[kopik]

I've had my 2022 Phytonic Blue Metallic with Mocha Nappa Leather m550i for 2 months now and I am really loving it. However there are some disappointments too. I did not test drive the car prior to ordering due to lack of availability. So I got the info mostly from written and youtube reviews of the car. Some of them obviously featured European models. I was quite surprised to see that there are some features that are absent from the US models but are available elsewhere (some even as standard ones): 4-zone climate control with digital climate controllers, laser lights, soft closing doors, sport seats to name a few. I had E-class before that and don't think that was the case. Any thoughts?

[Gautam]

Its not just that the us-spec cars can’t get certain features, even the ones they can get take close to 2x as many options/packages. It annoyed me enough that I hunted down and got a Canadian spec and probably will again if this continues (which it likely will, because they’ve been doing this since at least the f10’s)

I think it’s a combination of 2 things.

1. Americans don’t seem to care as much, or even view the bells and whistles as a liability. So bmw listens to the market and specs them to the point where people will buy them, and no more.

2. BMW might be focusing more on upselling. I.e. if you want 4-zone climate, get an x5 instead. But even this isn’t entirely it, because last I checked, even the suvs are easier to spec out in Canada than in the us.

[AP]

Some are regulatory , ie laser lights due to the What seem outdated light regulations although I thought I read that it was changing ( has changed?) . So that's why you don't laser and also the adaptive headlighys.

Even here in the U.K., we are limited somewhat , some of it may be due to us having the steering wheel on the other side which may an issue due to items fitting in the engine bay but we miss out on various things

We didn't get the 550i until the LCI came out. We don't get the 550d
The 540 only comes in drive , no choice on that
Those a few examples

I think the German market probably gets every possible option

[Johnny Grabble]

I think it's simpler than that. The price of a 550i in the USA is about half what one pays for a similar spec in Germany and about 2/3rds of what you pay in the UK. UK base spec on any model is more generous than a German base spec. German models do appear to have more options (and model variants) than other countries.

[MikeElmendorf]

Yes, on laser lights much of the functionality is required to be disabled due to antiquated US regulations. So, in an environment where supply chain issues abound, it probably made sense to limit their availability in markets where you aren’t getting a full benefit from them. Those regulations will change and allow the fully adaptive headlights here, but it still has to go through a process to get there.

The climate control differences (4 zone and the different control panel) and soft close doors I don’t fully get. I miss soft close from my 2018 540 to my 2021 M550. There was a high profile lawsuit here where someone sued BMW because they claimed they were injured by the soft close doors, so maybe we can thank the personal injury trial bar for those going away.

[Joe-BMW33]

Most of this is nothing new with regard to Euro specs, US Specs and Canadian specs. For example, on the E39, there is a different lower dash and center armrest for the Euro E39 vs. the US. Part of the fun for me is retrofitting Euro designs to US cars.

Then there is the differences driven by law and DOT and there is not way around that.

But when it comes to options, such as soft close doors not being offered in one market but available in others, it does get frustrating. If you ever had soft close doors, it is really a bummer to not have them.

Chip shortage is also a recent phenomenon for option availability by market. Personally, no Bowers and Wilkins and Soft Close Doors is a 100% non-starter for me. I'll gladly keep my 2018 until they bring these back.

I hear you though, BMW is frustrating, but it's par for the course with them. They do a lot of things right and they fail at the most simplest and obvious things. I have learned to live with it and also do as much homework as I can as to what options have what, what can be retrofitted (touch climate is a slam dunk) and what I can live with or without. I think they make if complicated in the US by design.

[2022M550i]

When I ordered mine, the dealer said a lot of options were stripped due to supply chain issues.

[MarkSCD]

Originally Posted by Gautam

Its not just that the us-spec cars can’t get certain features, even the ones they can get take close to 2x as many options/packages. It annoyed me enough that I hunted down and got a Canadian spec and probably will again if this continues (which it likely will, because they’ve been doing this since at least the f10’s)

I think it’s a combination of 2 things.

1. Americans don’t seem to care as much, or even view the bells and whistles as a liability. So bmw listens to the market and specs them to the point where people will buy them, and no more.

2. BMW might be focusing more on upselling. I.e. if you want 4-zone climate, get an x5 instead. But even this isn’t entirely it, because last I checked, even the suvs are easier to spec out in Canada than in the us.

I was going to respond to the OP saying that I have all the features he's missing. Of course, I'm an American living in Canada. Cars here are better equipped that our American counterpart

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by Gautam

Its not just that the us-spec cars can’t get certain features, even the ones they can get take close to 2x as many options/packages. It annoyed me enough that I hunted down and got a Canadian spec and probably will again if this continues (which it likely will, because they’ve been doing this since at least the f10’s)

I think it’s a combination of 2 things.

1. Americans don’t seem to care as much, or even view the bells and whistles as a liability. So bmw listens to the market and specs them to the point where people will buy them, and no more.

2. BMW might be focusing more on upselling. I.e. if you want 4-zone climate, get an x5 instead. But even this isn’t entirely it, because last I checked, even the suvs are easier to spec out in Canada than in the us.

I agree about US tastes (or lack thereof). VW is a great example. For a large SUV, europeans get the Tourag; but US buyers weren't paying for it so VW created the POS Atlas for the US market.

At least for BMW, one can get most of the features as options.

[BrewsterGreenM550]

For the love of god just give us the dang wagons!!!

[AP]

Yes I'm really surprised they don't offer the estate/ wagons in the US. Judging by these forums there is obviously a level of demand there.

I'd argue in a lot of cases the estate can look better than the saloon.

Fingers crossed, you may get one when the g60 arrives , who knows

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by SteveinArizona

I agree about US tastes (or lack thereof). VW is a great example. For a large SUV, europeans get the Tourag; but US buyers weren't paying for it so VW created the POS Atlas for the US market.

At least for BMW, one can get most of the features as options.

Interesting point- I honestly forgot those even existed. Not quite an apples to apples comparison, but it seems like the Q5 outsold it by a factor of 10 in its last year. And that’s the theme, Americans pay more for higher badges and often fewer features. And of course, eschew wagons and embrace larger SUV’s. (I think the premium German suvs we get here are mostly great cars but wish it didn’t have to be at the expense of hatches and wagons)

What baffles me with bmw is that it wouldn’t surprise me if skimping on things like soft close doors, digital cluster, etc costs them more in operational overhead, just to design and manufacture the “crippled” versions for the us market. Though I guess not, or else they wouldn’t be doing it.

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by AP

Yes I'm really surprised they don't offer the estate/ wagons in the US. Judging by these forums there is obviously a level of demand there.

I'd argue in a lot of cases the estate can look better than the saloon.

Fingers crossed, you may get one when the g60 arrives , who knows

Not a chance. And unfortunately enthusiast communities are a very poor representation of the market at large.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by kopik

I've had my 2022 Phytonic Blue Metallic with Mocha Nappa Leather m550i for 2 months now and I am really loving it. However there are some disappointments too. I did not test drive the car prior to ordering due to lack of availability. So I got the info mostly from written and youtube reviews of the car. Some of them obviously featured European models. I was quite surprised to see that there are some features that are absent from the US models but are available elsewhere (some even as standard ones): 4-zone climate control with digital climate controllers, laser lights, soft closing doors, sport seats to name a few. I had E-class before that and don't think that was the case. Any thoughts?

That's a shame on the 4-Zone climate. I thought I read a document from BMW that 4-Zone climate would be standard in the US starting with MY2022, but maybe that got canned after the fact.

This isn't unique to BMW and I think it is driven by the complexity of the US market. All driven by the profit margin BMW hopes to make on their cars. The US market is large enough that omitting seemingly small features can lead to cost savings that allow them to play games with the margins. It reminds me of my last car, 2014 Mercedes C300, where the mirrors didn't support automatically folding in. They supported it up until like MY2012 or something and then not on the LCI MY2013-2015 unless you were in Canada then did again in the new platform. I could only understand those as things they cut to cover something else. Such as estimated warranty costs or who knows what. I think the same is true here.

The US market has a higher buying power than most markets so you get the German makes offering options matrixes that enable them to try to push buyers up model to maximize profit. Then you get the options within the model to allow dealerships a wide variety of price points for their markets. Then you have some stuff thrown around to help guarantee a margin after you account for negotiations, dealership kickbacks, etc. Finally, you also have market size to account for as well.

I think market size has caused problems with the LCI+ where BMW is cutting features to limit part shortages. On smaller markets, like Canada, those are a lot easier to manage compared to the US. Even in the EU they are able to divide the EU up into many countries and tweak availability on a more fine-grained level then they can here in the US. You can't offer Soft Close Doors to CA, but not NY... I mean you technically could, but it wouldn't be a good look for a luxury brand and US buyers in other states could technically order from any state...

All that said I think their complex options matrixes are going to start to fall away as the US moves more to ordered cars and they need to translate that information to buyers. The majority of buyers in the US have been lot crawlers who outsource the job of dealing with the option matrix to the dealership. If the dealership has it on the lot they assume that's how they almost all are and jump in it. Give a buyer the options matrixes BMW currently has with as little information as they have and buyers are more likely to be confused or unhappy. So they'll be forced to standardize more.

Does that mean more parity in options for the US market compared to the EU and other markets? Time will tell...

Could be worse though... We could start out with whatever the base stereo is on the 5-Series internationally and the really really horrible center display

[Gautam]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

That's a shame on the 4-Zone climate. I thought I read a document from BMW that 4-Zone climate would be standard in the US starting with MY2022, but maybe that got canned after the fact.

This isn't unique to BMW and I think it is driven by the complexity of the US market. All driven by the profit margin BMW hopes to make on their cars. The US market is large enough that omitting seemingly small features can lead to cost savings that allow them to play games with the margins. It reminds me of my last car, 2014 Mercedes C300, where the mirrors didn't support automatically folding in. They supported it up until like MY2012 or something and then not on the LCI MY2013-2015 unless you were in Canada then did again in the new platform. I could only understand those as things they cut to cover something else. Such as estimated warranty costs or who knows what. I think the same is true here.

The US market has a higher buying power than most markets so you get the German makes offering options matrixes that enable them to try to push buyers up model to maximize profit. Then you get the options within the model to allow dealerships a wide variety of price points for their markets. Then you have some stuff thrown around to help guarantee a margin after you account for negotiations, dealership kickbacks, etc. Finally, you also have market size to account for as well.

I think market size has caused problems with the LCI+ where BMW is cutting features to limit part shortages. On smaller markets, like Canada, those are a lot easier to manage compared to the US. Even in the EU they are able to divide the EU up into many countries and tweak availability on a more fine-grained level then they can here in the US. You can't offer Soft Close Doors to CA, but not NY... I mean you technically could, but it wouldn't be a good look for a luxury brand and US buyers in other states could technically order from any state...

All that said I think their complex options matrixes are going to start to fall away as the US moves more to ordered cars and they need to translate that information to buyers. The majority of buyers in the US have been lot crawlers who outsource the job of dealing with the option matrix to the dealership. If the dealership has it on the lot they assume that's how they almost all are and jump in it. Give a buyer the options matrixes BMW currently has with as little information as they have and buyers are more likely to be confused or unhappy. So they'll be forced to standardize more.

Does that mean more parity in options for the US market compared to the EU and other markets? Time will tell...

Could be worse though... We could start out with whatever the base stereo is on the 5-Series internationally and the really really horrible center display

Great post. I think you summed it up perfectly. I’m pessimistic that things will improve, however, I expect them to get worse as manufacturers tack on subscription models for features on top of the current nickel and diming.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Most of this is nothing new with regard to Euro specs, US Specs and Canadian specs. For example, on the E39, there is a different lower dash and center armrest for the Euro E39 vs. the US. Part of the fun for me is retrofitting Euro designs to US cars.

Then there is the differences driven by law and DOT and there is not way around that.

But when it comes to options, such as soft close doors not being offered in one market but available in others, it does get frustrating. If you ever had soft close doors, it is really a bummer to not have them.

Chip shortage is also a recent phenomenon for option availability by market. Personally, no Bowers and Wilkins and Soft Close Doors is a 100% non-starter for me. I'll gladly keep my 2018 until they bring these back.

I hear you though, BMW is frustrating, but it's par for the course with them. They do a lot of things right and they fail at the most simplest and obvious things. I have learned to live with it and also do as much homework as I can as to what options have what, what can be retrofitted (touch climate is a slam dunk) and what I can live with or without. I think they make if complicated in the US by design.

For some reason, I thought the soft close doors were listed on the build sites. Maybe they're listed by default but not actually available. Or maybe I'm just wrong.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by AP

Yes I'm really surprised they don't offer the estate/ wagons in the US. Judging by these forums there is obviously a level of demand there.

I'd argue in a lot of cases the estate can look better than the saloon.

Fingers crossed, you may get one when the g60 arrives , who knows

Everything in the US is SUV centered now. I've had a bunch of SUV's. I get it. But multiple great sedans aren't even on the market anymore. I don't even know if Ford still makes one. Chevy doesn't make any that you'd want to drive. Cadillac stopped making the CT6, which was a great sedan.

The wagons are gone, outside of Volvo, and have all turned into "crossover" SUVs. Again, I get the purpose for the crossovers but I hate that the whole focus shifts. A little diversity of body types is a good thing.

Volvo has some cool wagons but nothing that I'd expect to be fun to drive. I'd love it if we had a 5 series wagon, here. I've got a young kid and dogs and do my own yard work. I probably would've been a prime target for a luxury/sport wagon when I got tired of the full size SUV. But that's not really available. I do love my 540 though.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by AP

Yes I'm really surprised they don't offer the estate/ wagons in the US. Judging by these forums there is obviously a level of demand there.

I'd argue in a lot of cases the estate can look better than the saloon.

Fingers crossed, you may get one when the g60 arrives , who knows

The problem is these forums represent a very, very small proportion of purchasers/lessees.

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by Gautam

Interesting point- I honestly forgot those even existed. Not quite an apples to apples comparison, but it seems like the Q5 outsold it by a factor of 10 in its last year. And that’s the theme, Americans pay more for higher badges and often fewer features. And of course, eschew wagons and embrace larger SUV’s. (I think the premium German suvs we get here are mostly great cars but wish it didn’t have to be at the expense of hatches and wagons)

What baffles me with bmw is that it wouldn’t surprise me if skimping on things like soft close doors, digital cluster, etc costs them more in operational overhead, just to design and manufacture the “crippled” versions for the us market. Though I guess not, or else they wouldn’t be doing it.

Before the pandemic hit I think BMW was going the other way....putting everything into the car and then controlling access by software. So...for example, if one bought a car without a particular feature, and then sold the car, the buyer of the used car could then pay to activate that feature.

But I think the pandemic killed that plan.

[ezaircon4jc]

The EPA/NHTSA has a large say. Manufacturers have to have every iteration of a vehicle crash tested. A car with a 4, 6 or 8 available must have them all tested. Manual or auto? Test them both. So with 3 engines and 2 transmissions, the manufacturer must supply 6 cars for testing. Throw in a wagon version of a sedan with the same engine/ transmission options and that's 12 cars that must be destroyed. Testing is very expensive, so it's just cheaper to eliminate an option for purchase.

[Al Pinã]

Originally Posted by NGT2

Everything in the US is SUV centered now. I've had a bunch of SUV's. I get it. But multiple great sedans aren't even on the market anymore. I don't even know if Ford still makes one. Chevy doesn't make any that you'd want to drive. Cadillac stopped making the CT6, which was a great sedan.

The wagons are gone, outside of Volvo, and have all turned into "crossover" SUVs. Again, I get the purpose for the crossovers but I hate that the whole focus shifts. A little diversity of body types is a good thing.

Volvo has some cool wagons but nothing that I'd expect to be fun to drive. I'd love it if we had a 5 series wagon, here. I've got a young kid and dogs and do my own yard work. I probably would've been a prime target for a luxury/sport wagon when I got tired of the full size SUV. But that's not really available. I do love my 540 though.

Mercedes and Audi also offer a wagon here in the US by the way..

[SteveinArizona]

Originally Posted by NGT2

For some reason, I thought the soft close doors were listed on the build sites. Maybe they're listed by default but not actually available. Or maybe I'm just wrong.

Soft close doors used to be available on the 5 series (I have them on mine) but they were a victim of the semiconductor crisis.