They have landed (UK Dealer LAunch cars) !!!

[guardodoc]

From today

[13eastie]

OK - I have finally had a good look at one of the launch cars (now I can stop hassling people for photos), which was Jerez Black, Fox Red, CFRP roof, 19" rims and these are my gut reactions (apologies I took my SLR, but it was flat when I got there):

1: Jerez Black This is simply not black and it would be impossible to describe it as such. It is a very dark violet or indigo colour. Seen under the lights of the showroom, there is not a hint of green or purple. I've only seen Carbon Black once, in an underground carpark, but it seemed pretty similar. The swatch in the brochure seemed pretty faithful.

The contrast with the roof (as well as the high gloss shadowline) is not that nice (I wouldn't go so far as to say that they clash), so while I think Jerez Black is a nice colour per se, I am wondering whether to go for a sunroof or get Space Gray or Sparkling Graphite instead.

It delineates the car a great deal. Compared to the Alpine White model I had seen previously, it seemed far more understated, and I actually heard another punter complaining that it looked just like a 335i - while this seemed mostly a bizarre remark to me, I also had a small amount of sympathy.

2: Fox Red A matter of taste - to me it frankly looked orange and was not at all to my liking. I can't imagine people wanting this second-hand. It might look okay with Alpine White, but otherwise I would avoid. Black is the way to go.

3: Seat Height I had just got out of my Fiesta admittedly (and I'm only 5'9"), but I don't really understand the complaints about this. At the end of the day, this is a 3-series and it will never feel like a Caterham, but it certainly would not feel too high to anyone who had adjusted the seat properly.

4: Exhaust I've given up worrying about this. I'm not really an aftermarket person. FWIW it looks bloody awful and it is quite beyond me how anyone at BMW actually thought it would be okay to leave it like that.

5: 19" Wheels These looked ok, although they did not exactly wow me, definitely not too big at all. I'm going to change my order to include them.

6: Steering Wheel The thick rim is much to my liking - again I don't understand why people are getting upset about this.

[Epacy]

The seating height could be one of those things journos initially complain about just to whine but then that all goes away.

[lucid]

Originally Posted by 13eastie

4: Exhaust I've given up worrying about this. I'm not really an aftermarket person. FWIW it looks bloody awful and it is quite beyond me how anyone at BMW actually thought it would be okay to leave it like that.

I've been really puzzled/turn off by this, too, and have recently started wondering if there may be a technical (airflow) reason for the exhaust to be positioned where it is...