First UK cars hit the road

[isuk]

Had my BMW dealer friend call me today trying to get me to go and look at a higher spec E70 but I told him he's too late and I've gone for a high spec new model Cayenne V8. He did tell me that interest in the E70 has picked up now that physical cars are on site and that orders are now looking healthier. It seems that discounts offered to buyers pre-launch are now being rethought in light of this and post launch buyers will find it harder to get a deal. I agree with cpd1 on the residual front though. All SUV's are taking a hit and the new X5 won't be as strong as the old model was in it's early years as the used market is now awash with X5's, Touaregs, Cayennes, RR Sports etc. Too many cars chasing too few buyers and the revised road fund licence rates effect has yet to kick in on the used market.

With the current trend of 4x4s becoming increasingly socially unacceptable in the UK and other "environmentally conscious" markets it also strikes me that the new X6 may just prove to be a niche too far for BMW and risks becoming infamous for being a prime case of a car being launched onto the market at exactly the wrong moment (unless of course it has hybrid power only).

[cpd1]

Fredo,

Sub 225g CO2 band would certainly be nice, would make it the only full size SUV in that band, as you said a nice competitive advantage although I am sure Ken would find a way to them slap a 4X4 tax only no matter what CO2 is, since he has already said the Lexus RX 400h won't get the Hybrid exemption anymore...
I am sure BMW will try to roll out brake regeneration and other tweaks to take it as low as possible alternatively they should move the upper band to 250g
I agree with ISUK on the fact the market offering is getting out of control and that is the biggest factor the residual front. Look at the R class, that thing is impossible to sell, The GL is nice but too big for the UK and the ML is toast with the X5...The X6 seems to me it is an answer to a question nobody has asked. The smaller SUV makes sense and the X3 has had great success but there are only so many niches the market can take as far as SUV go...
C

[Fredo]

Originally Posted by cpd1

Fredo,

Sub 225g CO2 band would certainly be nice, would make it the only full size SUV in that band, as you said a nice competitive advantage although I am sure Ken would find a way to them slap a 4X4 tax only no matter what CO2 is, since he has already said the Lexus RX 400h won't get the Hybrid exemption anymore...

C

Did some reading about this story on the web. I think it's more that it gets a complete exemption as a Hybrid yet still has a relativelyhigh Co2 output that has got Ken's knickers in a twist. I reckon it will end up in the £8 bracket rather than getting the full £25 kicking. Unless he changes the rules so that they are based on size or weight and not emissions I don't see how he can specifically target SUV's. It's like when is an SUV not as SUV...that new Nissan Qashquai is being marketed as a hatchback alternative but looks like an SUV to me! They have to make the rules workable.....making them very complicated will be an administrative nightmare.

[castex]

Originally Posted by cpd1

he has already said the Lexus RX 400h won't get the Hybrid exemption anymore...

That's outrageous.
Ken is such an idiot - how can he possibly justify that kind of policy?

edited to say Fredo has just explained how...

[Gbay]

Originally Posted by Fredo

Agree that it's not big in terms of road tax but currently none of the X5's pass the emissions test and as the 3.0d is so close it would be relatively easy to achieve. Whilst it's not such a big deal for the road tax it is potentially a huge deal in London with the Congestion Charge. If it is being used as the threshold in London there is every chance that it will be used in road pricing schemes across the country will will no doubt be introdcuced during the life of the E70. If BMW do "tune" the E70 to beat the 225g emissions test it is potentially a big competitive edge they have as many of the competition don't have engines anywhere near passing the emissions test.

Here's a comparison
ML 320 CDI 249 g (ML280 is identical)
VW Tourag 2.5 TDI 267g (3.0 TDI 278g)
X5 3.0d 231g

MY BMW dealer thinks that BMW GB are looking quite seriously at this.

If you can afford a £50k SAV who worries about the little costs like CC?

[Fredo]

CPD1 what you have said about the Lexus is interesting....I hadn't heard that. That is going to be an interesting one as it's going to be very hard to enforce I would have thought? If Ken singles out a specific car I wouldn't be surprised if that ends up in court somehow...restraint of trade or something like that. I am sure the government will win though. Not sure I'd agree with you about the X3 being a big success....the discounts you can get from BMW dealers on them tend to indicate otherwise!

Regardless of all this I am going to be ordering an X5 so I can't wait. Gbay to answer your question the CC doesn't bother me as I live just outside it but my boss lives in it and he's going to have an annual bill of £6500 for driving his kids to school....his new Q7 is looking mighty expensive!

[X5FX]

where do you order the grill?