[sugargenius]

I purchased my '18 440i gc a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, the day after I bought it, I had to go out of town for the week, so I never really got a chance to drive except home from the dealer.

This week, I had to go out of town on business again but thankfully customer is <200 miles away, so I figured I'd drive my "new" car learn how to use everything.

Here are my initial impressions:

Pro's
-----
-Great powertrain. Especially in Sport mode. This should be default, IMO.

Cons
-----
-Where's 12v outlet? Where are the USB outlets? There were tons more connections on a the $25k Altima rental company gave me last week.
-Sunglasses holder. This is the first car I've owned in 25+ years that didn' have at least 1 sunglass compartment. My old '08 Tundra has 3. Disgraceful
-When I shut off the ignition, the radio keeps playing. Even after I open/close car. Radio won't turn off until I lock with key fob. Hopefully this is just a setting somewhere that I haven't discovered yet.
-Double open doors. 'nuff said.
-Climate control doesn't seem to synchronize. Again, hopefully this is just a setting somewhere that I haven't discovered yet.
-HK "premium" sound system is very underwhelming.
-Nav system isn't very unintuitive and voice activation never seems to work.
-Low rpm throttle response. Seems very laggy at low rpm especially when first cranked.

Bottom line is that this feels like an average car sitting on a great powertrain. Apart from acceleration/handling, I far preferred the seats, interior, infotainment and controls on the $25k Altima SR.

[deviantspeed]

I'd trade it in on that Altima you love ASAP.

Some people get it, some people don't. Best of luck there, son!

[kern417]

-Where's 12v outlet? Where are the USB outlets? There were tons more connections on a the $25k Altima rental company gave me last week.
There is a 12v outlet between the cupholders and one on the left side of the passenger footwell, under the glove box. There may also be one for the backseats below the rear climate vents. The USB connection is in the center console and glove box.

-Sunglasses holder. This is the first car I've owned in 25+ years that didn' have at least 1 sunglass compartment. My old '08 Tundra has 3. Disgraceful
I think most people put them either in the center console or the cubby under the headlight switch.

-When I shut off the ignition, the radio keeps playing. Even after I open/close car. Radio won't turn off until I lock with key fob. Hopefully this is just a setting somewhere that I haven't discovered yet.
This has to be coded. My car turns off the accessories when I open the door. Otherwise locking your doors after you get out will turn off the accessories as well.

-Double open doors. 'nuff said.
Can also be coded to unlock doors when the car is turned off.

-Climate control doesn't seem to synchronize. Again, hopefully this is just a setting somewhere that I haven't discovered yet.
Nope, no sync button for us

-HK "premium" sound system is very underwhelming.
Try tuning the equalizer. I started here and bumped things around until I got the clearest voice and comfortable amount of bass.
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15612095#post15612095

-Nav system isn't very unintuitive and voice activation never seems to work.
What have you tried? The natural language recognition works pretty well for me.

-Low rpm throttle response. Seems very laggy at low rpm especially when first cranked.
Try putting it in sport mode to get more throttle sensitivity. You're also coming from an N/A engine so you'll never get that level of response for a turbo engine.

[deviantspeed]

I will add that simple coding added a lot of those features to my F31.

The simple unlock when I turn the car off and audio off when I open the door should be menu options, but are not on mine. It's there on some according to my "genius".

Simple recode and I'm happy now. Yeah a PITA. On my old F30 dealer did program a few features, but it took like a 1/2 day. It was no charge, but YMMV.

[sugargenius]

Originally Posted by deviantspeed

I'd trade it in on that Altima you love ASAP.

Some people get it, some people don't. Best of luck there, son!

What is “it” that I don’t “get”?

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by sugargenius

What is “it” that I don’t “get”?

BMW, can you post your new altima here since I'm subscribed?

[ndx6spd]

Originally Posted by sugargenius

What is “it” that I don’t “get”?

The BMW way! I think someone on here said something like: "there's the right way, wrong way, and the BMW way. And BMW way is better."

BMW's logic, UI, customization is, IMO, far superior to simplified, for-everyone Japanese/US cars (no, I'm not a hater, I have had multiple Japanese cars and still have 2).

Seriously though, did you not check out the car before buying it?

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by ndx6spd

The BMW way! I think someone on here said something like: "there's the right way, wrong way, and the BMW way. And BMW way is better."

BMW's logic, UI, customization is, IMO, far superior to simplified, for-everyone Japanese/US cars (no, I'm not a hater, I have had multiple Japanese cars and still have 2).

Seriously though, did you not check out the car before buying it?

Reminds me of my 1/2 dozen 2002's and even a 1608. Nobody understood them, they just liked them from afar. Probably the same here. Once I took them on a drive into twisites, they were flabbergasted. I still get that feeling in the F3x line, despite the naysayers. Oh and don't get me started on my E21 that was modified by quikor (rear windows etched, full suspension). That car was pure driving bliss. IMHO E30's were a little bland.

[sugargenius]

Originally Posted by kern417

There is a 12v outlet between the cupholders and one on the left side of the passenger footwell, under the glove box. There may also be one for the backseats below the rear climate vents. The USB connection is in the center console and glove box.

-Sunglasses holder. This is the first car I've owned in 25+ years that didn' have at least 1 sunglass compartment. My old '08 Tundra has 3. Disgraceful
I think most people put them either in the center console or the cubby under the headlight switch.

I did find a 12v outlet in the between the cupholders. Thanks! I didn't find one in the passenger footwell.

I don't have a cubby under headlight switch either.

[Zanity]

I've owned 4 BMWs and I never came across any of these issues, yes, I also coded the whole car to exactly how I wanted. But man, it sounds like BMW really isn't your thing, hopefully you'll enjoy the altima more.

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by sugargenius

I did find a 12v outlet in the between the cupholders. Thanks! I didn't find one in the passenger footwell.

I don't have a cubby under headlight switch either.

BAHAHAHAHAHA, they did provide an owners manual?

If not, it's avail in the i drive thingy majicky.

[mlev]

Did none of these questions cross your mind when you test drove/bought it?

Seems like your sales guy copped an easy sale...

Check out Bimmercode.

[RedBarron]

Originally Posted by sugargenius

-Nav system isn't very unintuitive and voice activation never seems to work.
-Low rpm throttle response. Seems very laggy at low rpm especially when first cranked.

Bottom line is that this feels like an average car sitting on a great powertrain. Apart from acceleration/handling, I far preferred the seats, interior, infotainment and controls on the $25k Altima SR.

I 100% agree with this!

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by RedBarron

I 100% agree with this!

Please post a pic of your new altima!

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

The cubby and extra 12v outlets are part of the extended storage pack in the UK, so possibly the same there.

Although, you don't get the cubby if you have specced lane assist and adaptive cruise, because that's where the extra controls sit. As can be seen in your picture.

You can press the start/stop button twice to turn the radio off. Make sure the second press is with your foot off the brake or the car will restart. Or, you can code it go off with the doors opening.

I have a broad northern England accent and the voice recognition works perfectly 95% of the time. You need to have activated your BMW connected services though as I think it works from an online search, rather than the car alone, which is poor.

Don't give up on it, you just haven't fine tuned it or set it up quite right yet.

[sugargenius]

Originally Posted by Zanity

I've owned 4 BMWs and I never came across any of these issues, yes, I also coded the whole car to exactly how I wanted. But man, it sounds like BMW really isn't your thing, hopefully you'll enjoy the altima more.

I don't have an Altima. It was a rental car that I drove last week. I was using it as an example to illustrate the absurdity of a $25k car beating the interior of a car that costs 2x as much.

[sugargenius]

Thanks to everyone who actually offered useful suggestions. I am not giving up on my 440i. I was just putting out my thoughts on the car. Hopefully they will be useful to someone else down the road.

Looks like my next step will be bimmercode and learning how to code this thing to suit my preferences.

[Curious41]

It all seems weird in the beginning but trust me once you get used to all the changes, you’ll never want to have it any other way.

[rlmesq]

Originally Posted by kern417

-Double open doors. 'nuff said.
Can also be coded to unlock doors when the car is turned off.

Are you referring to the "two tug" inner door pulls? That's the price of Comfort Access and keeping your key in your pocket.

[Skiddz]

Originally Posted by Curious41

It all seems weird in the beginning but trust me once you get used to all the changes, you’ll never want to have it any other way.

This. 100% this. Don’t get me wrong, these cars aren’t perfect, and I was mad as hell at mine when I bought it. But... after some adaptation, menu exploring, and tweaking/coding, now every other car I drive is weird and inconvenient to me.

[donkey]

Originally Posted by deviantspeed

Please post a pic of your new altima!

You seem jaded if you don't think that a cheaper car can do some things better than an entry level BMW.

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by rlmesq

Are you referring to the "two tug" inner door pulls? That's the price of Comfort Access and keeping your key in your pocket.

That's not just comfort access, it's how works across the range. My older F30 didn't have this, and required the two pulls.

You CAN code these, in most cases, to unlock when you shut the ignition off. Some are even coded this way from the factory, which IIRC is rare.