BMW and M Power Owners

Man of Honour
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26 May 2012
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the HUD is basically like an SSD in computer terms...once you had one in there, you'd always wonder how you went without one for so long :cry:
 

DRZ

DRZ

Soldato
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2 Jun 2003
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In the top 1%
The HUD is really, really nice to have - although in the summer if you wear polarising sunglasses you can barely see it at all which is a little annoying.

I don't have HUD in the Range Rover and I don't really notice that it isn't there as such, but in the M5 with sunglasses on or with the HUD turned off I found it really annoying to look down at the dials. There's something quite nice about having that info in your forward view at all times.
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Dec 2003
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5,683
HUD is really good if you use the built in nav as it gives you directions without you having to look away. Not having it wouldn't put me off buying the car if everything else was right though.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
20 Sep 2006
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33,887
Back to the SUV vs estate car debate, we decided on an SUV for the family/dog car. We did want an X2 to stay with BMW or similar but for what we were spending we'd be in a car with the same interior as my F80, so we've gone with a Tiguan. A bonus is that it has a lot more equipment than an X2 would have had.
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Nov 2004
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10,291
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North Beds
The HUD is really, really nice to have - although in the summer if you wear polarising sunglasses you can barely see it at all which is a little annoying.

I don't have HUD in the Range Rover and I don't really notice that it isn't there as such, but in the M5 with sunglasses on or with the HUD turned off I found it really annoying to look down at the dials. There's something quite nice about having that info in your forward view at all times.

I find it depends on the glasses - it's less annoying with my oakleys, my ray bans seem to cut out more, i think it's down to the angle of the polarisation?
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,534
You'll find it difficult or impossible to see the HUD with polarised lenses because the HUD image is essentially exactly what a polarised lense is designed to filter out - a reflection.

The only answer is non polarised lenses unfortunately.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
18,299
More like 25 degrees to see it with my glasses. Simple answer is to use non polarized ones for driving, ultimately aside from the HUD issues I see very little difference with polarised lenses anyway.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
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9,273
We've just returned from a 5000 mile Euro road trip. 6 countries in 19 days. I have to say the X5 45e is a lovely place to be. Only managed to charge it before we left and once at Madrid. But managed to avg 29.6 mpg Which I was quite impressed with.
 
Caporegime
Joined
20 Jan 2005
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45,620
Location
Co Durham
We've just returned from a 5000 mile Euro road trip. 6 countries in 19 days. I have to say the X5 45e is a lovely place to be. Only managed to charge it before we left and once at Madrid. But managed to avg 29.6 mpg Which I was quite impressed with.

Still mulling over getting one of these. Its the price penalty that puts me off. Slightly worse spec than the Merc GLE 350de I have on order and it still comes out at £8k more expensive. It would be more than £10k if i specced like for like.

Just not sure the BMW is worth a £10k premium over the Merc.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
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9,273
Still mulling over getting one of these. Its the price penalty that puts me off. Slightly worse spec than the Merc GLE 350de I have on order and it still comes out at £8k more expensive. It would be more than £10k if i specced like for like.

Just not sure the BMW is worth a £10k premium over the Merc.

I think ours has everything apart from the sunroof and B&W sound.
New Stock is thin on the ground and we wanted rid of the X3. Our was the thick end of £87k and jumped at it. https://video.citnow.com/vtw7Rxq3SYy I was hesitant with the interior at first, but now black seems boring as hell (there's something Bentley'esk about the colour)



I've had a bit of a fallout with Merc and am now a BMW fan. (also ordered an M5Comp)
 
Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,534
Still mulling over getting one of these. Its the price penalty that puts me off. Slightly worse spec than the Merc GLE 350de I have on order and it still comes out at £8k more expensive. It would be more than £10k if i specced like for like.

Just not sure the BMW is worth a £10k premium over the Merc.

They are actually quite different propositions.

The GLDE350de has a 2 litre 4 cylinder diesel engine with hybrid system attached. By contrast, the X5 has a 3 litre turbo petrol engine with the hybrid system attached. The X5 is therefore considerably more powerful, noticeably faster and smoother. It's a much more powerful car that arguably sits above where a GLE350de does. It is therefore not surprising or particularly outrageous that it costs £10k more - in the past there have been similar cost differences within a range between the 2 litre diesel and the range topping petrol.

But this difference makes the cars quite different - I quite like the Mercedes idea of pairing hybrid drivetrain with an efficient and frugal diesel engine. It gives you zero emissions running in the city but the efficiency and range of a diesel when on longer trips. This is an appealing prospect. By contrast, the BMW decision to pair the hybrid system with a much more thirsty (But clearly very awesome) 3 litre turbo petrol is a strange one.

The economy figure that matty managed on his trip is very impressive for a 2.5 tonne 3 litre petrol turbo SUV. But I'd imagine that the Mercedes would have been considerably more fuel efficient on this trip. If this is important to you, the Mercedes is likely the better choice. If it isn't, the X5 is arguably a better car.

Personally, I wish BMW did a 530de. My perfect car..
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Posts
9,273
They are actually quite different propositions.



The economy figure that matty managed on his trip is very impressive for a 2.5 tonne 3 litre petrol turbo SUV. But I'd imagine that the Mercedes would have been considerably more fuel efficient on this trip. If this is important to you, the Mercedes is likely the better choice. If it isn't, the X5 is arguably a better car.

Personally, I wish BMW did a 530de. My perfect car..

Lots of 120-130kph drives. But also some spirited driving. Swiss Alps, Furka Pass etc.
I was very impressed especially given the 2.0d X3 only managed mid 30's.
As for the Engine with the Hybrid its mental. nearly 400bhp in a house feels crazy.

Our normal day to day mileage varies a lot... It can be 3-4 miles a day or a weeks worth of 400 miles a day.
Running on electric only for a week nipping to my nearby businesses helps with long term MPG for sure, But I was really impressed with this trips avg
 
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