[FlashMonkey929]

Edit: The X1 is Alpine White, not Mineral White. The Mineral White M Sport is still in transit and looks to have almost all the options.

I got notice from my salesperson that the X1 Dealer Demo they had on order came in and was out for display. I headed down today to check it out, but unfortunately didn't have time to take it for a test drive.

My impression:

Definitely feels larger than the previous X1 that I was looking at last week. I'm 6' tall and 180ish pounds, and the interior feels spacious and comfortable. Seats were supportive, I may not miss the lumbar support after all. Driving position is very nice, though will take a bit of getting used to sitting so high after driving 3 and 4 series for the past decade.

Touch screen is in very easy reach, and iDrive 8 is very responsive, though getting used to pressing through the menus will take some getting used to. I was worried about missing the iDrive controller, but for the most part I think I'll be okay. When I'm driving I mostly don't fiddle with the infotainment much anyway, so most of what I need to do would be able to be done by voice control.

I am a little disappointed in the trunk space, but I think I was just expecting more. It's about the same area as my 4 series, just taller. Not a dealbreaker for me though.

The car does in fact have digital key (as others have already confirmed), and good news, drive recorder is possible, though it is a purchase made after the fact through the Connected Drive store. The same goes for Remote Start. As far as heated seats goes, the car came equipped with them, so I'm not sure if they would be available right now for purchase after the fact since I couldn't find it in the Connected Drive store (but all the hardware is there, so I'm sure we'll see it down the line).

A few touches I really liked: You can set the car to fold in the mirrors when you lock the car (all my previous cars had to be coded in to do this), and the proximity comfort locking/unlocking seems to work pretty well. The heads up display is the first I've experienced, but I was suprised at how bright and easy to read it is.

A couple things I didn't like: You can open the trunk with the key fob, and it requires a slight press and hold, instead of just a press, but I couldn't find a way to close the trunk with the keyfob. Tried single press, press and hold, double press. No deals. Probably a safety regulation or something.

Center air vent seems limited in it's range of aiming. In the brief time I sat in it, I couldn't find a position to have it aim directly at my face.

Center console storage area is tiny. I couldn't even fit my iPhone 13 Pro in it. It's big enough to throw loose change, receipts, pens, and tiny stuff in, but that's it. The floating armrest I do wish they put the support on the drivers side, it's easier to reach under the armrest while driving from the passenger side to access whatever you have stored under the armrest. Contorting your arm under the armrest from the drivers side while driving seems difficult. I was hoping it would be a good storage space for my 34oz Yeti, but I guess not.

Cupholders. They're in a better position than the ones in my 4 series, and should fit most 32 oz soft drinks from the drive thru. The ones in the door pockets however, I really really was hoping they were bigger so I could fit a Yeti or Hydroflask in there. No deals.

Steering wheel felt great to me, similar feel to my 4 series, but just a tad bit cheaper in looks and feel. The wheel itself is great, but the steering wheel controls just don't look and feel as premium as higher models. They still function great, and tactile sensation never leaves you in question if you pressed it or not. But the matte finish might have felt and looked more premium if it was a gloss black instead.

Sorry if this was painful to read, my thoughts weren't very organized before typing this.

[Speedbird71]

Thanks for sharing!

Paying for some of those features after buying the car will require a mental adjustment.

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by Speedbird71

Thanks for sharing!

Paying for some of those features after buying the car will require a mental adjustment.

I'm most likely going to buy the Drive Recorder. My salesperson is checking on it *maybe* being tied to the BMW ID and requires logging in for it to be included in purchase of the Premium Package, but it's not likely. I may also buy Remote Start so that after working outdoors all day I don't have to come back to a scalding hot car. All in all, I have mixed feeling about their new subscription model. It sort of feels like a ploy to empty our wallets as much as they can, but at least the option to purchase a feature after taking delivery of the car is cool, and it doesn't seem terribly overpriced. Might help mitigate some buyers remorse for some.

[SeekTheFinest]

Drive recorder is included in the premium package, so if that is ordered you wouldn’t have to pay extra... This is according to the order guides that were released.

Personally I love the idea of the Connected Store, as it allows the company to expand options when they become available and give the buyer the choice. if ACC is added we might consider it, since it wasn’t an option when ordering...

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by SeekTheFinest

Drive recorder is included in the premium package, so if that is ordered you wouldn’t have to pay extra... This is according to the order guides that were released.

Personally I love the idea of the Connected Store, as it allows the company to expand options when they become available and give the buyer the choice. if ACC is added we might consider it, since it wasn’t an option when ordering...

I'd love for that to be true, but this had the premium package and was only available for purchase through the Connected Drive App. The only thing I can think of is because the clips can be sent to your phone via the app, maybe it's only enabled once logged in via your BMW ID? I'm hoping you're right, but I guess we won't know for sure until some of us start receiving our own cars.

[bluecrabby]

quick question:

(1) are heated seats and all-wheel-drive useful in Hawaii???

(2) how useful is Drive Recorder if it can only record 20 seconds before/after being triggered by accident, or manually... won't help with my recent case when I was wrongfully given a $500 littering at stop sign ticket(thrown out after traffic court magistrate watched my dashcam video)

(3) why does it say $0.00 for the remote start?

Thanks!

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

quick question:

(1) are heated seats and all-wheel-drive useful in Hawaii???

(2) how useful is Drive Recorder if it can only record 20 seconds before/after being triggered by accident, or manually... won't help with my recent case when I was wrongfully given a $500 littering at stop sign ticket(thrown out after traffic court magistrate watched my dashcam video)

(3) why does it say $0.00 for the remote start?

Thanks!

How does your dash cam show you didn't litter? Can it record the sides of your car?

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

The car does in fact have digital key (as others have already confirmed), and good news, drive recorder is possible, though it is a purchase made after the fact through the Connected Drive store. The same goes for Remote Start. As far as heated seats goes, the car came equipped with them, so I'm not sure if they would be available right now for purchase after the fact since I couldn't find it in the Connected Drive store (but all the hardware is there, so I'm sure we'll see it down the line).

I'm definitely confused here, because that car clearly has the Premium Pkg, and the drive recorder is supposed to "come with" the Premium Pkg. So does the PP only "unlock" the ability to pay more for the drive recorder? I only got the Convenience Pkg, and would be pretty stoked to find out I can pay $149 and get the Drive Recorder anyway.

Similar Q on remote start. It says $0, so I'm assuming that model has the $300 remote start as a factory option?

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

A couple things I didn't like: You can open the trunk with the key fob, and it requires a slight press and hold, instead of just a press, but I couldn't find a way to close the trunk with the keyfob. Tried single press, press and hold, double press. No deals. Probably a safety regulation or something.

No definitely not a regulation. I have 2 other cars with remote hatch, and you can absolutely close them with the fob button. BMW must just think it's safer.

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by tex2670

I'm definitely confused here, because that car clearly has the Premium Pkg, and the drive recorder is supposed to "come with" the Premium Pkg. So does the PP only "unlock" the ability to pay more for the drive recorder? I only got the Convenience Pkg, and would be pretty stoked to find out I can pay $149 and get the Drive Recorder anyway.

Similar Q on remote start. It says $0, so I'm assuming that model has the $300 remote start as a factory option?

No definitely not a regulation. I have 2 other cars with remote hatch, and you can absolutely close them with the fob button. BMW must just think it's safer.

The remote start I didn't take a photo of the full price list. The $0 option is a one month trial, and then you pay for more time or buy it outright, similar to the drive recorder. I guess kind of like a try before you buy kind of deal.

As for heated seats in Hawaii, sometimes they're useful, like when I have a sore back after a long day, or the rare instances where we have colder weather. High 60's here is jacket weather lol. Oh and it did rain hail here once about 8 or 9 years ago. When you're used to high 80's and 90's for most of the year, anything below mid 70's is cold

Oh and all-wheel drive can be useful for sure. We do get a fair amount of rain here, plus shitty roads, lots of sand and gravel near the coastline, driving in dirt…..

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by tex2670

I'm definitely confused here, because that car clearly has the Premium Pkg, and the drive recorder is supposed to "come with" the Premium Pkg. So does the PP only "unlock" the ability to pay more for the drive recorder? I only got the Convenience Pkg, and would be pretty stoked to find out I can pay $149 and get the Drive Recorder anyway.

Similar Q on remote start. It says $0, so I'm assuming that model has the $300 remote start as a factory option?

No definitely not a regulation. I have 2 other cars with remote hatch, and you can absolutely close them with the fob button. BMW must just think it's safer.

Drive recorder here is useful because it will lower my premiums and record any impacts to the front or rear of the car, plus I can record all the crazy stuff I see daily. At least that's what I'm hoping, will have to test it out to see if it's as good as my dashcam in my 4 series. Plus it'll be nice to not have to install anything additional into the car that would clutter up the interior, no matter how small, especially since I'm leasing.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by tex2670

How does your dash cam show you didn't litter? Can it record the sides of your car?

yes... one of the cameras records the cabin view. When I was pulled over, I completely forgot that it recorded the interior. Put the video on my laptop and took it to traffic court 3 weeks later. The 2-minute video clearly showed that I didn't even have my windows open. It did show that I rolled down the window when the officer came up to me. Ticket was thrown out in less than 30 seconds, with a "sorry for your troubles, sir".... $500 ticket for littering that I did NOT do! I should have been compensated for the 5 hours that I wasted by going to traffic court. It did make me wonder... what about people who were wrongfully accused of the same littering ticket? If they didn't have dashcams, how would they fight the unjust tickets?

I have this dashcam. https://www.amazon.com/REXING-Camera...dp/B084GFPX7W/

[kavatski]

Small note, but being able to close the hatch with the button on the remote is possible on the older F48 X1, but requires coding. Should be similar on the new one, I’m expecting, although it’s hard to know how long after the vehicle has been out that the coding will be available.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

Oh and all-wheel drive can be useful for sure. We do get a fair amount of rain here, plus shitty roads, lots of sand and gravel near the coastline, driving in dirt…..

yeah, I keep forgetting about those dirt roads. a long time ago, I was in Honolulu and rented a nice red convertible sports car. It was so long ago... can't remember if it was a Corvette or something like that. Anyway, I drove up to the north side of Oahu and got lost. Ended up driving on a dirty road that was covered with water after the rain. Then one of the rear wheels got stuck in a pothole. A couple of girls in a pickup truck rescued me by hooking me up with a tow strap.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by kavatski

Small note, but being able to close the hatch with the button on the remote is possible on the older F48 X1, but requires coding. Should be similar on the new one, I’m expecting, although it’s hard to know how long after the vehicle has been out that the coding will be available.

will definitely look into coding when available... must permanently get rid of the engine auto stop/start... I hated it when I was test driving the new X1 in really, really bad traffic on the way back to the dealership. Unless there is an engine auto stop/start disabler adapter like on my friend's Acura, which I helped him install.

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

will definitely look into coding when available... must permanently get rid of the engine auto stop/start... I hated it when I was test driving the new X1 in really, really bad traffic on the way back to the dealership. Unless there is an engine auto stop/start disabler adapter like on my friend's Acura, which I helped him install.

That's the one thing I really want to disable on the X1 if possible. I hated it with my f32, disabled it the week after I got it using the Carly app.

[harris06]

Does the digital key come standard with the base version or do we need to purchase a package for this ?

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

That's the one thing I really want to disable on the X1 if possible. I hated it with my f32, disabled it the week after I got it using the Carly app.

by the way, I just saw that X1 from BMW of Honolulu.... if you know the salesman who shot the video... please give him my compliments on a great video.(being sarcastic here) Unless something happened to gravity in Hawaii and everything is now at a 90-degree angle?

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by harris06

Does the digital key come standard with the base version or do we need to purchase a package for this ?

Digital Key as I understand it comes with either the Convenience Package or the Premium Package and is included with the Comfort Access feature. With the base model, I think you'll have to use the button on the fob to unlock the car, though I'm not sure how it works when you start the car. I wonder if it's like my old e92 where I had to insert the fob into a slot on the dash if you didn't have Comfort Access?

[harris06]

Okay. Thank you.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

Digital Key as I understand it comes with either the Convenience Package or the Premium Package and is included with the Comfort Access feature. With the base model, I think you'll have to use the button on the fob to unlock the car, though I'm not sure how it works when you start the car. I wonder if it's like my old e92 where I had to insert the fob into a slot on the dash if you didn't have Comfort Access?

It may be like our F3X -- Comfort Access was in certain packages. You needed CA to unlock the car by touch - but with or without CA, all F3X's had proximity key push button start.