[DFTBA]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Hi guys,

As a reader of the G80 Forum, I wanted to share some insights I gained during a BMW Belgium/Luxembourg event yesterday evening to provide you with some information you might be interested in.

First of all: no, I don't have any photos of the Touring because we had to put the cell phones in a case (see picture with "for your eyes only" case). Giveaway was caviar but would definitely have preferred to take a picture). Oh boy, what a beauty!

What I can tell from memory:

- The thing looks monstrous, much much better than the videos and much much better than the G80, too in my view. Classic potential, reminds me of the potential cult factor of the Audi RS4 B5. The CSL was truly a side kick compared to the touring.
- It had ID8 but no carbon roof, and no sunroof either. Not sure if it will remain that way.
- It wasn't bright in the room and the tail lights were off, but I couldn't tell any difference vis à vis my G21. The CSL's are Oleds, at least that's how they looked to me.
- The M3 rear seat is the same as the one in the G21. The model on display had a black interior and the normal bucket seats. The seat/back surface was perforated, Alcantara on the sides and carbon on the rear. Incidentally, you are not allowed to strap luggage on to the non-existent rear seat of the CSL. It said so on the sticker... next to the luggage net. Don't ask...
- The M4 CSL had red badges, also in the seats, great! Was further equipped with the ID7. Ducktail also great, otherwise "chubby" for my taste but that's only me.
- The M3 sideskirts look razor sharp.
- Tires 275/35/19 front, 285/30/20 rear.

For the rest:

- The Jeff Koons BMW M850i ​​is mehhhh, especially in the interior.
- The 7 series is great inside, just as bad on the outside as in the pictures. Somehow a mix between Hyundai and 2 series sedan. I've also never seen a car with sensors in the side skirts, the 7 series has 4 of them on each side. There is also a touch display in the door, how decadent is that?!
- The X7 LCI is not that ugly in live.
- According to Speech, the "50" (x5 m50i, for example) was omitted to not steal the "M - 50 years" show.

[snareman]

I don't understand why on the iDrive 8 they don't just make it built into the dash. Have the dash come all the way out to the screen instead of just having a screen floating there.

[lastsun61]

Originally Posted by DFTBA

Hi guys,

As a reader of the G80 Forum, I wanted to share some insights I gained on a BMW Belgium/Luxembourg event yesterday evening so as to provide you with some information you might be interested in.

First of all: no, I don't have any photos of the touring because we had to put the cell phones in a case (see photo case "for your eyes only"). There was caviar, too and would I have definitely have preferred to take a photo). Oh boy, what a beauty!


What I can tell from memory:

- The thing looks monstrous, much much better than the videos and much much better than the G80, too in my view. Classic potential, reminds me of the potential cult factor of the Audi RS4 B5. The CSL was truly a side kick compared to the touring.

- It had ID8 but no carbon roof, and no sunroof either. Not sure if it will remain that way.

- It wasn't bright in the room and the tail lights were off, but I couldn't tell any difference vis à vis my G21. The CSL's are Oleds, at least that's how they looked to me.

- The M3 rear seat is the same as that of the G21. The model on display had a black interior and the normal bucket seats. The seat/back surface was perforated, Alcantara on the sides and carbon on the rear. Incidentally, you are not allowed to strap luggage on to the non-existent rear seat of the CSL. It said so on the sticker... next to the luggage net. Don't ask...

- The M4 CSL had red badges, also in the seats, great! Was further equipped with the ID7. Ducktail also great, otherwise "chubby" for my taste but that's only me.

- The M3's sideskirts look razor sharp.

- Tires 275/35/19 front, 285/30/20 rear.



For the rest:


- The Jeff Koons BMW M850i ​​is mehhhh, especially in the interior.

- The 7er is great inside, just as bad on the outside as in the pictures. Somehow a mix between Hyundai and 2 series sedan. I've also never seen a car with parking sensors in the side skirts, the 7 series has 4 of them. There is also a touch display in the door, how decadent is that?!

- The X7 LCI is not that ugly in live.

- According to Speech, the "50" (x5 m50i, for example) was omitted to not steal the "M - 50 years" show.

Did the g81 have updated interior other than the ID8? Like new steering wheel or dash?

Also did they change the headlights too?

[LuckyBrand]

Originally Posted by snareman

I don't understand why on the iDrive 8 they don't just make it built into the dash. Have the dash come all the way out to the screen instead of just having a screen floating there.

I heard they do this so that if they want or have to change something down the road it's easier with a floating screen and don't have to totally reconfigure the dash. I don't like the floating look. It looks cheap to me. I think Mercedes does this as well on some of there models. I could see it on a KIA or something of that nature but a premium brand with the price tags they have I don't like it. I'd rather keep my iDrive 7 then this.

[solstice]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

- Is the CSL splitter adjustable as in that it can be extracted and retracted?
- Did the CSL have the new racing buckets?
- Did they say if the CSL trunk floor is CF or other lightweight material ala the E46?
- Did they mention which of the two or both that is going to be revealed at Villa d’Este in 2–3w?

[duky]

Originally Posted by solstice

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

- Is the CSL splitter adjustable as in that it can be extracted and retracted?
- Did the CSL have the new racing buckets?
- Did they say if the CSL trunk floor is CF or other lightweight material ala the E46?
- Did they mention which of the two or both that is going to be revealed at Villa d’Este in 2–3w?

Autoblog just confirmed CSL reveal at Villa d'Este https://www.autoblog.com/2022/05/04/...sl-debut-date/

[AGAV13]

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, bring the G81 to the United States!

[solstice]

Originally Posted by duky

Autoblog just confirmed CSL reveal at Villa d'Este https://www.autoblog.com/2022/05/04/...sl-debut-date/

They’ve got some good pix there, I don’t think I’ve seen that much negative camber on any stock production BMW before as that car has on the rears.

[jeloz]

Originally Posted by AGAV13

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, bring the G81 to the United States!

Keep saying it…

It might work!

To assist the pain join our FB M3 G81 Touring chat group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/351980363231847/?ref=sharehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/351980363231847/?ref=share&exp=4a9f

[jimbojsb]

Originally Posted by jeloz

Keep saying it…

It might work!

It's not gonna work. Haven't they publicly said the tourings failed US crash testing?

[Ugly Kar]

Yep, no way I buy a car with a long ipad as a dash. Nothing but cheap tacky cost cutting.

I remember the days when people were more than willing to pay $1k+ for navigation system integrated into the dash because it looked so much better than a $100 Garmin stuck on the dash.

[M2COMP]

Originally Posted by snareman

I don't understand why on the iDrive 8 they don't just make it built into the dash. Have the dash come all the way out to the screen instead of just having a screen floating there.

It's a cheaper way, don't have to worry about design and aesthetics, just glue couple iPads and stick on. Less R&D. You want an update, put new iPads as you go.
Also previous bmws looked good both in pictures and in real. Now you have too see them in person to like/love them and acquire their taste.

[Quadruple VANOS]

Originally Posted by snareman

I don't understand why on the iDrive 8 they don't just make it built into the dash. Have the dash come all the way out to the screen instead of just having a screen floating there.

It's purely a styling decision. Personally I'd rather have the floating look screen than have a gigantic hood around it for no reason. If you want relevance of this design you can find it in probably every TV and computer monitor on the market. Everyone floats their display panel.

[440i6MT]

Two points to add:


1. The concept of the Touring having neither a carbon roof nor a sunroof (moonroof, even) is incredibly cool to me. Pure throwback to older times. As OP mentioned, doubt this will be the case.

2. It's not hard to integrate a screen into the dash. The e6x and e9x generations were able to pull it off rather well. Not perfect, but better than a tablet.

[BitchinManWheels]

I'd buy the m3 touring over a x3m in a heartbeat!!!

[BitchinManWheels]

Originally Posted by BitchinManWheels

I'd buy the m3 touring over a x3m in a heartbeat!!!

I'll put my money where my mouth is too and put a $2k deposit today!

[spuntyb]

For the love of all that's holy, please bring some here to the US.

And if you haven't already, please sign and share the petition to bring it here!

https://www.change.org/p/bmwusa-bmw-...ring-us-market

Thanks for sharing!

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by jimbojsb

It's not gonna work. Haven't they publicly said the tourings failed US crash testing?

Maybe not this time around, but maybe the next M3 wagon. Or the one after that. We need to keep up the push!

[Wait What?]

Originally Posted by jimbojsb

It's not gonna work. Haven't they publicly said the tourings failed US crash testing?

I don't think that's accurate - as far as I know, what a BMW rep has been quoted saying is that having the Touring platform certified for sale in the US from scratch would be too expensive: "We revisited whether the car could be homologated for the U.S. market, but unfortunately, it was found to be cost prohibitive."

Of course doing that would involve crash testing the car, but that doesn't mean in and of itself that the G81 would fail the crash tests.

I really wish BMW went for it and brought it to the States: it would be a fantastic vehicle and a refreshing alternative to a performance SUV. I for one would be super tempted to trade in my X5 for this one…

https://www.motor1.com/news/549294/2...3-touring-usa/

[NorCalAthlete]

Know what's great about having a screen integrated into the dash? Less sun reflection off of it so it's easier to see / read at all times.

I can't stand the floating ipad look and it's one of the significant factors that turned me off to Mercedes when I was cross shopping. I liked BMW's at-least-partial-integration on the current G2x / G8x interiors.

I can't understate how much I loathe the trend towards "touchscreen ALL the controls" too. What happened to the driver-centric ethos? What happened to letting you focus more on the road, and not whether you're about to turn up the volume or the temperature or open the navigation screen by accident? Let alone when it's bumpy and you're trying to do something.

Voice controls aren't at the point yet where they're flawless enough to completely replace everything, and they're annoying to use for minor things that would take half as long to hit a couple buttons. Then there's the times when other people are in the car and you're trying to input something - I can't count how many times I've gotten annoyed because I try to input a voice command for a destination and as soon as I'm done talking, someone else starts the conversation back up and the car gets confused and I have to start over.

Fuck. All. That.

[Ibiza]

Originally Posted by 440i6MT

Two points to add:


1. The concept of the Touring having neither a carbon roof nor a sunroof (moonroof, even) is incredibly cool to me. Pure throwback to older times. As OP mentioned, doubt this will be the case.

2. It's not hard to integrate a screen into the dash. The e6x and e9x generations were able to pull it off rather well. Not perfect, but better than a tablet.

From the G81 YouTube videos the only thing left for the G81 is fine tunning the different M modes (comfort/sport/sport plus). I highly doubt CF roof (remember there is a shortage for the G80/G82) or sunroof will appear this late. Has any of the Ring videos shown a sunroof?

[Quadruple VANOS]

Originally Posted by BitchinManWheels

I'd buy the m3 touring over a x3m in a heartbeat!!!

But would you pay an extra $20k for a M3 Touring over a similarly equipped X3M? Not enough Americans would.