Latest 2007 X5 spy shot

[Chris F.]

Originally Posted by motordavid

CF: Speaking of the BMWNA meeting: did you or,
anyone else floating here on the board, go?

Curiously, I haven't seen any posts about that here
or on any other BeamEr board. BR,md

I did go! It was a good meeting, great to see the usual gang every year (I couldn't believe a year went by already!). Nothing new on that front, same 'ol whiz bang technology.

The crowd cheered when BMW announced that Active Steering was going to be a seperate option from the sport package, but apparently we all must be wrong because it's 'better' (Sorry Ses, you walked into that one!)

[batman]

Originally Posted by tomwac

The 8 series is like 15 years old What does Bangle have to do with it ?
I know people with Disco's, Range's and Freelanders. A friend bought a brand new, fully loaded Range and after 1 week he discovered that the drivers door is f*cked...water coming in, doesn't close properly anymore etc... He goes back to the dealer and they order a new door for him. After 2 months, out of frustration, the dealer took the door off of a showroom model, painted it and installed on my buddies car. . Land Rover is, such as Rover, in very deep financial shit. I would never buy a car from a company that:
1. is known for their lousy QC and reliability
2. is almost bankrupt

Just my 2 cents.

IN the recent JD powers quality ratings, BMW was near the top with Honda, Toyota and Lexus, while The Range Rover was near the dead bottom. MB was somewhere in the middle.

[ricky.agrawal]

Oh man, what happened to the gruff look of the current X5? The new thing looks too girly.

[Coffeeman]

Originally Posted by tomwac

The 8 series is like 15 years old What does Bangle have to do with it ?
I know people with Disco's, Range's and Freelanders. A friend bought a brand new, fully loaded Range and after 1 week he discovered that the drivers door is f*cked...water coming in, doesn't close properly anymore etc... He goes back to the dealer and they order a new door for him. After 2 months, out of frustration, the dealer took the door off of a showroom model, painted it and installed on my buddies car. . Land Rover is, such as Rover, in very deep financial shit. I would never buy a car from a company that:
1. is known for their lousy QC and reliability
2. is almost bankrupt

Just my 2 cents.

My bad, meant 6 series.

[Wagner]

It's pretty much a fact that most people who REALLY like one car design will generally hate any changes at first.

Although the first comment my wife made when she saw the photo-chopped version of the "new" X5 was..... "...what...that thing looks like the X3"

Odd coming from someone who has never steps foot on this board...

[ktulu]

Originally Posted by Chris F.

Better in what way? Better to you, not better to me. I think the E39 5 series is 'better' than the E60.

Whether or not the sales figures are better doesn't make a difference to me -- the most important opinion to me is mine. That is why you shouldn't make blanket statements like you did in your first post.

BTW, I'm chillin' bro

I believe the intention was towards technology...not looks. The e60 is obviously much more advanced than the e39...and the assumption is that the new X5 will also have some of the innovations that the e60 and the e90 have available. Now whether you like things like Active Steering is opinion based but the fact that the technology in Active Steering is much more advanced than what is in the current X5 is fact. The same goes for most if not all of the other systems in our cars. You can count on BMW for innovations...that is fact..whether everyone likes them or finds them visually attractive is opinion. That used to be the benefit of having more than one car model and more than one car company.

It is unfortunate that more car companies don't provide the same driver experience as BMW..but then again maybe that is my opinion...surely people can't really think that American SUV's drive good?

[4.6IS 345HP]

I think its BMWs plan to make us MOVE to MERCEDES..the R class will be top notch...

mercedes interior beats BMW interior anyday.

nothing drives like a benz..

[JV]

Originally Posted by 4.6IS 345HP

I think its BMWs plan to make us MOVE to MERCEDES..the R class will be top notch...

mercedes interior beats BMW interior anyday.

nothing drives like a benz..

Actually, a Cadillac or a Buick pretty much drives like a Benz...

[ktulu]

Originally Posted by JVZ104

Actually, a Cadillac or a Buick pretty much drives like a Benz...

Oh come on! How can you say that. Benz has much more power

I agree. I guess this too could be very opinionated but Caddies and Benz' both make me feel disconnected from the road. As for Buick..I haven't put my life in one of there vehicles seats for years so I can't comment.

If you are the type of consumer that goes for visual tricks over performance than BMW isn't always your best choice. As for going with Merc's over bimmers? I think if I wasn't driving a BMW I would be looking at the japanese offerings...The new IS from Lexus looks nice, and for the price...

[Chris F.]

Originally Posted by ktulu

I believe the intention was towards technology...not looks. The e60 is obviously much more advanced than the e39...and the assumption is that the new X5 will also have some of the innovations that the e60 and the e90 have available. Now whether you like things like Active Steering is opinion based but the fact that the technology in Active Steering is much more advanced than what is in the current X5 is fact. The same goes for most if not all of the other systems in our cars. You can count on BMW for innovations...that is fact..whether everyone likes them or finds them visually attractive is opinion. That used to be the benefit of having more than one car model and more than one car company.

It is unfortunate that more car companies don't provide the same driver experience as BMW..but then again maybe that is my opinion...surely people can't really think that American SUV's drive good?

I agree ktulu, BMW definitely has the competition beat in most categories. There is no doubt in my mind that the next X5 will have a way better engine than what I own, way better brakes, and way better suspension. Whether or not it has way better electronics (think of all the I-Drive issues initially), and way better styling is very subjective.

However I will say that styling is a huge thing for me. When plunking down $60k or even $70k on a vehicle, I have to be more than just liking the vehicle. It has to draw some sort of emotion from me. The new models aren't doing that, for me.

That was my driving point with Ses4Me....he says the new X5 is better. OK, sure, maybe to him its better. To me its not better. The ugliness outweighs the technology, which again to me is debatable. I don't want to have to use a mouse to change the radio station (fortunately they finally put some dedicated buttons the dash for that).

BMW forgets that the competition is really heating up. The Japanese are damn good at copying, and their styling is beginning to look more attractive to me.