?!?!?!
how is mpg and especially arrival time "stupid stuff?!" the main reason i enter destination in my satnav is precisely so i can keep track of my ETA!!
anyway ... in an effort to help contribute, i'm thinking hard about what else i can add since so many of you have already addressed so much.
but here's something:
If, like me, you often prefer to use the manual shift mode while negotiatin heavy freeway traffic so that you're always in the optimal gear to juice the car for a quick passing maneuver, you've probably noticed two frustating things: (1) the car takes a few precious moments to downshift and (2) it does so without blipping the throttle like newer automated manuals, resulting in a downshift that is anything but smooth, not to mention absent the awesome sound produced by blipping the throttle on downshifts!
This explanation will be easier for those of you used to driving a manual transmission car, especially those of you with heel/toe downshifting technique, but hopefully others will also appreciate this small but useful -- albeit tricky -- technique.
Basically, use the delay between downshifting to your advantage and manually blip the throttle just like in a manual transmission car. Here's the steps, enumerated:
1. Tap down a gear
2. brief (heretofore annoying, now useful!) delay
3. gearbox shifts into neutral
3. blip throttle
4. gearbox engages lower gear
Result? Almost seamless downshifts accompanied by the oh-so-satisfying sound of blipping the throttle, an especially awesome sound if you have aftermarket exhaust and/or the windows are down and you're driving beside a wall of some kind! But most importantly, the car won't make that sloppy downshift like a beginner trying to downshift in a manual transmission car!
Only caveat is that it's easy to mess up the timing, especially since the delay before the gearbox goes into and out of neutral is NOT always the same: just as with a manual, if the timing is off, the result is an annoying jerk.
BONUS: becuase the brake/throttle placement seems to be the same in the auto-transmission X5s as in the manual-transmission BMW models, they are fantastically placed for -- you guessed it -- heel/toe downshifts! Yup, you can use this technique even while braking if you know how, and the result really is fantastic for those occasional canyon roads or open track days where you need to brake while downshifting into a corner.
Ok that was a rather lengthy explanation, but I hope you liked it! Hm. I should try and demo this by video.... I'll see what I can do