Which Options Did I Choose?

Exterior: Mineral Grey Metallic

I personally don't want to be very flashy.  I wanted a kinda low key car that people will look at and say it looks fantastic but not go crazy for. Knowing that rock chips are bound to happen, I opted to go for mineral grey as the color before and after the chips will be similar to the paint color. If you looked at it from further away, you probably couldn't spot the damage.

Interior: Extended Merino Leather

The merino leather is of good quality. I sat in the cloth seats and compared them to the leather seats and the difference is day and night. For me, BMW offered the extended merino leather at no additional cost for a few weeks and I purchased the car then so call me lucky. It seemed like a good compromise between full leather and cloth seats since it covers the most important parts of the vehicle with leather.

Transmission: M Double Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic

The dual clutch transmission has faster shifts and brings the 0-60 sec time of the vehicle down. It also allows others who do not know how to drive manual to use the vehicle as well.

Adaptive M Suspension

Not knowing whether the fixed suspension setup would fit my needs, I decided to buy this option so that I can tune the suspension to my liking if I found the standard to be uncomfortable. I also wanted to be able to change the suspension setup based on the roads I was driving on and what I was using the car for. I liked the idea of being able to have the car be a reasonable daily driver while being able to conquer the canyons with ease later on.

19" Black Light-Alloy Wheel Double-Spoke 437 M

I didn't think that the standard rims looked particularly nice. These ones looked more aggressive and mean. I wished that they actually offered the 20" rims from the M5 but I am asking for too much? As a side note, most dealers configure the cars with 19" rims to put on the lot. It seems to be the most popular choice as of now.

Executive Package

I really wanted the Head Up Display or HUD. While driving a split second can mean life and death. I wanted to have the best safety features in my car so I went with this package. The heads up display would give me the ability to have my speed, RPMs, radio stations and directions projected on the windshield. I thought it would be better than looking at the dash for the speed where a split second can mean life or death. Other items such as the park distance control and the rear view camera are not must haves but they make life easier. It's just one less thing to worry about when you step into the vehicle. I would rather spend more money and not worry about hitting the back end of the vehicle. The heated steering wheel and the retractable headlight washers seemed like a cool touch but since the weather is fairly nice all year round in the Bay Area, I didn't think I would end up using them.

Drivers Assistance Package

This for me was something I didn't want to skip out on. I wanted to have a fast car but I didn't want to compromise safety at all. The blind spot monitoring and lane departure warnings are there to help the driver, not replace them. And if I found any of the features intrusive, I could turn them off. You cannot turn on these assists if you didn't bother buying the package in the first place. The additional top and side cameras seemed to be a nice addition. Sometimes when driving, there's no posted speed limit so it's nice for BMW to display the road speed on the HUD if equipped with Executive Package or on the dash otherwise. Having the forward collision mitigation is just another way that the car makes me feel safer. Of course it won't prevent all accidents from happening but it is reassuring knowing that if I fail, there's another layer of safety helping prevent a serious accident.

Lighting Package

I decided to go with the Lighting Package since it offered LED headlights in the front. The lights at the back of the vehicle are LED and is standard on all 2016 F8x models. I have no idea why BMW won't make LED lights standard for the entire vehicle. LED lights provide a brighter beam and a wider beam. It might not be that noticeable but with heavier fog or rain, it seemed like a good option to have especially when driving down windy roads at night. What's also unique is that the lights will follow the curve of the road up to around 35 mi/hr which gives you better visibility around corners. I thought that was a nice touch since I drive through the hills each day.

Enhanced USB and Bluetooth plus Smartphone

After hearing people complain about not having some smartphone integration features being offered without this package, I just went for this package. Sure I may never use some of these features but I didn't want to be stuck with a 80k car and have features missing. If you are spending so much on a car, why not and spend the couple hundred extra dollars and just buy it just in case.

Parking Assistant

I didn't want to skip out on the lower cost options especially if they're just a few hundred bucks. Sure I can just practice parallel parking and what not but it's just another added convenience for me when I need to parallel park. When you need to parallel park it's generally in a more crowded area and that's just one less thing for me to worry about. I can then direct more attention to the traffic around me.  

Power Rear Sunshade

Since I purchased the vehicle outright, I didn't want the leather interior to be damaged by sunlight as it sat in the parking lot. I heard stories where the sunshade would rattle but I decided to take my chances with this one. Also having rear passengers often enough makes this purchase justifiable for their comfort in an already limited backseat space. 

Moonroof

I liked the ability of having the breeze over the top of my head when I want to and the ability to block out the elements at my will. The carbon fiber roof is more towards the hard core enthusiast but this was something I don't think I would compromise on and besides, it was a no cost option so I decided why not. I do think having a moon roof open is safer than having the top down on a convertible.