European Debut of BMW M4 and M3 at the Brussels Auto Show + HUD views

[mdss6]

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Greetings. To my surprise the European debut of the 2015 M3/4 occurred at the Brussels Auto Show instead of waiting for the Geneva show in March. But lucky for me.

And I learned a few things from the BMW reps:
- The M emblem in the seats is not backlit. The logo is made of a "glow in the dark" material, but it is not powered.
- At least in Europe, the trim is optionally glossy or matte. At the show it was glossy.

Per my own impression of the new seats as someone who is 6'2" with most of my height in my legs and who had an E46 M3, they are comfortable and supportive. There is no extendable thigh support, but the new seat offers at least as good if not better thigh support than did the E46 seat with the adjustable support. My critique is that they don't provide much lateral support up near the shoulders. They look good and like they would provide some cornering support, but I could easily rock side to side. I hope the cloth will provide more gripe. Though I was disappointed that the cloth in the 2-series on hand proved to be almost as slippery as leather...

Edit - A note on size. I've added a photo demonstrating the rear legroom in the sedan. I've seen multiple size comparisons to the E39, and while the exterior dimensions are similar, as a former E39 owner (who used it for a family trip) I find no comparison on rear legroom. The F80/82 is much better. For the photo I had the front seat adjusted to a comfortable position for my long legs and my knees still cleared the seat back. To me the new car is the perfect size to just carry four adults in comfort without being too big. I think BMW should also have a smaller rear drive sedan (i.e. 4-door version of the new 2-series), but for my needs I'm quite happy with the apparent practicality of the new cars (with no increase in weight or loss of speed).

I'm less happy you can't get cloth and the HUD, in combination, in the USA models. One of several limits (such as the color restrictions) that disappoint.

And finally, it is disappointing they will not be available for delivery until June. Nor any available for test drives until that point.

Regards

[Sedan_Clan]

Oddly, this YMB sedan and AY coupe have the shiny door and side view mirror trim. I definitely like the flat black Shadowline trim better. I also love all of the HUD info.

[Brosef]

awesome pics! that HUD really does look sweet. too bad it's still not worth $3,900 they charge for the executive package bundle, since that's the only part of it I'd care about.

[BlackLight]

Thanks!
Love the HUD views thru the window.

[Needsdecaf]

Awesome pics! Do you have high-res shots of the dash? I'd love to have a few emailed, PM me if you would be so kind.

[infantrytroop22]

The matte trim wasn't an option on the dealer order list, was it?

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by infantrytroop22

The matte trim wasn't an option on the dealer order list, was it?

I'm not sure, but there are a lot of pics floating around of the matte trim. We're still trying to get confirmation if the matte trim is standard, and Shadowline is the shiny trim, or if the shiny trim is standard, and the matte trim is Shadowline.

He matte looks better to me:

[infantrytroop22]

I wonder how well the matte trim on the mirrors would hold up. My guess is not very well.

[GOLFFRR]

awesome coverage!

[parky1215]

Cool pics. Disappointed to hear that those seat emblem will illuminate without power. Does it mean that people will see it illuminating when car is locked at night?
That sounds really ricey.

[mdss6]

Hard to say if you will be able to see the seat M emblems in the dark, but the "glowing"/reflective material was pretty dim. I think most casual observers will not notice.

[JTO24]

The M3 looks great here.. Yas blue is really growing on me; still don't think I'd be bold enough to rock it as a DD though.

[Croatian test driver]

Thanks a lot for the pictures. The YMB M3 looks actually pretty good here (and I prefer it with the silver wheels instead of the black).

Man, the color thing drives me crazy, both exterior and interior.

[M4Trojan]

Great pics. The colors really pop in your photos.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Brosef

awesome pics! that HUD really does look sweet. too bad it's still not worth $3,900 they charge for the executive package bundle, since that's the only part of it I'd care about.

HUD is not available for US models !

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by mdss6

Hard to say if you will be able to see the seat M emblems in the dark, but the "glowing"/reflective material was pretty dim. I think most casual observers will not notice.

Perfect pics ! THX for sharing

[Sir Loin]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

HUD is not available for US models !

Says who?

[BlackLight]

It's on the Canadian cars as part of a package...

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

HUD is not available for US models !

Yes it is! We have HUD here.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by parky1215

Cool pics. Disappointed to hear that those seat emblem will illuminate without power. Does it mean that people will see it illuminating when car is locked at night?
That sounds really ricey.

That's not the impression I got from a friend who saw the cars. He said they only illuminated for a short time, and mirrored/were synced with the interior lights.

[///M5Bruno]

Great pics!

[mdss6]

Originally Posted by BlackLight

Thanks!
Love the HUD views thru the window.

Thanks everyone (I don't know how to quote more than one message) for the comments. Same camera (Panasonic LX7) as @Dackelone has used for several of his museum posts. It's good for shooting cars indoors in close quarters.