[CarPhanatic]

Hi all,

Traded in a 2012 c63 AMG coupe black ext/red interior to this.

Very Happy with the change!

Briefly,
mineral white metallic
20 inch black rims w/ extended black exterior option
standard roof
options, comfort package, black leather interior, alcantara headliner, BW sound system, glass package
NO adaptive cruise control package

No doubt, the white is MUCH easier to maintain than the black of prior car. Black was a painful experience to maintain as simple blemishes draw attention to themselves (but man was it amazing when it was clean)
This car in white type color looks good and clean even when close inspection shows the contrary.

Car turns more heads than I expected. There was a carwow episode that described this, but now I understand in person...

I was looking for more of a stealth type vehicle, but this one does attract attention. It has been kind of fun, with people coming up at gas stations vs just being at a stop light with window down asking, people will want to talk and that's pretty nice. Car described as just "sexy"...per multiple 3rd parties.. Not what I was expecting was this much attention, certainly more than a c63 AMG.

The Goal was to have a much more comfortable, yet athletic car, and it has delivered.

I have to say, that going with glass interior with the BW sound system really puts this car interior to next level. The lighting is really smooth, not too over the top, but it looks and feels so premium, helps justify price. This has been very noticeably to any and all passengers (passenger, lets be honest, no one wants to sit in the back, though the back speaker w/ bw does light up btw ). The glass and bw options really make a difference to set this interior to next level.

Will plan on doing interior photos soon to really show the aesthetics so that one may justify the premium options. My opinion now is that the upgraded speaker system along with glass option adds a very noticeable "wow" factor due to the lighting that many potential new owners may not realize... It is really a marked improvement on an otherwise "ok" interior...

The upgraded sound system is really amazing (I would consider myself an audiophile), will expand on this later.

Will update later on drive quality(I need time to formulate my thoughts on this, short answer, it is a big upgrade on overall drive but I miss the NA AMG v8 sound and the very direct steering).

Also, I have had time to digest the multimedia system and that it may be annoying for connected drive, the Key card etc....
Will plan on updating as I go along

Thanks again for an engaging and awesome community...

Have dealt with a lot of nitty/gritty issues with the car over the past 6 weeks, will be happy to respond to any questions.

honk if you see me

difficulty loading pics, so will try again after post
cheers
H

[redhot47fla]

Gorgeous car and great review.

I've been through the same nitty-gritty M850 issues, primarily regarding ConnectedDrive and the rest of the telematics, and I think I've managed to resolve them - or at least beat them into nearly complete submission. Feel free to share and I'll try to assist.

[cfm56d7b]

Beautiful car! Congratulations.

I recently had a chance to sit inside M850i with glass controls. I also liked this option.

[ashandger]

Congrats on your beautiful new car. Looks stunning. May I ask how the steering feel and weight in Sport mode compare to those in Comfort mode? Is there a noticeable increase in weight and directness in Sport mode? Best of luck with your new car. Many thanks

[CarPhanatic]

There is absolutely an improvement in steering feel using SPORT vs comfort.
When I first took delivery first thing I thought was "something seems off". I actually was actually overshooting turns onto the roadway, almost like I had forgotten how to drive. I had kept it in comfort mode for a good day or so still with a feeling that "something" wasn't quite right.

I turned to sport mode and immediately noticed the improvement. There was much more direct response with turn of wheel, a heavier feeling than comfort.

In fact, I cannot drive this car in comfort mode, the steering is just NOT good.
The AMG has definitely still a heavier feel w/ tighter control, but that was hydraulic vs all these electromechanical steering these days.

The sport steering has much less "floaty" feeling than comfort, overall I'm happy with it, not ecstatic with it (I do wish there was a sport plus steering...)

I have set SPORT Individual Mode to
Suspension: comfort Engine: sport Transmission: comfort and Steering Sport
Once you have sport individual configured, and you are in that mode, every time you start the car, it takes just one button press on the console to take you directly to sport individual.
IF I want to be a hooligan i press sport again to take me to SPORT PLUS (and get those burbles on throttle release, which absolutely do sound forced and somewhat fabricated, but still fun and turns heads)

My daily ritual

Start car.
Push sport button on console, this changes to Sport Individual. AND VERY importantly, it automatically disables the start/stop engine, all in one simple press.

I cannot drive in comfort in the city, and reserve this only for highway driving to decrease fatigue

hope this helps

[uniqueMR]

Congrats. Beautiful. Enjoy it in good health.

[Ozzie8]

Nice - thanks for the insights - envious as I wait for mine to arrive....

[JSCO]

Funny you mention forgetting how to drive...I had a similar experience driving the car home from the dealer. Sport steering is definitely where it should be at.

[ashandger]

Originally Posted by CarPhanatic

There is absolutely an improvement in steering feel using SPORT vs comfort.
When I first took delivery first thing I thought was "something seems off". I actually was actually overshooting turns onto the roadway, almost like I had forgotten how to drive. I had kept it in comfort mode for a good day or so still with a feeling that "something" wasn't quite right.

I turned to sport mode and immediately noticed the improvement. There was much more direct response with turn of wheel, a heavier feeling than comfort.

In fact, I cannot drive this car in comfort mode, the steering is just NOT good.
The AMG has definitely still a heavier feel w/ tighter control, but that was hydraulic vs all these electromechanical steering these days.

The sport steering has much less "floaty" feeling than comfort, overall I'm happy with it, not ecstatic with it (I do wish there was a sport plus steering...)

I have set SPORT Individual Mode to
Suspension: comfort Engine: sport Transmission: comfort and Steering Sport
Once you have sport individual configured, and you are in that mode, every time you start the car, it takes just one button press on the console to take you directly to sport individual.
IF I want to be a hooligan i press sport again to take me to SPORT PLUS (and get those burbles on throttle release, which absolutely do sound forced and somewhat fabricated, but still fun and turns heads)

My daily ritual

Start car.
Push sport button on console, this changes to Sport Individual. AND VERY importantly, it automatically disables the start/stop engine, all in one simple press.

I cannot drive in comfort in the city, and reserve this only for highway driving to decrease fatigue

hope this helps

Hi, thank you so much for extremely helpful feedback....much more helpful than most reviews put together. Seems like a significant improvement in SPORT mode which is great to hear. Enjoy your wonderful car. Cheers

[XBMW6]

Congrats .. very nice combo and I hope you enjoy it.
Can you please elaborate more on your experience with the B&W sound system, and whether you've experience HK system in comparison. I'm considering it, however, I want to make a good case to justify the price difference. Thanks

[CarPhanatic]

B&W

The option is amazing! but its benefit its best realized through the synergy of its parts.
Disclaimer: NO experience w/ HK system in bmws, only from other vehicles, and in comparison to my in home sound system (PSB symphony ones, psb 500 woofer, audysee extreme SE 2 channel 500 watt amp, and other toys..)

Two points come to mind with the B&W, SOUND vs AESTHETICS
One may be more important to the other and is a personal choice

Sound (dynamic range, high frequency, distortion free, versatility)
-It is incredible to my ears
There is a great soundstage with this. With the balance/fade options available, I could easily mimic a front soundstage that seems to be off the hood and wide enough to give great stereo separation

The balance of tones I believe seems to sway to a higher freq tone, so that most benefit may be in the classical realm, but my tastes in trance/elecronica do translate well here, very CLEAN

It has the highest distortion free volume of vehicle music I have heard, just go ahead and turn it up...

Bass can be lacking, but it depends on what you are looking for ( I have had 12 inch sub in SUV in past, and of course this does not compare to the raw feeling of deep bass in a big enclosure). Just remember what you are getting, tight clean bass, but the sound dynamics will limit its depth due to vehicle size, environment

Reality is, with 3500, you can create a much better sounding experience at home, but of course, that is because of simple room dynamics, larger separation in L and R speakers, larger room, perhaps room correction, sound deadening, etc....

The big PRO for me, is that this does have a 9 band equalizer... That is HUGE. Last in car stereo system I had was aftermarket that had this, but this is the first time I have seen this on manufacture sound system.
There are various options for surround options on the B&W, but I have always veered away from this (personal preference), I prefer a more pure sound. The equalizer is so nice to fine tune things to your needs.
I still need a lot more time with this, but I can imagine bringing in mics in car and doing your own "in car correction".

What you put in is what you get out.
I cannot listen to the satellite radio. The audio quality is noticeably worse (no fault of bmw). Compression just sucks. As in any good high end system, you will easily be able to tell the difference b/w higher quality iTunes vs others. Just be prepared to actually "hear" the difference in bit rate when you listen. I don't mind this, some people may not notice any difference, but if lower bit rate, lower quality sound annoys you, then you will appreciate a higher quality speaker system as this when you play higher quality music.

The music is only part of it, and I'm not sure even the most important to be honest...

Aesthetics

The speakers just look damn good.
Fibonacci sequence on speaker grills...? yes
Metal trim that contrast to a darker interior...? yes
That lighting...So very good. I run it w/ it on white to contrast with the normal color palette I have chosen for ambient. But you can set the speaker to match the same ambient color.
It is VERY noticeable.

Ultimately, I cannot determine if the sound benefits are greater than the standard (as I have not heard it).

But the EMOTIONAL feeling I get when sitting in this car....
I question the cost of this car sometimes, what is it trying to be? Pick sports or luxury?

My goal was a luxury car w/ "oomph"

The lighting alone is worth it to me. It really sets an amazing mood that can be changed with a slight alteration in settings.
The interior is extra special to see with the lighting at night (and the glass controls as well) to say that to me,

I would no doubt order this option again, even if the audio will never justify the price, the combination of the aesthetics along with it, will.

hope this helps,
be happy to share any other nitty gritty details if you ask
Cheers,
H

[CarPhanatic]

Last shot, in the garage,
To see that the lighting is quite noticeable when viewed from the outside.
Imagine at a stop light, cruising on highway...
The fellow drivers WILL notice this ( of course the intensity is very adjustable so the amount of flair will be up to the owner)

cheers

[JSCO]

Spot on with the Diamond system...I do have experience with the HK system in my previous M4...B&W system = better clarity, sound just pops..in stage mode you feel submerged..as CarPhanatic displayed, the aesthetics are top notch

Side note - completely agree on Sirius radio quality drop BUT I still listen here and there...catch the latest and greatest

[XBMW6]

Thanks for the detailed reply .. I agree with you, aesthetically the system looks amazing and makes the interior more luxurious and special. As far as sound, I'm sure there will be a noticeable difference compare to HK. I just wanted to get a sense of how good the system is in terms of sound quality especially from an audiophile perspective. Can you elaborate on the sound stage option in the setting.

[Ozzie8]

Thanks so much for this. I have ordered B+W option. Did not know about the lighting options and your review of the sound is exciting.

[LSM]

I didn't realize the B/W added anything to the interior look. Every 8 has different color ambient lighting. Can you expand on this? BTW beautiful car

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by CarPhanatic

I have set SPORT Individual Mode to
Suspension: comfort Engine: sport Transmission: comfort and Steering Sport
Once you have sport individual configured, and you are in that mode, every time you start the car, it takes just one button press on the console to take you directly to sport individual.
IF I want to be a hooligan i press sport again to take me to SPORT PLUS (and get those burbles on throttle release, which absolutely do sound forced and somewhat fabricated, but still fun and turns heads)

My daily ritual

Start car.
Push sport button on console, this changes to Sport Individual. AND VERY importantly, it automatically disables the start/stop engine, all in one simple press.

I cannot drive in comfort in the city, and reserve this only for highway driving to decrease fatigue

hope this helps

Came across this older post and would just add that I have the same basic Sport Individual configuration with the add of Transmission to Sport. Going to give it a shot at Comfort to compare but right now I'm a happy camper. My only beef is that with the driver profile settings of iDrive why can we not set it to Sport Individual period and hence no button press required on startup (which always does so in Comfort mode).

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by CarPhanatic

B&W

Bass can be lacking, but it depends on what you are looking for ( I have had 12 inch sub in SUV in past, and of course this does not compare to the raw feeling of deep bass in a big enclosure). Just remember what you are getting, tight clean bass, but the sound dynamics will limit its depth due to vehicle size, environment

Reality is, with 3500, you can create a much better sounding experience at home, but of course, that is because of simple room dynamics, larger separation in L and R speakers, larger room, perhaps room correction, sound deadening, etc....

Great write up and totally agree on the clarity and overall aesthetics (have already commented on other posts that if you are not into audio but the cost is not a consideration the B&W is worth it from aesthetics alone).

Bass wise I've found that with the B&W it is really dependent on the source. With all of my high resolution FLAC source (run it on a 1TB Crucial SSD plugged into the USBC port in the console) it is never lacking. On the other hand SiriusXM can be hit or miss.

Full disclosure is I'm a musician at heart (played professionally for many years) so my home audio has been procured and cultivated over the years and is a 3 series within itself. The point being that the B&W audio in the car astounds me at every opportunity as long as it has the right source to feed from.

[ashandger]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Great write up and totally agree on the clarity and overall aesthetics (have already commented on other posts that if you are not into audio but the cost is not a consideration the B&W is worth it from aesthetics alone).

Bass wise I've found that with the B&W it is really dependent on the source. With all of my high resolution FLAC source (run it on a 1TB Crucial SSD plugged into the USBC port in the console) it is never lacking. On the other hand SiriusXM can be hit or miss.

Full disclosure is I'm a musician at heart (played professionally for many years) so my home audio has been procured and cultivated over the years and is a 3 series within itself. The point being that the B&W audio in the car astounds me at every opportunity as long as it has the right source to feed from.

Hi, many thanks for the feedback. Could I ask a very basic question about the B&W system: are you just connecting your 1TB SSD directly to system via the USBC port and if so, does the system display individual artists, albums, songs, playlists, videos etc just like one would see in an iPod or DAP, for example? Would appreciate your feedback. Many thanks

[LSM]

Looks wise I see BW really pops. Sound wise (I listen to Sirius and I tunes, was only nominally better and I do not think worth it for simply aesthetics.

I'm far from an audiophile just my thoughts on it.

I passed and HK sounds good for my purposes

[CarPhanatic]

Hi all,

Been a while since I've posted, just enjoying the car so much.

Just wanted to drop a little tip that I'm not sure we're all aware of, how to boost that cold start up exhaust! I missed the sound of the amg on cold, this one can be good too.

When entering the vehicle, do not immediately start the engine.

Simply press the sport button (until you hit sport individual if you have engine configured to sport plus), or press it until sport plus is on

THEN start your engine.

Revel in the sound of a much more lively start up

cheers
H

[Ozzie8]

Originally Posted by ashandger

Hi, many thanks for the feedback. Could I ask a very basic question about the B&W system: are you just connecting your 1TB SSD directly to system via the USBC port and if so, does the system display individual artists, albums, songs, playlists, videos etc just like one would see in an iPod or DAP, for example? Would appreciate your feedback. Many thanks

Yes it does perfectly. Great improvement over my 6 series interface.