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Originally Posted by vinuneuro
Not really. There's nothing wrong with the engine. Your analogy of getting a convertible and complaining about towing isn't even close to working. It's more like getting a BMW and complaining about the performance. Guess what man, a small displacement engine starting from a stop in a long 2nd gear is far from the Ultimate Driving Machine. The vehicle would've been a-ok if they had they actually used 1st gear.
What percent of X5 owners do you think even have a hitch, and what percent of the time do you think those owners tow? BMW owners care about performance, not the tow rating. See what I'm getting at. 1st gear = reasonable marketing figures and nothing more. It's pretty dirty.
And you should let Acura, Infinity, Porsche and MB know that a 6cyl can't perform in a suv. And for that matter, go let the guys who determined the E53 3.0i's 5spd gearing know too.
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First off, relax. I'm just giving my opinion here...I'm as entitled to mine as you are to yours, and I'm not trying to insult you here. I'm trying to help your mom and dad get the car that's best for them.
That said, the X5 3.0 is a vehicle with compromises. I didn't say that a 6-cylinder can't perform in an SUV, although in most cases that's true. What I said is that you can't get a 6-cylinder heavy mid/large SUV and expect it to be fast. Except in cases of small SUVs like the RAV4, X3, etc, the 6-cylinder version of any SUV is not going to be a strong performer. It will get around but it's not going to be as fast as the V8 version. I didn't say there was anything wrong with the engine. There's nothing wrong with the transmission, either. It's the weight. A large, heavy vehicle with an engine made for cars is going to be slower than one with a big V8.
Performance is relative. Not all BMWs are that fast, and because of physics...in this case power-to-weight...the X5 3.0 is going to be among the slowest. Not only that, since this is not one of the premier performance lines, luxury is going to have a bit of a preference over performance...so it makes total sense that the car would start in 2nd. If you could drive the car from 1st gear you would see what I mean...it tends to be a bit jerky which is not ideal in an SUV. The gear ratios you listed are pretty typical for any car, so I'm not sure what you would expect.
What I was trying to say is that if you're going to get this SUV, you understand what it can do and what it can't. If your parents aren't happy with the straight-line performance, then they should opt for the 4.8i. Another option for them is to get the X3 3.0si which is much lighter and will perform better as a result.
Again, it comes down to deciding what is more important...performance, which is on a spectrum from lowest to highest, cost, or utility/AWD/size (all of which add weight).