalised my settings yet. The problem is that I listen to a wide range of music types. From Opera to Trance, from Punk to Classical. So the settings that best suit one, won't suit another.

[zorroone]

That's for taking the time with the great write up. It is very helpful as I am collecting my car tomorrow.

[Zero71]

Originally Posted by Captain Cow Pat

I haven't finalised my settings yet. The problem is that I listen to a wide range of music types. From Opera to Trance, from Punk to Classical. So the settings that best suit one, won't suit another.

Very true. I'm just looking for a starter for 10. That said, unlike you I tend to listen to 80s hair rock most of the time, dipping into modern pop when the wife is in the car. Much to her distaste, the 5 year old and 7 year old are now Van Halen fans.

[jbtco]

Sounds great, thanks for detailed report. I didn't go for comfort access this time as i have it on the X5 and found it didn't always lock easily and I even managed somehow to leave the car parked with the engine running, when i thought it was locked, fortunately a friend noticed before anybody with ill intent, and if you instinctively touch the door handle to check it is locked you open it again.

I am also not sure about the one legged foot waggling :-)

[Jekyll]

Originally Posted by jbtco

Sounds great, thanks for detailed report. I didn't go for comfort access this time as i have it on the X5 and found it didn't always lock easily and I even managed somehow to leave the car parked with the engine running, when i thought it was locked, fortunately a friend noticed before anybody with ill intent, and if you instinctively touch the door handle to check it is locked you open it again.

I am also not sure about the one legged foot waggling :-)

I did exactly that with a fully loaded 640d demo car. Left it in Tesco car park unlocked with the engine running for a good half hour. Thankfully it was there when I got back!

[F30AM]

Great write up. Nice to learn about Information Plus.

[NISFAN]

Nice write up.....glad your happy with the car.

Just a quickie in case you missed it..I did....to turn on anti collision braking you need to press the button even though you select in iDrive (button near right knee)

[edz_f06]

Super, write up glad you're pleased with your car.

For the indicators, I indicate the same way to cancel then it saves any potential embarrassment from multiple left-right-left action and it stops the indicators straight away. You can also make the indicators only do one flash with a touch of the stalk thru the iDrive