[HawkeyeGeoff]

I don't look like a peasant driving it to the grocery store.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by Wolfus Aurelius

This really isn't little; it's at the core of why I bought this car.

Yesterday afternoon coming back from Target during rush hour, I was on a six-lane N-S artery, speed limit 45, and that local rarity, smoothly paved. It was dry and sunny. Traffic past the local Walmart was heavy, so everyone was at 35. Just past the WM, though, I found myself in the right lane behind an MB GLK that -- with no one ahead, mind you -- was still pootling along at 35. A large white truck came up on my left, but then swung off to a branch road.

Left lane: clear. Ahead of GLK: clear.

So I clicked the turn signal, dived into the left lane, and . . . well, I didn't floor it, but I put my right foot down. In an eyeblink, it seemed, I was doing 55. The BMW swooped past the MB like a falcon in flight. A quick flick of the turn signal "right," leave plenty of space ahead of the MB, and zip, I was doing 45 and watching the soccer mom's MB dwindle in my mirror. All in perfect safety, too.

The delight lasted until I had to fit myself in line for a right turn at the major intersection's light a quarter mile ahead. Ah, who am I kidding? It lasted all evening. That surge of power when I wanted it, no fiddling or downshifting, just "Warp speed, Mr. Data!" --

-- that's why we love these cars, isn't it?

+1. And that in my experience extends to high speed passing as well.

[Wolfus Aurelius]

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

+1. And that in my experience extends to high speed passing as well.

I haven't done any open-road driving or high-speed passing yet with the gold beast; I'm waiting to get a clear bra installed. My front bumper is likely to collect chips and bugs if I do it before the film goes on. But I look forward to some open highway time next month or so. In the meantime I've been cruising swiftly on the Interstate and expressways, and just a hair over the speed limit (when traffic allows) on 35- and 45-mph arteries. Which was why this incident was such fun.

[Germanauto]

Feeling the road through the steering.

Whoops.

[tbdbitl]

Anyone else seen this feature?

BTW - this is something that was not mentioned when I took delivery and got the grand tour of my new car....

JWL

[tbdbitl]

Seems like my original submission got deleted by fat fingers....

How many of you have gone to DisneyWorld or DisneyLand, and ridden on the Star Tours ride? Maybe you saw it - but perhaps not - the Disney Cast ushers you onto the ride, and hidden in a corner of the ride is a display that tells the person ready to seal you into the ride the status of every seatbelt on the ride. When all indicate that they are fastened, the person steps off, closes the door, and you're off to Endor.

I had my new X3 for several days before I noticed a small, somewhat inconspicuous red light in the center of the dashboard that looks like 3 human bodies. At first I couldn't figure out what it was for - the engine ran fine, etc,, and there were no diagnostic messages, so I wasn't too alarmed. The red light wasn't very threatening.... Then my wife got in the back seat one day while someone else rode shotgun, and when she buckled her seatbelt, the portion of the light that corresponded to her seating position changed to green! Safe to leave for Endor - all seatbelts in the second row that should be fastened were!

A neat feature that also will indicate if someone is playing with their seatbelt as well. I now wonder if there is a light to indicate that their are Ewoks in the cargo area?

JWL

[jimbobiggens]

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the HUD. I love that thing.

[Wolfus Aurelius]

Originally Posted by jimbobiggens

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the HUD. I love that thing.

I really liked the one I had in the '03 Park Avenue. It was like a little green ghost riding out ahead of me at night. I wish the 328i had it.

[flavius]

Originally Posted by jimbobiggens

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the HUD. I love that thing.

The other day I was using the navigation system for the first time at night - the arrows and pictures in the hud turned orange.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by dbldare

I totally forgot about this feature, thanks for reminding me. Yes, I've used this in my 4.8i, but not the M yet. Same cabin so I assume it'll be the same. I usually open the vent on the sun roof when I turn on the auto climate feature. BTW speaking of the sunroof/vent, when your sunroof is completely closed, press the open/close slider (press on it, don't push forward or backward) and it will open the dual vents and crack the sun shade.

mecheng77 - I think you can pretty much "drop the mic" now.... Nice!

dbl

Originally Posted by dbldare

I totally forgot about this feature, thanks for reminding me. Yes, I've used this in my 4.8i, but not the M yet. Same cabin so I assume it'll be the same. I usually open the vent on the sun roof when I turn on the auto climate feature. BTW speaking of the sunroof/vent, when your sunroof is completely closed, press the open/close slider (press on it, don't push forward or backward) and it will open the dual vents and crack the sun shade.

mecheng77 - I think you can pretty much "drop the mic" now.... Nice!

dbl

Haha the mic drop comment made me laugh.

I almost forgot, the automatic heated mirrors. The cars I've seen that have heated mirrors have a button, on E90s they are auto heated based on outside temps

[tbdbitl]

Originally Posted by jimbobiggens

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the HUD. I love that thing.

HUD ought to be Standard Equipment. I've had 3 Bimmers now (2013 328i, 2016 428i, and 2019 X3) with HUD. When I got the 428, I thought I would be annoyed with the addition of the Speed limit posting, but that is good, too. When I was shopping for the X3, it seemed as though most of the ones I saw had the option too, since it is now part of the Premium package.

A deal breaker if it isn't there now.

JWL

[jimbobiggens]

Originally Posted by tbdbitl

HUD ought to be Standard Equipment. I've had 3 Bimmers now (2013 328i, 2016 428i, and 2019 X3) with HUD. When I got the 428, I thought I would be annoyed with the addition of the Speed limit posting, but that is good, too. When I was shopping for the X3, it seemed as though most of the ones I saw had the option too, since it is now part of the Premium package.

A deal breaker if it isn't there now.

JWL

I love my Lightning, but when I drive it now, I'm wishing I could retrofit a HUD into the dash somehow. I agree, that ought to be standard equipment on every car, like disc brakes.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by jimbobiggens

I love my Lightning, but when I drive it now, I'm wishing I could retrofit a HUD into the dash somehow. I agree, that ought to be standard equipment on every car, like disc brakes.

For me...it is standard. I won't buy another car without a HUD.

[Ickdeep]

Umm a little things eh

- HUD is definitely awesome
- I like not having to get my key out to start the car & un/lock the door
- Ability to open trunk with my foot (comfort access)
- Heated Steering Wheel

[SConn]

Originally Posted by HawkeyeGeoff

I don't look like a peasant driving it to the grocery store.

This made me laugh...

[xQx]

One thing I left off before:

• Comfort Access

It's almost as convenient as the system in my first car: Never locking the doors and having the key-start replaced with a 'on-off switch' and a starter button.

But yeah, I wouldn't own a modern car without it.

Originally Posted by HawkeyeGeoff

I don't look like a peasant driving it to the grocery store.

And on that note:

• I never feel bad when I forget to indicate
• People _expect_ my assertive driving
• Driving with the confidence that others will actively try to prevent you from getting in front of them, but having the power-on-tap to do so

[foodoe121]

Originally Posted by NickyC

The whole damned car.

Agreed!

[Wolfus Aurelius]

The solidity and confident ride of my car in the rain. I'm certainly not going to drive fast or do any fancy maneuvers while the streets are slick or while my visibility is poor from sheets of gray rain. But even at low speed the car rides well, like a cruise ship on a stormy sea.

Cruise ship? Sound insulting? Ah, but remember that the big famous cruise ships of the 1940s, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary, started as troop ships, and were so astonishingly fast they could outrun the German U-Boats that lay in wait to torpedo slower ships.

[Wolfus Aurelius]

Astonishing gas mileage. A hair over 25 mpg this past 12 days, down from a high of 27, but then I've gotten stuck in some traffic over the last week (God, I hate this city) and have been running the A/C (God, I hate this climate).

This morning I turned on the trip computer. Though I was doing 60 on the bridge and expressway, it reported consumption at 27. So I switched into EcoPro mode and stayed with it until I got off the expressway . . . and the number crept up to 28. I can't wait to take this beast on a long highway trip and cruise at 65-75 with EcoPro on!

[SteveinArizona]

Yesterday I pulled up to the "bag drop" at a golf course to pick up my clubs after playing. I hit the button to open the trunk and noticed, for the first time, that a picture of my car (right color and everything) with its trunk open popped up on my HUD. Either it is new or I never noticed it before.

[Savageenterprise]

There's lots of things to love, probably why I got the car....But I love the sports seats in my 340. They're so supportive, comfortable and keep my back in good posture while driving. The heating steering wheel is pretty nice too in winter, never had that in a car before this one and don't know if I can go back now.

[ntg44]

- Manual transmission. Kind of a big thing tbh, but it was the deciding feature to buy the car vs. keep my old car.

- Simple HVAC/Audio controls, with physical buttons, just like the good ol' days.

- Storage pocket near steering wheel that fits glasses with case

- Cloth seats with heat. So cozy.

- The fact that auto start/stop setting is remembered after turning the car off and on again, rather than needing to remember to press the button every damn time I hit my first red light on a new trip. Also applies to HVAC and audio memory settings.