[Dan Brown]

Hello All-

This is now my second post I just put my lease deal over in the "Official" pricing thread.

Found a 2015 228ix locally that had basically every option we wanted. If we had custom-ordered it, we would have added an Alarm but that's about it. The car was apparently a custom order that was never picked up. It had been on the dealer lot a while (July '14 production) so they were happy to move it... and I was happy to take it! Car will pick up daily-driving duties come the spring, when we turn in our expiring non-BMW lease.

First Likes:
* 8-speed is butter smooth, paddle-shifters are a nice feature
* Engine has surprisingly good low-end torque (which should mean something coming from an X5d owner!)
* Mineral White is gorgeous. Not as "in-your-face" as a full Pearl White (thinking Cadillac's version) but obviously sparkles more than the plain white SUV it's replacing. Almost has a matte-like appearance in low light (such as the attached pictures). The "mineral" mostly shows on the curves- very cool!
* Hexagon trim fits the M-sport & Coral Red interior theme well IMHO (looks terrible in this pic, sorry). Originally looking for a car with the Brushed Aluminum option but found Hexagon to be a nice product.
* Nav system is a nice improvement over my 2013 X5d's, particularly in response time. REALLY like the touch-pad feature. Larger iDrive wheel fits better in the hand too.

First Dislikes (first "Not Loves"?):
* Harmon Kardon "HiFi" is not as impressive as I'd hoped. You "only" get 360-watts for almost $900 dollars. I have this option (same price) on my X5d and it is considerably nicer in the X5 (16 speakers, 9-channel amp, 600W). That being said, I'd purchase the F22's HiFi again.
* The two exhaust pipes are rather small, and don't seem to fit the car's styling (at least in M-sport form). The front end looks rather athletic and aggressive, but the small exhaust pipes and the narrow rear tires make the direct rear view look a little weak. Back 3/4 view is still fantastic.
* The fact that I live in upstate NY! Only drove it 30 miles total on Saturday, then have spent the last two days stranded at my house due to freezing rain & black ice.
* As a non-alarm'ed car, no Beeps when I lock/unlock. Would I pay 400 bucks for that... maybe. Should a $48,025 BMW come without an alarm? No, IMHO.

Some poor-quality, low-light cell phone pics for now (again, my apologies!) I look forward to driving it more, reporting back, and getting some pics of this great color combo in the light. Thanks!


-Dan

[tccox]

The Harmon kardon is 360 Watts, not 200. Of course thats not the 600 they originally said it would be but still better than 200. Love that red interior

http://www.harmankardon.com/estore/h...eries-coupe-us

[Inline_Six]

Nice looking car ! Congrats !

About the Harmon Kardon audio, that sucks, coz I have high hopes for it too But, like the other guy said, it's 360 W not 200 W.

Also, I'm sure the X5 system sounds better simply because it's a bigger vehicle, so it gets a more powerful system with more speakers.

[Dan Brown]

Thanks guys... not sure where I got 200W. That's what I get from going off memory! I'll go edit that post in a second to read 360W.

InlineSix-

Do not fret, my friend... It still sounds good. My post is my initial impression, as I only have 30 miles on the car so far. Again, I would not purchase a 2 series without it... be happy you checked that box!

But yes, my E70 X5 came with 16-speakers- including 2 subs under the front seats, digital 9-channel amp, and 600W (I checked the brochure this time ). My window sticker said it was $925. I consider the E70 "HiFi" a better value then my F22 "HiFi," that's all I'm really saying here.

-Dan

[Inline_Six]

Originally Posted by Dan Brown

Thanks guys... not sure where I got 200W. That's what I get from going off memory! I'll go edit that post in a second to read 360W.

InlineSix-

Do not fret, my friend... It still sounds good. My post is my initial impression, as I only have 30 miles on the car so far. Again, I would not purchase a 2 series without it... be happy you checked that box!

But yes, my E70 X5 came with 16-speakers- including 2 subs under the front seats, digital 9-channel amp, and 600W (I checked the brochure this time ). My window sticker said it was $925. I consider the E70 "HiFi" a better value then my F22 "HiFi," that's all I'm really saying here.

-Dan

Thanks dude. Yeah, I'm sure it's better than the standard system. Plus, I think it's ok to make a small compromise on sound, when we're getting a kickass performance vehicle with such an awesome driving experience, so it's not the end of the world in any case