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F11 BMW 5-Series Touring – first looks

Sunday, March 21, 2010 8:04 PM Posted by faisalahmad 0 comments

BMW has unveiled the wagon version of the new 5-Series, and it’s called the BMW 5-Series Touring, which I find amusing because the “Touring” seems to have a larger storage area than the “GRAND Touring” model. Less is more? This is the proper estate with a huge boot space – starts at 560 liters and goes up to a maximum of 1,670 liters by folding down the 40:20:40 split rear seats, which are also individually inclinable by 11 degrees in 7 stages by the way!

All of the new stuff that made its debut in the new F10 Sedan is also found in the Touring model such as the new range of engines, Electric Power Steering on all models and the new 8-speed automatic transmission that is optional in Europe but will no doubt be standard here in Malaysia as at that price point, not many people are interested in manually operating the clutch!

I’ve also found out that the iDrive system’s featureset has been expanded in the latest version. There are news and RSS reader functions with text to speech so you can listen (and not read) the latest while driving. Your navigation point of interest database can now be supplemented by Google Maps, though without the option of BMW ConnectedDrive’s wireless EDGE model here in Malaysia you probably won’t be able to use this.

The audio system can now also play audio from a Bluetooth Audio Streaming source other than the existing CD, USB, iPod and aux in sources. The Bluetooth featureset has also been expanded beyond the new audio streaming feature – iDrive can now display SMS, tasks, memos and calendar entries all from your mobile phone through the new “Office” function.

Posted in Bmw

BMW 325i with full BMW Performance kit!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 4:47 PM Posted by faisalahmad 0 comments

Now this is a sight that you seriously won’t see often – an E90 Sedan with almost the full range of BMW Performance add-ons installed. And I say this because the total cost of the full kit clocks in at RM103,300, which is what you’ll have to pay over what it costs to buy a 325i in the first place, which is over RM300k.

So that’s over RM400k, which is actually still not enough for a 335i since that twin-turbo baby in BMW Individual trim goes for over half a million bucks.

Here’s what went into this car, all from BMW Performance:

Carbon fiber mirror caps

Carbon fiber diffuser for M Aerodynamic kit

Carbon fiber front splitter for M Aerodynamic kit

Carbon fiber rear spoiler

Carbon fiber suspension cross-brace

Double spoke style 269 alloy wheels

BMW Performance brakes (with the yellow calipers)

BMW Performance air intake

Carbon finer interior trim

Illuminated door entry strips

Sports steering wheel with shift indicator

BMW Performance 3-Series When I say almost the full range – it’s because it looks like the BMW Performance front bumper is installed but not the BMW Performance rear bumper which has a different design. However both M Aerodynamic rear bumper and BMW Performance rear bumper have carbon fiber diffusers available. You have a new intake but the BMW Performance exhaust system also seems to be missing.

These parts are all seriously expensive for stuff that don’t really add any performance to your car, except for those brakes. The wheels alone cost RM15,888 for the style 269 19 inchers while the style 313 costs more at RM16,888. They come with staggered run-flat tyres – 225/35R19 in front and 255/30R19 at the rear.

The interior trim package costs RM7,888, the carbon fiber exterior bits package costs RM10,888 and the BMW Performance front and rear bumper and skirts cost RM8,888. And these are just the parts that come with ‘package prices’ . I don’t have the prices for stuff like the upgraded brakes and sports steering wheel with shift lights. But BMW says everything that’s on the car you see in this post cost RM103,300!

Posted in Bmw

BMW Performance kits for the BMW X6

Sunday, February 21, 2010 8:53 AM Posted by faisalahmad 0 comments

The many BMW X6 owners here in Malaysia have something new to look forward to this year – new aesthetics and performance accessories from BMW Performance available for retrofit on their cars.

The aesthetics upgrade called the BMW Performance Aerodynamics Kit features a new front bumper, side sill, and an insert for the rear bumper. Optional are a rear spoiler, rear fins finished in matte black and a front grid finished in high-gloss black. The side view is enhanced by huge 21 inch BMW Performance light-alloy wheels with a Y-spoke design done in a twin-tone finish – a glossy outside surface and Ferric Grey paintwork between the rims.

BMW claims each wheel is about 1.5kg lighter than a conventional wheel of the same size thanks to special production methods. The wheels exact size s are 10Jx21 at the front with 285/35R21 tyros and 11.5Jx21 at the rear with 325/30R21 tyres. That’s bloody wide – its front wheels are wider than my 5-er’s 265 rear wheels! Finally, you can equip a sports exhaust system which features chrome-plated tailpipes which are lighter, reduce exhaust backpressure and offer a sportier sound.

The Performance Power Kit is available for the two petrol-powered versions of the X6. The xDrive35i engine’s output is increased from 306hp/400Nm up to 326hp/450Nm, which is equivalent to the Power Kit upgrade that we’ve seen on other models that are equipped with the N54 twin turbo engine. The xDrive50i model gets its 4.4 liter V8’s twin turbo engine boosted up by 41hp and 50Nm so post-upgrade it makes 448hp and 650Nm of torque. These power increases boost 0 to 100km/h acceleration time for both models by approximately 0.2 seconds.

Posted in Bmw

2010 BMW 1-series Convertible

Sunday, February 7, 2010 2:33 PM Posted by faisalahmad 0 comments

2008 BMW 1-series Convertible

2008 BMW 1-series Convertible Interior

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E70 BMW X5 gets the mid-life LCI treatment!

1:40 PM Posted by faisalahmad 0 comments

BMW has updated the second generation E70 X5 with the “LCI” treatment, which basically means a mid-life facelift in BMW speak. LCI stands for Life Cycle Impulse. The X5 gets the typical updates you’d expect from a 2010 BMW – an all-turbo line-up and the ZF 8-speed automatic transmission.

The new E70 X5 range consists of the xDrive35i, the xDrive50i, the xDrive30d and the xDrive40d. Over here in Malaysia the pre-FL X5 is sold with a 3.0 liter normally aspirated inline-6 (3.0is), a 4.8 liter V8 (4.8i) and a 3.0 liter turbodiesel (3.0d). It would be bloody nice if the 3.0is is replaced with the new xDrive35i model – that would be a proper 5-seater version of the scorching X6 xDrive35i that we can see increasingly often around the streets of KL.

The xDrive35i’s N55 engine uses a single turbocharger, but BMW still calls it a TwinPower Turbo, using the excuse that the turbocharger has twin-scroll technology. It makes 306hp at 5,800rpm and 400Nm from as low as 1,200rpm all the way up to 5,000rpm, taking the X5 xDrive35i up to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds while consuming about 10.1 liters per 100km.

The top of the range regular X5 (it’s still lesser than an X5 M)’s 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8 makes 407 horsepower between 5,500 to 6,400rpm and 600Nm of torque from 1,750rpm up to 4,500rpm. 0 to 100km/h takes just 5.5 seconds.

The xDrive30d has the new aluminum crankcase found in the 730Ld (the 3.0d pre-LCI X5 in Malaysia uses the engine preceding this aluminum crankcase model) and makes 245hp at 4,000rpm and 540Nm from as low as 1,750rpm to 3,000rpm.

The new xDrive40d variant is powered by the BMW TwinPower Turbo version of the company’s 3.0 liter turbodiesel engine, ,akin 306hp at 4,400rpm and a massive 600Nm of torque from as low as 1,500rpm. The engine in the xDrive40d uses a smaller turbo to get the engine going and then switches to a larger turbo to handle the upper reaches of the rev range.

Other than the obvious aesthetic changes which include new headlamps that have LED white corona rings instead of the yellow version that’s being phased out from the BMW range, the xDrive50i and the xDrive40d also gets updated suspension settings.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery and a video of the new LCI-ed X5.

Posted in Bmw

BMW offers ‘Edition’ models for CNY 2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010 6:37 AM Posted by faisalahmad 0 comments

BMW E90 LCI

BMW is offering a total of 7 limited edition models for the upcoming Chinese New Year Celebrations. Four are from the 3-Series range and three are from the 5-Series range. You can check them out this weekend at the CNY@BMW dealership event at all BMW dealerships. I’ll be going to the one closest to my home – Auto Bavaria Sg Besi, to snap some live photos.

The E90 range consists of the BMW 320i Lifestyle Edition, the BMW 320i Performance Edition, the BMW 320d Performance Edition and the BMW 325i Performance Edition. Each Performance Edition variant of limited to 48 units each. I don’t really have much info on the Lifestyle Edition at this point.

You basically get BMW Performance accent strips and a black front grille for a sportier look. On the inside, you get BMW Performance gear levers which are wrapped with Alcantara and Walkanappa leather with a chrome strip on top, and a BMW Performance handbrake grip in Alcantara leather. Finally, there’s a set of aluminium pedals and footrest.

Posted in Bmw