C & D Comparo: Acura MDX vs. Audi Q7 vs. BMW X5 vs. Land Rover LR4 vs. Lexus GX460

[deutsch100]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Dated dashboard in the BMW, really? The interior of the e70 looks very modern, imo.

I hate to admit, but I agree 100%. The E70, 3 Series and the now cancelled 6 Series are the only BMWs that still use the "dated" dash instruments, standard & boring all orange lighting, and just the 2 rings for Speedo and Tach. Look at the new 5er, X3, 7er, Z4...the instruments and interior layouts looks really modern, refreshed and pretty cool.

I LOVE my '11 35d, but when I compare the dash instrument and the HVAC controls to our '11 Range Rover, '10 750i, and my neigbors '10 GL550 and S63...the E70 dash and HVAC controls looks spartan, dated, bland and the digital print for the onboard info, odometer and the HVAC looks primitive and very old!

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by deutsch100

I hate to admit, but I agree 100%. The E70, 3 Series and the now cancelled 6 Series are the only BMWs that still use the "dated" dash instruments, standard & boring all orange lighting, and just the 2 rings for Speedo and Tach. Look at the new 5er, X3, 7er, Z4...the instruments and interior layouts looks really modern, refreshed and pretty cool.

I LOVE my '11 35d, but when I compare the dash instrument and the HVAC controls to our '11 Range Rover, '10 750i, and my neigbors '10 GL550 and S63...the E70 dash and HVAC controls looks spartan, dated, bland and the digital print for the onboard info, odometer and the HVAC looks primitive and very old!

Well, I guess it is all opinion, but primitive, dated and very old are not words I would use to describe in the interior of an e70. Sure, the interior of the new 5 is a little more fresh, but the e70 still looks modern and, imo, has a much, much better layout than most of the other vehicles in the above comparison. Land Rover included. Visually, the dash of the X5 blows the LR away, imo.

[Richard in NC]

Originally Posted by AlexK

Yeap, I pretty much like the more "traditional" dashes with "boring" orange lighting in our X5 and 328xi... They don't distract me from driving with any redundant multi-colored "christmas lights"/displays and every data I need is clearly visible for me at any time of day and night

I agree, the BMW orange is much less distracting than many multi color displays.

On the steering effort, the active steering option cures that. It was worth the cost IMHO.

Its odd, that the test model had a high price and must have been well equipped but was down several points in that category.

The expected and achieved result was the X5 35i had by far the best handling and braking. Only .01 grip better than the MDX but 2 mph faster lane change and 18ft shorter braking. The X5 was 5 MPH faster than the Q7, a huge difference! The X5 was 27ft shorter braking than the Lexus, also a huge difference that I'd gladly take over more modern instruments any day.