Does anyone wish there X5 was a little bigger?

[Jordo]

I just wish the rear seats slid back and forth to gain cargo OR gain rear seat leg room. Yes I know that the rear seat s power recline, I want the seat base to slide front to rear.... Like the front does.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by diesaroo

That was when cars had optional trailer hitches and manufacturers didn't make you get a truck or SUV in order to tow. IIRC VW now does not recommend towing a trailer of any size by its cars other than the tiguan and touareg.

It was also a different time when most other cars didn't have 250+hp and were about to run you over if you have a less powerful engine than them.

Sure manufacturers want us to buy SUVs, they make more money that way, higher profit margins. And the public has bought into it.

The rwd Volvo was rated 3500 lbs tow capacity, which is less than the tow rating of the current BMW 3 series sedan, about the same as the current Volvo cars like the S50. Volvo Canada sells hitches for the V50, S40, and S60. I don't know about VW in North America, but in Europe all VW models have tow ratings. The Passat has the same ratings as the Volvo, and is about the same size. Even Mini offers hitches, and published tow ratings.

Agree it was a different time. But we seemed to survive quite well without 300 or 400 hp, and 6000 lb tow capacities, in 4/5 passenger vehicles that had sufficient luggage capacity for a family.

I just think that our perception of what is 'normal' has shifted quite a bit, and I was struck by that when the OP asked if the E70 should be bigger for a familiy with one small child.

[Chip]

our car came with the 3rd row seats (didn't have a choice not to get them) and NO adult can fit in them. I got in the seat just fine, but your femur needs to be half the size of a regular adult to be able to fit there without touching the 2nd row seating!

[nynd]

Yeap - thats what made me buy it initially but as the kids grew, had to move into a large GL - where an adult can actually sit back there for more than 5 minutes without complaining.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by JCL

I suppose. Maybe I am not a good example. I went on a three week camping trip in a Datsun 1200, with a tent. I went on a three week camping trip with two kids, in the Volvo wagon, pulling a large Coleman tent trailer through the Rockies. Moved along by all of 114 hp.

I just wonder why having one child in a car seat calls for something larger than a 3 series, and why having two children often seems to require a third row. Maybe it is the SUV-sized strollers.

And I regularly go camping on a motorcycle. I've also camped with no more than I could carry on my back for 14 miles. I don't quite get your point.

Almost anything in possible, but for comfortable camping from a steel cage, I expect to take such things as a medium-sized cooler, two-burner stove, lantern, sleeping bags, etc.

I figure that a 5,000 lb+ SAV (Emphasis on the "Activity"), should have at least as much cargo space as a Ford Focus Wagon.

I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation.

[roadkillrob]

Originally Posted by Jordo

I just wish the rear seats slid back and forth to gain cargo OR gain rear seat leg room. Yes I know that the rear seat s power recline, I want the seat base to slide front to rear.... Like the front does.

It does in an E70.


I do wish it was a little bigger, it has a 3rd row, but shouldn't, it needs another 6 inches to have a usable 3rd row.

[Richard in NC]

Part of the cargo inefficiency for the X5 is the styling for sleekness and aerodynamics. The back of the cargo area slopes down and the rear window slopes forward. A Volvo Wagon or even the Focus is more squared off.

Even the older X3 had nearly the same cargo capacity for a much smaller/lighter vehicle because it was more square.

[smuggymba]

Originally Posted by BMWX522

I often do. I have a 6 month old baby and sometimes I feel like a little more space would be nice. I have only had it for 5 months and love it other than this issue. None of the other Suvs I looked at handeled like the x5. They were all way to soft. I wish they made a x7! Im just talking out loud. Thanks!

that would be a minivan

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Penguin

I don't quite get your point.

Just that we all have different expectations of what sort of vehicle makes sense.

You are making a valid point that while it may weigh 5000 lbs, the X5 doesn't hold very much.

I made the point that whatever the capacity limitations, many of us have done quite well with far smaller vehicles, including going camping for several weeks with four people.

I think that the days of buying a 5000 lb vehicle to carry a very small family may be numbered. I am not sure what the gas price has to be to start to change buying behaviours.

[diesaroo]

Originally Posted by JCL

Sure manufacturers want us to buy SUVs, they make more money that way, higher profit margins. And the public has bought into it.

The rwd Volvo was rated 3500 lbs tow capacity, which is less than the tow rating of the current BMW 3 series sedan, about the same as the current Volvo cars like the S50. Volvo Canada sells hitches for the V50, S40, and S60. I don't know about VW in North America, but in Europe all VW models have tow ratings. The Passat has the same ratings as the Volvo, and is about the same size. Even Mini offers hitches, and published tow ratings.

Agree it was a different time. But we seemed to survive quite well without 300 or 400 hp, and 6000 lb tow capacities, in 4/5 passenger vehicles that had sufficient luggage capacity for a family.

I just think that our perception of what is 'normal' has shifted quite a bit, and I was struck by that when the OP asked if the E70 should be bigger for a familiy with one small child.

Also, the older cars had larger components performing at a lower output level than newer cars. (i.e. understressed)

My '87 190DT's displacement is 2.5 liters, but its output is only 123hp with a 7.5 quart oil pan, its radiator looks like it came off a pickup truck. My 2000 Subaru Outback's engine has roughly the same displacement, but only a 4.0 quart sump and sometimes I have to look very close to tell whick is my radiator and which is the condenser. Now some of this may be due to the german vs. japanese design criterion, but there is also an old-new dynamic in there as well.

Blame it on trying to be lighter, cheaper (to build and service), more fuel efficient, more environmentally friendly. Unfortunately durability takes a back seat to them all.

I am actually going to get to the point...in order to tow a certain trailer weight reliably, the vehicle needs to be larger so that the vehicle components are not as stressed given the smaller new dimensions.

Actually not all new vehicles are like this--my father's Sprinter van has a 9.5 quart sump for all of 2.7 liters of displacement and ~150 hp, but that was designed for commercial duty (700-1 million miles of service).