> And how is the X5 shaping up for you, Ken. I had expected an essay on the
> subject before now :-)
> Or have I missed it (sorry if I have).
Well, I was trying to be sensitive to the list by avoiding SUV (SAV?) chatter.
1. Common wear and tear items that need to be addressed. The rear
wiper motor broke off the mount inside. Driving through a massive
rainstorm in Omaha and it started windmilling. There's a couple other
nits like that, but mostly it's in good shape. The driver's door
doesn't want to easily open from the outside. $90 part. I suspect that
there is something significant that has happened to the vehicle at
some point which was never reported. Little telltails. More to follow,
I'm sure. Stuff you find only after quality time with the vehicle.
2. Panoramic sunroof rattles on the bumps. Seems to be a common fault
even when new. Not a problem except in on a stretch of I-76 which is
slightly rougher than a 4WD trail. Rattle goes away when open. It's
doing it at the junction between the glass segments where both
segments are totally on rollers and the rollers need to clear the top
edge of the guide-rail, so when you hit a bump they bounce.
3. Gas mileage at 60 MPH: 27 MPG. At 80 MPH: 22.5 MPG. I can live with
that. But it takes premium for the high compression engine. This is a
lot better than the Grand Cherokee.
4. Handling? It handles very much like the A4 Quattro, but with
slightly more body roll. Actually, I think it handles a little better
than the A4 because it runs a greater power bias to the rear wheels. I
had to take it on gravel to see how it did. Turning the traction
control function off and it gets pretty fun. Typical BMW, you can get
the tail out a little bit and hang it there with the throttle. But it
goes out only a little bit. I couldn't get it to the point where I had
to counter-steer more than a quarter turn. At a gravel country road
intersection, I started out the left-hand turn at 30 mph and exited
the turn over 50. Not used to gaining speed through a slide like that.
(manual gear select). Must experiment more. When using the traction
control, it keeps the speed about the same all the way through the
turn--throttle position means nothing. (fly by wire). It also seems to
do the lane hop that the A4 (and newer Grand Cherokees) do. The
vehicle stays pointed exactly where you direct it, but you find
yourself one lane over. It just seems to walk sideways. Turning it off
does keep it in the lane, but you have to actually steer a little.
This only happens at the limits of adhesion where more than one tire
has lost traction and the system walks the brakes
5. Interior comfort? Drove 660 miles without too much bother. That's
big for me considering the amount of backpain I normally deal with on
trips. I can stretch my toes out!!! The seat memories are great and
properly designed. I have two seating positions programmed and I just
press (and hold) the button to change between the two. Of course, the
mirrors and a few other things change while we're at it. Quiet. My
wife noticed the lower noise level while I was talking to her on the
cellphone.
6. Auto dimming mirrors. Neat feature, but I prefer them to dim a
little more. Maybe there is an adjustment for that...
7. Crosswind? What crosswind. Of course, at 4700 pounds, it takes a
pretty good wind to even budge it, but I rarely had to actively steer
for wind.
8. Visibility? VERY good.
9. Night vision? It has the XENON headlights. They were set pretty
low, so I couldn't see more than two seconds down the highway. Pop
open the hood, stick screwdriver in white adjuster closest to the
radiator and a turn or two counter-clockwise addressed that. I kept
the line below eye level of on-coming cars. Coolness factor, but only
somewhat practical is that the headlights steer when doing turns.
Interior lights are red. THANK YOU!!! Except for the oddball indicator
which is yellow or green and DOESN'T DIM! BMW must have learned that
from Toyota that seems to think that it's really important for you to
know that your cruise control is on and your passengers are buckled.
At least the high-beam indicator doesn't completely blind you like it
does in the Pruis. (It's so bright that your ability to see is worse
than on low-beams). I want to change the color of the angel eyes to
something else. (maybe purple to match ground-effects lighting). I'm
wondering if there is any way to activate the high-beam lenses. With
the XENONs installed, the inner headlights lights (four across) don't
work. Might take some electrical work or a bigger alternator, but I'd
love to have those come on too when I hit the high-beams. Can't have
enough light. The fog lights are bright!
10. Steering: The resistance (variable power steering boost) on the
steering wheel is uniform at most speeds but does certainly tighten up
when you get fast. Reminds me of my RX7, which did this very well.
11. Tailgate: It seems like such a minor thing in the grand scheme of
things, but I totally love the rear window and tailgate. That tailgate
is feather light. It's short enough that you don't have to kill
yourself trying to reach everything in the cargo area, but is just
long enough to keep your legs away from the bumper and hitch. Hands
down, this is the best tailgate design I've ever seen. Last night, it
was my "grocery gitter" and I confirm, through real-life domestic use
that it's near perfect.
12. Courtesy lights on mirrors: I discovered this last night in the
garage. There are downward facing lights on the bottom of the mirrors
that light the ground by the vehicle.
13. Speed/performance: It's not the quickest vehicle I've ever had,
but it is quick enough. It's romping along at 84 MPH at 3000 RPM. That
puts redline at around 170 MPH, but the engine power and air
resistance (36) should mean that it will top out around 115-120 MPH.
Still faster than I'll ever drive it. I did take it up to 95 and it
was more than happy to give more and was solid as a rock. My comfort
zone is a little less than that, though. The Grand Cherokee, at that
speed is a two-lane vehicle as those solid axles will give you a lot
of hunting and drifting at speed, but the X5 just glued itself down.
14. Leatherette: Who knew? Fooled me, but then it made sense because a
nine-year-old vehicle with leather seats is pretty trashed inside.
BMW's leatherette interior is nice and looks/feels like the real
thing. Go figure. Fooled, but satisfied.
15. Must see about getting the Bluetooth upgrade.
Bringing this on-topic, I think it really is one very fine rolling
camera bag for the Zuikos.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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