[sharadrai]

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just ordered my X7. I was re-thinking all my choices, and wanted to see what others have to say for premium package? All the 4 features listed don't seem to be must-have. Thoughts?

[Phasers]

Originally Posted by sharadrai

just ordered my X7. I was re-thinking all my choices, and wanted to see what others have to say for premium package? All the 4 features listed don't seem to be must-have. Thoughts?

Personally, I find the HUD a must-have.

Also, if you have kids, the rear electric window shades are very useful. Same for the soft close doors if you have young children / babies who might be sleeping and you want to gently close the door.

Gesture control actually drives me nuts.

[jmciver]

The Premium Package has changed some since the X7 was introduced. My '20 came with it, but does not have all of those features, save one, the HUD. For me the HUD would make it worth it. After first getting HUD on my M3 (back in 2017), I don't think I would buy a new car without it.

For me, while the other options are not must-haves, they are not mission-kill either. Especially when you look at the cost of the package, which is not that bad when taking into account the affect on the monthly payment - lease or finance. I say go for it.

[unfoundnemo]

Originally Posted by Phasers

Personally, I find the HUD a must-have.

Also, if you have kids, the rear electric window shades are very useful. Same for the soft close doors if you have young children / babies who might be sleeping and you want to gently close the door.

Gesture control actually drives me nuts.

+1 on all points, but to add a little more perspective from me:

1. I can't stand driving a car without a HUD anymore, I have no idea where my Nav and Speedo is otherwise, and don't feel great hunting around for it when needed. $1900 is a little much to spend for just this purpose... but I still would... heck, if it was $5k+ more for that option alone, I would likely still be ticking the box.
2. Even when I'm alone in the car on the highway, I find myself using the electric rear shades, basically in conjunction with the panoramic roof shade. I find it adds a little more sound isolation along with blocking the light. Similarly, sometimes I want a more open/airy feeling at night while cruising around the city.
3. Utilizing the soft close doors takes a lot of effort as you basically have to slow the big heavy door down for it not to slam. Like Phasers says, it's only when you want to close the door quietly, or on the off chance a child's elbow slowed it down while moving in the car while closing, making it nice to not have to hop out and run over to that door while tryin to pull away.
4. I have gesture control disabled in both cars. I cannot stand it.

[crackerjack15]

HUD - I told myself I could care less about HUD. Why do I need a redundant display when I can glance down at the nav screen? WHY? because the X7 HUD is fantastic. The graphics are very clear and concise.

Soft close doors - I could live without them. I personally utilize them occasionally, because I remember, but most of the family slam the doors rendering them useless. In the event they don't get the door shut, I have to yell, "It will close itself!", but usually cannot get that out fast enough before they re-open and close.

Gesture controls - I use the mute function (Y with fingers) and the go home (spread all fingers open) mostly. volume is easier with knob or steering wheel controls. Occasionally when gesturing talking it will change the channel accidently and I have to change it back.

Rear window shades - As another poster mentioned. We too use them to quiet the interior during rain or long freeway driving along with the sunroof covers.

I have the executive package. I do use the cooled cupholders quite a bit. Keeps condensation down from standard beverage cans, etc.

I could care less about the crystal shifter, but I do like it.

Panoramic sky lounge - It's cool looking, but I would rather not have it. When we are traveling and you want to look up at something at night, you can barely see anything because of the lights. During the day all the little dots also interfere with a clear view.

[MystroX5]

Yes.

[bemagrp]

Originally Posted by sharadrai

just ordered my X7. I was re-thinking all my choices, and wanted to see what others have to say for premium package? All the 4 features listed don't seem to be must-have. Thoughts?

HUD - like it, always use it
Soft close doors - love it.
Rear shades - don't care, my kids hate them, always down.
Gesture control - please remove it, hate it from day one.

[jsmonet]

yes.

it's just weird not having them on a vehicle of this cost

[Delrazdan]

Can you dim or turn of the led light in the moon/sky roof at night as someone said u can’t see outside - like a starry clear night … is this one of those features that u say … oh wow cool, and after minutes u get bored and wish u had plain old clear glass?

[andyzzz]

I like every features of the premium package:
head up display
soft close
window shades
gesture control
Love all of them.

[Parmus]

Originally Posted by Phasers

Personally, I find the HUD a must-have.

Also, if you have kids, the rear electric window shades are very useful. Same for the soft close doors if you have young children / babies who might be sleeping and you want to gently close the door.

Gesture control actually drives me nuts.

Haha. I 100% agree with you. Gesture control does not work if you’re a hand talker. Can’t tell you how many times my right hand has changed radio, muted sound, turned off display, you name it. At first I thought it was a cool feature to keep your eyes on the road, but I spend more time looking down to fix what my “gesture” did

[sunglyong2]

Originally Posted by Phasers

Personally, I find the HUD a must-have.

Also, if you have kids, the rear electric window shades are very useful. Same for the soft close doors if you have young children / babies who might be sleeping and you want to gently close the door.

Gesture control actually drives me nuts.

+1

I love soft close door. X7 door is heavy and it sometimes makes door not to be completely closed unless you slammed door hard.

[Phasers]

Originally Posted by Parmus

Haha. I 100% agree with you. Gesture control does not work if you’re a hand talker. Can’t tell you how many times my right hand has changed radio, muted sound, turned off display, you name it. At first I thought it was a cool feature to keep your eyes on the road, but I spend more time looking down to fix what my “gesture” did

This happens to my wife as well, when she is in the passenger seat

[Raptor_pilot]

Completely worth paying for the premium package….cannot think of any luxury car without HUD…..i have personally taken executive package

[Delrazdan]

Originally Posted by Raptor_pilot

Completely worth paying for the premium package….cannot think of any luxury car without HUD…..i have personally taken executive package

Yes, premium is worth it. HUD and adaptive led lights. I’m generally a fan of executive also, although the glass control not sure if it will get scratched over time and gesture control are worth it. Laser light - yes, led moonroof … wonder how much use that gets….

[Raptor_pilot]

Originally Posted by Delrazdan

Yes, premium is worth it. HUD and adaptive led lights. I’m generally a fan of executive also, although the glass control not sure if it will get scratched over time and gesture control are worth it. Laser light - yes, led moonroof … wonder how much use that gets….

Glass control is really wonderful with the lights coming through…i don’t think it gets scratched unless you have rings on your fingers which are going to scratch it…..we have started to like the gesture control once we got used to the pace at which to do the gesture…..led moonroof is more about ambience than any other use…gets a good vibe to the drive and definitely adds to the wow factor…kids love it !

[Delrazdan]

Originally Posted by Raptor_pilot

Glass control is really wonderful with the lights coming through…i don’t think it gets scratched unless you have rings on your fingers which are going to scratch it…..we have started to like the gesture control once we got used to the pace at which to do the gesture…..led moonroof is more about ambience than any other use…gets a good vibe to the drive and definitely adds to the wow factor…kids love it !

Thanks - I wasn't disputing the worthiness. On gesture control I have mixed feelings - when my wife is in the car (or another passenger) we tend to talk with our hands and that surely messes up the gesture control.

[jsmonet]

Gesture control was hit or miss for me, and being mostly sicilian, it had to be turned off.

Everything else in the package is a solid hit

[Staszek]

We are putting our order in now, but here is my 2 cents because I have all of these features on my 750.

1) HUD is a must, I am so used to it now, every time I get into my M3 after the winter which doesn't have it I remember how much I take advantage of it. Especially scrolling through channels and phone numbers.

2) Gesture control is a gimmick, I turned mine off.

3) Love the shades, its great for napping passengers, I had them in other cars that were not automated, its way better automated.

4) Soft Close- again really good for napping younger passengers. I like them in general but for the kids its great keeping them asleep getting in and out of the car.

5) Sky Roof is actually one of my favorites, I have no problem seeing through it during the day, you can turn the lights down at night if you want but it creates a nice ambiance in the car. We change the colors for different seasons or moods. I dont know if it is a must have but it definetly brings up the preceived luxury of the car.

[stockguru]

The rear Sun shades really do add a layer of privacy and heat reduction to the car. Also naturally makes the rear window tint look darker which I love as well I added 30's to the rear window privacy and with the sunshades they looked blacked out

[gfunk0311]

The HUD is great but my sunglasses render it useless

[audiogolf]

in the same boat, just about to place the order for a new X7, other than HUD all other options look gimmicky to me. had these in my 7 series, HUD was ok, but the problem is with Apple car play it does not show the directions coming from apple maps/Waze/etc. which I use almost every time. don't have small kids so really don't care about the rear sunshades.
As for the HUD, on my wife's last 440xi convertible it did not have the HUD, but I put a small after-market HUD which showed the speed only wired via the obdII having the wire neatly tucked in, you could not tell. I like the soft close door option, but all the folks in my house have a habit of slamming the doors, so not necessary for me. I am thinking of swapping out the premium package and selecting the glass controls, which IMHO give a nice touch to the interior.