READERS JOURNAL
Day 1: Was pleased to see a dark blue, carbon-black metallic BMW waiting in the driveway. The integrated spoiler and ground effects are seamless to the body styling, but you can tell they are purposeful. The suspension, steering, and overall engine and transmission tuning are tight, even in Comfort mode. The one finicky thing I discovered is the proximity key unlock — as you approach the vehicle, it automatically unlocks itself. Problem is that when you choose to lock it, it will unlock again if you don’t hurry up and give your car some alone time.
Day 2: Installed the child full-back booster in the back seat. Lots of room to get to the latch system. The kids loved hearing the roar of the engine as it fired to life. All about the normal commute in stop-and-go rush-hour traffic. The drive home was similar, but there were a few spots where I could open up the engine. It gave me the opportunity to try out the Sport and Sport Plus modes, as well as set up the Individual drive mode. There is a considerable difference in engine and transmission responsiveness between the three modes.
Day 3: Another commuting day, but it didn’t start with the kids at school, it started with a drive in the country and on the highway. This car sounds tough when it’s pushed, but is smooth as silk around the corners and on the road. The worst part of the drive is when you finally hit the traffic and have to slow down.
Day 4: Another commuting day. Along the drives, though, I’m trying to force myself to use different features of the vehicle. I’ve tried relying more on the blind-spot monitoring. Having never had a vehicle with such a system, I didn’t want to purely trust it, but it is handy. The car has very few blind spots, but the sensors are a nice touch when you have a child in the car and you may be a little distracted.
Day 5: Got out for a drive on the weekend. Piled in as a family and took some country roads for a jaunt. I put the car into Sport Plus mode and dropped the throttle.
My wife thought the engine was having issues, until I explained it was the turbo whine, waste gate, and a slight backfire on the shift points — this engine is tuned! After 20 minutes, an amazing thing happened: my six-year old fell asleep in his car seat. With the stiffest suspension and loudest engine setting, the car was still quiet enough for a child to be lulled to sleep.
Day 6: Today was a day that shows that the car — as sporty and luxurious as it is — is still meant to be a family commuter car. The older boy and I went to his hockey practice with his full gear in the trunk, and then to the mall to run errands. It easily manoeuvred through the parking lot, and there it stayed while we did some shopping. Reversing out of the spot was easy, thanks to the multi-angle rear-view camera, which shows both top and rear views in the centre-console screen.
Day 7: What a car! It’s stylish, comfortable, and has ample power and precision behind the wheel. It’s functional for the family, and fun for the driver. The immense number of features is overwhelming, but they are definitely handy in a pinch. And, in BMW style, the attention to detail is incredible.