[wtwo3]

After about 2 months, finally got over to the dealer to pick this beauty up. First of all - apologies for the lack of pictures. I'll try to take more pictures in the coming days, especially since many people were keen to see the ivory/atlas interior.

We traded in our X5 after a solid 3 years. It was a great car and we're sad to see it go... but on to bigger (literally) and better (probably) things!


First some stats:

Spec:
2023 BMW X7 xdrive 40i
Blue Ridge Mountain Metallic
Ivory White/Atlas Grey Full Merino Leather
Leather Dashboard
Alcantara Headliner in Upholstery Color
Dynamic Handling Package
Integral Active Steering
Driver Assistance Pro Package
Parking Assistance Package
Executive Package
Climate Comfort Package
Aluminum Running Boards
Antracite-Brown Poplar Matte Finish Wood Trim
21" Y-spoke Bi-color Ferric Grey Wheels w/ non rft
Space Saver Spare

My build timeline:
Order Placed: 7/4/2022
Allocation Received: 7/14/2022
Scheduled for Production: 8/4/2022
Production Begins: 8/18/2022
Exterior Body Assembly Begins: 8/30/2022
In the Paint Booth: 8/30/2022
Entering the Assembly Line: 8/30/2022
Assembly in Progress: 8/30/2022
Quality Check: 8/30/2022
Final Assembly: 8/31/2022
Read for Transport: 8/31/2022
Awaiting Carrier Assignment: 8/31/2022
Dispatched from Factory: 9/2/2022
At the Port : 9/6/2022
In Transit: 9/6/2022
At the Dealership: 9/6/2022
Picked up: 9/7/2022

First impression upon seeing it - we arrived at the dealership and saw it sitting outside. Wow it looks REALLY good. Love the paint color, love the headlights, love the accents.



Taking a look inside, everything looks and feels incredibly premium. It's definitely a step up from the X5. The full leather really makes a difference and IMO is well worth the cost. The screen actually looks good, makes it look very modern inside. My only gripe is the removal of some of the physical buttons for steering wheel heater, seat heating/cooling, etc. Other than those, I'm totally on board with iDrive8 and the screen. One other thing I'll mention, I do prefer the pre-LCI ambient lighting. They reduced some of that ambient lighting for this LCI and it's noticeable.






We then went out for a celebratory dinner. And as night fell.... oh my word. This color, which I was originally a little iffy about... it POPS. Absolutely gorgeous color. We turned in an Ametrine Metallic X5, but wow that never popped the way this does. Don't think pictures do it justice.



As for the driving experience. Immediately it feels a bit smoother and quieter than the X5. The X5 was an incredibly smooth and quiet ride to begin with.. and this seems to turn it up a notch. The dynamic handing package, while subtle, helps this big SUV feel surprisingly nimble. I definitely notice a difference between this and our X5 which felt a bit floaty on the air suspension.

I did try the driving assistance on the highway. It works similarly to pre-LCI, however I did notice improved tracking. Our X5 exhibited some very slight ping-pong effect in the lanes sometimes, and that seemed to be completely absent with this. So seems to be an improvement overall.

I'm extremely happy with it so far. I'll be sure to add more pictures in the coming days with better lighting to really show the interior. I think if there's one thing we could have changed about the spec, it might be the interior trim. The anthracite-brown poplar wood, while in and of itself looks amazing and sophisticated, seems to blend in a bit too much with the atlas grey part of the interior.

[x7m60i]

Congrats! Thanks for the pictures. Can’t wait to see more.
I actually think the anthracite-brown poplar wood blends in really well and looks greats. We will see how the silver ash turns out when we get ours

[danbone7]

We have the atlas gray and poplar combo on order. I would love to see more pictures of the wood and how you think it blends in with the atlas.

[coolerbythelake]

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, CONGRATS!!!

That interior, just wow. First real life pics I've seen of the best interior color. Mine just flipped to 150 yesterday with a build date of 09/22 so maybe I'll see it this month. My dealer is Knauz up in Lake Bluff so hopefully the ship time will be similar to yours.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by danbone7

We have the atlas gray and poplar combo on order. I would love to see more pictures of the wood and how you think it blends in with the atlas.

It was getting dark when we picked up the car so not the best lighting, but will try to snap some pics if I get a chance today in better lighting. Overall the interior looks very clean, but the poplar wood does get slightly lost in the mix... just a question of if you prefer something to stick out or blend in.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by coolerbythelake

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, CONGRATS!!!

That interior, just wow. First real life pics I've seen of the best interior color. Mine just flipped to 150 yesterday with a build date of 09/22 so maybe I'll see it this month. My dealer is Knauz up in Lake Bluff so hopefully the ship time will be similar to yours.

Awesome! I actually purchased both my X5 and m340i from Knauz and it was a pleasure working with them.

I'll try to snap some more pics of the interior in better lighting today and over the next few days.

[danbone7]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

It was getting dark when we picked up the car so not the best lighting, but will try to snap some pics if I get a chance today in better lighting. Overall the interior looks very clean, but the poplar wood does get slightly lost in the mix... just a question of if you prefer something to stick out or blend in.

I actually have the Fineline Open Pore Wood on order, not the poplar. What would you have picked if you could do it again?

[jphcbpa]

Looks great and congrats !
Do you have the bench seat ?
How are you liking the ivory/atlas ?

[Brigitte]

Congrats...gorgeous car!

The Blue Ridge Mountain Metallic is a great color...it looks different depending on the lighting! That's the color I intend to order.

Please post more pictures...in the sun...in the shade.. etc

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by danbone7

I actually have the Fineline Open Pore Wood on order, not the poplar. What would you have picked if you could do it again?

That's a good question... I'm not crazy about any of the options. We had the individual fine wood ash grain in our X5 which was gorgeous, but not sure that would go well with the atlas grey.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by jphcbpa

Looks great and congrats !
Do you have the bench seat ?
How are you liking the ivory/atlas ?

Yup have the bench seat. What sold me on those was the ability to move it forward to allow access to 3rd row with carseat still attached, as well as the ability to lay flat if I need to haul anything large.

So far really liking the ivory/atlas. We had all ivory in the X5, and while that was nice, the atlas grey adds a bit of flair to it and makes it more interesting.

I will say the alcantara headliner in ivory is REALLY nice. Aside from the feel of the material, the look of it really brightens up the cabin and gives it a super luxe feel.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Brigitte

Congrats...gorgeous car!

The Blue Ridge Mountain Metallic is a great color...it looks different depending on the lighting! That's the color I intend to order.

Please post more pictures...in the sun...in the shade.. etc

Thanks! Yes will definitely post more pictures. The kids had a meltdown at the dealership yesterday so didn't get a chance to take too many pictures before it got dark

[arciga18]

I looked at the first picture before scrolling through the post and thought, "man, they got the color completely wrong. "

congrats!!!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by arciga18

I looked at the first picture before scrolling through the post and thought, "man, they got the color completely wrong. "

congrats!!!

When I posted this I figured that would cause some confusion there.

[Brigitte]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Thanks! Yes will definitely post more pictures. The kids had a meltdown at the dealership yesterday so didn't get a chance to take too many pictures before it got dark

I can't blame them...I'm having a meltdown seeing the pictures of your car

The color looks FANTASTIC at night!

[x7m60i]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yup have the bench seat. What sold me on those was the ability to move it forward to allow access to 3rd row with carseat still attached, as well as the ability to lay flat if I need to haul anything large.

So far really liking the ivory/atlas. We had all ivory in the X5, and while that was nice, the atlas grey adds a bit of flair to it and makes it more interesting.

I will say the alcantara headliner in ivory is REALLY nice. Aside from the feel of the material, the look of it really brightens up the cabin and gives it a super luxe feel.

Is the roof sun shade in alcantara or cloth? How big is the color difference if it's cloth?

[jphcbpa]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Yup have the bench seat. What sold me on those was the ability to move it forward to allow access to 3rd row with carseat still attached, as well as the ability to lay flat if I need to haul anything large.

So far really liking the ivory/atlas. We had all ivory in the X5, and while that was nice, the atlas grey adds a bit of flair to it and makes it more interesting.

I will say the alcantara headliner in ivory is REALLY nice. Aside from the feel of the material, the look of it really brightens up the cabin and gives it a super luxe feel.

excellent to hear !! I too went with ivory/atlas with matching headliner / ivory. getting more excited now. thank you !

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by x7m60i

Is the roof sun shade in alcantara or cloth? How big is the color difference if it's cloth?

I will take a look tonight and let you know. I realized we haven't even tried closing the sunshade yet

[BMW5and7]

Great color combination. Congratulations! The interior of yours is close to the one I have on my X7 (Individual full leather -Merino - Ivory night-blue) and I love it. I like that the top surface of the hand-rests in the interior on the door have the darker color "easier to keep neat and clean". I'd have preferred thought if they kept the central hand-rest near the gear selector module one to be ivory rather then the dark one. This is one of the nicest interior colors that you can choose from, I really love it.

Was just wondering if you set the vehicle height low while takings photos, or if this is how the vehicle sets naturally when parked?

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by BMW5and7

Great color combination. Congratulations! The interior of yours is close to the one I have on my X7 (Individual full leather -Merino - Ivory nightblue) and I love it. I like that the hand-rests on the interior of the door is colored with the darker color "easier to keep neat and clean". I'd have preferred thought if they kept the central hand-rest near the gear selector module one to be ivory rather then the dark one.

Was just wondering if you set the vehicle height low while takings photos, or if this is how the vehicle sets naturally when parked?

I have it set to the lowest setting. I typically just lower it as I pull into a parking space especially when I'm with the family. Makes it easier for the wife and kids to get in/out of it.

[Brigitte]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

I have it set to the lowest setting. I typically just lower it as I pull into a parking space especially when I'm with the family. Makes it easier for the wife and kids to get in/out of it.

Was it easy for them to get in/out or did they have to use the running boards?

[BMW5and7]

Originally Posted by Brigitte

Was it easy for them to get in/out or did they have to use the running boards?

I usually find it easy to step out at the standard height but i
Stepping in is not that easy for kids or my parents/older. Hence I really like the display key. Before we get to the garage i set the vehicle height to low using the display key via a single button
I’ll post a thread about my experience with the display key.