Picked up the car 4 days ago, and like it more each day.
Compared the the X5M I came out of it has subtle and not so subtle advantages.
The Sun visors are made of more luxurious materials, and the hinges work way better.
The Homelink Garage opener has almost twice the range.
The sound system is on another solar system.
The seats are far more supportive and comfortable.
The Pano Roof is more elegant and useable.
The ability to handle irregularities in the road is much better.
The availability of the engine's power is superior.
The speed of the Nav system is faster.
I ordered the thermal glass and the balance between being isolated yet involved with driving is fantastic.
At this point the only thing I prefer about the BMW is.....hold on to your seats....the IDrive. It is more intuitive.
I have a hard time in Nav getting visual turn by turn directions...only get audible. Hard time is wrong...I can't get it at all. Also find it difficult in Satellite Tuner to see Artist and Title. Sometimes I stumble on it but not by trying.
I've read all the quick start lit but have not tackled the Big Book yet. To BMW's credit, the IDrive did not require any reading.
I optioned the car up pretty fully, and other than the Adaptive Cruise which I have yet to try, I have used and like every option. I look forward to driving it every day.

 

Hmmmmm
Let me try those pics again.

 

Ahh! SportDesign package, looks stunning inside and out.
Congrats, drive it in good health.

 

Simply stunning. you forgot to mention that compared to the X5 your whole frontend is not made of cheap plastic panels.

 

I found the PCM much more intuitive than iDrive but it probably is just what you are used to. Once you learn the menus I think you will find there are less steps with the PCM system. My advice for the learning phase is the 'option' menu is your friend. You can switch to a list of directions for the nav by going to the map and the selecting option and adjust the map from there. You can set it permanently if you want too.

 

Thanks Tex.
I never think to look at the option option when I'm on a screen.
Was not aware there even was an option icon when in Nav. Will look for it later today.
Have not read many complaints about PCM so I am assuming I am on the steep part of the learning curve.
BTW, was surprised to get below 14 mpg with mixed driving on my 1st tank of gas. Have those with turbos noticed improvement after a few thousand miles?

 

I made the same change as you and have very similar comparisons tween the BMW and the Porsche.

Have faith in the PCM and Nav. I thought it was quite awkward at first but once I learned it I found it had processes that made sense and more flexibility than that of the BMW. About the only think that I thought BMW nav did better was how POI was integrated into the system. Certainly agree nav is faster, and that makes quite a difference in use. The 3D view is more useful in the Porsche because you get street names on the screen, with the BMW there were almost now street names in 3D.

There are some inconsistencies however in the PCM that did not exist in the iDrive. Overall, the Porsche wins! And you are right - the Burmester is the best. I suffer from the audiophile disease, spending money on home audio gear that can be justified - except to me. The Burmester is the first car system that I would call audiophile grade.

Enjoy your beautiful vehicle

 

The Nav continues to be a challenge.
The only icon on the screen during a Routing is something that changes the direction to North....not useful for me. With the BMW, the option to look at turn by turn directions or split the screen to have turns on half and map on half was available with a button. Not only can I not figure out how to accomplish this, but when I leave the Nav to preset a Sat station, upon returning I have to go to previous destinations to resume the Navigation. That does not seem right.

 

You can do the split screens if you want. Just make sure you are saving your settings once you do that via the seat memory buttons. Those save ALL settings in car.

 

After you set the destination you should land on the MAP screen. If not click on the MAP button. Then click OPTION, then choose SET MAP then map layout. There are a bunch of options there including one showing the maneuver list that you are looking for. It should save this as a preference for you too.

Strange behavior on the SAT presets. My destinations stay set no matter where else I navigate to (or even if I turn off the car before I arrive). Might check with a dealer on that if it persists

 

Yeah. I get the split screen on my '12. It's just a setting.

I have to agree with the fact that, overall that the PCM is easier, some of the sub menus are more difficult to navigate.

Vitaman, AWESOME looking ride my friend. Glad our friends in ATL took good care of you. I was online looking at my next build. Just for laughs. Not gonna do anything for another year or so, but you inspired (I should say corrupted) me. Gonna do white again with black painted 21 inch SportDesign wheels. Black logo.

Now I got order the black Porsche and Cayenne Turbo logos because of you as well!



J

 

BTW, those are the black headlights, right?

J

 

Corrupted you?.....think of it as my showing you a better way. :-))
The headlights are indeed Black. I'm holding back from smoking the taillights below the taillights (can't remember what they are called), and painting the inside of the Wheels along with tail pipes Black. It would be a nice look but I like the present look too. Plus I don't want to be without the car for the 3 days they would need it.
I think my key to understanding the Nav is to find the options under Map settings. The problems start with the letter C of PCM. Map doesn't mean Nav to me. Media, Source and Tuner all have similar meanings when you're coming from BMW, blasting down the road with the Nav screen up and want to bring up a screen quickly that will tell you Artist and Title of the song on the Radio.
If I wasn't enjoying driving so much, I would be annoyed. As it is I call my Sales Guy every other day to get pointers, but when I miss his return call, it's not a big deal. I just like my technology to be intuitive.

 

I also agree that once you get used to PCM, it will be "more" intuitive than Idrive. Great combination of packages and color choices. Enjoy!

 

Okay, okay... You win!

I am gonna order the black lettering, tail lights and seperation edge Monday. Would like the headlights, but the are gonna be a pain to install.

J