# Two interior trims in the 645ci



## Technic (Jun 24, 2002)

JST said:


> Looks almost exactly like that stick-on "wood" trim you can get by mail-order in the back of Car and Driver. Nasty.
> 
> Both of these trims look quite cheap. Say what you want about the exterior (that's a matter of taste), but I don't know how anyone can argue that the E63 has the same level of interior materials as the E46 or E39.
> 
> Thank you, Herr Panke.


That's exactly my opinion, too... for $70,000++ I would expect a better layout and 'visual gratification' in the interior, but by looking at these photos it is kind of dissapointing á la E60 and X3's interiors.

But again, Bangle have said that they are "incapable of designing a car that looks good on pictures", so I will have to wait and see it at the dealer. :dunno:


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## JST (Dec 19, 2001)

Technic said:


> That's exactly my opinion, too... for $70,000++ I would expect a better layout and 'visual gratification' in the interior, but by looking at these photos it is kind of dissapointing á la E60 and X3's interiors.
> 
> But again, Bangle have said that they are "incapable of designing a car that looks good on pictures", so I will have to wait and see it at the dealer. :dunno:


I would shorten that quote:

"incapable of designing a car ..."


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## SONET (Mar 1, 2002)

I like the metal trim in the 645Ci from the pictures. And I really like the real metal (aluminum alloy?) trim in the Z4 and 2003.5+ M3. :dunno:

But the wood trim in the 645Ci has got to go. That looks HORRIBLE and reminds me of the crappy stuff Honda puts in the Accord. :thumbdwn:

I know most people disagree, but I really like the low-gloss wood trim in the E65. It's different and makes the interior feel a little warmer than the shiney crap you find in everything else. But wood only belongs in luxury cruisers (like the E65) IMHO, not anything thats supposed to be sporty. 

--SONET


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## Maverick (Jun 25, 2003)

Why do all the new BMWs have a Max A/C button? On a good/expensive car, shouldn't that be determined by what temperature you set the A/C to? Just reminds me of a crappy Jap car that will overload when you use that button!


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

nate328Ci said:


> Why does it need to be in the dash? DVD NAV is meant to eliminate the need to change disks (The US is all on one disk), so it doesn't need to be there. :dunno:
> 
> TD- those are the same A/C controls on the Z4, E60, E65...


True, there's no need for the slot to be in the dash. But I don't know if this is the case everywhere. For example if you buy the car in Europe, chances are (given the kind of car it is) you'll be driving through France, Germany, Poland, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia... would those countries all exist on one DVD?


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## andy_thomas (Oct 7, 2002)

Maverick said:


> Why do all the new BMWs have a Max A/C button? On a good/expensive car, shouldn't that be determined by what temperature you set the A/C to? Just reminds me of a crappy Jap car that will overload when you use that button!


I agree. "A/C Max" is something you find on cheap Ford Falcons in Oz and little Japanese runarounds...


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

andy_thomas said:


> I agree. "A/C Max" is something you find on cheap Ford Falcons in Oz and little Japanese runarounds...


Just because it exist on cheaper Japanese vehicles doesn't mean it's not a good feature.

Heck, there's a lot of features on my dad's Maxima that I wish would be incorporated into more luxurious German rides. :dunno:

Especially in hot climate (California) it's nice to get in the car, hit the max AC button and have an immediate blast of cool air instead of waiting for the climate control to catch up with you. :thumbdwn:


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2003)

The HACK said:


> Just because it exist on cheaper Japanese vehicles doesn't mean it's not a good feature.
> 
> Heck, there's a lot of features on my dad's Maxima that I wish would be incorporated into more luxurious German rides. :dunno:
> 
> Especially in hot climate (California) it's nice to get in the car, hit the max AC button and have an immediate blast of cool air instead of waiting for the climate control to catch up with you. :thumbdwn:


 IIRC, Max A/C is just a relabeled "Recirc" button. I honestly do not think that the A/C compressor kicks into high gear when you press that button. And everyone's E46s, E36s, E30s, E34s and E39s all have a "Recirc" button.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

I thought it turns the a/c compressor on and set fan to max blow through the vents. That's how all the Max A/C works on Japanese cars. :dunno:


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## Maverick (Jun 25, 2003)

Isn't there a Recirc button in the picture or has it been removed from the controls? I thought I saw one? I still think it looks cheap. That's just my gripe with the new designs.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

AFAIk, the "max AC" button was introduced on the e38 and e39-- I think during the 2000 or 2001 MY. it replaced the "rest" button on those models--but would have the same functionality when the car was switched off. It is a little different than the recirc-- it sets the fan to high, turns the recirc on and set opens the dash vents. It does seems kind of like a "hack"-- but on the models I've driven with this feature I appreciated it on hot days.


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## Ack (Mar 16, 2002)

That wood trim is awful.  It would look better with a black interior. Sometimes I think the designers are giving the last few trim details to their colorblind assistants. Its actually as bad as the interior color combo I saw at the dealership the other day; grey leather interior and titanium trim. 

I do like the second trim option :thumbup:.


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## johnf (Sep 16, 2003)

Ack said:


> That wood trim is awful.  It would look better with a
> black interior.


I got to look at a 645i with a black interior. It had a surprising
amount of plastic for a 60 000 Euro car, both inside and out,
and unfortunately, the inside plastic looked cheap. I thought
the exterior was much better and was getting excited by the
Porsche-like curves closing out the rear, but then I closed the trunk.
 The Bangle-butt redivivus, not as bad as on the now familiar 7er
and 5er, but still looking misplaced and misshapen. It does have a
neat trunk button, however.

I also liked the tail lights. Each has a forest of red LEDs, the core
of which burns more brightly when you tap the brake pedal, or the
entire forest when you brake hard. But this paled next to the illuminated
door sill strips. I wonder if I could fit a pair of those on something a little
older?


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

Maverick said:


> Why do all the new BMWs have a Max A/C button? On a good/expensive car, shouldn't that be determined by what temperature you set the A/C to? Just reminds me of a crappy Jap car that will overload when you use that button!


I wonder why my automatic climate control requires ME to turn on the a/c when I want it colder? I never understood this about BMW. If I set the temp to 70 degrees, I'd expect the system to decide how to keep it there. In the winter I expect heated air to be added, and in the summer, conditioned air. Cars that cost far less than ours come with TRUE automatic climate controls. The AUTO button is misleading IMO. After re-RTFM this morning, AUTO is for automatic airflow control.

The MAX button functions as Robg indicated. With the engine running it provides maximum cooling, with the engine off it circulates heated air from the engine compartment to the windshield, side windows, and footwells. Per the manual this is useful "while waiting at a railroad crossing, for instance."

The "recirc" button on E39's has 3 modes: fresh outside air only, AUC mode (blended cabin air with filtered outside air), and recirculated cabin air only. Aside from the not-so-automatic AUTO mode, I think the climate control system in the E39 is top notch.

FWIW, my E39 is most likely my last new BMW anyway. IMO they have veered off into a quicksand field somewhere. Someone throw them a rope and pull them back to reality!

ymmv, this is my opinion.


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## Jewels530i (Dec 27, 2003)

Since all the controls look the same to me I am making an assumption that things work the same as in my car. Hitting the max button will make the air come out of the chest level vents with max ac in recirc mode. The recirc mode can be switched in the same fashion as the e39. The rest button puts heat into the cabin for up to thirty minutes after you turn the car off. The defrost button does just that sending the air through the defroster vents at with the fan in high. With my 5 I have the option of setting it up to automatically vent the cabin and I would be surprised if that isn't included in the 6 as well. On auto it will turn on ac as required if its hot or heat as necessary if its cold. You can fine tune how much air come out of what vents in idrive and it remembers your settings to your key. One final thought. I put mine on auto and it just flat works. With the previous cars on auto I was always fiddling with it to keep it where I wanted it.


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

johnf said:


> It had a surprising amount of plastic for a 60 000 Euro car


BMW is probably trying to get people to buy the extended leather package. As far as I know, all the newer generation BMWs with extended leather package has this "cheap" looking plastic covered in fine Nappa leather.


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