Finally got to see it in person and a quick test drive

[Bug Rx]

Originally Posted by apw2607

Cheap? Far from it. The notion that somehow wood denotes luxury is laughable.

I once spoke to a product manager at BMW and we had a good laugh about the wood trims. He couldn't understand it either "wood has no place in a BMW" he said ... But apparently the American market is all about wood trims.

It reminds us all when bmw owned rover ... And they had an obsession with wood trim in cars.

If the American Market is all about wood trims, and that is a sign of luxury to us, then the other options would then still be considered Cheap by American standards. Hence my point!

[gvega702]

Test drove a $68,000 S Drive 35i yesterday.

I was severely disappointed by the steering. I think it feels absolutely nothing like a BMW to me. I felt very disconnected from the car. Very similar to my test drive to the Audi Q5.
Overall the vehicle is ok IMO. The inside is beautiful, the Exterior is nice but it wasn't very quiet and drove horribly by BMW standards. The main reason I want a BMW is no longer there in this X5.

I long for the days when all BMW were fun to drive... Not just the M's

[newbimmerx5]

Originally Posted by gvega702

Test drove a $68,000 S Drive 35i yesterday.

I was severely disappointed by the steering. I think it feels absolutely nothing like a BMW to me. I felt very disconnected from the car. Very similar to my test drive to the Audi Q5.
Overall the vehicle is ok IMO. The inside is beautiful, the Exterior is nice but it wasn't very quiet and drove horribly by BMW standards. The main reason I want a BMW is no longer there in this X5.

I long for the days when all BMW were fun to drive... Not just the M's

I felt steering is pretty light. But, lot of E70 drivers complained about stiffer steering. I don't know how the current X3 or 5 series steering feels. But, the F15 steering could be little more sturdy.