Discussion
OK I will keep the bag on my head whilst doing this 
as I don't mean to offend anybody.
Was just reading this
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=123394&f=23&h=0
and I honestly would have to say, I have seen many X5s driven really, really obnoxiously, arrogantly and plain badly. And they do all have 'X5' numbers plates, it really is true!
With other BMWs you mention bad driving but are usually joking - I've hardly ever seen anyone driving too badly in any other BMW - but some of the X5 people really do seem out to keep the reputation up.
Am I wrong?
Great car though I am sure.
Russ
as I don't mean to offend anybody. Was just reading this
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=123394&f=23&h=0
and I honestly would have to say, I have seen many X5s driven really, really obnoxiously, arrogantly and plain badly. And they do all have 'X5' numbers plates, it really is true!
With other BMWs you mention bad driving but are usually joking - I've hardly ever seen anyone driving too badly in any other BMW - but some of the X5 people really do seem out to keep the reputation up.
Am I wrong?
Great car though I am sure.
Russ
i've had a couple, I dont drive like a wnaker...
oh wait hang on...
Seriously though, its an age old stereotype band wagon thats easy to leap on.. tomorrow look out for audi's driven like to55ers. You'll see them, its just a matter of looking for them... You'll see anything if you look hard enough.
oh wait hang on...
Seriously though, its an age old stereotype band wagon thats easy to leap on.. tomorrow look out for audi's driven like to55ers. You'll see them, its just a matter of looking for them... You'll see anything if you look hard enough.
I have just sold my X5 and I can honestly say... I drove it fast, because I could!
It's a strange feeling being in that size vehicle, that high up and being able to chuck into corners without worrying about tipping over. It’s all about enjoying your drive to me.
Unfortunately when this happens, we sometimes forget our fellow road users
It's a strange feeling being in that size vehicle, that high up and being able to chuck into corners without worrying about tipping over. It’s all about enjoying your drive to me.
Unfortunately when this happens, we sometimes forget our fellow road users
snag is, when 2500kg of vehicle slips off the road, it's gonna make a mess of the local environment 
anyway, tbh while i _hate_ 4x4s, I can't say I have seen any being driven badly. although that might be from the xenon dazzle
interestingly, i do get the feeling that its quite safe to buy a bmw or merc now as a lot of the heat has been taken off drivers of said marques, and 4x4 drivers are considered the new tossers on the road, from what I've heard non-4x4 owners say (who incidentally aren't jealous and could afford to buy one but choose not to, probably through having taste ).
anyway, tbh while i _hate_ 4x4s, I can't say I have seen any being driven badly. although that might be from the xenon dazzle
interestingly, i do get the feeling that its quite safe to buy a bmw or merc now as a lot of the heat has been taken off drivers of said marques, and 4x4 drivers are considered the new tossers on the road, from what I've heard non-4x4 owners say (who incidentally aren't jealous and could afford to buy one but choose not to, probably through having taste
).Went from Bristol to cambridge and back this weekend.
After this thread I was aware of the X5s on the road. I saw 5 in total, and if I recall, 4 were driven either badly or at least quickly whilst ignoring most other drivers on the road.
The favourite X5 trick seems to be - look out for it next time you see one merging - when joining a motorway, come up the slip road at about.. 90 - 95mph. Go all the way along to the end of it undertaking everybody and merge in a small gap infront of another car.
Then immediately veer across two lanes into the overtaking lane with foot floored, and blast past about 10 cars.
Then, as you are only on for one junction and 600 yards, veer back to the centre lane. Wait until you are alongside the exit you need, and cut up cars by going through a tiny gap in the slow lane to join the slip road.
I guess it's easy to do with the speed and great visibility but still.. Do people feel they have to prove that just because they have an off-roader, they don't drive like a farmer? Or their 4x4 can still overtake Mondeos and things?
based on a true story
Russ
After this thread I was aware of the X5s on the road. I saw 5 in total, and if I recall, 4 were driven either badly or at least quickly whilst ignoring most other drivers on the road.
The favourite X5 trick seems to be - look out for it next time you see one merging - when joining a motorway, come up the slip road at about.. 90 - 95mph. Go all the way along to the end of it undertaking everybody and merge in a small gap infront of another car.
Then immediately veer across two lanes into the overtaking lane with foot floored, and blast past about 10 cars.
Then, as you are only on for one junction and 600 yards, veer back to the centre lane. Wait until you are alongside the exit you need, and cut up cars by going through a tiny gap in the slow lane to join the slip road.
I guess it's easy to do with the speed and great visibility but still.. Do people feel they have to prove that just because they have an off-roader, they don't drive like a farmer? Or their 4x4 can still overtake Mondeos and things?
based on a true story
Russ
Saw a Toyota Avensis do that on the M1 yesterday ....
Personally I think all 4*4 drivers (not just X5 drivers) forget other people on the road as the vast majority are driven by inconsiderate morons. Range Rovers I find are the worst.
Oh yes .. 4*4 drivers are incompetant as well if the blonde Cayenne driver in Castlepoint on Friday was anything to go by having damaged her wheel and side of the car on a steel post as she tried to cut the corner ...
Personally I think all 4*4 drivers (not just X5 drivers) forget other people on the road as the vast majority are driven by inconsiderate morons. Range Rovers I find are the worst.
Oh yes .. 4*4 drivers are incompetant as well if the blonde Cayenne driver in Castlepoint on Friday was anything to go by having damaged her wheel and side of the car on a steel post as she tried to cut the corner ...
You're all seriously suffereing from 'stereotype-itis', people who drive cars rudely and badly will drive any car rudely and badly. I've got a wide variety of cars to choose from, an X5 4.8is, Mini Cooper S, Brabus Smart and an M3 CSL. I drive them all pretty much the same, quickly but considerately.
I live just off a twisty b-road and I am conscious that even though I can overtake nearly every car on the road, I often don't in my X5 because it can frighten other drivers and perhaps cause them to have an accident on their own.
Someone mentioned in an earlier post that an X5 weighs 2500kg...er, wrong! They weigh just over 2000kg and only 1-200kg more than a 7 series.
Moving from one car to another I am aware of how other road users treat me (before I do anything to cause such a reaction). In my Brabus Smart for instance everyone seems to think they can pull out of junctions right in front of me and somehow I will just disappear in thin air, or perhaps they think I will just bounce off if I hit them. In the X5 however they are more guarded but they still think that you must be really slow and they've got more time for that dunb-ass move that they are lazy enough to pull. Other drivers can also be overly resistent to pull over on a motorway, perhaps because they think you can't possibly be quicker than them and sometimes that can cause an X5 driver to appear aggresive as he counters this behaviour.
If you have a look more closely on the roads you will notice that the smaller the vehicle, the less we notice how it behaves. Motorcycles being the case in point who are able to pull up close, dodge between gaps and overtake on twisty roads all without causing a raised eyebrow. You can do exactly the same in a larger car such as an X5, accelerating just as quickly and leaving the same kind of gaps between cars and you will cause considerable upset. It's all down to perception (big car being more noticeable and threatening than smaller car) and it's one of the constraints that you need to be aware of when driving an X5.
You can drive one of the more powerful X5s as quickly if not more quickly than most other cars, but SHOULD you?
It's still a lot of fun, you just need to be aware of the reactions it causes with other road users.
I live just off a twisty b-road and I am conscious that even though I can overtake nearly every car on the road, I often don't in my X5 because it can frighten other drivers and perhaps cause them to have an accident on their own.
Someone mentioned in an earlier post that an X5 weighs 2500kg...er, wrong! They weigh just over 2000kg and only 1-200kg more than a 7 series.
Moving from one car to another I am aware of how other road users treat me (before I do anything to cause such a reaction). In my Brabus Smart for instance everyone seems to think they can pull out of junctions right in front of me and somehow I will just disappear in thin air, or perhaps they think I will just bounce off if I hit them. In the X5 however they are more guarded but they still think that you must be really slow and they've got more time for that dunb-ass move that they are lazy enough to pull. Other drivers can also be overly resistent to pull over on a motorway, perhaps because they think you can't possibly be quicker than them and sometimes that can cause an X5 driver to appear aggresive as he counters this behaviour.
If you have a look more closely on the roads you will notice that the smaller the vehicle, the less we notice how it behaves. Motorcycles being the case in point who are able to pull up close, dodge between gaps and overtake on twisty roads all without causing a raised eyebrow. You can do exactly the same in a larger car such as an X5, accelerating just as quickly and leaving the same kind of gaps between cars and you will cause considerable upset. It's all down to perception (big car being more noticeable and threatening than smaller car) and it's one of the constraints that you need to be aware of when driving an X5.
You can drive one of the more powerful X5s as quickly if not more quickly than most other cars, but SHOULD you?
It's still a lot of fun, you just need to be aware of the reactions it causes with other road users.
To make a link between the tosser at the wheel and the type of car being driven is rubbish.
Put a tosser in a TVR Tuscan and he is still a tosser. And his onanist tendancies are not going to alter if he is in an X5.
FWIW - the X5 is a fantastic car that no-one can really criticise unless they've owned one.
The fact that it is fast and handles well probably makes it more conspicuous for something quite large.
But this sterotyping is just bollox.
Put a tosser in a TVR Tuscan and he is still a tosser. And his onanist tendancies are not going to alter if he is in an X5.
FWIW - the X5 is a fantastic car that no-one can really criticise unless they've owned one.
The fact that it is fast and handles well probably makes it more conspicuous for something quite large.
But this sterotyping is just bollox.
I can't understand why you'd be a big car like that - the space is unuseable?
It's taller, and big heavy cars are made the vehicle of choice for school runs (because big cars are required to fit tiny children in arent they) and are the best choice for driving in areas where there is little parking and loads of kids !
Get a focus instead.
It's taller, and big heavy cars are made the vehicle of choice for school runs (because big cars are required to fit tiny children in arent they) and are the best choice for driving in areas where there is little parking and loads of kids !
Get a focus instead.
chris_freebie said:
I can't understand why you'd be a big car like that - the space is unuseable?
It's taller, and big heavy cars are made the vehicle of choice for school runs (because big cars are required to fit tiny children in arent they) and are the best choice for driving in areas where there is little parking and loads of kids !
Get a focus instead.
Are all X5's only used for the school run then?
the problem with such a discussion is that we're on the wrong website. typically the 4x4 driver on PH is likely to be a clued up, car-savvy petrolhead (no sarcasm 
). so everytime you talk about the schoolrun, of course you'll get a load of 4x4 owners replying here with 'i need it for xyz'. and fair enough.
but i'd hazard a guess the majority of 4x4 owners are ignorant fools who's lifestyle doesn't dictate they need such a vehicle, and are therefore driving one for fashion purposes. or because they'd rather destroy a 'peasant' in their Focus in a head-on accident because they are so well-cosseted and safe that they dont have to worry about driving skills. :|
). so everytime you talk about the schoolrun, of course you'll get a load of 4x4 owners replying here with 'i need it for xyz'. and fair enough. but i'd hazard a guess the majority of 4x4 owners are ignorant fools who's lifestyle doesn't dictate they need such a vehicle, and are therefore driving one for fashion purposes. or because they'd rather destroy a 'peasant' in their Focus in a head-on accident because they are so well-cosseted and safe that they dont have to worry about driving skills. :|
I think the problem comes from using phrases such as "..the majority of X5 drivers". We've no idea really only that which we experience ourselves. If you say I came across an X5 driver who was a plonker then I would wholeheartedly believe you but it's just not right to generalise no matter how much we would like to believe it.
fair enough I suppose. I admit I haven't met every 4x4 driver in the land. but there seems to be enough anti-4x4 sentiment to suggest something is up. otherwise we can't mock chavs either as we haven't met and spoken to every burberry-wearing yoof (you never know, there may be a hundred city bankers, solicitors or maths professors out there who love burberry and hacket).
anyway, Humvee 2 on order with bank of xenons on the roof, so i'm alright now, jack
anyway, Humvee 2 on order with bank of xenons on the roof, so i'm alright now, jack
I'm jealous! Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff