Le Mans Blue M Sport

Picked her up Saturday. So far, so good, except that it didn't have the "standard" paddle shifters. Still waiting for resolution from BMW since the dealer refused to do squat, but so far I'm not impressed by how it's been handled. To my surprise, the window sticker shows fuel economy ratings at 22/33, which conflicts with what I've read previously about the xDrive models. The configuration is as follows:

Heated front seats
Satellite radio with 1 year subscription
Driver Assistance Package

Park Distance Control
Rear-view camera

Lighting Package

Automatic high beams
Adaptive light control
Xenon headlights
Ambiance lighting

M Sport Line

M steering wheel
M Sports leather steering wheel with paddle shifters (nope)
High-gloss Roof Rails
Performance Control
Increased top speed limiter
Sport suspension
Aerodynamic kit
Anthracite headliner
Sport seats
Shadowline exterior trim

Ultimate Package

Technology Package
Driver Assistance Package
Premium Package

Premium Package

Universal garage-door opener
Interior mirror with compass
Power front seats with driver seat memory
Auto-dimming interior and exterior mirrors
Comfort Access keyless entry
Panoramic moonroof
Lumbar support

Technology Package

Navigation system
Voice-command
BMW Assist with Bluetooth

I'm no photographer, but I snapped a few pics after a quick washing this afternoon. The pictures do not do the color justice. The Le Mans Blue is gorgeous, and it really pops in direct sunlight. Picking a color was difficult, but I think I made the right decision. I'm also very happy with the dark crosshatch aluminum trim. I wasn't crazy about the wheels from the pictures I saw, and while they will be a challenge to keep clean, they look really good in person. I had 3M film added to the front bumper and behind the rear wheels. I also had all the window rear of the B pillar tinted (35%). I will update when I get some miles on it. Oh, and golfers rejoice ... regardless of what you may have heard, a set of clubs does fit sideways in the rear of the cargo area.

Le Mans blue looks awesome! The one thing that I'd miss is not having a heated steering wheel. Please post more tint pics. Enjoy!

well keep us posted on how BMW handles the "standard" paddle shifters, since myself and a few others are in the same boat. my dealer suggested negative feedback to BMW as a solution, meaning they are powerless.

Looks awesome! So far my favorite M Sport I have seen on this site.

Congratulations! The color looks amazing. My build was similar except I did the coral red interior (yikes). I can't wait until it arrives next month. The fuel economy website says 22/33 for the xDrive28i and from other driver experience seems to confirm that you can achieve them.

Originally Posted by stary

well keep us posted on how BMW handles the "standard" paddle shifters, since myself and a few others are in the same boat. my dealer suggested negative feedback to BMW as a solution, meaning they are powerless.

Well, we're not off to a good start. I was assured I would hear from BMW via my CA yesterday. No such luck!

Originally Posted by BlueCZ

Looks awesome! So far my favorite M Sport I have seen on this site.

Thanks for the kind words. Needless to say I'm very happy with the trim and color combo.

Originally Posted by Wolfex

Congratulations! The color looks amazing. My build was similar except I did the coral red interior (yikes). I can't wait until it arrives next month. The fuel economy website says 22/33 for the xDrive28i and from other driver experience seems to confirm that you can achieve them.

I had actually committed to the Coral Red interior before picking an exterior color. I considered Mineral Gray, Mineral White, Alpine White and Le Mans Blue. My original "final" decision was Mineral Gray over the Coral Red, but then I saw some interior photos of the red that scared me. It looked bright, like day-glo bright. I was pretty sure they were bad photos, but I chickened out anyway. I still think the Mineral Gray/Coral Red combo would look fantastic, but I have no regrets on my decision.

Most early test drives indicated hwy economy would be in the 30 mpg range, which is why I was so surprised. On a nearly 400 mile trip yesterday, the on-board computer showed 27.3 mpg. Most of the miles were highway at 78 mph, but there was a fair amount of stop-and-go in-town driving mixed in over lunch hour.

How does it ride with the sport suspension?

Originally Posted by Wolfex

How does it ride with the sport suspension?

our M-sport s28 rides great! not to hard, but corners like on rails... that's with 18" rims

Originally Posted by Wolfex

How does it ride with the sport suspension?

I included the following trip comments on my Bimmperost thread:

Road trip 9/17/12: I drove to the Chicago area today and logged nearly 400 miles behind the wheel. The ride is Euro firm - a little more so than our Q5, but it wasn't unbearable. The ride on asphalt was very comfortable, even when the road was less than perfect. The car did pitch over expansion joints, so a long trip on a concrete highway might drive me insane. Hopefully the runflats are a contributing factor and switching to conventional tires down the road will improve things.

Cabin noise was minimal with very little tire roar. There is a little wind noise around the driver's side mirror, but again, nothing terrible. The M Sport's seats are very comfortable. Larger bodies might feel pinched by the aggressive bolsters, but I found the seat to be supportive and all-day comfortable. I didn't calculate the fuel economy, but the car's computer shows I averaged 27.3 mpg. I did some in-town driving and most of the highway time was between 75 and 80 mph, so that's not too bad. The car was in Eco Pro mode for most of the trip, and I allowed the Auto Start to function normally. Hopefully it will improve as the engine loosens up.

The biggest surprise by far to come out of this road trip is confirmation that the speedometer reads 4 to 5 mph too high! No exaggeration. Driving home from the dealership Saturday, my wife road my ass for about 10 miles before blowing by me impatiently. At home I endured comments like "old man", "slow poke", and "yes it's a new car but you're not going to break it"! She asked why I was driving the speed limit (70), which I never do. I explained that the cruise was set at 75 when she passed me. She insisted she was going 70 or just above. I thought she was BS'ing me. But not yet comfortable with the BMW's navigation system, I took my Nuvi portable GPS on my trip today. The Nuvi shows real time speed, and it consistently read 4 or 5 mph below the speedometer reading. Obviously I'll take it up with my dealer's service manager, but of all things to have a problem with... the speedometer? In 2012?!?! [Update 9/19/12 - dealer notified me today that 5 mph is totally normal for a BMW, and I'm not to worry about it. Sadly, other BMW owners have recently told me they have similarly inaccurate speedometers, and there is no fix. Apparently, it's done intentionally to comply with German law forbidding speedometers from reading too low?]

That's my initial impression. I would also like to add that it appears as if the thick door sills combined with lower seat height is going to be a problem. My wife can't enter or exit without dragging her pant legs on the rocker panel, and I can only do it if I'm extremely careful. It should be an interesting winter, as I will undoubtedly tire quickly of having soiled pants when meeting with clients. Finally, I still have not heard back from BMW regarding the shift paddles, although I was told I would hear by end of day Monday.

Originally Posted by HotRodW

I included the following trip comments on my Bimmperost thread:

Road trip 9/17/12: I drove to the Chicago area today and logged nearly 400 miles behind the wheel. The ride is Euro firm - a little more so than our Q5, but it wasn't unbearable. The ride on asphalt was very comfortable, even when the road was less than perfect. The car did pitch over expansion joints, so a long trip on a concrete highway might drive me insane. Hopefully the runflats are a contributing factor and switching to conventional tires down the road will improve things....

Just wondering if you have an updated impression on the X1 M Sport ride quality. I'm on the edge of ordering the xDrive35i M Sport Line with 19" wheels and have some reservations.

I've been able to test with the 18's and 19's at various dealers, but not both wheel/tire combos on the same route as I haven't found any dealers that have cars with both the 18's and 19's in inventory.

We've got some choppy concrete freeways here and plenty of areas where the roads have been patched poorly.

I'll probably go out for one more test drive with the 19's on some particularly choppy sections I identified after leaving the dealer yesterday.

Thanks,

Lee

Originally Posted by JetLee

Just wondering if you have an updated impression on the X1 M Sport ride quality. I'm on the edge of ordering the xDrive35i M Sport Line with 19" wheels and have some reservations.

I've been able to test with the 18's and 19's at various dealers, but not both wheel/tire combos on the same route as I haven't found any dealers that have cars with both the 18's and 19's in inventory.

We've got some choppy concrete freeways here and plenty of areas where the roads have been patched poorly.

I'll probably go out for one more test drive with the 19's on some particularly choppy sections I identified after leaving the dealer yesterday.

Thanks,

Lee

The ride is acceptable on the 18" wheels. I find it firm, but rarely jarring - the exception being expansion joints, which at 80 mph can feel like you're driving over wire cables. I suspect the runflat tires are a contributing factor. I'll know more when I mount the non-rft winter tires in a few weeks.

The ride is not as smooth as my Forester's, but the seats are more supportive making it more comfortable for long stints behind the wheel. I have not driven the car with the 19's, so I cannot comment on the ride with that setup. I do recommend you look at the available replacement tires before committing to the 19" wheels, however. As I've commented elsewhere, there are only a few tire models available for the staggered 19" fitment, all are summer-only rated, and none are cheap.

Originally Posted by HotRodW

The biggest surprise by far to come out of this road trip is confirmation that the speedometer reads 4 to 5 mph too high! No exaggeration. Driving home from the dealership Saturday, my wife road my ass for about 10 miles before blowing by me impatiently. At home I endured comments like "old man", "slow poke", and "yes it's a new car but you're not going to break it"! She asked why I was driving the speed limit (70), which I never do. I explained that the cruise was set at 75 when she passed me. She insisted she was going 70 or just above. I thought she was BS'ing me. But not yet comfortable with the BMW's navigation system, I took my Nuvi portable GPS on my trip today. The Nuvi shows real time speed, and it consistently read 4 or 5 mph below the speedometer reading..

My Audi does the same thing. Every time I pass one of those radar speed signs I notice that the reading is about 5 mph lower than my speedometer reading.

Originally Posted by Wolfex

My Audi does the same thing. Every time I pass one of those radar speed signs I notice that the reading is about 5 mph lower than my speedometer reading.

My 2001 Honda CRV reads about 3mph too high. If my incoming X1 does that at least I'll be used to it. But I was kind of looking forward to an accurate speedo.

Great looking car! I saw one in Berlin two summers ago and loved it right away. If it came to the US with a manual transmission, I'd have one on order already. We'll just have to wait and see... The new Audi A3 is looking great as a fall-back option. We'll see if they bring Manual+Quattro to The States.

-James
San Francisco, CA
2006 BMW X3 3.0i (m-sport, manual, xenons, premium pkg, premium stereo, park distance control)

Originally Posted by iamthewalrus

Great looking car! I saw one in Berlin two summers ago and loved it right away. If it came to the US with a manual transmission, I'd have one on order already. We'll just have to wait and see... The new Audi A3 is looking great as a fall-back option. We'll see if they bring Manual+Quattro to The States.

-James
San Francisco, CA
2006 BMW X3 3.0i (m-sport, manual, xenons, premium pkg, premium stereo, park distance control)

The new A3 looks promising, but I'm pretty pissed they don't plan to bring the Sportback here - at least not initially. After driving wagons, hatches and crossovers for the last 12 years, I simply can't go back to a sedan.

Originally Posted by HotRodW

The new A3 looks promising, but I'm pretty pissed they don't plan to bring the Sportback here - at least not initially. After driving wagons, hatches and crossovers for the last 12 years, I simply can't go back to a sedan.

Are the new A3's available at dealers already? I looked at them before but the back seats feel cramped and my head would actually hit the ceiling.

Love your color combination.

Originally Posted by 2013x1

Love your color combination.

Thanks! I snapped a few additional pics last weekend in direct sunlight. It's amazing how much the color varies under different lighting conditions. The color actually looks best under the garage CFL's. BMW does a nice job with their metallics.

The pics look amazing. Can't wait to pick up mine in 3 weeks. It should be hitting the Panama Canal on Thursday.

Originally Posted by HotRodW

I'm no photographer, but I snapped a few pics after a quick washing this afternoon. The pictures do not do the color justice. The Le Mans Blue is gorgeous, and it really pops in direct sunlight. Picking a color was difficult, but I think I made the right decision. I'm also very happy with the dark crosshatch aluminum trim. I wasn't crazy about the wheels from the pictures I saw, and while they will be a challenge to keep clean, they look really good in person. I had 3M film added to the front bumper and behind the rear wheels. I also had all the window rear of the B pillar tinted (35%). I will update when I get some miles on it. Oh, and golfers rejoice ... regardless of what you may have heard, a set of clubs does fit sideways in the rear of the cargo area.

Car looks good and really makes me want to reconsider the M sport!

A few dumb questions... did BMW add the 3M film to your car? Why just the front bumper (and not front part of the hood as well)?

Is it possible to take some pictures (or link an illustration) on what parts of the bumper and rear wheel area the film covers?

Originally Posted by faustas

Car looks good and really makes me want to reconsider the M sport!

A few dumb questions... did BMW add the 3M film to your car? Why just the front bumper (and not front part of the hood as well)?

Is it possible to take some pictures (or link an illustration) on what parts of the bumper and rear wheel area the film covers?

I had the film installed by a specialty shop that does a lot of work for my BMW dealership. I really dislike the film edges, that's why I kept the film contained to the front bumper and rear mudflap area. Since the X1's hood is nearly horizontal with very little frontal area wrapping down into the bumper, I thought it would be OK to just wrap the bumper only. I will likely get a few chips on the hood, but to me it looks better without the partial film. Time will tell if I screwed up. The film covers virtually the entire bumper all the way to the panel gaps, and the area behind the rear tire up to the quarter panel seem and rearward to the black painted diffuser. Maybe if I get the right lighting I'll be able to snap a picture or two for you.

3M film behind rear wheels. It shows surprisingly well in the photo, but it's very difficult to see.

Originally Posted by HotRodW

3M film behind rear wheels. It shows surprisingly well in the photo, but it's very difficult to see.

Thanks!

Very nice! What tires does it come with? All season or summer performance? Is it a staggered setup? Thanks.

Speaking of tires. If you replace the run flats with regular tires, do you also get a spare tire? and where does the spare go?