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      05-07-2012, 02:49 PM   #161
Pex5
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Drives: 2009 X5 4.8i
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CT

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pex5 View Post
Tell you what... I'll report back once the M performance X6 without AD comes in and I drive it a bit. I'll be able to compare it to the X5 since we'll have both for a week or two.

Regards,
DRP
Had the car a week. Also, I took out a 12' 35i sport w/AD and 19s with the wife while waiting for our car to come in. My feelings about the suspension remain exactly the same. The ride is slightly more cushioned with a sport activity setup (which is what I have - the M pack does nothing for suspension). This is particularly obvious over sharp imperfections in the road (small but difficult bumps) There is still a small degree of rear wheel hop with our car, which is the price you pay for a sporty suspension with heavy run flat tires (but not as pronounced as in the X5 AD). When you get our car past 7/10ths in a bend you feel the absence of adaptive drive. It simply moves around more and you feel the suspension absorbing the cornering forces whereas with the AD this force is absorbed almost exclusively by the tires (since the active roll stabilization basically 'freezes' the suspension in that circumstance). Normally, I'd be all for this type of cornering attitude, but I'm rarely in that frame of mind driving the family car. Nothing bad to say about AD. It's just not what I wanted on this car.

P.S.
Last month I drove a 2012 Cayenne V6 with 20 inch wheels and essentially no other options. They had a sweetheart deal on the car. Unlike some Cayennes I see with modest sized wheels, It looked the business...like a $80k-90k Cayenne...nice wheels and blacked out window trim etc.. After driving our X6 3.5, I can honestly say there is just no comparison. The V6, while more than adequate around town is asthmatic over 4,000 rpms and therefore really suffers passing on the highway. But that may be moot b/c you're better off not passing on the highway. The body roll at highway speeds is downright scary! I'm not exxagerating. It felt like you could roll the car with a really abrupt lane change. Rode beautifully in town though (mom machine). It's ironic that in my experience most lay people have/would/will assume any Porsche SUV is sportier than its BMW counterpart - and that is simply not the case.

DRP

Last edited by Pex5; 05-07-2012 at 03:01 PM..
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