07-25-2014, 10:48 PM | #23 | |
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I got my validation today, driving 300+ miles in complete comfort, listening to a great audiobook, cruising around 75 mph effortlessly and getting 33.5 mpg. And I still have 1/2 tank of fuel.
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07-28-2014, 09:14 AM | #25 |
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You enjoyment of your BMW or cars in general differ to some others enjoyment of their BMW and cars.. why is it so hard to understand that?
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07-28-2014, 09:08 PM | #26 | |
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I did like snick82's honesty that he would feel happy tho.
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07-28-2014, 09:55 PM | #27 | |
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It's only SUVs where we've suddenly (last 10 years or so) felt to need to take a Corvette and a F150 and meld them together in some unholy mix. I do have to kind of wonder why; as I said earlier, when I was driving the RRS supercharged I just had to keep shaking my head, why would anyone build such a thing. I feel the same way about a upcoming X5M. If you have the money to buy that truck, why not get an X5 and an M3. Going to cost about the same, and then you'll actually have "a" vehicle (well, 2 vehicles) that are actually good at what they are supposed to be good at. I'm just as guilty as anyone, my X5 has 20" rims on it which pretty much precludes you from taking it on anything rougher than well groomed dirt road (you'll ding the rims if you take it in nasty stuff) and you can't possibly hope to drive the thing in the winter (because of the tires that come on it). I love the car, but it's so silly to configure them like this; you're spending more money to make it less capable offroad and in the "slop" where it actually will perform better than a car. So, you wind up with a truck that's almost as good as a car and a truck that's straight up worthless as a truck (without spending more money on it). This isn't a slight at BMW or the X5.. Or any of the buyers; shoot, I have one too. I just don't get why they build these things like this; you know the German (in particular) engineers are laughing when they start pulling these things together. "Stupid American's will buy anything, let's put a tire size on it that doesn't even have a run flat winter option and see if we can get them to buy that!". "4 wheel drive offroad mode with 500 horsepower" "Launch control in a truck" I can see them crying their eyes out laughing at us when they build these things. There's only so much I can take, the RRS SC felt like it was a car somebody built on a "bet", I couldn't bring myself to buy it. I just felt like the dealer would be laughing at me because I was the one stupid enough to bite. At least the X5 had the good sense not to put a low range transfer box in there, that would have been too much for me to take. Huge rims, low profile tires, adaptive suspension and low range? Sure, why not, next up is a Ferrari with a factory trailer hitch and stock studded snow tires. |
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07-28-2014, 10:14 PM | #28 | |
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I'm with you on this. I suppose it's just these companies feeling the need to constantly do bigger and better or be left in the dust. |
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07-29-2014, 12:21 AM | #29 |
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If you pop the question "why" with the X5M, then try the MB G63 - now that is a properly big WHY. And then guys in the UAE would say... well, WHY NOT?
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07-29-2014, 05:05 AM | #30 | |
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LOL, the first time I saw the G-wagon I just shook my head. Then the released the AMG version and I just couldn't comprehend who would buy such a thing. And then, because I live in S. FL, I started to see them everywhere and just shook my head sadly. That's a car that, if not built as a bet between 2 engineers, I have no idea how it got to the production line. Makes the RRS SC and X5M look downright reasonable in comparison! I read somewhere that they only sell a few 100 of them a year in the US (apparently all to my zip code) and that most of them are sold to the middle east. That would explain a lot, the middle east is not known for their selection of "sensible". |
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07-29-2014, 08:19 AM | #31 |
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Actually, the original pure G-wagon is a very, very nice off-roading vehicle - hunting, fishing, you name it. It's like an H1 of sort, military style. But G63 just doesn't make any sense - when you're inside that and go through a bend at 20 km/h the only thought you have - please, don't roll over and kill me, please.
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07-29-2014, 09:23 AM | #32 |
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I asked a friend of mine, "Why do you drive a G 63 for a daily driver?" His answer,"Because they don't make a G 64 yet..." Some people just have that mentality. Gotta have the biggest and baddest. I'm not going to lie. I've driven the AMG SUVs and they do put a smile on my face. But, living in Colorado, I do like to go off road and our Range Rover and Disco 3 are far more capable than a G 63 AMG and I'm not afraid to beat on them.
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07-29-2014, 06:04 PM | #33 | |
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I am happy every time I drive my 50i...having had a gutless loaner 535d that weighs less than an x35d I'm sure I made the right decision for me. In the end it's all about what makes us happy individually. If mpg was even a minute concern I would have bought an economical Japanese import as I don't need an suv for one person. I don't buy my cars based on need. I'm 31 right now, maybe I'll become more sensible as I age who knows, all I know is I'm having fun and thoroughly enjoying my x50i and it's 15mpg and frequent fill ups. |
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07-29-2014, 07:15 PM | #34 |
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I guess when you look at things in perspective, you will see that every time that a new model is released or improved, a horsepower increase is also there. I guess we as consumers equate the most important thing is horsepower, safety, looks and MPG, maybe not in that order but it's close.
This is my second 50i and I think it's better than my 2011..way better on all fronts. I guess all of us here could have bought any vehicle (to a point!) that we wanted, but we chose the X5 for a reason and for me it's the overall package of looks, mileage, safety and horsepower. Now if the M50d was available...that might have been a different story. Right now,I'm just enjoying what I have and consider myself fortunate! |
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07-29-2014, 08:59 PM | #35 |
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You have to remember, to quote another poster, we are way out on the bell curve. Most of these cars are sold on "status" and "perceived value" rather than "speed" or "handling". BMW enthusiasts buy them and drive them hard, but that's probably <5% of the overall sales (but the vast majority of those of us on this board). Most X5s (and I assume BMWs in general) are sold pretty stripped down; my dealer had never ordered one "as loaded up" and the one we got for my wife and there will still options to be had (adaptive steering and night vision). The vast majority of buyers want them for the BMW name on the back and the perceived status they imbue; even when you get into the really upgraded models (M's, the X5 5.0, etc), there are a lot of buyers who are paying more just because "they can" and "it's the best". I had a good friend with a CL65 AMG. When I asked him what he liked about the car his answer was "It's the most expensive thing MB makes". He never drove that car hard, I'd be shocked to find he EVER did a 0-60 full speed pull in that vehicle. I think that's more typical than the group of people on this boards (and others like it) are.
That said, I see almost all SUV's as "women's cars". The X5 is on the "more masculine" scale, as are things like the Range Rover (full size) and G Mercedes. But I never see any of these things as "macho-mobiles". The real macho cars are sports cars (particularly things that make a lot of comfort sacrifices for speed; Corvette, Lambo, etc) and trucks (F series Ford, GMC, etc). Those are dramatically "male biased" and have a real air of macho about them. This could be because of the area I live. It's very common here in S. FL to see a mom with 3 kids (typically eating and throwing crap around the car) getting out of AMG M class or a X5 5.0. No matter how aggressive they make them look, I always look at them as "soccer mom" vehicles, just different levels of income. That said, I must say, when driving the X5, I don't feel like I'm driving a "woman's car". It feels great, it's so much more connected to the road than our ML was, and it's a really fun car to drive. I enjoy driving it much more than my wife's other cars (as I said before, the Lexus RX I was convinced was trying to kill me by lulling me to sleep at the wheel.. Man do I miss the maintenance cost on that car though; it actually cost about 1/5th (over the period of time we owned it) the amount that we paid on maintenance on the MB (similar period of ownership time). |
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07-29-2014, 10:53 PM | #37 | |
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Since we had a cold front move through last night and our high temp was 83 today, I made an excuse to run to the store (closest being 12 miles away), opened all the windows and sunroof, selected "sport" and proceeded to break most traffic laws out here in the country. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though I had a choice in vehicles - the other being an SL550.
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07-31-2014, 03:32 AM | #38 | |
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Back to the video, the M50d was ahead at legal road speeds, the RR pulled away only after third gear (+ 120 km/h?), I would say that is impressive for a diesel car doing double the mpg of the RR. My M50d which has finally arrived, but not ready, is meant to be a family carrier with good mileage, but one that also goes when I am driving alone. Actually would have wanted the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Hybrid, but couldnt wait. Why would anyone buy a X5 M50d for drag racing??? If you want a truly fast family hauler it would be a Mercedes E 63 AMG S wagon or Audi RS6 (which actually costs as much as the X5 M50d), but I feel a SUV is safer and more spacious . |
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