[mnx5er]

My dealer has one G05 in stock and it is a base model. They didn't seem all that happy about it since they sell a lot of X5s. It was Jet Black with leather, gesture control, and not much else.

I'm currently driving a 18 F15 that is also black (not jet though) so they comparison of the exterior was fun to do. Especially since my wife was with me and had her own takes.

The G05 looked a little more substantial to me. The back picks up on the X2 theme and I liked it. I still think the grill is too big on the front (wife agreed). Overall while the G05 is more streamlined, it will take me time to really like it. I guess I expected more in a full redesign. The F15 doesn't look that outdated next to it.

The interior is the big change, some good, some not good. I'm 6' 11" and the changes are not good for me. Front seat legroom is reduced by a good inch at least. The base seats at heavily bolstered and were miserable for me, the base F15 seat is much nicer. My wife did not like the standard thigh extender since it's not power and she couldn't find the right spot with it. I've preferred a seat without one (note my wife is 5' 7", so a much different take from her). She liked the new seats and didn't notice the bolstering.

Steering wheel is a bit smaller and feels good. It does heat up as much as the F15 which get REAL hot. Seat warmers are slower in the G05 and my wife wasn't thrilled with them, she liked the F15 better.

The new dash/control design is very nice. New iDrive screen is fantastic, digital dash was underwhelming for me. But - this car did not have the heads up display and if it did I would have been fine. Dash itself it a big large, especially on the passenger side and I thought looked cheaper than the F15 which has a two tier look.

That said, the controls look nicer and more techie. We split on the new temp controls, she liked them, I did not. We both liked the overall more sporty look. This car had the mesh aluminum and neither of us liked the look. The part that covers the cup holders is big and looks like plastic. A different trim would have really improved the look.

Door controls are nice and do not interfere with legroom as I was concerned. I also didn't find the new door handles to get in the way of my legs - a good thing!

New sunroof is awesome.

Driving was very interesting. The engine (40i) is fantastic and blows by F15 out of the water. I loved everything about it. This alone makes the car attractive.

Steering is only a wee bit better than the F15, I expected more from BMW even thought I am fine with the F15 steering. Ride is better than the F15 (I have the base suspension) but it felt like cornering was a little worse. I would need more time with different tires to really have a final opinion. Bumps are a bit smoother and not as abrupt in the G05. But when I took a freeway cloverleaf hard, the F15 feels more planted. The G05 had the Michelins and my F15 has the Pirellis.

Bad news is the auto start-stop and to be set each time the car was started. You can keep that dumb "feature" off permanently on the F15. Hopefully someone will find a way to code around that. The new shifter was different and harder for me to understand, not sure why they stopped using the current one. Car wash guys will be stumped for a while.

So - the seat issue may be solved with the comfort seats and adjustable bolstering. Legroom can't be solved and it's just stupid that BMW reduced it as people are getting bigger.

Almost forgot, the gesture control is just dumb. What the heck, I do not need to spin my finger to turn up the volume. The control is on the steering wheel.

BMW will sell a ton of these and I'm sure the margins are great on them. I wasn't wowed, but it does check all the boxes for most people and is a redesign, albeit a conservative one on the outside. It is an excellent SUV and overall a step up from the F15. It does show how solid the F15 is.

Get out and drive this and post what you think. For me I am anxious to try the 19 Cayenne if the dang thing ever makes it so showrooms. It is more expensive, but probably a bit closer to where I hoped the X5 was heading. I love BMW (have owned a bunch of them) and wish the G05 had more room in it.

Sadly the X7 has the EXACT same room in the front.

[maze446]

Originally Posted by mnx5er

Bad news is the auto start-stop and to be set each time the car was started. You can keep that dumb "feature" off permanently on the F15. Hopefully someone will find a way to code around that.

This is really annoying. Audi does the same thing which is one of the reasons why I passed on the Q7. I understand it's just hitting one button every time I get in the car, but that adds up over time. Same thing with defaulting to comfort mode (I don't drive in any mode other than sport or sport+). If I cared about fuel economy I wouldn't be getting a 5000 lb car with a 4.4L V8.

[ScottMZ3]

Hmm...why on earth would BMW not allow the on/off feature to remember it’s last setting?? It currently does that in every other BMW model (or at least it used to)!!

I definitely won’t like that, neither will my wife. She can’t stand that on her 528i...thankfully we turned it off the day we got it and it hasn’t been on since.

Like you said, really hope it can be coded!

[maze446]

Ah, it's automatically deactivated in sport mode or when transmission is in S or M. Good for me, bad for my wife because she just leaves it in comfort mode.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by mnx5er

Sadly the X7 has the EXACT same room in the front.

... and only 0.2 inches more legroom in 2nd row. X7 is all about the 3rd row.

[e90_2_f80]

test drive by Nico at BMW SF

[eye.surgeon]

Originally Posted by ScottMZ3

Hmm...why on earth would BMW not allow the on/off feature to remember it’s last setting?? It currently does that in every other BMW model (or at least it used to)!!

I definitely won’t like that, neither will my wife. She can’t stand that on her 528i...thankfully we turned it off the day we got it and it hasn’t been on since.

Like you said, really hope it can be coded!

EPA is requiring that features enabled during CAFE fuel cycle certification are non-defeateable. If stop-start was used during the certification cycle, it must be present upon startup of the production vehicle. You can thank VAG in part for that.

[mnx5er]

Originally Posted by maze446

Ah, it's automatically deactivated in sport mode or when transmission is in S or M. Good for me, bad for my wife because she just leaves it in comfort mode.

Does it remember sport mode on start? I know the F15 goes not, The Q7 I had did remember the mice but still didn’t defeat the stop start.

I hate stop-start. For me it was dangerous on quick turns where I forgot it was on and the Q7 took that extra pause to accelerate.

[mbhammer]

Originally Posted by mnx5er

I hate stop-start. For me it was dangerous on quick turns where I forgot it was on and the Q7 took that extra pause to accelerate.

I concur. Start-Stop is dangerous in any scenario when you need instant power. Consequence of CAFE standards.

My AMG has same, non-defeatable safety hazard that I have to turn off every time I start the car.

[V8LIFE]

Originally Posted by mnx5er

Front seat legroom is reduced by a good inch at least. The base seats at heavily bolstered and were miserable for me, the base F15 seat is much nicer.

Seriously?! Bigger outside but smaller inside?

[NoCompromise]

Surprised by the dislike of the stop-start. Full pressure on the brake - engine off. Then lift a little as you know the light is about to change and the engine will start whilst the car is still stationery. If you do need to get off the line that quick then Sport mode as has been suggested.

[mnx5er]

Originally Posted by NoCompromise

Surprised by the dislike of the stop-start. Full pressure on the brake - engine off. Then lift a little as you know the light is about to change and the engine will start whilst the car is still stationery. If you do need to get off the line that quick then Sport mode as has been suggested.

Sport mode only solves it if the X5 remembers sport mode between starts. Otherwise you have to remember to turn it on. No way I would mess with brake pressure to defeat it, too dangerous if I screw up. That trick worked on Audi also.

[roxxor]

Originally Posted by mnx5er

No way I would mess with brake pressure to defeat it, too dangerous if I screw up.

Pretty sure he was talking about how much pressure you apply to the brake pedal with your foot, not actually modifying the brake line pressure.

Originally Posted by eye.surgeon

EPA is requiring that features enabled during CAFE fuel cycle certification are non-defeateable. If stop-start was used during the certification cycle, it must be present upon startup of the production vehicle. You can thank VAG in part for that.

I would think even on the newer models it can still be coded out, even with the newer software updates on the G-series models you can re-code it to remember the last setting on startup.

[mnx5er]

I know he was talking about pressure on the pedal. I just can’t do that and risk screwing it up and hitting someone.

[BMWZ4]

You're just an inch under 7 feet tall? I'm guessing you need to drive with the roof open

Yowza...

[mnx5er]

Originally Posted by BMWZ4

You're just an inch under 7 feet tall? I'm guessing you need to drive with the roof open

Yowza...

Actually headroom is great. I’m mostly legs. I run into others with longer inseams battling with cars.

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by mnx5er

Actually headroom is great. I'm mostly legs. I run into others with longer inseams battling with cars.

Good to know. My son is 6'4 and has had a tough time finding the right vehicle. I'll tell him to save his nickles for a G05 he's only 20!

Oh, and I did actually read your review!