BMW Ultimate Drive

On Monday I went to the BMW Ultimate Drive for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at Gebhardt BMW.  It was definitely an interesting event and I got to drive 3 different BMWs around the 7.2 mile course.  BMW donates $1 to breast cancer research for every mile driven. 

The first car I drove was the 330ci Convertible.  It was actually the most standard car I drove all day, and very similar to the Z3 I drive now. 

The second car I drove was the SMG 535i.  This car took a little bit of getting used to due to the F-1 style sequential manual gearbox where you use paddles on the steering wheel to shift gears.  I think I like this feature and it definitely seems like this is the direction that the technology is going.  The one thing I really am not to sure about is the iDrive controller for all of the other features of the car like the climate control and radio.  While the system is pretty intuitive to use, I found that it’s close to impossible to use it while keeping your eyes on the road.  On the whole though I really liked the SMG 5.

The third and final car I took for a test drive was the X3.  I really like the X3.  It’s very aglie and didn’t feel like I was driving an SUV at all.  It’s definitely one I would consider if I were to end up in the market for an SUV at some point.

After all of the test drives, Gebhardt had snacks and more information about breast cancer research inside the dealership.  BMW also had everyone who participated sign the Ultimate Drive signature car as well.