Picked mine up yesterday! (Pics added)

mbarrett635 · #1 03-27-2014, 03:19 PM

I ordered my 35d in late February, and picked it up yesterday afternoon. Mineral Silver with Ivory White Nappa interior and Poplar Wood trim, equipped with:

Cold Weather Package
Driver Assistance Package
Driver Assistance Package
Driver Assistance Plus
Dynamic Handling Package
Lighting Package
Premium Package
Ivory White Interior Design Package
Rear manual side window shades
4-zone automatic climate control
Bang & Olufsen Sound System

My admittedly brief but initial observations echo some of those I've read here from others -- very smooth, quiet ride compared to my old E70 diesel. My wife thinks the new ride is lower than the old, and therefore easier to get in and out of. I'm not so sure (but I'm not going to argue the point with her ). The B&O stereo is great!

A couple of things I don't like, but will likely get used to:

1. Steering wheel isn't as meaty as the one on the old E70 (I didn't get any of the 'Lines', which would have come with a sportier wheel).
2. Heated steering wheel gets HOT! It's actually too hot to hold for long once it gets up to full temp; I used to leave my old one one all the time in cold weather.
3. The storage compartments (door panels, center console, rear console) are all smaller than the ones in my old E70. I have an escort radar detector that I used to store in the rear console, but it won't fit in the new one, and it takes up virtually all of the space in the glove box. The center console storage is shorter as well, but I don't think it's any deeper or wider.
4. A lot of the various controls, like those for the music, are different and not necessarily intuitive (but as I said, I'm sure I'll get used to them over time). I was able to import all my stored music from my old X5, but can't seem to find the list of titles without digging through multiple menus in the iDrive. Maybe I need to assign a button for this? These are all pretty nit-picky, I admit, and I'm not really complaining.

Even though the engine has less hp and torque than my E70 (and I had a Burger Motorsports JBD in that one, to boot), this engine feels peppier and the acceleration feels faster, at least in the Sport setting. Little things on the plus side -- I like that the rear storage compartment lid comes with the gas shock to keep it raised, that I had to buy separately for my E70. I like that the rails with adjustable hook points are back in the rear compartment (my 2010 had this, but the 2012 did not). I really like the look of the grey dash with the Ivory Nappa package (I'll post some pictures tonight).

There's no question, I'm happy I made the switch.