TODAY IS THE DAY!

Picked up Heathcliff this afternoon, all nice and shiny. Looked great - even one of the salespeople (not mine) came up and commented how nice the car came out. (Particularly liked the exterior chrome trim.)

Yes, pictures will be coming.

But for those who have been participating in the debate, LOVE THE SPORT SUSPENSION. With my 18 inch Pirelli's, the car feels great! Drove over some of the less-than-stellar roads I often go over, the railroad tracks, etc., and it feels great.

Not too harsh, by any means. Definitely firm - but not unfamiliar or unpleasant to someone coming out of an R32. If you're coming out of something with a softer suspension, you probably want to be sure to test-drive a car with the Sport Suspension.

The Connected and Nav setup will take some time to get used to, but really like the overall look-and-feel, so far.

Feels odd to not know where everything is "automatically" - had to open a window. Turn on an interior light. Didn't know where things were! Definitely going to have to get reacquainted with my driving environment!

Going out for another drive!

 

Congratulations on picking up Heathcliff - I'm hoping to pick up "Betty Boop" by the end of the month. I was glad to hear your positive reaction to the sport suspension with 18" wheels. Mine will have that option too, but I've been driving my 09 JCW with the sport suspension/18" wheels for almost 3 years now so I don't think I will see much difference.

Happy Motoring!

MsBrit

 

If you're coming to the CM from a JCW, I can't imagine you having a problem with the sport suspension! Similar feel, only bigger! It really does have a nice feel to it.

 

Congrats! many miles of happy motoring to come!

Envy you for sport suspension. Opted out this time.. but on the next one...

 

Oooooo - Has someone been drinking the Orange Kool Aide? Congrats - I'm waiting for the big pics.

 

Congrats! Looking forward to the pics.

 

That's how I feel whenever I get in a car that is not my MINI.

Congrats!

 

You park somewhere, and look out over all the washed-out grays and whites and silvers and silver-blues and metallic pearls, and all of sudden your eyes spot a bright tomato on wheels! No, it's Heathcliff. Or some other PO fan!

It definitely is eye-catching!

 

Somewhere else I posted that PO was like Skittles on wheels. You never know what color you'll get next. I'll be joining the group in "6 to 8 weeks".

 

A few other quick observations - the Xenons are EXCELLENT! My R32 had them, but these are SOOOO much better. I consider these a "must have" option now! Just really great visibility.

On a related note, I haven't even noticed the adaptive headlights yet!

The most surprising thing is the feeling of spaciousness - I guess it's the driving position, coupled with the overall tall design of the car, but it feels much more open that I was expecting. And I do have the anthracite headliner, which could make it feel claustrophobic, but it doesn't.

Using the onboard trip computer, it says I'm getting 21 mpg so far. That's with lots of being stopped and the engine running, so not really surprised. (Stopping, playing with various instruments, changing seats so friends can drive, etc.) And I do realize that the best thing is to do real calculations when filling up, NOT relying on the car computer, but FYI, nonetheless.

But even a friend of mine in the car business commented that the car just has a very solid feel to it - quality materials, quality sounds, etc. And was very impressed with the quietness (is that a word?) of the ride.

More to come - pix, too, but having too much fun. And having to work, dammit!

 

Where are you located? I ask because that seems to be the most significant factor in determining when you get your CM delivered to you.

 

Not sure I'm following - I live in TN, and my car took almost a week to make it up from the port in GA. Then another 4 days of back-and-forth with the dealer re schedules and the like.

But I was able to get my car scheduled onto a slot my dealer already had "in line". So from me placing the order to actually having the car was 7 weeks.

 

Folks in NY have gotten their CMs as quickly as four weeks from order date, since so many vessels go there. Further down the East Coast, it takes longer. Folks on the West Coast have waited as much as a month or longer than NYers. Many have said, as you did, that the dealer's slot is a major factor as well.

I'm in a similar situation as yours, in that I got a dealer's slot that was in line. Mine is built and awaiting transport, so I'm just waiting for an email from my MA telling me that it is on its way. I saw your timeline in your sig and that gives me some sense for how long I will be waiting.

I apologize for the minor hijack.

 

Well, my first "Debbie Downer" moment.

I was using the iPhone/iPod functionality - the good news is that all my songs showed up, as expected, and all seemed to be working fine. And a surprise was that while the music was playing, I was able to get on iTunes and buy music! (I was parked - no lectures required!)

The bad? As I was playing, there would be occasional fade-outs. I kept anticipating that the phone was going to ring or some alert would sound, but NADA. The sound would simply come back.

And it wasn't just one song, and the songs played perfectly "natively" on the iPhone!

Wonder what's going on? Anyone experience anything like this?

 

That's odd. I've had my ipod hooked up and playing music a lot over the past week and never noticed this. Cable issue?

 

Could be you were getting an e-mail

 

At first, I wasn't sure what you were saying - but as I thought about, it became clear. If the MAIL app on the iPhone were getting a message in the background, and I do have the audible alert turned on, perhaps that is what's causing the interruption!?!??! The system is still trying to use an audio alert to inform me of the incoming email!

I'll have to do some digging - thanks!

 

Another perception "kind of thing" - the car simply feels larger than I expected it to. The higher driving position, especially, is just so different. In a good way, though!

And it's not as though I feel like I'm driving an Escalade or anything, it's just that the car has a substantial feel to it, if that makes sense.

Don't know if it's because I'm coming from a fairly low-riding R32, or what, but... just my opinions!

 

I have an alpine system in my landcruiser with a connecting system for my iphone. when I have it plugged into the audio system any incoming e-mail or phone call causes the audio to be interupted. I bet that is what it is. I will have my CM in a week and I will certianly let you know if that is the case for me.

Bill

 

FWIW:

Haven't seen with the CM specifically yet, but with my iPhone 4 in my TL using a tape adapter or in cars with Bluetooth audio, the music will cut out for my mail sound.

 

Wondering how much of this is the power of suggestion vs reality - I feel like my back and my backside can tell the difference from sitting on my leather seats before, and my leatherette now. "Different" by getting sweaty more quickly, feeling like I'm sticking to the seat somewhat.

I've seen some folks comment that it's because the leatherette doesn't breathe, but it's not as though I'm in 90 degree days.

Curious.

 

And siriuszero - our cars are VERY similar in equipment. I also have the Sport Suspension and full nav, but otherwise, I think we are identically configured! Even down to the Dark Tobacco Color Line!

From your picture - are those white wheels? You're brave, if they are! I opted for the chrome 18's.

 

We drove the CM into Buckhead the other day and were experiencing the fade out thing, too. I was about to get peeved about it when we realized it was the very nice navigation lady politely telling us what to do LOL. We just had the sound down very low on the nav voice so couldn't really hear it, plus we were talking, too. It also did that when it was alerting us to a msg or email or something. We both got new MINIs in the past 2 weeks and haven't had any time to really play with the Connected and NAV yet so are learning by making mistakes more than anything.
Annette

 

Yup! White wheels! I know they'll be a pain to keep clean, but when it *is* clean, it looks AWESOME! I wish I would have had the option to get the polar beige color line with the leatherette when I ordered like you inexplicably have the ability to do now, but I saw the dark tobacco at the dealer and I like the subtle color change. If I could order again, however, I wish I would have ordered the Lounge leather...it's much comfier and I like the look better...

 

I've seen pictures of the red with the white wheels, as well as the yellow with white wheels. Both with white tops. Thought they looked very nice, just like the polar beige seats look very nice. But I know I'm not a good candidate for having them look that way very often. I'm just not that dedicated. Like a black car - they can look awesome. But they require work to look that way.

The leatherette does have a very neat look to it, but I think you're right, the leather options might be more comfortable.

I thought that the lounge leather seats didn't look particularly bolstered, if that makes sense. They look more like seats you sit on, rather than in. And I was running up enough of a tab with all the options I got - tried to save a few pennies.

Oh well, I'm going to have to enjoy my leatherette, which I'm sure I will!