[thaalrasha]

Break in period is done and i've driven this for now around 3000 km. For context i've had as daily drivers : F87 M2, G20 330e, F82 M4c, G80 M3c and G81 M3c. I enjoy mountain passes driving and all of these cars outside the 330e have been on a track.

Going from F gen to G was a big difference in character with the AWD, dropping the DCT ... And here again a huge difference having a hybrid drivetrain.

Second piece of context of why i'm crazy enough to go from the "perfect all rounder" G81 with carbon bucket seats to an arguably duller G90 has to do a lot with the local regulation and taxes where I live (Ireland) Long story short if a car is not an EV or PHEV, there a tax penalty on the car price (VRT) and on using it every year (moto tax), so to summarise the G81 was 175k + 2400 yearly tax where as the G90 was only 140k + 140 yearly tax. Pretty big gap even before factoring running costs.
I've test drove an I5M60 and i hated it, seats were offering no support for spirited drives and this thing was so leaning in all direction you could get sea sick. It did not have adaptive dampers but ever with a kind of harsh ride the body control was non existent. This put me off ordering a G90. I later on drove a Tycan and this was behaving like a sports car so I was wondering if the M division could sort out the chassis. Waited for some press drives opinion and few said it's nothing like the XM and I5 M60, by then i got a good offer also and decided to take the risky jump... My wife was no thrilled at all and was well prepared to complain every day about how the M3 was better in every way XD

Specs:
Marina bay blue
Ceramic brakes (for mountain passes and occasional track)
Carbon interior trim
Comfort pack plus
Driving assistance pack
Technology pack (standard)
M-drive professional (standard)
Parking assistant plus (standard)

Driving the blue whale after breaking service i could push it and when in some tiny mountain passes (no big mountains in the country) to throw it in some corners and play with higher revs. It's still a formidable weapon and the weight was no concerns... I think you'd really need to go on track on do absolutely stupid pushes on public road to get impacted by the weight but i'll try the track later on. The amount of lateral grip was huge and the front end very bity, especially with a little bit of trail braking i found the balance pretty good and M car worthy. Surprisingly there is no long the 10 step traction control which i like to have half way on my G8x on public roads. This doesn't have it and could have been useful because the rear end is moving easily and it could very quickly bite you similar to a F87 / F82 which was a feeling i had forgotten driving the G8x which didn't require any "respect", the awd would sort you out of any situation almost... On the G90, better awake, the instant torque will mean this can break traction under power in any turn at almost any speed so watch out for that long rear stepping out. Sports car handling is pass for me anyway.

As a daily for commuting, as expected it's way better in comfort, tech, efficiency. Pre conditioning and so on is great. The hybrid management is excellent as opposed to the G20 i had that would just drain the battery and then switch to ICE, on the G90 it's saving the battery for city traffic and when speeds increase switch to ice for the constant speed which is where the ICE is more efficient and always mange to recharge a bit of battery to have some range for city / traffic jams on EV.

I posted this G81 comparison on another thread, might be relevant :

Pros
- Faster acceleration anytime because of instant EV torque
- More playfull, easier to play with the rear end
- S68 has actual low rpm torque even without the EV, S58 needs really some revs to start pulling.
- More comfortable
- V8 sound
- Additional comfort things the 5 platform brings (can open the boot with the foot sensor again yay, 4 zones climate, ventilated seat, comfort entry / exit)
- Temperature pre conditioning remotely
- More interior space
- Better iDrive
- fuel consumption for daily use (when driving normally in commute)
- better manoeuvrability due to 4 wheel steering.

Cons
- Too big / too high
- seating position is quite high
- 10 step traction control is gone !!!!
- Interior cabin quality is a step down, too much glossy piano black plastic on center controls have replaced the carbon on G8x, no carbon on the steering either with fake buttons, unforgivable cheap buttons for the window / mirrors controls
- even less shortcuts, distance control for ACC is no longer on the steering but buried in idrive, panorama front camera is hidding in parking menu and no longer remembers activation points (probably a bug)
- No gear lever
- No laser headlights, and lights no longer follow steering direction, but kind of spread wide all the time.
- No carbon bucket seats
- Less cabin storage compartments, no trunk side storage nets / underfloor.
- slightly less sporty handling, won't dance the same way on twisty roads as G8x

Overall i'm quite pleasantly surprised and i had lower expectation concerning the handling. Even my wife who hated this till it got delivered started to like it (thank god), so i'll probably keep it longer than i initially expected

[cubanbimmer3]

Originally Posted by thaalrasha

Break in period is done and i've driven this for now around 3000 km. For context i've had as daily drivers : F87 M2, G20 330e, F82 M4c, G80 M3c and G81 M3c. I enjoy mountain passes driving and all of these cars outside the 330e have been on a track.

Going from F gen to G was a big difference in character with the AWD, dropping the DCT ... And here again a huge difference having a hybrid drivetrain.

Second piece of context of why i'm crazy enough to go from the "perfect all rounder" G81 with carbon bucket seats to an arguably duller G90 has to do a lot with the local regulation and taxes where I live (Ireland) Long story short if a car is not an EV or PHEV, there a tax penalty on the car price (VRT) and on using it every year (moto tax), so to summarise the G81 was 175k + 2400 yearly tax where as the G90 was only 140k + 140 yearly tax. Pretty big gap even before factoring running costs.
I've test drove an I5M60 and i hated it, seats were offering no support for spirited drives and this thing was so leaning in all direction you could get sea sick. It did not have adaptive dampers but ever with a kind of harsh ride the body control was non existent. This put me off ordering a G90. I later on drove a Tycan and this was behaving like a sports car so I was wondering if the M division could sort out the chassis. Waited for some press drives opinion and few said it's nothing like the XM and I5 M60, by then i got a good offer also and decided to take the risky jump... My wife was no thrilled at all and was well prepared to complain every day about how the M3 was better [...]

Thanks for the write-up! Pretty wild the price difference with regulations on the other side of the pond. I am moving from a G80 to a G99 and agree with most of your pros/cons, though I am a bit disappointed in the overall quality of the interior compared to the full leather optioned G80. Otherwise, the drive was really really good and I enjoy most aspects of the car after seeing it in person. I have mine optioned with the M-drive professional’s package, which adds the 10-stage traction control. Maybe your spec doesn’t have it, or it is not offered in EU? Enjoy the new ride! Cheers

[thaalrasha]

Originally Posted by cubanbimmer3

Thanks for the write-up! Pretty wild the price difference with regulations on the other side of the pond. I am moving from a G80 to a G99 and agree with most of your pros/cons, though I am a bit disappointed in the overall quality of the interior compared to the full leather optioned G80. Otherwise, the drive was really really good and I enjoy most aspects of the car after seeing it in person. I have mine optioned with the M-drive professional’s package, which adds the 10-stage traction control. Maybe your spec doesn’t have it, or it is not offered in EU? Enjoy the new ride! Cheers

M-drive professional’s package is standard here, so i have everything else it brings like the additional M hybrid modes, track mode, but to 10 stage traction control is missing.
I realize there are some options that are standard on RHD market and not on LHD, so i'm editing the opening post.

[CarlosM4]

There is no 10 way traction control in the G90 yet. Might be coming with software updates

[thaalrasha]

Originally Posted by CarlosM4

There is no 10 way traction control in the G90 yet. Might be coming with software updates

Hopefully we get this back, the 2wd mode is really savage on this car, the mild safety net from the adjustable TC would be nice.
This car can shred the rear tyres pretty quickly.