Quote:
Originally Posted by tkila
How's it not fair? The 4.4i V8 is rated at 290HP whereas the new turbo v6 has 300 HP. In a straight line, the new 35i would be bit faster, but it does not feel as fast as my old E53 due to turbo lag. The 4.4i engine in the E53 is a work of art and uses the similar components as the M5 engine. It has broad torque band, revs, and always has power below 2000rpm. The steering on the E53 is only heavy at parking lot speeds. As you build up speed, it becomes lighter and has great road feel. You can really throw it around corners, whereas the F15's steering is way too light making it really hard to point the SUV at high speeds.
|
I totally agree with you on steering, that's given, since I am coming from E70, I understand that and I always enjoyed highway steering of E70 and it's tight characteristics. However, while I am not too familiar with E53, I believe it still had more torque compared to F15 and had V8 vs I6. Additionally, X5 won't go from 18-20mpg to 27mpg without modifying a few things here and there, so it's new fuel efficient design definitely holds it back.