My Is220D A Few Months On..

[LexiMarc]

Just thought I'd write a wee report on my IS220d F-Sport now it's a few months old with 1500 miles on the clock.

With me being away for work a lot and December's mostly poor weather, the car spent toe majority of it's first few months in an airport car park or my drive while I got a cab. Having owned several 3 and 5-series BMWs (albeit about 8 years ago), I was expecting it to be pretty bad in the snow, but with us living in a side road that never gets gritted by the local council, it was hopeless trying to get out of the drive during the snowy days, although when it started calming down a bit, I stuck some carpet offcuts in the boot and that got me out of several situations where I'd otherwise have simply been stuck. The heated washer nozzles are handly but it's a shame the wipers themselves keep dreezing into position - likewise with the folding mirrors a few times.

Anyway, with the last few weeks of reasonable weather, I've been able to start enjoying the car a bit more - I have noticed some of the foibles mentioned elsewhere in the forum - the crack from the dash (sounds like a small stone hitting the windscreen), the long time it takes for the engine to heat up and of course, the odd gearing (I'm a little disappointed that they didn't apply the same ratios as the Sport model to the F-Sport). I'm also learning to live with the really inconsistent USB/iPod integration with it's random cutouts (no audio although it still says it's playing) and skipping the first few secs of some tracks. Above all though, after my previous soft-roader (X-Trail), the performance and the handling of the IS2220d is what is making me smile. Tonight on a 45min trip back from the cinema (some motorway and some windy country roads), I started giving it some right foot and it was fantastic - one minute calmy wafting along snug in the leather/alcantara seat (with heating on) and then, dropping a gear (ok, that's a bit lol), foot down and surging forward as if the hounds of hell were chasing us. It's the first time I've seen the speed warning ring go red (didn't even realise it does that) which was handy as it's far too easy to exceed the limit without much effort. On the windy roads, i was taking corners at a pretty decent turn of speed with confidence - the grip not letting up, the AFS HIDs illuminating every corner and me and my missus firmly anchored in the sports seats.

Since I got the car I had been averaging around 38-39mpg although now I've started flexing it a bit, that's dropped to around 35 but driven sensibly, I can can see it easily hitting 40+ once we hit warmer weather. Really looking forward to summer drives into the Scottish Highlands with the IS220d that's for sure :)

Overall, I'd agree that the car isn't perfect and many of my colleagues asked me why I didn't pick a C-Class or 3-Series but despite some initial reservations - I'm quite happy with my decision.

[dazed]

The heated washer nozzles are handly but it's a shame the wipers themselves keep dreezing into position - likewise with the folding mirrors a few times.

Have you not got the heated windscreen feature? Button behind and down below the right hand side of the steering wheel. This heats a narrow strip along the bottom of the windscreen to free up the wipers.

[F.A.]

The heated washer nozzles are handly but it's a shame the wipers themselves keep dreezing into position - likewise with the folding mirrors a few times.

Have you not got the heated windscreen feature? Button behind and down below the right hand side of the steering wheel. This heats a narrow strip along the bottom of the windscreen to free up the wipers.

That feature is deleted from the F-Sport models