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The Car Thread ... !
- Thread starter D.T.
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Seems like as good a time as any for my one year review.
1 year/10,000 miles
It's been (almost) a calendar year since I sold my soul back to the four rings after a bad experience about 6 years ago. I was looking for something a bit more fun and more luxurious than my TSX had been. Needless to say: mission accomplished. The A4 is an incredible thrill to drive and experience.
From the drive side, the A4's power and torque are a testament to how great a modern 2.0T can be. Untuned, this thing turns out a staggering 273 lb-ft of torque, 100 lb-ft more than my 2013 TSX. The result is a surprising amount of get up and go. In dynamic mode, the little engine gets pretty loud and the 7 speed DCT is aggressive as hell. Speaking on the DCT, one of the big concerns with a DCT in a commuter car is the behavior at slow speeds. Audi pretty much nailed the gear shifts at lower speeds. The shifts under constant acceleration is a little weird at first but I have mostly gotten used to it. The level o f quality of the interior is just amazing. I have never been more comfortable in a car.
Some weirdness, though. For one thing, the A4 appears to calibrate the ABS system every time it crosses 25 mph. This is a known Audi thing but it's a little weird to hear and feel the pedals click at 25 mpg. Another reality of luxury car-buying is Auto Start-Stop. The A4 has the best system, but it's still Auto Start-Stop, which is a little controversial among enthusiasts. Depending on the weather and other factors, the car jerks to life or eases into low RPM. Let's just say, when it was freezing and the car was struggling to heat up, I didn't miss the start-stop feature. Another weird thing is that shifter. The shifter is stationary and can be shifted but it returns to upright. It's weird. Super weird. However, it's worth mentioning that the location is deliberate, and the infotainment knob is situated directly in front of the shifter so you can adjust the infotainment system with your wrist rested on the shifter. So some weirdness results in a very good ergonomic experience.
I can't do a review without the bad, and it's a personal preference, but I regret not going Premium Plus and getting the LED headlights and virtual cockpit. The Premium A4 isn't ugly by any means, but it doesn't look as signature Audi. I will not make this mistake again after this lease. I just need a few more options. Blind spot warning, for example. Seat heaters work well, infotainment is fine/good but again I regret the absence of virtual cockpit. Memory seat settings are a little strange although they include mirrors which is awesome.
There isn't much in terms of ugly. The only thing that disappoints me with this car is the fuel economy. While others have reported solid fuel economy, I'm seeing 24 mpg with an average speed of 31 mph. The biggest reason, however, is I take a 4 mile drive on a highway with a 75 mph speed limit to work. It's about the ugliest, fastest 31 mph average. I'm fairly comfortable with the slight decrease in economy from my TSX.
So yeah, I love the car. It's a blast. When this lease is up, I'll probably either look at leasing again or buying for longer term. Haven't quite decided yet.
1 year/10,000 miles
It's been (almost) a calendar year since I sold my soul back to the four rings after a bad experience about 6 years ago. I was looking for something a bit more fun and more luxurious than my TSX had been. Needless to say: mission accomplished. The A4 is an incredible thrill to drive and experience.
From the drive side, the A4's power and torque are a testament to how great a modern 2.0T can be. Untuned, this thing turns out a staggering 273 lb-ft of torque, 100 lb-ft more than my 2013 TSX. The result is a surprising amount of get up and go. In dynamic mode, the little engine gets pretty loud and the 7 speed DCT is aggressive as hell. Speaking on the DCT, one of the big concerns with a DCT in a commuter car is the behavior at slow speeds. Audi pretty much nailed the gear shifts at lower speeds. The shifts under constant acceleration is a little weird at first but I have mostly gotten used to it. The level o f quality of the interior is just amazing. I have never been more comfortable in a car.
Some weirdness, though. For one thing, the A4 appears to calibrate the ABS system every time it crosses 25 mph. This is a known Audi thing but it's a little weird to hear and feel the pedals click at 25 mpg. Another reality of luxury car-buying is Auto Start-Stop. The A4 has the best system, but it's still Auto Start-Stop, which is a little controversial among enthusiasts. Depending on the weather and other factors, the car jerks to life or eases into low RPM. Let's just say, when it was freezing and the car was struggling to heat up, I didn't miss the start-stop feature. Another weird thing is that shifter. The shifter is stationary and can be shifted but it returns to upright. It's weird. Super weird. However, it's worth mentioning that the location is deliberate, and the infotainment knob is situated directly in front of the shifter so you can adjust the infotainment system with your wrist rested on the shifter. So some weirdness results in a very good ergonomic experience.
I can't do a review without the bad, and it's a personal preference, but I regret not going Premium Plus and getting the LED headlights and virtual cockpit. The Premium A4 isn't ugly by any means, but it doesn't look as signature Audi. I will not make this mistake again after this lease. I just need a few more options. Blind spot warning, for example. Seat heaters work well, infotainment is fine/good but again I regret the absence of virtual cockpit. Memory seat settings are a little strange although they include mirrors which is awesome.
There isn't much in terms of ugly. The only thing that disappoints me with this car is the fuel economy. While others have reported solid fuel economy, I'm seeing 24 mpg with an average speed of 31 mph. The biggest reason, however, is I take a 4 mile drive on a highway with a 75 mph speed limit to work. It's about the ugliest, fastest 31 mph average. I'm fairly comfortable with the slight decrease in economy from my TSX.
So yeah, I love the car. It's a blast. When this lease is up, I'll probably either look at leasing again or buying for longer term. Haven't quite decided yet.
Stop giving all these one year reviews. You're reminding me that in 2 months I will be coming up on my one year anniversary with my Camaro. Heck in 7 days will mark the day I ordered it.
Time flies...
Jeebus, are you serious? That doesn't seem possible - but I passed 2 years back in October (meaning this October will be **3** years)
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Another great one!
Look at the bright side: Your Camaro only has like 45 miles on itStop giving all these one year reviews. You're reminding me that in 2 months I will be coming up on my one year anniversary with my Camaro. Heck in 7 days will mark the day I ordered it.
Time flies...
2500 miles.
Been only able to drive it a few times this winter after rain washes the salt off the roads. It's not that I am afraid of driving it in the snow, but it's the accompanying salt and difficult to go get it washed to get it off the paint without getting salt back on the car because there is still salt on the damn road.
As if I needed another reason to not buy a BMW.
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2018/01/19/bmw-********s
(in case Gruber's link URL breaks because of the forum censor (hint: replace the asterisks with s h i t h e a d s -- https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/bmw-carplay-fee-highway-robbery/
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2018/01/19/bmw-********s
(in case Gruber's link URL breaks because of the forum censor (hint: replace the asterisks with s h i t h e a d s -- https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/bmw-carplay-fee-highway-robbery/
Tim Stevens at CNet said:
It's technically free. If it's like anything Apple does when it comes to B2B, BMW likely pay an annual fee or per vehicle license. At the end of the day, $80 is a small fee to pay. Your article points this out. In addition, head units typically need both OS and hardware authentication for CarPlay to work correctly. This why earlier Toyota models won't be getting it, despite the 2018 Camary having both the necessary internal software and hardware to authenticate the system with the phone so that CarPlay works.
This type of R&D isn't cheap. Marques spend a silly amount of money to make sure their system will work for years through thousands of cold and hot cycles.
My only gripe is alcantara. It's the trade name for a type of short fiber plastic. It's plastic. And they charge more for it. It's also a breeding ground for bacteria. IIRC @AutoUnion39 shares the same disgust with it as I do. It's fine for a headliner, but anything else is hideous.
The funny thing is that alcantara under other names was very prevalent in 80s and very early 90s economy and middleground cars. It's now seen as a sporty and luxurious material. JFC.
Anyway, this isn't exactly new with BMW. This has been their MO for at least four decades. They don't care about frills. It's about the driving experience, which is amusing only because their cars now aren't anything like they were in the 90s, 80s or 70s. Pretty sure they charged about $500 back in the day for an Apple iPod connection in their cars. If you're old enough to remember the BMWs from the late 80s, you'll recall their obscene option prices to get a mobile phone in your car.
This type of R&D isn't cheap. Marques spend a silly amount of money to make sure their system will work for years through thousands of cold and hot cycles.
My only gripe is alcantara. It's the trade name for a type of short fiber plastic. It's plastic. And they charge more for it. It's also a breeding ground for bacteria. IIRC @AutoUnion39 shares the same disgust with it as I do. It's fine for a headliner, but anything else is hideous.
The funny thing is that alcantara under other names was very prevalent in 80s and very early 90s economy and middleground cars. It's now seen as a sporty and luxurious material. JFC.
Anyway, this isn't exactly new with BMW. This has been their MO for at least four decades. They don't care about frills. It's about the driving experience, which is amusing only because their cars now aren't anything like they were in the 90s, 80s or 70s. Pretty sure they charged about $500 back in the day for an Apple iPod connection in their cars. If you're old enough to remember the BMWs from the late 80s, you'll recall their obscene option prices to get a mobile phone in your car.
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Yep I can't stand alcantara either. Like any suede-like material, it will be a PITA to maintain it. If I picked up the SS 1LE/ZL1, first thing I would want to do is swap the steering wheel, shift boot, and dash( or just get the carbon fiber trim pieces in the ZL1 case) to regular SS versions. Only issue would be the recaro seats are lined with it too and harder to swap out( mostly cost).
Except that CarPlay runs on the phone, not the head unit. The HU is just a display at that point. Heck, the iPhone uses its own data connection anyways.
And yes, "it's technically free", and BMW said they were making this change because of their [quickly-debunked] claim that Apple was changing their licensing system to a yearly fee (which would be stupid no matter how you cut it).
I refuse to spend any money for satellite radio. But that's between me and Sirius, not me and my car's manufacturer. I would also refuse to spend money to access a feature that literally every other manufacturer includes without an annual fee. If I got stuck with such a car, I'd just glue a phone mount to the dash (and maybe secure it with a self-tapping screw).
I don't think the boot would be too much of a problem. If I were you, I'd probably buy an aftermarket suede boot. I've read of people who do softened, dyed raw leather but I'm positive it'll stink up the interior for a long time. Alcantara isn't difficult to clean. It's simply very time consuming.
Sorry shift knob not boot, but probably would switch the boot as well to keep the aesthetics look good. I know it's not hard, but as you said time consuming.
Reread my post. It runs off the phone, but the OS and the hardware inside the head unit needs to be compliant to authenticate itself. It's why prior BMWs weren't able to use CarPlay despite using the QNX platform to build their infotainment system on. It didn't have the authentication software and hardware to work with CarPlay.
Similarly, it's why Toyota Entune 2.0 vehicles can't get it. Toyota uses AGL to build their software on, except those headunits don't have the necessary code or the hardware to run and authenticate CarPlay. And a software flash won't help it.
All of this costs money. A marque could increase the price of their trims by $1,000 to cover years of use. No one would care then.
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Yeah. That would be nasty. On the other side of the car spectrum, it's funny how we're going back to steering column stalks...
I never had an issue with column stalks with the GM trucks/full size SUV's. You want maximum utility in these vehicles interiors for storage, etc. So I am confused why GM fans want a console shifter. Cars? Yeah I prefer the console mounted shifter and don't get why manufactures are going back to it.
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I was talking about MBZ, for example. I get why it's like that on a GL, but a sedan? When I got to test drive the AMG GT, I found its shifter to be funky, too. Similar to what @AustinIllini said about his A4. Though I kept banging into it with my elbow or arm at stops. Either style are weird for someone who isn't used to them in the platform they're presented on.
The new TLX is even more strange. It uses buttons for gears. Something you'd expect in a McLaren for weight and space savings. Maybe I'm just old.
"All of this costs money"...
Every year? ********. Should they charge a yearly fee to verify the key so the engine will start?
I'm already annoyed by how carmakers nickel-and-dime every stupid little feature. If I didn't live out in the suburbs now, I probably would get rid of my car out of spite.
You have to account for lost revenue as well. Here's the deal, either buy a BMW or not. Or go with a different marque. CarPlay and Android Auto are both stock features in a Merc. Buy a Merc or another brand if you don't like what BMW are doing. The complaints raised by some are valid, but a lot of them are similar to people complaining about BMW wanting to ditch manuals because they make up less than 2% of all sales and leases. Except those same people won't be buying one new. They may buy it second hand years down the road when the car has fully depreciated.
"Lost revenue"??
When you're an automotive group the size of BMW, this is a pittance.
But when it comes to the customers, it's fleecing them. There's no other way to spin it.
I fail to see your point. They spent over $6B on R&D in 2016. This doesn't count for factory upkeep, employee pay or expansion for their new models at the time and ones due to come out. It also doesn't include retooling. MBZ made an announcement last year that they were going to dedicate 14.5B Euros in green tech R&D alone over the next two years, not discounting their regular R&D budgets.
You can complain day and night, but at the end of the day, these are massive companies with plants across the world and thousands of employees.
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/bmw/financials?countrycode=de
A typical 5 series may sell for around 70K with options, but BMW makes a fraction of that car's price when everything is taken out.
http://www.bmwblog.com/2017/03/21/porsches-pockets-17000-car-bmw-5000/
At the end of the day, it's your money and how you wish to spend it. Similar to you, I don't see a point in buying a Tesla. The only thing their cars have going for them is speed in a straight line and being total EVs.
Android Auto is better than CarPlay anyway.
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Alcantara is a turn off for me. Ford uses it variously in some of their vehicles (SHO for example), but it grosses me out that someone's sweaty hands are using it on the steering wheel when it's somewhat absorbent material. I know it soft to the touch, but I prefer an all leather wrapped steering wheel or shift knob. Its Just one extra step that needs to be cleaned separately from leather, even though it's not as difficult as you mentioned. And preferably, I just fine leather more aesthetically appealing.
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You’re speaking as if BMW spends six billion dollars to maintain CarPlay.
It’s not that expensive for BMW.
It's not good optics, but everything about a car price is negotiable. I'm not losing sleep over this.
And over a lease, it's cheaper. Is there anything less BMW than this?