Despite the widespread availability of airplane flights between Detroit and Chicago on which I could fly to the Chicago Auto Show, I make an annual habit of tempting the weather gods
and hitting I-94 for a little bonding time with whatever I car I happen to be driving in early February.
Save for the year that I took a V-12-powered BMW 7-series, this year's mount, the long-term X5, was the finest road companion yet. The X5's high-speed stability is spectacular -- almost as if it was designed by engineers used to driving on unlimited Autobahns. The driving position is excellent. The seats provide good thigh support, something many manufacturers neglect. And the iPod integration is easy to operate. So that's one iDrive-based feature that's not infuriating to use.
The trip takes four hours on the dot each way and is roughly 600 miles, total. So we averaged somewhere in the mid 70-mph range. The X5 returned 17.6 mpg in all highway driving (with a few assorted full-throttle, on-ramp accelerations thrown in). It's not the most efficient way to travel, particularly for one guy and one bag, but it surely is a satisfying way to. It is greatly preferable to riding on an air bus. -- Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit at 26,201 miles
redliner says:
08:45 AM, 02/13/09
Time to put those headlight washers to work.
the_big_al says:
11:04 AM, 02/13/09
Actually, with only 4 hours of travel time, I'll bet you saved time and hassle. With the airport route, you would either have to find parking and then shuttle to the airport or find someone to take the time to drop you off. Then there is waiting in line to check in. Then there is the inevitable flight delay and the flight itself. Then on the other side, you might save time if you didn't check a bag, but you still have to find transportation from the airport to your final destination and that will take time...
All in all, if it was only a 4 hour road trip, I'd do the road trip any day.
hondacura4 says:
11:33 AM, 02/13/09
"The X5's high-speed stability is spectacular -- almost as if it was designed by engineers used to driving on unlimited Autobahns."
This is another area where the Germans continue to show expertise regardless if the vehicle in question is equipped with a sport package. It seems as if the N-Ring and the Autobahn are the best all around test beds in which optimal chassis/suspension tuning can be achieved.
dougtheeng says:
12:44 PM, 02/13/09
Are you going to go another 4 hours and come visit the Toronto autoshow? Its on now as well.
adavis2493 says:
06:10 PM, 02/13/09
I once had to drive a 2007 BMW X3 w/ Sport Package and 19" Rims from Baltimore, Maryland to Durham, North Carolina and sadly that was a different story. Perhaps a "Comfort" button would have been a nice invention for a car that would make you feel bumps you can't even see. My driving experience was also probably dampened by the $500 Virginia Speeding Ticket!
greenpony says:
05:18 AM, 02/14/09
Yeah I wouldn't fly Detroit to Chicago and back. It would probably take longer than driving. I have a thing about flying to Detroit anyway. Last time I flew in, things went fine. Getting out was a little troublesome though because the entire northeast had lost power.
carfreak8394 says:
10:28 AM, 02/14/09
Wow. When did you take the V12 7-Series? That must have been a fun trip :P.
g8gtnorth says:
12:08 PM, 02/14/09
It may not be the most efficient way, but these SUV's are the best way to travel. We had 3 MDX's (2001, 2004, 2006), and I can attest that it felt the same on the open road. Less power, of course, but planted, comfortable, cruised well. What more can you ask for.
You're making me nostalgic for the days of the lux suv Dan. The ones I used to know have all been traded in. I've seen em all, loved em all, and I miss them.
1487 says:
04:40 PM, 02/14/09
that mileage is horrible, even for a V8 powered crossover.
Arent 90% of today's cars adept at high speed (for America at least) cruising? Back in the 80s perhaps German cars had a distinct advantage but there are many vehicles available that feel buttoned down at 80mph.
stan9 says:
05:35 PM, 02/15/09
17.6 MPG - That's completely pathetic! That's the best BMW can do in 2008?
Just remember to whom those petrodollars are paid when you buy something with such atrocious fuel mileage.
And you went all of 75mph, huh? Good thing that you had 350+ bhp on call just to go 75. I'm pretty sure a Honda Fit an cruise at 75 mph.
BMW had really lost the plot - the X5 is outdated for today's world - fuel swilling - hard-riding (if you have the sport package tires)and you can't (or at least won't) actually take it off road into a swamp or some such.
Almost as preposterous a vehicle as the X6 - a vehicle designed to answer a question that absolutely no one is asking.
Good car for sucking down fuel and putting on airs though!
autoboy16 says:
02:57 PM, 02/16/09
Stan9, I believe you are waaaay off your rocker on this one. 17.6mpg is pretty good imo for a huge 42klbs SUV with AWD and a 4.8l v8. Our RWD expedition is lucky to get 16mph doing the same thing.
If you despise that v8, then don't get it. Thats why it is an OPTIONAL engine as is the Turbodiesel that will get almost twice the mpg as the v8. And yes, that is available in the US.
I agree with you on the X6 though. I just don't get it.
g8gtnorth says:
07:02 AM, 02/17/09
stan9, it's all about compromise.
It'd rather bite the bullet on fuel for space and comfort rather than to compromise on the whole car. I shudder to think what it would be like to drive a fit at 75 miles an hour for longer than 25 minutes, where as the X5 probably feels like it's loafing along. Then again, I hate cruising at more than 2000 rpms......