[Dave_c85]

Hello all,

I've just placed an order for an eDrive40 M-sport (company car scheme) and have decided to go for the M PerformTex seats. I was originally going to go with Cognac Sensatec (exterior is Portimao blue) but worried it would be a bit much and that the black sensatec is a bit dark and plain (I like the two tone of the cloth seats). Real leather wasn't an option as I prioritised other things (pro pack, H/K sound being the main options).

I really liked the look of the cloth seats but am now second guessing my decision as nobody seems to spec them. Anyone on here spec them and do you regret not going sensatec?

I spent months deliberating on this car and now I've pressed go I'm second guessing myself!

Haven't had a lead time confirmation yet - anyone take delivery recently of an LCI? What was the lead time (I'm UK based)?

Thanks
Dave

[ND_697]

I ordered an e35 on 21st January - delivery was scheduled for mid-March, but it actually arrived at the dealer yesterday! I'm collecting it next week, but will pop in to them on Monday to see how it looks.

The car is Fire Red, and I actually decided I didn't want cloth seats - a friend has a pre-LCI i4, and I like the half sensatec/half alcantara seats so was disappointed they'd stopped doing them - I felt all-cloth was a step down (and not want I wanted in a £50K car), so chose Sensatec instead. I like the Cognac, but with red paintwork it might look a bit garish, so have gone with the black Sensatec instead.

Unless the order has been locked into the production system already (which is unlikely, but the dealer can tell you) then you can still change any of the options on the order.

If you get the order number from the dealer, then you can pester the BMW online help chat for a status update, as to what stage of the build it's at.

[Dave_c85]

Thanks for the reply and congrats on the new car. Are you UK based too? That's pretty quick delivery if so. Fire Red is a really nice colour, I was close to ordering that but went for Portimao instead.

My order isn't locked in yet so I can change it if I want to. I really like the cloth but yeah, worried it might look a bit poverty spec on such an expensive vehicle. I saw a few for sale online at dealers with the cloth seats and they do look good but wondering if I should change to black Sensatec (I have two 3 year olds and the Sensatec might survive better with them too).

[ND_697]

Yep, I'm over in Northern Ireland.

I had a Z4 with leather seats which I loved, so the thought of getting another BMW without them seemed wrong, and I (personally) think they're a bit cheap-looking when compared to the rest of the interior (although others may love them).

Given you'll be sitting on them every time you're in the car, you want to make sure the seats are ones you're really happy with (not trying to sway your decision). I had a Z3 years ago before the Z4, and had specced the basic wheels on it - it bugged me every time I saw the car, so ended up buying some nicer BMW wheels for it just for my own sanity!

I know Sensatec isn't real leather, but:

(a) I'm too cheap to pay extra for leather (plus the car's dear enough as it is).
(b) "pretend" leather has come a long way from the vinyl/leatherette stuff which cars used to come with.

I forgot to say Portimao is a lovely colour as well - it was a toss-up between the two colours, but we've got 2 blue cars in the family at the minute, so wanted a change!

[Dave_c85]

Ah NI, I'm from NI (Belfast) but live in England now.

I know what you mean about them being cheap looking, that's what's making me think I've made the wrong choice. I'll mull it over this weekend but pretty sure I'm going to switch to black Sensatec.

That's a really fast delivery. Did you track that right from manufacturing launch or did there happen to be one already built that matched your spec, hence why it was so quick?

If you don't mind I'd appreciate you letting me know your impressions when you go see it tomorrow, might take a trip to my local dealer to see if they have any, last time I was there they only had an M50 which had completely different seats (think they were m sport seats?).

[ND_697]

It's a small world - I'm from Belfast, now living in Newtownabbey. It was a brand new order which I wanted registered before April (to avoid the Luxury Car Tax), and the dealer still had a slot for delivery in March. I was surprised it arrived so quickly, which meant I was still getting quotes for a charger when I heard it was going to be early. I'm getting a Hypervolt charger installed next week, which is why I'm waiting until Friday to collect the car.

I tracked the build every few days via the BMW online chat, there's a good list of the various status codes at

https://www.******.com/threads/status-codes-uk.2572/

Edit: This site doesn't like the above link as it references another i4 forum

Replace the ****** with "i4 talk" (but without the space!) and it should work ok.

The dealer had a Fire Red i4 e40 with the cloth seats in their showroom, and (to me) they looked out of place in it - they showed us Sensatec seats in some other (non-i4) cars they had, and that made up our minds to go for Sensatec.

It'll be Monday when I (hopefully) get to see the car in the dealer's compound, and will take some photos of it & post them here.

[jav]

I'm based out of Spain, and I hate grilling myself in summer with Sensatec/Leather so I've got a Fire Red M50 with M PerformTex seats a few weeks back. I love it.

[ND_697]

That's a lovely car jav - it really shines in the sunlight. I understand your point about Sensatec in a hot climate, in which case cloth is probably a better choice. We don't have the same temperatures in Northern Ireland as Spain, unfortunately - my brother was in Spain last week and it was 16 degrees, while it was only 6 degrees here

[Dave_c85]

Originally Posted by jav

I'm based out of Spain, and I hate grilling myself in summer with Sensatec/Leather so I've got a Fire Red M50 with M PerformTex seats a few weeks back. I love it.

Nice car dude, congrats. See I do like those seats they look great. I've just been cleaning my current car (3 series) that has cloth seats and with young kids they still look dirty even after I've cleaned them, so that may sway me to Sensatec as they will hold up better to spillages, feet on chairs etc.

[Dave_c85]

Originally Posted by ND_697

It's a small world - I'm from Belfast, now living in Newtownabbey. It was a brand new order which I wanted registered before April (to avoid the Luxury Car Tax), and the dealer still had a slot for delivery in March. I was surprised it arrived so quickly, which meant I was still getting quotes for a charger when I heard it was going to be early. I'm getting a Hypervolt charger installed next week, which is why I'm waiting until Friday to collect the car.

I tracked the build every few days via the BMW online chat, there's a good list of the various status codes at

https://www.******.com/threads/status-codes-uk.2572/

Edit: This site doesn't like the above link as it references another i4 forum

Replace the ****** with "i4 talk" (but without the space!) and it should work ok.

The dealer had a Fire Red i4 e40 with the cloth seats in their showroom, and (to me) they looked out of place in it - they showed us Sensatec seats in some other (non-i4) cars they had, and that made up our minds to go for Sensatec.

It'll be Monday when I (hopefully) get to see the car in the dealer's compound, and will take some photos of it & post them here.

Cool, look forward to seeing them.

I'll hopefully find out soon what my likely delivery date is, maybe I'll be lucky and there will be an open slot, would be nice to have it for summer but not getting myself excited, I'm assuming august at this point.

[jav]

Originally Posted by Dave_c85

I've just been cleaning my current car (3 series) that has cloth seats and with young kids they still look dirty even after I've cleaned them, so that may sway me to Sensatec as they will hold up better to spillages, feet on chairs etc.

Thanks! I'm quite happy with my chosen config.

I agree, leather is a must when young kids are present. I've been able to keep cloth seats from my previous cars clean (no kids) but some care is always needed.

[Dave_c85]

Been to the dealership today and am 100% changing to Sensatec, think I'll go with black as I am worried Cognac might be a bit too in your face (they didn't have any cars with Cognac in them so I couldn't see what it's like in the flesh other than an upholstery sample).

Will be calling our car provider first thing tomorrow to change it. Felt and looked great!

[ND_697]

I think you've made the right choice (but I'm obviously biased) - cognac looks lovely in photos I've seen, but it would really depend on the car colour. Black is more traditional, so will definitely look good with Portimao Blue.

[thegrinchboy]

Had a couple of loaners with cognac. Not bold at all, IMO. More of a warm brown leather that you’d see on baseball gloves and couches.

That color was our 1st choice had it been on the cars available when we leased.

[Dave_c85]

Originally Posted by ND_697

I think you've made the right choice (but I'm obviously biased) - cognac looks lovely in photos I've seen, but it would really depend on the car colour. Black is more traditional, so will definitely look good with Portimao Blue.

Did you go see/collect the new motor today? I formally changed my order to black Sensatec this morning and the order is now submitted to BMW, should find out this week on lead time.

[Dave_c85]

Originally Posted by thegrinchboy

Had a couple of loaners with cognac. Not bold at all, IMO. More of a warm brown leather that you’d see on baseball gloves and couches.

That color was our 1st choice had it been on the cars available when we leased.

Ah now you are making me second guess again . If they didn't extend it to the lower dash I would be more tempted by it.

[ND_697]

I finally got to see the car late afternoon, about 10 mins before the garage closed. It was in the workshop having the PDI done, so it was filthy and the driver's seat was covered to protect it.

I got a few photos, only really one of which shows the black passenger seat - I'm really pleased with the car (and the seats!), and can't wait to collect it on Friday.

I'm not going to get drawn into the black vs. cognac debate, otherwise I might start to wonder if cognac would be better - although at this moment, I'm really pleased with red paint and black seats. I'd also ordered the sun protection glass, which goes well with the red.

[Dave_c85]

Originally Posted by ND_697

I finally got to see the car late afternoon, about 10 mins before the garage closed. It was in the workshop having the PDI done, so it was filthy and the driver's seat was covered to protect it.

I got a few photos, only really one of which shows the black passenger seat - I'm really pleased with the car (and the seats!), and can't wait to collect it on Friday.

I'm not going to get drawn into the black vs. cognac debate, otherwise I might start to wonder if cognac would be better - although at this moment, I'm really pleased with red paint and black seats. I'd also ordered the sun protection glass, which goes well with the red.

Very nice mate, congrats - can't believe how filthy it is, assume that's just from transportation from the port to the dealership?

It's so hard speccing up a car, and this is the first new car I've ever ordered, so I've been agonising over the details but think I'm happy now with the spec I've ordered. Hoping I get a good allocation and am not waiting too long before taking delivery (if I'd have been on the ball I'd have ordered a couple of months ago and maybe got it before the luxury car tax for EVs kicks in in April and saved some on the monthly payment!!)

[ND_697]

I'm collecting my car tomorrow, but the dealer sent me these photos today of the car now that it's clean - I may as well upload these photos, as I doubt I'll ever have the car this clean again

Apart from the clean paintwork, they show off the seats, which after all is the whole point of this thread!

[Dave_c85]

Originally Posted by ND_697

I'm collecting my car tomorrow, but the dealer sent me these photos today of the car now that it's clean - I may as well upload these photos, as I doubt I'll ever have the car this clean again

Apart from the clean paintwork, they show off the seats, which after all is the whole point of this thread!

That looks stunning, love the colour and thanks for the pictures of the seats, the look really nice, I'm glad I made the switch. It's cool to see a Portimao Z4 in the background as they are the two colours I was choosing between. I'd have been just as happy with either but I've gone for the pro pack with red calipers which will tie in nicer with the blue I think.

I've had an estimated delivery of May, which is much sooner than I was expecting. Hoping for early May but not going to get too excited for that!

To track the order am I right in saying you just do it via the live chat and give them your order number (mine is just a 7 digit number, does that sound right?)? Tempted to do it now but really should wait for a week or two!

[ND_697]

Thanks! We collected the car today, are are both really happy with it - I might have trouble making sure my wife doesn't drive it all the time The seats are really comfy (I specced electric/memory seats, plus lumbar support for extra support on any long journeys). I've tested my new charger, and everything's grand - I just need about a week to configure all the options and screens the way I want them, like each time you get a new phone.

The Portimao Z4 looked really good in the showroom - I would normally prefer red calipers, but with the red paint I decided to go with the blue for a contrast, and think they work well; the red calipers will look great on your blue car.

The order number is the 7 digit number, and the live chat will be able to give you the status code from it; they might ask you some confirmation details, e.g. what colour is the car, but I assume that's just to make sure it's really your order. I ended up pestering them every few days to track the progress - they're helpful, but expect to get a lot of comments from them like "that's a lovely colour, you must be so pleased" - I'm still not sure if it's a bot or real people answering!

[Dave_c85]

I agree, if I went red I would have kept the blue calipers too for contrast. I didn't go with electric memory seats as my other half will hardly drive it so we won't have to be adjusting the seat all if the time (although she did get all giddy when we went to see one the other day so we'll see) but I did go for lumbar support.

I might ask the chat today to see what they can tell me, I'll feel less guilty checking all the time if it's a bot.

Thanks for the photos etc and helping me convince myself to change to Sensatec. Enjoy the new motor, it's ace!