X5 off-road prowess (?)

[Krunk Man]

well, when i got stuck only about 2 tires would spin for about 2 seconds then the other 2 would spin, and it was worthless. You have the new 4wheeldrive system so im sure its going to be bettter than what the older x5s have

[brwntiger]

Is this vid?

Top Gear: Porsche Cayenne Vid

[DinanX5]

Originally Posted by brwntiger

Is this vid?

Top Gear: Porsche Cayenne Vid

Yep, that's the one...
In fact, this internet link has additional footage that was cut out for the US TV broadcast... like the end, where Jeremy refuses to drive home in it because it's too ugly

[jaba]

Watched the video. Great car but this was hella funny:

"And then from here back. it looks like they haven't bothered. Honestly, I have seen more attractive gangrenous wounds than this. It is a monkfish among cars. It has the sex appeal of a camel ....with gingivitis.

[Laurence]

Originally Posted by Krunk Man

.....The older four wheel drive system is "ok" but i have gotten stuck a couplw times and had to be pulled out by my friends polaris ranger(6x6) Snow tires would make a night and day difference, but its just that when one tire has no traction it moves power to another wheel, and thats not the best when all four tires are on the real slippery stuff. .....

Have a look at this artical:
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles.php?...icle&artid=108

It may be worth remembering this if/when you're next on the loose stuff.

[dksavage]

Warning - long!

Having just arrived home from a holiday with some 4WD work I will give you my impressions..
Having owned (and still owning one) a number of Mitsubishi Pajeros / Monteros I like a bit of serious off-road driving.
I believe that for the $$ I should get a nice looking car (albeit with plenty of wash and polish), a tow car, and a reasonable off road car. If I get the odd scratch then so be it - you only live once
Last week I towed a 2+ tonne van to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia and the X towed like a champ - got about the same consumption towing from the 3.0 TD as the Pajero gets around town on its own.
Went on a self drive 4WD tour (Skytrek) which was 60Km and took 7 hours.
The prereqs were for a 4WD vehicle with low range - 6 speed auto sounded close enough for me. Asked the guy at the start if any BMWs had done the course - he said he didnt know BMW made a 4WD!!

This was my first time off-road with the X so I was quite interested to see how the traction control would work, as I figured this would determine whether I got through OK. Remembering to press the DSC button so that 4X4 appears on the dashboard display - I noted that this would need to be pressed again each time after an engine restart.
I agree that the biggest limitation is ground clearance - I had to take some different lines and go very slow over the really bumpy stuff - put the wheels on the high ground sometimes rather than in the ruts all the time.

Climbing up steep rocky hills I was quite impressed with the traction control - you can easily hear and feel the brakes cutting in on the spinning wheel(s).
There was really only one very tough spot - there was a jeep Cherokee some way in front of me and I saw a cloud of dust as he tried to get up this section. I saw passengers get out as he attacked it with more speed and finally got through. I took it slowly at first and FR and BL wheels came off the ground - the traction control tried but gave up. Seems like it works fine for small slippage, but when you seriously get wheels off the ground on steep uphill sections it doesnt have enough braking pressure on the spinning wheels.
Anyway, I kicked out my passenger to take some video, gave it a little more speed (still in 1st gear), and it went up without too much trouble. I watched the next 4WD (a Pajero) try a couple of times before getting out and moving a few rocks - he then got up with a bit of speed also.

I am pretty impressed with the off-road capability other than where decent ground clearance is required. Suspect it will perform nicely on sand - save that for another day.

A few images attached to give you an idea of the terrain - they dont give any idea of how steep it was.
X came out unscathed other than a scratch on one rim from a rock - good excuse to buy some nice wheels for around town

Enjoy.
DS

[DinanX5]

Thanks DK - excellent write-up!!

So now we know... the X is no slouch off-road after all.

[Bill K]

I had a Land Rover Discovery, and I can surely say that on snow covered roads, the X is just as controllable, if not a tad better. I'm a firm believer in having the right tires. I dont mean you have to have snow tires to perform well in the sno, you just have to have a good set of all weather tires. I love the Mich Cross Terrains. If you're out in the snow or mud with low profile, high performance tires, then you should expect to get stuck, no matter what vehicle you have.
True offroad features like a differential lock arent seen as much today with the All Season Traction type drive systems. Even LandRover stopped adding the diff lock because the all season traction basically gets a computer to tell your brakes to do what the diff lock used to do.
The only bad thing about the X is the low ground clearance (relatively speaking) and bottoming out in a snow drift is a possibility that should be noted.
As for you guys with the Cherokees, give me a break! The frame on that junk box will bend if you try any real offroading. I've seen windshields break and doors not close properly from frame bending. Heck, many Jeeps arent even 4 wheel drive.

[footsurg]

That is an excellent post DS. Love the pics of the X tearing A$$ up that hill!! Not that I would ever need to drive my X on such terrain.....its nice to know that I can if I need to. Be sure to write up a similar eval with pics when you take her in the sand!

Mark

[Intel55]

Originally Posted by Bill K

As for you guys with the Cherokees, give me a break! The frame on that junk box will bend if you try any real offroading. I've seen windshields break and doors not close properly from frame bending. Heck, many Jeeps arent even 4 wheel drive.

WOW!! You are so confused and so utterly wrong. Next time compare the facts between a Jeep or a Cherokee to an X5 in an offroad situation. The X5 will lose to BOTH in a offroad test.

The X5 will destroy the oters on the road and in terms of quality and numerous other areas, but will lose and lose hard in an offroad test.