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z4 and x5 test drives - Ultimate Drive event in princeton nj

3K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Mdk330i 
#1 · (Edited)
I stopped by Princeton BMW without a reservation yesterday and managed to get to drive a z4 2.5 and the x5 3.0. the event is a really good time and for a good cause. I got my girlfriend a t-shirt (b/c i didn't tell her i left work to go :) ) and she couldn't make it.
this is my first event, - i've only had my 325i 5sp for a year and about 2 weeks.

my first impressions:
the z4 the 'snout' on the z4 feels longer than the z3 to me, the dynamics took a little bit of getting used to but once i did... it was a very fun car to drive.

exterior: i'm not thrilled with the exterior styling of the car. I do like the look of the rear wit the maranello type rear. the front is so-so in my book.

interior: this is the thing that stuck out to me the most, the interior didn't "feel" like a bmw. The flat dash/center column was nice and did look futuristic. I can see where the design is going... I think bangle is trying to stay a step ahead of the other car makers. That being said, the steering felt light at lower speeds. The wheel just felt lighter and more plasticky, the aluminum spokes on the z wheel just screamed plastic and cheap. not a big fan.

I'm not a fan of the 2 main domes for the gauges. they didn't lend them selves for many seating postions, making it difficult to see the full gauge face. they looked very sharp, but the gauges were cluttered looking and a little busy. The color/style remnded me of the G35 dash a little. (my graphic design background coming back to life)

the ride: the car handled very well. I found what first felt like a lot of flex - but then the car tightens up really well on a turn. On a couple of the turns i thought there was going to be a lot of body sway, only to find myself going a lot slower than the car can handle... it took a few turns to really get used to it - and i got lost on my first trip so i got to drive around the Princeton Market Fair parking lot a little bit. so i got used to the way the car turns.

the engine made a wonderful growl (almost aftermarket sounding), which was great to hear with the top down... I had to pull over 1/2 throuhg my ride b/c of rain. The top came up in about 8 seconds. And i found the car to be really spacious with the top up. Though the way it's designed it's really noisy driving with the top up and windows down.

SPORT mode - :thumbup: i now know what the the people mean by the insane throttle lag on the autos and how much difference having a Sport button would make. It's much harder to get a smooth, slow start - there's a definite kick to it.

all in all, i never was a big fan of the 2 seaters but the z4 was a lot of fun to drive. I wish i had a chance to try out the 5sp but none of the cars available were in 5sp.

The X5: my first experience with the x5. I wasn't a fan of SUV's going in to this so iwas very curious to see how this handled. I'm an avid mountain biker and snowboarder and my 325i can handle both with no probs (yeah i got fold down seats), so i never felt the need for an SUV.

It was nice getting in to a car with the gauge clusters we all know and love :p the 3L made a nice throaty sound and there was definite quckness to the throttle response which i didn't get in the z4 2.5L. I'm not sure if hte guy before me flogged the car, or if it's jsut the torque at work but i'm thinking it's more the former b/c any 330's i've driven never jumped so quickly off the throttle. the 3.0L is just about enough power for the x5.

BMW is also a very hard car to feel like you are hauling a** unless it's an //m you are driving. i think the weight distribution makes it a very hard car to feel exactly how fast you are going. it's really hard to get that thorw you to your back of your seat kind of experience... unless you are in an //M at mid-high rpms :thumbup:

THe x5 handled like a champ. i felt like i was in my e46 sitting on a stack of books.... like an 3er on a booster seat. again, there was a little more sway (chalk that up to being used to a SP vs no SP) but I really felt comfortable driving the x5.

Now to convice my g/f to buy an x5 over a pathfinder.... :)

all in all a very good time and got to drive 2 cars that i'd been very curious to experience. and it's all for charity... what could be better.
 
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#2 ·
If you really want to talk her into going for the X5 vs. the Pathfinder, have her talk to me. I was "no way BMW; that's for guys who drive fast", but once I gave in and finally drove the X5 it just blew everything else away. It drives like a car, moves stuff/dogs like a truck and is just so so so so so much better looking than all the other SUVs out there.

You are right about not really being able to tell how fast you are going - I finally had to set the computer-thing to beep me, as I'm finding it is way to easy to get really going.
 
#3 ·
palooka,

there's another event closer to you this tuesdayy the 20th in Turnersville, New Jersey, only a couple of minutes from Philly.

I'll be there. You should stop by for a second run!
 
#5 ·
I can't wait to drive the Z4 when Ultimate drive gets to LA.
 
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