Rear Vent

[sbkim]

I apologize if this was discussed before but I presume you get vents in the rear seats regardless of whether you get 4 way climate control?

I did't want to presume anything as you need to order Bluetooth option to get bluetooth in 2015.

Thanks

[DavidTSG]

Originally Posted by sbkim

I apologize if this was discussed before but I presume you get vents in the rear seats regardless of whether you get 4 way climate control?

I did't want to presume anything as you need to order Bluetooth option to get bluetooth in 2015.

Thanks

If you don't get the 4-way, the back seat does get vents on the back of the center armrest. You don't get the add'l vents that are in the pillars between the front and rear doors. If you order the 4-way, you do get the extra pillar vents.

Not sure what you mean by the bluetooth comment, as bluetooth is standard on the X5. There is an extended bluetooth and smartphone option, but you don't need that in order to use your cellphone through the car speakers or to stream music over bluetooth or USB. The extended option was standard before and is now an option in 2015. Frankly, there's not much that it gives you above what is already included.

[Hang0ver]

Originally Posted by DavidTSG

If you don't get the 4-way, the back seat does get vents on the back of the center armrest. You don't get the add'l vents that are in the pillars between the front and rear doors. If you order the 4-way, you do get the extra pillar vents.

Not sure what you mean by the bluetooth comment, as bluetooth is standard on the X5. There is an extended bluetooth and smartphone option, but you don't need that in order to use your cellphone through the car speakers or to stream music over bluetooth or USB. The extended option was standard before and is now an option in 2015. Frankly, there's not much that it gives you above what is already included.

+1

[sbkim]

Thanks David. Darn it - I thought you couldn't even use bluetooth without this option

[DavidTSG]

Originally Posted by sbkim

Thanks David. Darn it - I thought you couldn't even use bluetooth without this option

Nope. BMW isn't great at outlining this stuff. Here's an attachment that shows the functions. The 6NH is standard on all X5's. The 6NS is the extra option.

[sbkim]

Great info! I guess Mobile Office would be cool to have - does this read text messages etc?

[DavidTSG]

Originally Posted by sbkim

Great info! I guess Mobile Office would be cool to have - does this read text messages etc?

Not sure on the latest iDrive. I know on the 2012 X5 that I have now, it's very limited in what it will do with my iPhone. Apple being Apple, they restrict some of it. For instance, I can read my text messages, but only those messages that come in while the phone is attached to the car. And I can't read e-mails, calendar, tasks, etc. Nothing I've read indicates that the latest iDrive is any better (again, because the limitations really seem to be on Apple's side).

I can't speak to an Android phone, and I don't know for myself that the newest iDrive isn't better. I wasn't able to test that when I test drove the car.

The other limitation is with the cradle and the snap-in adapter in the center console. It takes up 1/2 of the storage in the armrest, and there is no guarantee that BMW will keep up with the phone tech. My 2012, for instance, doesn't have an adapter for the iPhone 5/5s. While the newer systems do have the iPhone 5 adapter, from my research, it took 6 months or a year after the phone was released to have the adapter released. So if you're one to upgrade your phone with any frequency, there's no guarantee that the adapter will be available.

For me, it just wasn't worth the extra $500.

[sbkim]

I would have to agree with you on this...

Originally Posted by DavidTSG

Not sure on the latest iDrive. I know on the 2012 X5 that I have now, it's very limited in what it will do with my iPhone. Apple being Apple, they restrict some of it. For instance, I can read my text messages, but only those messages that come in while the phone is attached to the car. And I can't read e-mails, calendar, tasks, etc. Nothing I've read indicates that the latest iDrive is any better (again, because the limitations really seem to be on Apple's side).

I can't speak to an Android phone, and I don't know for myself that the newest iDrive isn't better. I wasn't able to test that when I test drove the car.

The other limitation is with the cradle and the snap-in adapter in the center console. It takes up 1/2 of the storage in the armrest, and there is no guarantee that BMW will keep up with the phone tech. My 2012, for instance, doesn't have an adapter for the iPhone 5/5s. While the newer systems do have the iPhone 5 adapter, from my research, it took 6 months or a year after the phone was released to have the adapter released. So if you're one to upgrade your phone with any frequency, there's no guarantee that the adapter will be available.

For me, it just wasn't worth the extra $500.