Does anyone actually take their car off-road?

42pilot · 04-19-2015, 11:24 AM

I don't go four wheeling in the mud. But I have farm and, for example, yesterday I had 500 lbs of horse feed in the back and delivered it to each of our barns which are in the middle of fields. With all the rain we've had, I had to clean mud and grass from under and on the car. Nice traction control as no wheel slip in the mud and wet grass. I was impressed.

Zipforia · 04-19-2015, 09:03 PM

Glad to know when it can go off road, it's got some good capabilities.

But where I live, with my 22s....god forbid it touches a mud spatter. I bought mine for the room, looks, and gadgets X5 had.

Z.

Doanster · 04-20-2015, 01:04 AM

How I would love to have acreage, especially for horses (!!), but alas, the only real splatters my X5 has seen recently is from the HOA-controlled irrigation system in our neighborhood being set at incorrect times, thereby leaving puddles of water for me to drive through after just freshly washing the car. Horrible, horrible problem to deal with, I know.

Armen383 · 04-20-2015, 03:59 AM

Not that rich yet to be able to trash >100k EUR SUV in the woods like it's nothing - damaging rims, scraping paint, tearing off bumpers

So apart from occasional gravel/mud/etc. stuff during some sightseeing in early spring - no, rather take some pick-up or a car that is actually designed for off-road.

MattBianco · 04-20-2015, 08:52 AM

Dirt and gravel roads on family ranch is a necessity for all our SUVs.

Speed: circa 5-8 mph
Surface: dirt, gravel
Terrain: gentle slopes, flat to 5-8 degrees
Drainage: good, no deep mud

My first F15 did just fine. The current one has not been there yet, and unlikely while I still keep an older SUV that is dirt/mud/beach/camping purposed. The F15 is not an off road climber or racer, but does fine on light off road, provided there are no clearance issuance -not high enough.

-JLT- · 04-20-2015, 08:56 AM

not intentional but sometimes when I get lost up in Wisconsin

originalgoods13 · 04-20-2015, 09:08 AM

I've never attempted to drive on non-pavement like gravel road because of the weak spots of the paint around the fender, rocker panel, and especially if you have the M Sport package it will ruin your paint work on prolonged gravel road use

Kzang · 04-20-2015, 10:19 AM

I don't really plan to take my X5 off-road... and if I do, it will most likely be driving in the snow

I have plans to purchase this for my outdoor fun activities in the near future.

F15_X5_M_Sport · 04-21-2015, 11:54 AM

I took my F15 out last winter season to the desert. It did pretty good in the sand. Drove a bit in some soft sand and no issues. But I do agree on ground clearance, X5 M-Sport has close to none. I didn't deflate the tires or anything special. Just turned on Sport mode with Chassis in Comfort mode and kept the gears in Manual mode. It did well. There is a picture on the "Random shot of the day" Thread with it in the desert.

tamis17lax · 03-11-2021, 05:58 PM

Took my x5 on a trail after a big storm. Was mostly driving over bumps and through puddles and it handled very well. I got to a big puddle in a large ditch and decided to gun it. The puddle was deeper than expected and I literally did a submarine with brown water going above the windshield but luckily no damage

M3_Dust · 03-11-2021, 06:39 PM

I don't like to get dirt on my tires.

skoold2003 · 03-11-2021, 09:24 PM

FCX5 · 03-12-2021, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 42pilot

I don't go four wheeling in the mud. But I have farm and, for example, yesterday I had 500 lbs of horse feed in the back and delivered it to each of our barns which are in the middle of fields. With all the rain we've had, I had to clean mud and grass from under and on the car. Nice traction control as no wheel slip in the mud and wet grass. I was impressed.

Dirt and gravel roads. I too am impressed with the ride quality and traction. Mine has the DHP package so not sure if that helps.

GeorgeR · 03-12-2021, 10:01 AM

With performance run flats, no. Our X6 stays on well paved roads if at all possible. We use the 2000 Land Cruiser for the dirty work.

1norseman · 03-12-2021, 06:07 PM

Drove out to a buddy's farm one time, realized too late they had scraped/leveled the road, and thanks to rain it was about 300ft of 3-4" of mud. Was one of those, don't stop, turn "off" traction, or you might get stuck situations.
And I almost did, at a sharp 90 degree turn past a fence, but the X5 handled it. Had my 20" wheels with 275's and 315's wide tires spinning their way through...

His employees when noticing me, were sure they would have to get a tractor to tow me, and then were impressed I made it through.
Was a bit better prepared leaving, no issue with the turn.
That's the most offroad my X5 will hopefully ever see.

Took me two trips to the "do it yourself" carwash, to get all mud off it.
I don't recommend it.

ponytuning · 03-12-2021, 10:01 PM

Our x6 and x5 live on dirt and gravel road. Until we get to pavement about 2 miles away from our 'farm', they get filthy it's not even funny, wheels always get caked when dry and after rain it looks like we went mudding up to our necks

///d · 03-13-2021, 08:27 AM

I'm working on some ideas for my F15 35d to add a 1-1.5" spacer to the suspension so I can run the VTF to lower for street wheel set, and then raise for off-road wheel set so I can get to some more remote areas for our backpacking trips.

Theres a guy in the 35d world that takes his E70 off-road quite often. He says it does great but tire clearance is his biggest issue.

The Libertine · 03-13-2021, 04:38 PM

Does my driveway count; if so, then the answer is yes!

Darkmann · 03-14-2021, 11:27 PM

I have not taken my (wife's) X5 on an off road fun trip, though I would love to, just for kicks. I lived in Africa for several years where the utility of 4-wheel driving was basically a daily need. It's kind of interesting that in the US, I now have access to a really awesome 4-WD SUV but the idea just doesn't get me going enough to get her on the trail. Maybe it's intimidation from the darn shinny paint - it's like not wanting hurt good makeup!

///d · 03-15-2021, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkmann

I have not taken my (wife's) X5 on an off road fun trip, though I would love to, just for kicks. I lived in Africa for several years where the utility of 4-wheel driving was basically a daily need. It's kind of interesting that in the US, I now have access to a really awesome 4-WD SUV but the idea just doesn't get me going enough to get her on the trail. Maybe it's intimidation from the darn shinny paint - it's like not wanting hurt good makeup!

Yeah America is weird like that. I think its we are much more materialistic than most places. We Americans think only trucks should go off-road.

Take towing for example, go to the UK and its common to see passenger cars towing boats and campers, but in the US if someone does that we look at them like they are idiots because thats not a truck and only trucks are for towing. A lot of passenger cars are still rated for towing, but our American mindset tells us only trucks can tow.

Keithwand · 03-16-2021, 11:04 AM

If it’s good enough for Tiger....