It sounds like a good buy, Ken. Hope you enjoy it.
If this message is goofed up, ignore it. I just installed Thunderbird
to get away from problems with Outlook Express, and the interface is
quite different.
Jim Nichols
On 7/15/2013 12:32 PM, Ken Norton wrote:
>> It still sounds tasty, Ken :-)
> It has the tiny 3L inline engine and it's trying to move 4700 pounds.
> Not a race car in that regard, but surprisingly, it never lost
> gumption as it moved far into "six months on my bicycle" speed. It
> proved to be faster than me. With the traction control turned off, it
> howls the tires coming off the line and going into second gear.
> Cornering? It actually did about as well as the A4 Quattro I had and
> felt about the same with the active stability and traction controls.
> Off road? It's not the Jeep, but did far better than most. I do note
> the common comment that it seems to generate a lot more heat from
> under the vehicle than I'm used to. But the Jeeps have everything
> hanging out in the open more, while the bottom side of the X5 is quite
> aero smooth.
>
> There is a spot of rust to address and I'll want to do a little
> underbody derusting and protection. It's certainly been driven on salt
> covered winter roads. (another reason why it was affordable--it also
> has the touchy accellorator pedal complaint).
>
> The white enamal paint proved to save our bacon in one regard.
> Insurance is within $1 of the same year, low-end Jeep. Yes, my JGC and
> X5 are the same years, but on totally opposite ends of the options
> spectrum. If the paint was anything but blah white, it would have been
> quite a bit more. Oh, it also helps that the engine is the dinky one.
>
> One thing BMW did well with it is the exhaust note. Dual exhaust on an
> inline-6? The exhaust tips are huge, compared to the tiny little pipes
> getting there. Regardless, when you get on the throttle, it has a
> wonderful V8 sound and the tach has no problem sailing well into that
> redline "zone". But the MPG indicator flatlines on "0" while you are
> doing it. (must be a vacuum guage disguised as an analog MPG
> indicator, as the NAV system will give a digital readout).
>
> I haven't counted them all, but there must be close to 20 buttons or
> controls on the steering wheel. I feel like an F1 driver.
>
> One thing I'll say about the manual. It really is well written. It's
> not insulting my intelligence like most manuals (especially those from
> Japanese makes with the cutesy photos of children driving the car),
> but is not without humor. There's a reference to the "Laws of Physics"
> which definitely drew a chuckle and looked to be written by the cabin
> crew from Southwest Airlines. It is easy to read, not over-simplified,
> but written in such a way as to be quite complete without putting you
> to sleep.
>
> The interior is the best engineered interior I've ever come across.
> Granted, this one has almost ALL of the options for that year, but it
> takes it to a new level. It's the little things, like foot well
> lights. Perfectly balanced tailgates. Easy access panels that fit
> right. Seats that fit. Steering wheel that is in the right position,
> etc. One thing that startled me and I had to look it up. When I put it
> in reverse, the side mirrors move around giving you additional viewing
> coverage, but also to alert you to look at the mirrors. For crying out
> loud, even the steering wheel is heated! More stuff to go wrong, I'm
> sure.
>
> I know that Mercedes takes it to another level up from the BMW, but
> the ones I've looked at sure aren't this good. Speaking of condition,
> for 115k miles, the interior is in near perfect shape. One hairline
> crack in the wood trim in the center console by the gear shift. Other
> than that, not a scratch.
>
> Won't be able to drive it for a week. :(
>
> Man, I hope this thing is reliable. The Audi bled us dry.
>
>
> --
> Ken Norton
> ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.zone-10.com
--
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