[Supernaut]

I've posted some stuff, but thought I would do some more formal photos (well, from my driveway) and a review of sorts.
My 2015 Estoril Blue M235i has the Performance Package with Terra leather, finewood trim, HK stereo, moonroof delete and manual transmission. I added the M Performance exhaust/finishers and rear diffuser as port installed options and took delivery at the BMW Performance Center. The trip home was 2 days, 577 miles, half through the Blue Ridge Mountains, half on regular highways with only a couple short Interstate stretches. This is my first BMW and I'm coming from a Lightning Yellow 2004 RX-8 that has been my daily driver, road trip machine, and occasional track vehicle (I do love that car for all its quirks). Warning: this will be a long post with Raves and Rants commentary and them some pics.

RAVES:
LOOKS - classic, gorgeous BMW coupe proportions, moving on from the previous generation's bulldog looks. I especially like the side crease and the bulge leading to the rear fender that add some drama to the car. I love the aggressive styling touches of the M package's front and rear fascia
COLOR - IMHO Estoril Blue II is the prettiest color BMW offers, maybe one of the prettiest car colors period. It's not the most exotic, it's not the flashiest, but it's undeniably beautiful. Gorgeous at a baseline, in mid-day's light, the metallic reflects so brightly it looks like a blue light saber. In the evening, it takes on the lightest purplish hue taken straight out the dusk sky.
POWER - holy smokes, what can you say? Even my non-fanatic wife got giggly driving it and passing cars at will on the road trip home. This one goes to 11.
STEERING - so natural, so precise; it is the integration point with car, where you plug yourself in and become part of the machine. A perfect steering wheel makes this all the easier to do. I welcome assimilation.
POISE - the cars eats up road irregularities with ease and was ballet dancer through the slalom section at the PCD. My wife, who has zero performance driving history, ran the slalom like a champ and thought the car made it easy.
SEATS - comfortable, even on the long drive home, and with excellent side bolstering and support that showed on the track. They are also much grippier than I'm used to for leather. Well done, BMW!
SOUND - I know some of this is artificial in the cabin, but even that sounds great. The N55 with the M Performance exhaust is pure aural sex from the barky start-up, to the growl of acceleration, to the burbles of deceleration. Screw my allergies, I'm driving with the windows down. OMFG!

RANT AND RAVE:
CLUTCH - very smooth, but way too long a throw. My wife aptly commented that she couldn't get a seating position that worked for the clutch and the other pedals at the same time. Luckily, adding a $10 spacer/clutch stop off eBay largely solved this.
SHIFTER - precise and not too notchy, so it feels fantastic. But, the armrest is about an inch to high, making for awkward arm movements going into 2/4/6 gears (I have to elevate my shoulder to get my elbow up). There's also too long a throw here, but a short shifter would make the armrest issue worse. I'm certain the center console was designed with the 8-speed auto in mind. Give it an A+ for feel, but a C for ergonomics.
SOUND ISOLATION - the car really locks out most outside noise, even at highway speeds. Unfortunately, it also isolates some of the desirable sports car noises like the growl of the exhaust, the intake (completely) and the whir of the transmission (completely). While it's nice sometimes to have the quiet, I would love BMW to place the 2 series as more sports than luxury, let some mechanical music in, and leave the sounds of silence to the BMWhalers.
HARMAN/KARDON - there's been a lot of discussion about the stereo systems. I'm no audiophile, but I listen to a wide range of music, sometimes pretty loud. I think the system sounds good at regular volumes - I'm happy with it. Crank the volume, though, and things start to get muddy and bass is lacking. I'm irritated that it lacks an equalizer and equalizer presets. It's a good system for most of us, but a poor value for the dollar spent.
iDRIVE - I was prepared to hate this, being a basics kind of guy, but overall, it works well. A few things don't make sense, a few things don't go in as deep as I'd like, but I'm now a convert. I do wish BMW spent more time developing straightforward things like OBD II displays for my "M Performance" car and stereo sound controls for my "high end" Harman/Kardon system.

RANTS:
STEERING WHEEL CONTROLS - they aren't badly done, but they are in reverse of what makes sense functionally (at least for LHD cars). Sound controls are on the right, the same hand I use for the shifter. I will sometimes want to mess with sound controls while having my hand on the shifter, but that can't happen. Cruise controls are on the left, but I will never access those while I'm doing any sort of shifting, so that is a pointless ability to have. Ergonomically, the steering controls should be reversed since I will be shifting or cruising, allowing one hand to take on both tasks. I'm sure there's some reason for this, possibly imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, but most likely, some old BMW tradition, and we know those can't be changed.
GAUGES - shoot the effing gauge-meister. This car should at least have a temperature gauge. So, BMW, put one where the moronic eco/fecal/whatever dial is on the Tech package and the gaping black hole is on my non-Tech car. While you're at it, Munchners, put in a digital speedometer, at least in the middle of the giant, archaic dial of speed misestimation. It's the 21st century and I want to know exactly how fast I'm going, not a ballpark idea to the nearest 5mph. Also, iDrive should offer a range of gauges beyond the mastubatory HP and torque dials. The V-6 Mustang I test drove let you choose from 8 different OBD II measures in a short list or as a single gauge. I didn't buy the Ultimate Mystery Machine, BMW. I want information!
WEIGHT - she's surprisingly nimble for a big girl, but you feel the weight when you're dancing with her. This is, by 500 pounds, the heaviest car that I've owned and it gives a feeling of inertia that can be discomforting when initiating a turn. More importantly, it needn't be that heavy. BMW needs to take weight reduction seriously instead of just relying on stronger engines to take up the mass. Stop worrying about carbon fiber mirror covers and make a CF driveshaft. It's great that there are aluminum suspension parts, but how about the whole damned hood? This is stuff my 10 year old RX-8 has. And, again, BMW, you can get rid of some of that sound insulation so you don't have to play engine noises on my stereo.

Rant over, let the pictures begin... There aren't too many EBII/Terra shots that hit the seat color accurately, so I threw in some of those - same for the finewood trim. Overall, the car is stock, so it looks like all the other gorgeous Estoril Blue cars, thus I tried some closer in shots of details.

[gaijin]

+1. Subjective review but I wouldn't expect any less from you. Thoroughly enjoyed the read and share a good portions of your pros and cons on our M235i's. Glad you and your wife enjoyed the experience PCD offers. IMHO, it's one of the best (if not the best) owners/enthusiasts deliverable in the automobile world.

[Rus.K]

Awesome review, thank you very much for sharing.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Beautiful car, thanks for the review

[WhollySmokes]

Thanks for the review. The fineline wood trim looks great. Wish I would've ordered that and wish I would've taken PC Delivery.

Congratulations on the new car.

[dan99]

Verrrry accurate review

[VMRWheels]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts/review. Definitely can agree with most of it. Beautiful ride!

[Supernaut]

Thanks, everyone. I am loving this car. She's an amazing Little Monster.

[pete1713]

Great pics, some of the best of the diffuser I've seen. Has me thinking I might have to add it. Welcome to the EB club. My favorite color for a BMW as well.

[mvallido]

Thanks for the review. Nice color combo.

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by pete1713

Great pics, some of the best of the diffuser I've seen. Has me thinking I might have to add it. Welcome to the EB club. My favorite color for a BMW as well.

Thanks! I like the look of the diffuser, but since I'm not painting it, I worry that it will eventually get that greyish-white oxidation. I wonder if a matte clear coat would prevent that?

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by mvallido

Thanks for the review. Nice color combo.

Back at you! Your car was the first I saw with EB/terra and really got me going that direction.

[s1uma1]

interesting bc I had the same gripe with the armrest interfering with shifting and clutch travel being too long, my first mod was a clutch stop. I got used to just lifting up the armrest and driving that way, feel is perfect, although a bit odd with the armrest cover always up.. maybe someone can make a mod for this...

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by s1uma1

interesting bc I had the same gripe with the armrest interfering with shifting and clutch travel being too long, my first mod was a clutch stop. I got used to just lifting up the armrest and driving that way, feel is perfect, although a bit odd with the armrest cover always up.. maybe someone can make a mod for this...

I wish the lid had soft padding, then you could "unstuff" it for a thinner lid. I suspect if you hold the shifter on top or have the seat raised up, it's not so bad, but that's not how I drive. I also need to take one more washer out of the clutch stop. If I'm light on the clutch at startup, it sometimes won't start.

[s1uma1]

Originally Posted by Supernaut

I wish the lid had soft padding, then you could "unstuff" it for a thinner lid. I suspect if you hold the shifter on top or have the seat raised up, it's not so bad, but that's not how I drive. I also need to take one more washer out of the clutch stop. If I'm light on the clutch at startup, it sometimes won't start.

may research into thinning out the lid when I have some time. For my clutch stop I think I took two or three out.. I took one more ring out when I got to your point (have to punch the clutch harder than normal to start car)...

loved your review btw

[dr.s]

Regarding the volumn control on the wheel. BMW use to have it on the left side of the wheel. This is the way it is on our 2006 330i and 2010 535xiT. Not sure why they switched it to the right side. When we pick up our M235xi it will take some getting use to. Ours is an auto so won't be quite the inconvenience as in a manual.

[verbs]

Wait, the 2 series with Harmon Kardon lacks equalizer settings? I have them on my 2013 335i with Harmon.

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by s1uma1

may research into thinning out the lid when I have some time. For my clutch stop I think I took two or three out.. I took one more ring out when I got to your point (have to punch the clutch harder than normal to start car)...

loved your review btw

Thanks! We must have the same stop. I just took the 3rd washer out about 20 minutes ago. That should be just right.

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by verbs

Wait, the 2 series with Harmon Kardon lacks equalizer settings? I have them on my 2013 335i with Harmon.

Just basic bass, treble, fade, and balance - like my kids' Mazda 3 with roll up windows. They do add a speed control to set how much compensation with speed the stereo does. You'd think since this is in iDrive, there would be no extra cost to finer adjustments with an equalizer.

[atxlos]

Great pictures! Disappointed to hear about no Digital Speedometer, I guess being used to my S2000 that only has a digital speedometer, I'll have to get used to reading the dial again to make sure I'm not speeding

Getting my EB 235 non-tech package 6 speed on Saturday! woo!

did you tint yours? Dealer offered to get mine tinted before I get there, but never thought about it.

[Supernaut]

Originally Posted by atxlos

Great pictures! Disappointed to hear about no Digital Speedometer, I guess being used to my S2000 that only has a digital speedometer, I'll have to get used to reading the dial again to make sure I'm not speeding

Getting my EB 235 non-tech package 6 speed on Saturday! woo!

did you tint yours? Dealer offered to get mine tinted before I get there, but never thought about it.

I'm getting used to the analog speedo, but I certainly prefer the digital one in my Mazda.

Congrats on the car! I know Saturday can't come quick enough for you.

No tint yet, but it will happen. I'm going to try to get XPEL done first, then a modest, Virginia legal tint. I got my car from an out of state dealer for PCD, so no way to do any dealer mods for me.

[pete1713]

Originally Posted by Supernaut

Thanks! I like the look of the diffuser, but since I'm not painting it, I worry that it will eventually get that greyish-white oxidation. I wonder if a matte clear coat would prevent that?

Good question. I think if I do it, it will be painted body color with just the bottom center left black.