The X1 and X2 are not representative of BMW overall. They're FWD-based compacts on the Mini Cooper platform, and use its engine management software and transmission. Both of which--but especially the DCT--are implicated in this frequent reviewer complaint.

You never hear similar complaints about anything from the 2-series coupe on up. The MT models in particular are set up such that it's literally not possible to get in your way. Engine is only eligible to be shut off when the car is not moving, the gearshift is in neutral, and the clutch is not depressed. As soon as you start to clutch in, the engine re-fires, before you can possibly get it into gear. And of course, if you're planning on taking off quickly, you're already in gear so the engine is always running.

 

CarPlay is great, but its good to see carmakers coming up with their own good UIs. I can see now why carmakers want to get away from CarPlay.

In the Pacifica for instance CarPlay it will be lol

Weak AC has been a common BMW issue for a long time now, its strange. That was a big factor between the 7 and the S for me, in the 7 with the air blowing full cold it just doesn't get as cool as fast as the Mercedes. My S560 was like a deep freeze...

Hateful how those are designed! Mercedes is the same way. Lexus is just a simple door you remove in the glove box and the filter goes in like a cartridge, super easy...

 

Easiest one in our garage is my E90. Open the hood, remove three screws on top of the cowl and the cover comes off. R&R the filter, drop the cover back on and reattach the screws. I can do it in under a minute with minimal bending (and the filter is HUGE! roughly 3 feet long).

Most obnoxious is the Nissan we inherited from my FIL. The filter is a standard flat squarish panel, roughly 10 inches wide. But the opening it needs to go into under the dash is curved and 7 inches wide....

 

I hate the filter location on the A8s, they are huge filters (3x the capacity of my Lexus cars, easily...) but you need to contort under the dash and remove two panels and a layer of sound deadening and the panel is so tight of a fit the floor mat needs to come out lol!

 

CarPlay supports lossless audio, either via USB or wireless, and wireless CarPlay uses a dedicated wifi network, not Bluetooth. All CarPlay does is deliver the digital stream, the DAC in the headunit handles the analog conversion.

 

I can tell you for sure though the sound quality through Apple Music within the MBUX system is dramatically better than through CarPlay. Even on tracks without Atmos. It’s night and day.

 

You are correct. Mercedes-Benz, Apple Music and Universal have an agreement. Music is now mixed for Mercedes Benz cars or "approved for use in Mercedes". Using Dolby Atmos

 

Its impossible to believe the music is coming from the same source on the same system. Plus it uses the car's wifi so it doesn't use your phone data and doesn't run your phone dead.

I have noticed that where my phone was never dead because it always charged plugged into CarPlay I get to the evening and its dead now.

 

There has to be some sort of data stream native to the car. Where is it connecting to Wi Fi if you are blazing down the Interstate

 

1000% agree, I also strongly feel it cheapens the experience of a high end by being the same interface that's in a civic.

 

There is definitely a built in cellular connection. Looks like the associated service is included for 3 years, and then $150/year after that. My car is similar, though Spotify is the music partner rather than Apple (doesn't matter as I don't use either), and BMW includes 4 years rather than 3. But it's the same $150/year after that.

 

All I care about is if I can blue tooth music from my phone to the radio.

I won't pay for subscriptions. Lol

 

I avoid Bluetooth whenever possible because with rare exception (600/900kbps LDAC is actually quite decent, but not widely supported) it sounds like ****.

So it's either FLAC files on USB, or high-res streaming via Android Auto.

*in this context, this is a technical term, coined by the inventor of the standalone Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).

 

There's no technical reason for that, once you are beyond lossy compression digital audio is digital audio. CarPlay isn't playing anything, it's serving up the stream. Maybe MB reserves some DSP features for certain sources/inputs.

I was just responding to the statement that CarPlay kills audio. It doesn't, because all CarPlay delivers is 1's and 0's. Your car does the rest. What happens after it serves up the bitstream is nothing to do with CarPlay, but CarPlay will serve up bit-perfect streams identical to the source if you have it set to do that. Not everyone has their iPhone set to stream losslessly over cellular by the way, so do check that.

edit - in your specific case it’s Dolby Atmos that’s creating the difference. You have native support for Atmos via Apple Music in your S Class, most cars don’t have that. If you were playing stereo, your MBUX and CarPlay would sound identical for the reasons above. CarPlay, for the time being, doesn’t Atmos even if set to do so. It did, it got pulled. It should come back and when it does you should have the same sound from either source.

 

Interesting timing because doesn't Apple want to do the whole dashes of cars? I wouldn't want that.

Mercedes A/C is among the best out there, in mine it's better than both cars (including the LX with 28 vents). I've never had air freeze me so much I had to move all the vents. It always wasn't that way though, earlier MBs' a/c had to be re-engineered for US duty yearrrrrs ago. Blower is loud, common complaint with MBs old and new. I also thought it was too loud in the W222 I had experience with.