G11 750dX - impressions after two weeks

[oshevtsov]

Good:

(1) Engine is excellent. Linear, silky smooth power delivery, endless torque. Exceeded expectations.

(2) I have only driven some 800 km (500 miles), mostly in urban traffic with the average speed of 25 km/h (15.6 mph). Average consumption is 11 l/100km (21.4 mpg). This is around 10% better than I had on F16 m50d.

(2) Executive Drive Pro is impressive. The car is flat yet soft in all situations, except some very minor body roll in sharp corners. I understand they could have tuned suspension to eliminate it completely, but it is actually good they kept it to provide feedback to the driver. Generally, the ride is very refined.

(3) Integral steering is a must. Turning radius and steering agility are incredible for such a long car.

(4) Comfort Plus does help on poor roads. Also, the option to raise the car by 2 cm often helps, use it frequently on steep ramps.

Neutral:

(1) I am on mixed BMW LA wheel double spoke 647M - 19'' with Bridgestone Potenza S 001 RFT. The grip and steering are good (including rainy weather), but acoustic comfort could be better, especially on rough surfaces. Whether this is due to tyres or to suboptimal insulation of wheel arches - I do not know yet.

(2) I have all double-layer windows, but sound insulation from outside noises could still be a bit better. But generally acceptable.

(3) Sport mode of the suspension could be a bit stiffer. Or, possibly they could have used Sport Plus mode for that.

(4) The car feels a bit more distant from the road than I am used to, but the feedback is still there, and I feel I am adjusting to it quickly. I think BMW managed comfort vs. driving feedback balance quite well for this class of a car.

(5) Touch Command - generally positive impressions. Not completely intuitive for all functions, but the learning curve is reasonable.

Not so good:

(1) AUX jack removed. Why?

(2) RSE still lacks some functions. For example, (a) I cannot watch same video from USB in front and rear, (b) from front iDrive I can only select and start video USB playback on rear screens, but cannot control it afterwards, (c) fast forwarding/rewinding is too slow, (d) from front iDrive I cannot change sound output from rear headphones to car speakers. My kids are too small to manipulate remote control themselves, so I need to jump out of my seat too often. It is still better than two separate iPads, but for the money they charge I would legitimately expect these simple issues to be resolved.

(3) Display Key - good idea, mediocre implementation. Poor touch screen behaviour, slow to sync time/alarm status with the car. Remote parking - the procedure is too cumbersome and slow, so I would only use it in absolutely narrow spaces.

EDIT: Charging port cover is inconvenient (hard to open). But charge lasts for 12-14 days.

(4) Gesture Control - same feeling. It often does not react to intentional gestures, but sometimes responds to unintentional. Turned it off.

(5) HVAC touch panel - too sensitive. Couple of times a day I accidentally swipe it causing left/right to unsync, or seat heating to turn on.

Also, the car does not remember fragrance settings after engine shutdown.

(6) Front seat control buttons - they are positioned so that I often activate them with my knee (I think someone on this forum has mentioned this already).

EDIT:

(7) Wipers - I drove in rain only once, radio was off, little outside noise, and wipers were really loud when reaching lower and upper limits, especially upper.

(8) Blinker sound is too loud.

[jbyeatman]

Thanks for the feedback as I await delivery!

[Nivarox]

Thanks for your review, I wanted to learn about integral steering wheel too . It's good to see from an owner that it's not gimmick

[oshevtsov]

Originally Posted by Nivarox

Thanks for your review, I wanted to learn about integral steering wheel too . It's good to see from an owner that it's not gimmick

Absolutely not a gimmick. Highly recommend, especially for G12

[Redbaron1973]

I quite like Gesture control and don't seem to get false positives... but am left handed in a RHD car so generally "get on" better with car tech than many

[terrainx]

Interested to hear how about video inputs. Where you put the usb stick in? What formats are recognized? Can you play one movie/input on one rear screen and another input on the other? What about headphones? Did you buy the BMW wireless or are you using something else?

Originally Posted by oshevtsov

Good:

(1) Engine is excellent. Linear, silky smooth power delivery, endless torque. Exceeded expectations.

(2) I have only driven some 800 km (500 miles), mostly in urban traffic with the average speed of 25 km/h (15.6 mph). Average consumption is 11 l/100km (21.4 mpg). This is around 10% better than I had on F16 m50d.

(2) Executive Drive Pro is impressive. The car is flat yet soft in all situations, except some very minor body roll in sharp corners. I understand they could have tuned suspension to eliminate it completely, but it is actually good they kept it to provide feedback to the driver. Generally, the ride is very refined.

(3) Integral steering is a must. Turning radius and steering agility are incredible for such a long car.

(4) Comfort Plus does help on poor roads. Also, the option to raise the car by 2 cm often helps, use it frequently on steep ramps.

Neutral:

(1) I am on mixed BMW LA wheel double spoke 647M - 19'' with Bridgestone Potenza S 001 RFT. The grip and steering are good (including rainy weather), but acoustic comfort could be better, especially on rough surfaces. Whether this is due to tyres or to suboptimal insulation of wheel arches - I do not know yet.

(2) I have all double-layer windows, but sound insulation from outside noises could still be a bit better. But generally acceptable.

(3) Sport mode of the suspension could be a bit stiffer. Or, possibly they could have used Sport Plus mode for that.

(4) The car feels a bit more distant from the road than I am used to, but the feedback is still there, and I feel I am adjusting to it quickly. I think BMW managed comfort vs. driving feedback balance quite well for this class of a car.

(5) Touch Command - generally positive impressions. Not completely intuitive for all functions, but the learning curve is reasonable.

Not so good:

(1) AUX jack removed. Why?

(2) RSE still lacks some functions. For example, (a) I cannot watch same video from USB in front and rear, (b) from front iDrive I can only select and start video USB playback on rear screens, but cannot control it afterwards, (c) fast forwarding/rewinding is too slow, (d) from front iDrive I cannot change sound output from rear headphones to car speakers. My kids are too small to manipulate remote control themselves, so I need to jump out of my seat too often. It is still better than two separate iPads, but for the money they charge I would legitimately expect these simple issues to be resolved.

(3) Display Key - good idea, mediocre implementation. Poor touch screen behaviour, slow to sync time/alarm status with the car. Remote parking - the procedure is too cumbersome and slow, so I would only use it in absolutely narrow spaces.

EDIT: Charging port cover is inconvenient (hard to open). But charge lasts for 12-14 days.

(4) Gesture Control - same feeling. It often does not react to intentional gestures, but sometimes responds to unintentional. Turned it off.

(5) HVAC touch panel - too sensitive. Couple of times a day I accidentally swipe it causing left/right to unsync, or seat heating to turn on.

Also, the car does not remember fragrance settings after engine shutdown.

(6) Front seat control buttons - they are positioned so that I often activate them with my knee (I think someone on this forum has mentioned this already).

EDIT:

(7) Wipers - I drove in rain only once, radio was off, little outside noise, and wipers were really loud when reaching lower and upper limits, especially upper.

(8) Blinker sound is too loud.

[tyzer]

Originally Posted by Redbaron1973

I quite like Gesture control and don't seem to get false positives... but am left handed in a RHD car so generally "get on" better with car tech than many

I'm with you "redbaron", the change track by pointing my fingers is very good, and im looking forward to blocking a call with a hand swipe

[oshevtsov]

Originally Posted by terrainx

Interested to hear how about video inputs. Where you put the usb stick in? What formats are recognized? Can you play one movie/input on one rear screen and another input on the other? What about headphones? Did you buy the BMW wireless or are you using something else?

For video sources, RSE unit has Blue-Ray drive, USB port, HDMI-in and analogue AV-in (you would need a 3.5 mm to RCA cable to connect legacy devices to it). If you have TV tuner installed, rear monitors can also show TV reception.

(1) Each screen can play its own source. In which case sound can be channeled to car loudspeakers only from one of screens, the other one will need headphones. Or both rear screens can use headphones while the driver listens to what he selects in the front.

(2) I did not buy wireless headphones, nor I am using other headphones. RSE is used by my children, and I want them to be able to hear me at all times, so I always channel RSE audio to loudspeakers.

(3) All major containers/codecs (MP4, M4V, AVI, MOV, XVID, MKV) work. If you are interested to test any specific format, send me download link, I will check it for you

For more info, you can look here. https://www.dropbox.com/s/duicbkosg3...nment.pdf?dl=0

Technical yet informative.

[terrainx]

The PDF is a great find - thanks for sharing. Not too many G12's with RSE ... and even less folks who have actually used the system. Somewhat of a pita that it does not come with the wireless sets but will have to cross that bridge when our 'I"ndividual is delivered in a few months. I recall seeing a pic or post with a roku in the back seat... bit of netflix for the kids on the GO - may have to try this out.

Curious how large of a USB stick we can use?

[oshevtsov]

Originally Posted by terrainx

The PDF is a great find - thanks for sharing. Not too many G12's with RSE ... and even less folks who have actually used the system. Somewhat of a pita that it does not come with the wireless sets but will have to cross that bridge when our 'I"ndividual is delivered in a few months. I recall seeing a pic or post with a roku in the back seat... bit of netflix for the kids on the GO - may have to try this out.

Curious how large of a USB stick we can use?

I am using 128Gb

[hoaloaken23]

advantage feedback for all ), thank you @oshevtsov