Soft Close Doors

[aeropilot]

Gimmick or nice option to have.....??

Quite like the idea of them, and half tempted to tick the option on a X5 order, but, do you have to continually keep telling people not to slam the doors as it has soft close doors...?
I think I'd get fed up with that tbh, so curious if anyone has them on X5/7 Series/M5 etc and what do you think.

[Simond S]

Nice touch. Had them on the X6 and now have them on the GC.

I'd spec heated steering wheel as well if you havent. This is a better upgrade than the doors. (imo)

[DanL]

Nice to have, but a long way from essential unless you've got a small chairs and want to make sure they can stay asleep in the back as the doors close quietly.

I've got a heated wheel - having had one, I now wouldn't want to be without as daft as it sounds! It's excellent.

ETA: small chairs?! Small children, obviously. Stupid auto correct.

Edited by DanL on Tuesday 23 August 12:42

[aeropilot]

Heated wheel was already a definite tick anyway.

I'm in two minds on the doors, do need to chop a few options as now going for the Dynamic chassis pack which ain't cheap, so I think the doors and a few other things might get the chop.

[Spuffington]

Definitely kick the doors into touch in favour of the chassis option.

I had the on the 550i and they were a nice touch and certainly helped when the little'un was a baby but far from essential. They were also annoying when people slammed the doors and difficult to get used to not having them on the E70 I had thereafter, but certainly don't even give them a second thought now.

But the Dynamic Chassis control on the 550i was worth it in spades, so I can only support you in choosing that.

[aeropilot]

Spuffington said:

Definitely kick the doors into touch in favour of the chassis option.

I had the on the 550i and they were a nice touch and certainly helped when the little'un was a baby but far from essential. They were also annoying when people slammed the doors and difficult to get used to not having them on the E70 I had thereafter, but certainly don't even give them a second thought now.

But the Dynamic Chassis control on the 550i was worth it in spades, so I can only support you in choosing that.

Good to know.....very, very few diesels are specced with the chassis packs, so trying one out has been a almost futile act. Found one 4.0d MSport with the Dynamic kit so got a short try of that, which did seem much better than a standard one without it. Did find another 4.0d with the comfort kit only fitted but it sold before I could get to try it. Not found any X% in UK yet with the combined kit fitted to try though.
The 3 dealers I've tried have all been next to useless in being about to tell me about the chassis pack, all have said they never sold a X5 with it fitted, even calling BMW-GB proved to be an exercise in futility as well

[Spuffington]

aeropilot said:

Spuffington said:

Definitely kick the doors into touch in favour of the chassis option.

I had the on the 550i and they were a nice touch and certainly helped when the little'un was a baby but far from essential. They were also annoying when people slammed the doors and difficult to get used to not having them on the E70 I had thereafter, but certainly don't even give them a second thought now.

But the Dynamic Chassis control on the 550i was worth it in spades, so I can only support you in choosing that.

Good to know.....very, very few diesels are specced with the chassis packs, so trying one out has been a almost futile act. Found one 4.0d MSport with the Dynamic kit so got a short try of that, which did seem much better than a standard one without it. Did find another 4.0d with the comfort kit only fitted but it sold before I could get to try it. Not found any X% in UK yet with the combined kit fitted to try though.
The 3 dealers I've tried have all been next to useless in being about to tell me about the chassis pack, all have said they never sold a X5 with it fitted, even calling BMW-GB proved to be an exercise in futility as well

I can't say I'm surprised but it's disappointing that even BMW don't seem that bothered about selling its virtues by demo since it is a great bit of kit (albeit expensive).

By way of background, I went directly from a E60 535d LCI on passive M Sport suspension to the E60 550i LCI on M Sport Suspension with the Dynamic Drive option, which was effectively active anti-roll bar technology. It was not switchable - just there all the time, doing its thing silently but effectively. The reason I give you the background was because by going from one car directly to the next gave me a great comparison and although I loved the 535d and did loads of miles in it and had no Problem per say with the way it handled or its comfort, the 550i was a revelation.

It was tight when it needed to be (cornering very flat) but on straight roads where there was no need for intervention, it slackened the anti-roll bars which gave a softer setup and was noticeably comfier than the 535d.

I then went from the 550i to an E70 40d LCi on M Sport Suspension and 20's and felt like my world had fallen apart!! The E70 handled exceptionally well for what it was, but needed the M Sport Suspension to stop it wallowing, but the result was nothing like the magic carpet ride I had in the 550i.

There aren't many people who've specced the Dynamic Drive on the E70, but those who have anecdotally shared their experience have similar stories to my 550i and I can well imagine it.

I'm firmly convinced that if I had money to spend on a new 5er, 6er, 7er or X5, then it would be the first option box I ticked and to hell with the price of it. Yes, the passive Suspension cars ride well enough - but once you've experienced what CAN be achieved with the active stuff, you'd never go back, given the chance.

[jonamv8]

Thought it was gimmick but i like them, use them every time. Maybe im just st at closing doors

[cocobongo]

It's the one thing I miss in my new car, never thought about it before having it but once you have have it you find (well I did) your shutting all doors gently and mentally tutting that that they aren't soft close like in your car.
I did find myself constantly reminding passengers there was no need to slam the doors on this car aswell.
If I was getting another barge I would definitely want them again.

[RoverP6B]

Been very glad of my 760Li's soft close doors... most useful when returning home late at night and not wanting to disturb the neighbours.

[Pioneer]

Love the soft close on my 7. I just gave up telling people not to slam the doors. One option I love which I didn't think I would use is the ambient air. But the best option, massage and full-heat on arm rests door panels, console etc. Miss that most on our other cars

[curvature]

I have soft close doors on my 640d GC which I bought as a used car. They are nice but not essential.

The one thing that I miss from my 330d Touring is the dynamic suspension.

When searching for the 640 the things that I put in my search were heated steering wheel and comfort seats.

[zaz777]

Soft close is nice to have. You might not always manage to close a door fully, for fear of slamming it. I've got soft-close on mine and had it in the past too.
Now heated steering wheel, on the other hand, is something I've always thought as downright ridiculous.....I have that too and am totally converted!

[Wills2]

I think there is no point to them I had them on a 7 and I just got in and shut the door, in order to use them you have to regulate how you close the door which is more hassle than just shutting the door normally, I don't see the benefit myself as the motor doesn't engage until the door is a few mm from being shut.

But ETTO.

[RoverP6B]

The whole point is that they regulate how the doors close. No loud slam!

[Geffg]

Got them on my 5 series and wouldn’t be bothered if my next car doesn’t. Had the car for nearly 4 years and the kids and mrs still just shut them as they would any normal car door. Nice but definitely not an option I’d pay extra for. Also whenever anyone else gets in the car they think they haven’t shut them properly because the door adjusts itself so they reopen and shut again which is annoying.

[Wills2]

RoverP6B said:

The whole point is that they regulate how the doors close. No loud slam!

But they don't unless you change how you close the door, it's perfectly simple to close and shut a car door without a loud slam, they do not stop "door slammers" slamming the door on entry or exit so utterly useless if that's something that bothers you.

If you don't like slamming the door then you won't be doing that in the first place, personally I like a reassuring gentle "thunk" of a solid door closing.

[Ralph S3]

I have soft close option on my X5 and I have often wondered why anyone would pay for this option. I really do find it completely pointless. The X5 doors are hefty enough that you can easily close them quietly without the soft close option. In fact as other people have mentioned you have to force yourself to slow the doors down as you close them just to activate the softclose function. In the 3 years I have owned the car I doubt my wife or two teenage children have ever closed the doors slowly enough to activate the function.

Unless you have very young children who you occasionally leave to sleep in the car after a journey (not sure if that's recommended but I guess I did it) then I really wouldn't bother.

For what it's worth my favourite options on the X5 are the HUD and the HK stereo.

Ralph

[sociopath]

Aren't they just like the soft close option on kitchen cupboards. You see it happen and go that's cool, then forget about it for the rest of your life?

[roadie]

I cannot think of a more pointless option to add to a car.