slondon93

I'm new to the forum and new to BMW. I'm seriously looking at the 535xi which will come out in Canada at the end of October, according to a dealer I spoke to. He also said that the 535 xi will be the same as the 535i except that it will not have the Park Assistant for the all wheel drive. Is there a reason for this?

Rudy

It looks like the dealer you spoke with may be correct that Park Assistant will not be available on the x-Drive model (at least for now...)

Since you're new to BMW, you need to know that this sort of thing can be common -- especially when new models are first introduced. Often times there's a mechanical or software reason why BMW can't offer a particular option on a particular car and other times there's some other (less sensible) reason. Unlike Japanese manufacturers, BMW tends to continue to develop and tweak the car and it's software even in the middle of a model year (where others may try to get it right before launch and leave it alone until a future model year.)

In this case, I'm not sure what the problem could be but it's very possible that the Park Assistant option will be available with the x-Drive cars at some future production date. (September 2010 is the beginning of x-Drive production so they may still be working out software issues, etc.)

gorban

As I understand it, the F10 x-drive models doesn't have the new electrical power steering which is required for the parking assist feature. The new electrical power steering has received some critisism for having lost some of the road feel compared to the old hydralic steering. So buing an x-drive might not be a bad thing if you picky about the feel of the steering. But you will have to do without the parking assist.

rsyed

I hope not having the park assi is a deal- breaker. IMHO it is gadget which is cool teh first time you do it, maybe the second time when you impress the passengers in the car but from a pratical point of view, it is just a gadget because
1) it takes too long to park.
2) it takes big parking spaces

Not want to offend anyone but being able to park a car is part of being able to drive car!!

Sorry guys - had to be said!!

slondon93

No, don't worry. Definitely not a deal breaker. I've been parking on my own for more than 20 years. I didn't even ask about it. The dealer was talking about the 535xi generally. I just found it odd and it made me curious.

Munich77

That is what I thought the reason was too - no electric steering. It will be interesting to see how critics like the handling of the X-drive. If the steering has a better feel to it don't be surprised if BMW will switch back...