BMW makes SiriusXM's 360L on-demand programming standard for 2021
The only exceptions to the rule are the i Series cars, for now.
Want to set up a custom SiriusXM station or just listen to old episodes of your favorite talk host? 360L in the 2021 BMW range will let you.
Satellite radio is pretty awesome, especially if you find yourself regularly jumping between cars or driving outside of terrestrial radio coverage. It's also helpful if you really want to listen to just one thing all the time, like your favorite talk radio host or just music from the 1940s, or maybe just Bruce Springsteen.
Unfortunately, satellite radio -- like terrestrial radio -- is still programmatic, leaving you at the mercy of others. SiriusXM satellite radio is changing that with its on-demand 360L service, and BMW already has plans to put it in almost all of its 2021 vehicles starting this month.
By almost all of its vehicles, we mean that BMW has confirmed that it will be available in 2 Series Gran Coupe, 3 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series, 8 Series and X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 and Z4 Roadsters. That basically leaves out i Series products, 2 Series coupes and convertibles, as well as X1 and X2 -- for now.
Wanna listen to your favorite quarter of a recent football game? Done!
"Just as we were back in 2002, we are excited to be one of the first [manufacturers] to offer the new SiriusXM with 360L service to our owners and drivers," Ralph Mahler, department head of BMW Product & Strategy, said in a statement. "Offering entertainment options is as critical to us as offering a choice of how you wish to interact with your vehicle to make driving your BMW an exciting experience every single day."
All of the new BMW vehicles equipped with SiriusXM with 360L will include 12 months of All-Access, which also allows for listening via the SiriusXM app on mobile devices and on connected home devices.
The cars will also receive over-the-air updates to the SiriusXM system that will enable new features as they become available. One such feature planned for 2021 is personalized stations, which will be powered by Pandora -- aka ad-free Pandora for your car without using your phone data.
2021 model BMWs produced after July of 2020 should all have SiriusXM with 360L included, so the odds are good that you'll be good to go if you pick up a BMW later this year.
