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...and honestly, I was not overly impressed. My E60 was in for the PCV recall and my dealer gave me a 2019 X3 M40i as a loaner!
Let me start by saying that today was a miserably rainy day here in Connecticut with flood watches and all that, so I couldn't really put the vehicle through it's paces. I also basically only drove it from the dealership home and back (about a 30-mile round trip) and had to work, so I really didn't spend much time with it. So for what it's worth, here are my initial impressions.
the exterior styling needs to be upgraded
the seats aren't as comfortable as the 11-position seats I have in my E60
I'm a MT guy so the AT shifter didn't excite me (even with the paddles)
the acceleration torque was impressive (//M Power!)
the interior lighting accents were cool
the heads-up display was pretty neat, but I imagine would become tiresome
the road feel was absent for me
The interior lighting is awesome. Note the trim lighting on the door and dash.
It definitely needs an exterior style refresh.
//M Power baby!
Overall, I wouldn't pay the $65,000 that the vehicle lists for. My wife owns a new-gen Pathfinder that we use to pull our camping trailer (seen in the picture), so I'd much prefer a sedan as my daily driver and let her have the SUV. Anyway, that's my 60-minute experience. I'm sure I'd be more positive if I had a chance to spend more time in it in better weather. But you know what? I like my 530xi better!
New isn't always better. I had a '18 Pathfinder rental whilst my 535 was in for PDR for a week. Compared to our two X5 3.0, the only thing the Pathfinder did better was power. Everything else was numb and boring. It was even noisier on the highway than a 12 year old X5. I was glad to return it.
My loaner was a M240 Xdrive convertible......I didn't realize it was xdrive at first and I kept trying to break it loose to have a little fun in the corners. The 350hp was exhilarating! I did take advantage of the car and the beautiful day to go up to the north ga mountains with my wife for a drive and lunch at an easily reached waterfall. Compared to her ZHP, definitely prefer the manual and the electric power steering did nothing for me. The power was good though!
09-25-2018, 04:59 PM
Had a chance to drive an M40i today...
