[northerncalguy]

Long time reader, wanted to poke in and say hi and share a few pics of the new baby on the driveway. I've owned a couple of BMWs prior, namely an E90 and a F32, both in 6MT and while I miss the shifting, I welcome all the new advancements in tech and fit and finish of the M50. Like many others, I pre-ordered and waited, and waited, and waited. Then, just like magic it was here and I can say emphatically that it was worth the wait.

For folks still in the queue, hang tight - when you get in the seat, be prepared for speeding tickets and some torque on that neck of yours!

Options:
A96, MANL, ZDY (5AR, 5AU), ZHO (3MF, 7M9), ZPK (5DN, ZX1, ZX2, ZX3), ZPP (248, 488, 494, 4UR), ZTK (33T, 3FW), 3MQ, 4MC, 5AZ, 688, 6DR, 6NX, 6PA, 6U3, 6UX, 71C

A few modest camera phone shots. Pics or it didn't happen, right?

Two week impressions:

1. All the reviews are true, it's torquey and that can make you sick to your stomach at times. Going to lay off the Sport Boost for a bit .
2. The fit and finish are superb, just like the other BMWs I've owned. The i4 is no exception. Quiet, no rattling, good balance of tactile materials and bling.
3. The carbon fiber is pretty good...as good as any reputable manufacturer. I have had several Ducatis with carbon fiber and the i4's interior and exterior carbon elements are just as pretty.
4. The 20"s are surprisingly a good ride. Not harsh IMO, just right.
5. iDrive 8 -- not sure about this one yet. The organization is all over the place. Don't get me wrong, it's many steps above what I had on my F32, but if you're expecting an Apple iOS level of software fit and finish, you're going to be disappointed. Here, I feel BMW have a long way to go in terms of UX, logical menu organization, etc.
6. 50yr emblems -- surprisingly, this looks great on the pearl white. I thought I would miss the blue ring, but I don't and knowing that this is a limited emblem makes it even more distinguished, IMO.

Overall, very satisfied but still adjusting to new tech, driving dynamics, and the charging routine. Over the past two weeks, between my solar based charging and EA, I have not spent a single dollar on powering this thing. Hope it continues through the fall!

Questions / comments welcome!

- northerncalguy of e90post & bimmerpost, and now i4talk

 

[Ultbruin]

Congrats! Beautiful car. Can't wait to get mine.

 

[Deftones]

Which tint did you get and what %?

 

[northerncalguy]

Which tint did you get and what %?

Xpel XR Prime Plus in 35% all around except the front.

 

[Deftones]

Xpel XR Prime Plus in 35% all around except the front.

Looks great! My order is almost identical but I skipped the carbon exterior. Now I am thinking about adding it. I need to stop checking this forum and adjusting my order, lol.

 

[northerncalguy]

Looks great! My order is almost identical but I skipped the carbon exterior. Now I am thinking about adding it. I need to stop checking this forum and adjusting my order, lol.

It's a splurge but if you're gonna do it anyway, might as well have it done at the factory. I'm now thinking about adding the front lip and rear diffuser (M Perf). They look beautiful in the photos but again, a splurge. The rear spoiler is perfect in size for my taste compared to the M Perf version.

 

[Anxious]

Beautiful car. I am not a fan of white cars but this one is gorgeous. Waiting on my Black Metallic sometime before Thanksgiving.

 

[Saltkjelen]

Looks great in white with the M868. Im so jealous on the amber side marker lights you have in NA. Wish we had them here in Europe.

 

[northerncalguy]

Looks great in white with the M868. Im so jealous on the amber side marker lights you have in NA. Wish we had them here in Europe.

Hahah, this is strange....when I was younger with my very first E90 it seemed everyone in America wanted to have clear markers instead of amber. To hear your interest in it makes me chuckle. I'm sure you can easily purchase them from a dealer here, if you really insist on it!

 

[Saltkjelen]

Haha, yes, its a strange thing. But i love the amber side marker lights at my F11 M550d with LED headlights. Sadly, its too expensive for those two lights. But if anyone in NA wants to trade for two Euro, i would be interested.

 

[MTech8]

It's a splurge but if you're gonna do it anyway, might as well have it done at the factory. I'm now thinking about adding the front lip and rear diffuser (M Perf). They look beautiful in the photos but again, a splurge. The rear spoiler is perfect in size for my taste compared to the M Perf version.

Completely agree with you NorthernCalGuy. That's what I'm gonna do as well. I do like the smaller rear carbon spoiler over the M Perf version (but that's just personal taste. I hear a lot of people like the bigger spoiler. Just too loud for me). Do the front lip and rear diffuser. I plan to. Check out Bimmer100's wife's. Looks wicked on a Dravit Grey. It'll definitely stand out even more with the Mineral White contrast. My wife's M50 went into production today!

 

[Techwhiz1]

Long time reader, wanted to poke in and say hi and share a few pics of the new baby on the driveway. I've owned a couple of BMWs prior, namely an E90 and a F32, both in 6MT and while I miss the shifting, I welcome all the new advancements in tech and fit and finish of the M50. Like many others, I pre-ordered and waited, and waited, and waited. Then, just like magic it was here and I can say emphatically that it was worth the wait.

For folks still in the queue, hang tight - when you get in the seat, be prepared for speeding tickets and some torque on that neck of yours!

Options:
A96, MANL, ZDY (5AR, 5AU), ZHO (3MF, 7M9), ZPK (5DN, ZX1, ZX2, ZX3), ZPP (248, 488, 494, 4UR), ZTK (33T, 3FW), 3MQ, 4MC, 5AZ, 688, 6DR, 6NX, 6PA, 6U3, 6UX, 71C

A few modest camera phone shots. Pics or it didn't happen, right?
View attachment 11855
View attachment 11860
View attachment 11856
View attachment 11859
View attachment 11854
View attachment 11857
View attachment 11858
View attachment 11861
View attachment 11853
Two week impressions:

1. All the reviews are true, it's torquey and that can make you sick to your stomach at times. Going to lay off the Sport Boost for a bit .
2. The fit and finish are superb, just like the other BMWs I've owned. The i4 is no exception. Quiet, no rattling, good balance of tactile materials and bling.
3. The carbon fiber is pretty good...as good as any reputable manufacturer. I have had several Ducatis with carbon fiber and the i4's interior and exterior carbon elements are just as pretty.
4. The 20"s are surprisingly a good ride. Not harsh IMO, just right.
5. iDrive 8 -- not sure about this one yet. The organization is all over the place. Don't get me wrong, it's many steps above what I had on my F32, but if you're expecting an Apple iOS level of software fit and finish, you're going to be disappointed. Here, I feel BMW have a long way to go in terms of UX, logical menu organization, etc.
6. 50yr emblems -- surprisingly, this looks great on the pearl white. I thought I would miss the blue ring, but I don't and knowing that this is a limited emblem makes it even more distinguished, IMO.

Overall, very satisfied but still adjusting to new tech, driving dynamics, and the charging routine. Over the past two weeks, between my solar based charging and EA, I have not spent a single dollar on powering this thing. Hope it continues through the fall!

Questions / comments welcome!

- northerncalguy of e90post & bimmerpost, and now i4talk

I was on e90 post also.
My E90 was totaled last August.
I had an electrical fire.

Anyway congrats!

Waiting for my M50......

 

[northerncalguy]

I was on e90 post also.
My E90 was totaled last August.
I had an electrical fire.

Anyway congrats!

Thank you!

I was looking at some of my early posts from e90post and they're reminiscent of the types of posts I see here at i4talk . Sorry to hear about your E90, I let mine go along time ago...it's vintage now!

 

[northerncalguy]

At 1300+ miles, there are a few more new observations to be had:

• The everyday drive in Eco Pro is buttery smooth, so much so that I feel I'm being pampered in total luxury. But switch this baby to Sport or floor the throttle and it will respond!
• I updated iDrive to address the Valet Mode Recall and got the latest patch 07/2022.40 and was pleasantly surprised at the changes. It shows BMW is actively updating (and probably fixing many bugs) so this is a great sign of more updates and enhancements to come.
• MyBMW and communication with the car for such things as updating the charging parameters or triggering cabin preconditioning isn't very reliable. The app back end needs a lot of help, I hope they figure out a way to make it more reliable and working not half of the time.
• We need more persistent climate controls on the touchscreen. I would love to have the fan speed -/+ somewhere on there.
• Range is on spec for the 20" around 230ish for me -- consistently in Eco Pro.

Now with some proper exterior shots:

 

[ssh]

Frankly, the app back-end design has had real issues for the 3 years I've had my 330. It's become more reliable recently, but the synchronous communications architecture was not smart. They designed it like it was being used on a reliable link rather than assuming weak communications. My fear is that a real re-architecting will be necessary to fix the underlying issue of expecting reliable communication. It used to be I had to leave the app active to get it to complete a remote command. They've made that better. But it's still fundamentally flawed.

 

[M3HNGRY]

The more and more I see the m50 wish I gone that route.

Love the tint! I will be going in the same direction

 

[Techwhiz1]

I'm so envious.

Waiting for my M50......

 

[Anxious]

The M50 is a powerful car. I just couldn't justify paying an exta 10K. Epescially since the Missus can bearly handle our ICE wihich has 300 horses or the 370 Z that was recently sold with 332 horses but I can't wait to meet up with folks in the area who purchased them to feel the power.

 

[northerncalguy]

...I can't wait to meet up with folks in the area who purchased them to feel the power.

You don't have to wait much longer, sign up for UDE -- they're in the Bay Area in Sep/Oct:

The Ultimate Driving Experience

driving.bmwusa.com

I'm booked for SF West on 9/30 to see if there's anything I can learn about more effective driving with the i4. From the videos I've seen, it might be tame but, hey, it's free and I get to drive someone else's car without worrying about mine!

 

[M3HNGRY]

SHE SO SEXY!