OK, so here goes with very initial impressions. I have barely driven the car 150 miles mostly commuting to work and some errands, so this is very preliminary. It's also important to point out that my car was mistakenly delivered with PSS tires, so these initial impressions are on the PSS. The PSC2 will come on later this week.
First, the things I am not too fond of. These lightweight door cards are not the most pleasing. My wife hates them. I think they could have made something lightweight and leather covered that looks better. Also, after 13 years of comfort access, now having to use the key to lock and un-lock the car needs some getting used to. First world problems, I know
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Now on to the good stuff. The car feels fantastic. While I truly loved my 2015 M4, I was mostly looking for more soul, a car that has a little more edge, and I got exactly that with the CS. The car just feels lighter, sharper and more eager to move in any direction. It also sounds much more natural with less sound insulation and no ASD (I had also coded ASD off on my '15). I transferred the MPE from my previous M4 to my CS and it sounds very good (for an S55 that is), noticeably better than my 2015 with less rasp and fizz. I also like the "bark" they added on start-up.
I actually love driving the car in "sedate" mode (Efficient/Comfort/Comfort/S1), which is mostly what I've done since Delivery. The engine is relatively quiet with the valves closed and the MPE emits a nice deep purr. The suspension still feels quite sporty but very comfortable soaking up road imperfection with applomb without any floatiness. The steering is also alive with feedback.
When turning the dial up on the driving modes, the car become even sharper in all respects. I really like the new exhaust valve control logic. On my 2015 M4, the valves would close after 2nd gear even in Sport and Sport+ unless you were really on it, which I really disliked and got me to buy a valve controler. Not the case now, where the valves stay open until 5th gear and the engine emmits a menacing inline-6 growl with the MPE that turns into a very race car like howl above 4000RPM. I would say the car sounds "cleaner" than my 2015, if that makes any sense. I have not taken it above 5500RPM yet due to break-in. The burbles on run down are amuzing, and sound like riffle shots with the MPE. Fun but can also be embarassing. I think I may have startled a few pedestrians. The suspension in Sport feels even sharper and more eager to inputs, perfect for a quick romp. In Sport+, it becomes a bit too jaring for the street, but I suspect it will be perfect on track.
Save for the door cards, I really like the interior. I love the feel of the alcantara accents on the dash, center console, front seats and particularly the steering wheel. The steering wheel feels great in my hands and instantly brings a greater connection to the car. I can only recommend this upgrade. I also don't miss the armrests and the driving position is improved without them with more elbow room to handle the steering. I am quite surprised with the quality of the base sound system. I have always had "good sound" in my cars and my expectations were very low, but it does sound decent enough. I've come to realize that I mostly drive with the audio off except on long trips, so I won't miss the HK system one bit. I also like the full leather in the car, which makes the interior more high end, but I could have gone without. Same for the HUD, while a cool gadget to doodle with, I don't believe it is a necessity (both full leather and HUD are standard items in Canada). The door pull straps work well enough but require some getting used to, especially when opening the doors. I also like the new iDrive. And the single zone HVAC is refreshly simple and works perfectly well. Finally the added ///M tri-colour accents throughout the cabin (door pull straps, seatbelts and headrests) add punch to the black interior without feeling tacky.
I also like the exterior looks very much. Despite being essentially the same car as my Silverstone 2015 (which also had the CF diffuser and spoiler), the different accents and exterior colour make the car look very different. While my 2015 SSII looked elegantly sporty and longer, the CS looks mean, menacing and shorter. I really like the LRG colour. It is very dynamic sometimes looking like a deep dark grey and sometimes almost silver. Depending on the angle, when parked next to my wifes Daytona Grey RS3, it sometimes looks darker than the RS3 and sonetimes it looks lighter. Quite amazing. I am getting a lot of compliments about the colour.
Upcoming mods include CF mirror caps that should come on this week as well as coding. I actually got used to all the nice coded features I added on my 2015 and the absence of some of them is downright annoying such as comfort access seats, iDrive disclaimer delete, MMI off /door unlock with ignition off and Euro headlight tune. I am looking forward to experiment with Anti-Dazzle-High-Beams, something I couldn't do on my 2015 because it didn't have HBA. MP-HAS and GC camber plates will be coming on at the break-in service, hopefully just in time for my next planned track day on September 24th. I can't wait to try it out on track
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Stay tuned for that upcoming track review
