one of the managers where i work has his x6 in for a service and as a loner, BMW have him a E70 3.0d, so i took it for a run.

i have to say there is virtually no difference in get up and going once running.

but the extra gears (mine is a 6 speed) is noticed in the 1 - 2 change

the diesel e53 has a big gap and you really know you have changed gear

whereas the e70 is seamless

another thing i liked was the steering, both my car and the loaner have big wheels but the e70 steering requires only half the effort.

considering how much bigger it looks on the outside i dont see any additional space inside

i,m not sure if i like the gear shift or the handbrake actuator and i dont know what the change over would be but i dont see any real value in my changing

but it was fun to drive hehehe

just my thoughts