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      05-23-2022, 01:37 AM   #1
mcl
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Random thoughts after almost two months with my iX

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Reserved in November (Monroney sticker attached for reference), picked up on April 7th, dealer said it was the second one they'd sold at that point. Have driven two long trips, one ~200 miles round trip and the other ~350 miles round trip. Other than that, a few trips a week to the office and back (very short drive, ~2 miles round trip). Some initial thoughts about the car:
  1. Storage space is not great, but functional and decent. Was able to pack for a weeklong camping-type trip for a family of four (bringing a bunch of our own food, wine, liquor, and a week's worth of clothes). Filled up the entire car and had a couple small things under the kids' feet in the backseat, but very doable, and not bad considering the amount of stuff you have to pack for a three-year-old!
  2. Range is better than advertised. Regularly getting almost 3.5 mi/kWh using Assisted Driving set at ~75-80 MPH.
  3. Voice assistant is very hit or miss. Sometimes natural language works great and she understand what I'm saying first try, other times can try four or five times and she still can't take me to the right menu setting. Also some frustrating moments even when she does understand me: asked her to turn on my seat heater and she told me my seat heater was already set to level zero ... which, apparently, is off.
  4. Annoying that iDrive8 does not allow the passenger to operate portions of the controls when the car is in motion (e.x. typing a nav location). Seems like if the car detects there is a passenger seated, it should override those driver safety lockouts and assume it's the passenger operating the system.
  5. Assisted Driving works better than Autopilot on my in-laws Model 3. Fewer "failures", disengagements, or unexpected surprises (e.x. it thinks it knows what it's doing but it's actually driving me onto the freeway shoulder).
  6. I suggest tinting the front windows right away. Huge difference IMO with the car's looks when the front windows actually match the factory-tinted back windows.
  7. I very much dislike the auto hold functionality (and by this I mean the one that's operated by the AUTO.H button. It's also, in my mind, unintuitive as when AUTO.H is turned off, the car still has the traditional hill hold, which is not what I would have expected. AUTO.H just seems enable parking brake-like engagement whenever the car is stopped, which can lead to jarring starts, especially at low maneuvering speeds.
  8. Rear wheel steering is fantastic, the car's turning radius surprises everyone who drives it!
  9. Small annoyances at features that seem to be missing. The manual suggests there should be a small toolkit in the trunk, but there is not. Perhaps this is only available in non-US cars, but my M3 used to have one and it was very handy. Also, the feature where your car can roll down its windows when you get to a specific GPS location seems to be missing.
  10. Another things that's probably just annoying to me is that I can't create a local driver profile, I'm forced into the BMW ID system.
  11. The air vents for the backseat are located on the floor of the car and I'm worried about kids dropping toys/food/etc. down into it on accident.
  12. I really miss buttons for climate control. Although it technically is just one menu away on iDrive, it's still annoying. Plus, I got vented seats, which means that I can't fit all the options for driver and passenger into view at once and have to scroll. Grr.
  13. Digital Keys (Apple CarKey in our case) works flawlessly. Setup, however, was a PITA. It requires two keys at once, internet connectivity for the car, and Apple iMessage. Again, maybe not a problem for most people, but for my particular situation, it took almost an hour of futzing around before I got it done for me and my wife.

I'm sure there's more I haven't thought of, but this is a long post as it is. Happy to answer questions y'all have.
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      05-23-2022, 07:28 AM   #2
blake6551
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I agree with everything you mentioned. I actually like most of iDrive8 minus the climate stuff being on the screen, and they definitely need to improve the response. It's much slower than my wife's X5 with iDrive 7.

My range is matching yours, really incredible so far. And after having two Tesla's, I agree that the Driving Assistance features are superior on the BMW, they work well and consistently and you can overtake seamlessly from the computer.

I had DHP with rear wheel steering on my X5, this one is night and day better. I didn't notice the steering on my X5 being much better than my wife's without it, but this iX turns around corners, roundabouts etc like a forklift! It's really amazing, and it does not wander in the lane at high speeds like my X5 did!
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      05-23-2022, 01:44 PM   #3
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One of the features I like from my Tesla Model 3 is the ability to automatically switch between Drive and Reverse at low speeds (<3 MPH) without needing to come to a complete stop as on ICE cars. Does the iX support this too?

Since you use CarKey, I am guessing you have an iPhone. I was wondering if the iX shares battery state of charge with Apple Maps in CarPlay and lets Apple Maps route you to charging stations automatically. Otherwise, how is the experience with BMW Maps?
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      05-23-2022, 01:46 PM   #4
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I see you've optioned the 21" Dark Wheels. I have the same wheels optioned but when I see the YouTube videos of these wheels they some how look unfinished or off somehow. This is despite the fact that I have completely black wheels on my Model Y Performance and my X5 winter tiresetup is all black as well and I like the look. I'm thinking maybe I should reconsider and option the bi-color wheels that have the chrome strip around the outside of the wheel for extra contrast but am unsure. If you could go back and reconfigure the car, would you have kept the same dark wheels? Is the black glossy parts just plastic caps or is it high gloss metal that looks better in person? Thanks in advance.
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      05-23-2022, 07:54 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UltimateMoneyShifter View Post
One of the features I like from my Tesla Model 3 is the ability to automatically switch between Drive and Reverse at low speeds (<3 MPH) without needing to come to a complete stop as on ICE cars. Does the iX support this too?

Since you use CarKey, I am guessing you have an iPhone. I was wondering if the iX shares battery state of charge with Apple Maps in CarPlay and lets Apple Maps route you to charging stations automatically. Otherwise, how is the experience with BMW Maps?
Yes it switches just like the Tesla, while still rolling and its seamless!
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      05-23-2022, 08:54 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blake6551 View Post
Yes it switches just like the Tesla, while still rolling and its seamless!
My i3 works like this too, and it feels like such a small thing, but I think I'd probably be pretty annoyed these days if I had to come to come to a complete stop to switch between drive and reverse
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      05-23-2022, 08:57 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by npa201 View Post
I see you've optioned the 21" Dark Wheels. I have the same wheels optioned but when I see the YouTube videos of these wheels they some how look unfinished or off somehow. This is despite the fact that I have completely black wheels on my Model Y Performance and my X5 winter tiresetup is all black as well and I like the look. I'm thinking maybe I should reconsider and option the bi-color wheels that have the chrome strip around the outside of the wheel for extra contrast but am unsure. If you could go back and reconfigure the car, would you have kept the same dark wheels? Is the black glossy parts just plastic caps or is it high gloss metal that looks better in person? Thanks in advance.
A small part of it is glossy plastic (they're little triangle pieces) but the rest is metal. Looks are so subjective, but they look pretty good to me and if I were going 21" again, I'd keep them. I do think if I had to do it over, I'd probably go 22" as I think they look a bit better proportioned to the car.
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      05-23-2022, 09:13 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UltimateMoneyShifter View Post
I was wondering if the iX shares battery state of charge with Apple Maps in CarPlay and lets Apple Maps route you to charging stations automatically. Otherwise, how is the experience with BMW Maps?
Doesn't share SOC with Apple Maps as far as I can tell but I only took a cursory glance and I don't use Apple Maps regularly. My experience with BMW Maps is just OK. It takes SOC into account when setting a destination and will offer to add an additional stop at a charging station. However, there's no way, as far as I can tell, to pick which charging station you'd like to stop at, you just gotta take its recommendation or configure the routing manually on your own. Also annoying: I can hardly ever get Route Magnet to work. I'll drag the magnet but more times than not, the route it configures would take me to the magnet to just stupidly take me back to the origin before guiding me to the final destination

If anyone has tips on how to get Route Magnet to work better, I'm all ears!
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      05-24-2022, 08:27 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by npa201 View Post
I see you've optioned the 21" Dark Wheels. I have the same wheels optioned but when I see the YouTube videos of these wheels they some how look unfinished or off somehow. This is despite the fact that I have completely black wheels on my Model Y Performance and my X5 winter tiresetup is all black as well and I like the look. I'm thinking maybe I should reconsider and option the bi-color wheels that have the chrome strip around the outside of the wheel for extra contrast but am unsure. If you could go back and reconfigure the car, would you have kept the same dark wheels? Is the black glossy parts just plastic caps or is it high gloss metal that looks better in person? Thanks in advance.
I got the 21s as well and don't like them, they look too small on the car and the wheel face only looks good from a distance. I'm optioning 22s on my M60. There are also a lot more tire options for the 22, including a bunch of all season options.
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      05-24-2022, 08:42 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcl View Post
I'm sure there's more I haven't thought of, but this is a long post as it is. Happy to answer questions y'all have.
Hopefully your dealership either explained how the auto program works for climate control (as it is different than previous BMWs) or you have read through the manual and understand how it is supposed to be used. i.e. if in auto, setting the heated seat setting to medium does not equate to actually turning the heated seat on and on the medium setting.

Do you use the auto climate program or are you constantly overriding it with manual settings?

If you are using the auto program, do you find it does a decent job?

Thanks!
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      05-24-2022, 08:50 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blake6551 View Post
I got the 21s as well and don't like them, they look too small on the car and the wheel face only looks good from a distance. I'm optioning 22s on my M60. There are also a lot more tire options for the 22, including a bunch of all season options.
There are all season options from the OEM? When I go to the builder in the US, the 22" options are all performance non-run flat. So if similar to my X5 that has performance non-run flats these are indeed summer tires that shouldn't work well under 40 degrees and then requires getting a second set of winter tires for me which cost another $3200, i need to store them in my garage and then get a service technician to come out 2x a year to swap them (or I need to get a jack and spend the time). Where are you seeing the all season option?
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      05-24-2022, 09:26 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by npa201 View Post
There are all season options from the OEM? When I go to the builder in the US, the 22" options are all performance non-run flat. So if similar to my X5 that has performance non-run flats these are indeed summer tires that shouldn't work well under 40 degrees and then requires getting a second set of winter tires for me which cost another $3200, i need to store them in my garage and then get a service technician to come out 2x a year to swap them (or I need to get a jack and spend the time). Where are you seeing the all season option?
On Tire Rack etc, 275/40-22 is an extremely popular tire size, much more so than the 255/50-21.
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      05-24-2022, 10:43 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blake6551 View Post
On Tire Rack etc, 275/40-22 is an extremely popular tire size, much more so than the 255/50-21.
Thats my plan as well. I optioned the 22" because of added range on the 50 as well as looks. I was planning on having all seasons added for winter because I have big shifts in temp in the Northeast and think it's the best option from September to April. After the summers wear out, I will just run all season's full time.
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      05-24-2022, 12:04 PM   #14
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Quote:
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Thats my plan as well. I optioned the 22" because of added range on the 50 as well as looks. I was planning on having all seasons added for winter because I have big shifts in temp in the Northeast and think it's the best option from September to April. After the summers wear out, I will just run all season's full time.
Yup, I don't want to be stuck with a very limited set of BMW specific 21" tires. Been down that road before, and if you get a flat in an area not near a dealer or their supply is backordered, you're screwed. And besides, the 22" look a lot better and still have plenty of sidewall compared to 22s on the G05 X5.
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      05-24-2022, 04:43 PM   #15
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Hi, Is there a camping mode in the car? I mean can the car keep ac on while idle or parked. I guess tesla has something like this.

Also, since 22’ tires are non run flat, I am planning to get AAA roadside assistance. Any suggestions regarding this?
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      05-24-2022, 04:57 PM   #16
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On the range, what would that equate to with similar mpg, ie how much per tank?
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      05-24-2022, 05:03 PM   #17
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On the range, what would that equate to with similar mpg, ie how much per tank?
My Monroney says 86/87, FWIW, if that was the question....
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      05-24-2022, 09:42 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ggalanis View Post
Hopefully your dealership either explained how the auto program works for climate control (as it is different than previous BMWs) or you have read through the manual and understand how it is supposed to be used. i.e. if in auto, setting the heated seat setting to medium does not equate to actually turning the heated seat on and on the medium setting.

Do you use the auto climate program or are you constantly overriding it with manual settings?

If you are using the auto program, do you find it does a decent job?

Thanks!
Huh, I didn't know about the auto program for climate control, though I have noticed some funny business with what it decides to do vs. not do in auto mode. Guess I gotta got back to the manual ...

That said, I usually set it in auto and leave it and it's worked for me for the most part, but I'm not really picky about it. My wife on the other hand tinkers with her climate control all the time and she's definitely complained about it not doing what she expects.
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      05-24-2022, 09:43 PM   #19
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Quote:
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Hi, Is there a camping mode in the car? I mean can the car keep ac on while idle or parked. I guess tesla has something like this.
It definitely *can* keep A/C on while idle/parked but it turns off after a while and you have to turn the car back on for it to start again. Not sure what Tesla's camping mode does though so can't compare.
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      05-25-2022, 07:57 AM   #20
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Can you comment on whether golf clubs will fit in the back?
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      05-26-2022, 02:48 AM   #21
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Can you comment on whether golf clubs will fit in the back?
I don't golf, so can't say for sure. Especially with the trunk cover off, my guess is that they'd fit. If you want to give me some dimensions, I'm happy to try and replicate and give you my best guess.
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      05-26-2022, 03:10 AM   #22
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Let's see that Blue Ridge Mountain colour
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