:wrong: Soviet car reviews

[max225]

Long Beach … Beverly Hills tomorrow … so mostly la

Go to Venice beach, let the tent dwellers sleep in the Cush interior

Rancho Palos Verde beats that hell hole. F Venice

[D Griff]

Go to Venice beach, let the tent dwellers sleep in the Cush interior

Rancho Palos Verde beats that hell hole. F Venice

Yeah Venice is a see it once and done place IMO. I have no need to go back. I do miss LA though.

[razr390]

Rancho Palos Verde beats that hell hole. F Venice

Yeah Venice is a see it once and done place IMO. I have no need to go back. I do miss LA though.

I wasn't recommending seriously.

[MexicanYarisTK]

Last time I've been to LA was a little over 10 years ago, now people I know that went there talking about druggies chilling in front of nice hotels. Its legit third world country over there, even Istanbul hoods feel like beverly hills in comparison from images that I saw. But still would visit.

[CaleDeRoo]

LA is fucking huge you can easily avoid "those" places. I was there in November and didn't see anything of the sort.

[max225]

LA is fucking huge you can easily avoid "those" places. I was there in November and didn't see anything of the sort.

you can avoid the crap.

[D Griff]

LA is fucking huge you can easily avoid "those" places. I was there in November and didn't see anything of the sort.

It is similar to those videos of Philly with homeless people burning fires in trash cans and stuff. That is not most of it. That being said I haven’t been to LA since 2019, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got worse since Covid since most places seem to have.

[Johnny_P]

LA is fucking huge you can easily avoid "those" places. I was there in November and didn't see anything of the sort.

It is similar to those videos of Philly with homeless people burning fires in trash cans and stuff. That is not most of it. That being said I haven’t been to LA since 2019, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got worse since Covid since most places seem to have.

Same goes for almost any city, really.

[D Griff]

It is similar to those videos of Philly with homeless people burning fires in trash cans and stuff. That is not most of it. That being said I haven’t been to LA since 2019, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got worse since Covid since most places seem to have.

Same goes for almost any city, really.

must have some bad but more good than bad.

[max225]

So I got a brand new X3 as a rental. And I like it way more than I should.

My buddy has the i6 version which with the m sport bullshit pack and it’s useless. This is the way to go.

+great space for 4 people
+averaging 29mpg at 105F weather with 4 people and a dog
+great headlights
+ Johnny P approved pothole handling … seriously some of the best riding cars I experienced
+ non dead steering
+ great dash + decent infotainment
+ great moonroof
+ base ?! Stereo sounds good
+ great engine trans combo, just enough power and great efficiency

-looks like every other jelly belly
-auto trunk is useless and frequently has mind of its own … I hate this feature
-blender engine noises

Overall this a non shit rav4/honderp. Great car for a side piece/wife
4/7 … if this had better styling I’d be all about it.

To wrap things up..

I spent 1000 miles in this car in 72 hrs... and FUCK driving this much... I drove for 12 hrs yesterday trucker style. A few other things popped up...

+28mpg average is INSANE imo. Ac was on the entire 1000 miles, 115F peak temps, mountains traffic etc. This gets better MPG than my mini... while having MORE power, weighing 1400lbs MORE + AWD + sitting 4 people in comfort.
+still think this is the best sized/driving/quality cross over. This is the car to beat... SQ5 while perhaps slightly faster, has far worse mpg, worse interior, less space, worse ride, worse steering/driving dynamics.
-The seats are not that comfortable and have too many contours and shapes baked into it... granted no seat is comfortable this long...but these could be better.
-The infotainment is a bit annoying... car play takes up the entire screen and you can't change music etc... without having to go through 3-4 clicks between the various screens...
-More on the above... The factory nav looks like its from 2010... and to retain the above features its best to use that... as this allows for use of the split screen.
-No adaptive cruise... While clearly I DGAF some people may care...

[Desertbreh]

Good rental. Yet another four cylinder turbo 8 speed bimmer knocking down the MPG.

What about the DAG?

[max225]

Good rental. Yet another four cylinder turbo 8 speed bimmer knocking down the MPG.

What about the DAG?

Dag was an absolute trooper. She maintained her mobile prisoner lifestyle like a champ.

[max225]

Here she is exploring Trump's california property I didn't even know he had.

[CaleDeRoo]

She's cute AF

[MexicanYarisTK]

LA is fucking huge you can easily avoid "those" places. I was there in November and didn't see anything of the sort.

That's what I'm aware of, I went as far as Glendora which is easily 20+ miles from Downtown. It's mostly close to Venice as far as i'm aware and probably close to the good ol Staples Center. We have homelessness here, pretty much in all parks and right on the corner of White House.

[MexicanYarisTK]

LA is fucking huge you can easily avoid "those" places. I was there in November and didn't see anything of the sort.

It is similar to those videos of Philly with homeless people burning fires in trash cans and stuff. That is not most of it. That being said I haven’t been to LA since 2019, I wouldn’t be surprised if it got worse since Covid since most places seem to have.

I definitely noticed more tents popped up in DC as well ever since I "moved" back from Turkey.

[MexicanYarisTK]

So I got a brand new X3 as a rental. And I like it way more than I should.

My buddy has the i6 version which with the m sport bullshit pack and it’s useless. This is the way to go.

+great space for 4 people
+averaging 29mpg at 105F weather with 4 people and a dog
+great headlights
+ Johnny P approved pothole handling … seriously some of the best riding cars I experienced
+ non dead steering
+ great dash + decent infotainment
+ great moonroof
+ base ?! Stereo sounds good
+ great engine trans combo, just enough power and great efficiency

-looks like every other jelly belly
-auto trunk is useless and frequently has mind of its own … I hate this feature
-blender engine noises

Overall this a non shit rav4/honderp. Great car for a side piece/wife
4/7 … if this had better styling I’d be all about it.

Im presuming the i6 is the b58 which is the same as the soouupra, M340I, etc. I feel like base modern bmw's are like nice for a rental in the same level as eating at a cheesecake factory. Whereas renting like a comfortable daily like a camry and so on, but not that great in driving would be in the same level of applebees and tgi fridays.

Thats the vibe I've gotten on the g30 520i a few years back in the motherland as an upgrade.

[max225]

So I got a brand new X3 as a rental. And I like it way more than I should.

My buddy has the i6 version which with the m sport bullshit pack and it’s useless. This is the way to go.

+great space for 4 people
+averaging 29mpg at 105F weather with 4 people and a dog
+great headlights
+ Johnny P approved pothole handling … seriously some of the best riding cars I experienced
+ non dead steering
+ great dash + decent infotainment
+ great moonroof
+ base ?! Stereo sounds good
+ great engine trans combo, just enough power and great efficiency

-looks like every other jelly belly
-auto trunk is useless and frequently has mind of its own … I hate this feature
-blender engine noises

Overall this a non shit rav4/honderp. Great car for a side piece/wife
4/7 … if this had better styling I’d be all about it.

Im presuming the i6 is the b58 which is the same as the soouupra, M340I, etc. I feel like base modern bmw's are like nice for a rental in the same level as eating at a cheesecake factory. Whereas renting like a comfortable daily like a camry and so on, but not that great in driving would be in the same level of applebees and tgi fridays.

Thats the vibe I've gotten on the g30 520i a few years back in the motherland as an upgrade.

This was a nice car in general. The Camry I had this cost cut feeling all over the place. You could tell it wasn’t “nice”. Most Toyotas are like this … unless you spend 80k on a sequoia.

This just had nice materials Everywhere, stitching was straight, moonroof was huge. Lights were great, cameras were good. Screen were high res etc. it didn’t have a “built to a budget” feeling.

[Johnny_P]

So I got a brand new X3 as a rental. And I like it way more than I should.

My buddy has the i6 version which with the m sport bullshit pack and it’s useless. This is the way to go.

+great space for 4 people
+averaging 29mpg at 105F weather with 4 people and a dog
+great headlights
+ Johnny P approved pothole handling … seriously some of the best riding cars I experienced
+ non dead steering
+ great dash + decent infotainment
+ great moonroof
+ base ?! Stereo sounds good
+ great engine trans combo, just enough power and great efficiency

-looks like every other jelly belly
-auto trunk is useless and frequently has mind of its own … I hate this feature
-blender engine noises

Overall this a non shit rav4/honderp. Great car for a side piece/wife
4/7 … if this had better styling I’d be all about it.

This is why I like the X5 so much

[max225]

So I got a brand new X3 as a rental. And I like it way more than I should.

My buddy has the i6 version which with the m sport bullshit pack and it’s useless. This is the way to go.

+great space for 4 people
+averaging 29mpg at 105F weather with 4 people and a dog
+great headlights
+ Johnny P approved pothole handling … seriously some of the best riding cars I experienced
+ non dead steering
+ great dash + decent infotainment
+ great moonroof
+ base ?! Stereo sounds good
+ great engine trans combo, just enough power and great efficiency

-looks like every other jelly belly
-auto trunk is useless and frequently has mind of its own … I hate this feature
-blender engine noises

Overall this a non shit rav4/honderp. Great car for a side piece/wife
4/7 … if this had better styling I’d be all about it.

This is why I like the X5 so much

X3 seems plenty big not sure I’d go one step up. And the 4 banger is not available on the 5 I don’t think

[MexicanYarisTK]

Im presuming the i6 is the b58 which is the same as the soouupra, M340I, etc. I feel like base modern bmw's are like nice for a rental in the same level as eating at a cheesecake factory. Whereas renting like a comfortable daily like a camry and so on, but not that great in driving would be in the same level of applebees and tgi fridays.

Thats the vibe I've gotten on the g30 520i a few years back in the motherland as an upgrade.

This was a nice car in general. The Camry I had this cost cut feeling all over the place. You could tell it wasn’t “nice”. Most Toyotas are like this … unless you spend 80k on a sequoia.

This just had nice materials Everywhere, stitching was straight, moonroof was huge. Lights were great, cameras were good. Screen were high res etc. it didn’t have a “built to a budget” feeling.

I have driven the modern line f30 pre-lci loaner when the 535i was in service, it was bone base, no leather wrap, etc. I think the G series basically scrapped that. I feel like the new 1 series overseas doesn't seem to have that anymore.

[D Griff]

Im presuming the i6 is the b58 which is the same as the soouupra, M340I, etc. I feel like base modern bmw's are like nice for a rental in the same level as eating at a cheesecake factory. Whereas renting like a comfortable daily like a camry and so on, but not that great in driving would be in the same level of applebees and tgi fridays.

Thats the vibe I've gotten on the g30 520i a few years back in the motherland as an upgrade.

This was a nice car in general. The Camry I had this cost cut feeling all over the place. You could tell it wasn’t “nice”. Most Toyotas are like this … unless you spend 80k on a sequoia.

This just had nice materials Everywhere, stitching was straight, moonroof was huge. Lights were great, cameras were good. Screen were high res etc. it didn’t have a “built to a budget” feeling.

BMWs are pretty nice in general, you do get something for the price premium. My can is quite nice to the touch everywhere still and built in a very quality manner. There are elements that seem very dated (mostly the tech) and things that are optional that should 100% be standard on cars in their price tier, but they do build quality products.

I actually have a Camry rental this week. Finally got bumped up to executive and they didn't have shit at the airport in Nashville. I thought about going but I just can't justify the

[CaleDeRoo]

This was a nice car in general. The Camry I had this cost cut feeling all over the place. You could tell it wasn’t “nice”. Most Toyotas are like this … unless you spend 80k on a sequoia.

This just had nice materials Everywhere, stitching was straight, moonroof was huge. Lights were great, cameras were good. Screen were high res etc. it didn’t have a “built to a budget” feeling.

BMWs are pretty nice in general, you do get something for the price premium. My can is quite nice to the touch everywhere still and built in a very quality manner. There are elements that seem very dated (mostly the tech) and things that are optional that should 100% be standard on cars in their price tier, but they do build quality products.

I actually have a Camry rental this week. Finally got bumped up to executive and they didn't have shit at the airport in Nashville. I thought about going but I just can't justify the

Don't be bashful about asking for something else. Most attendants don't mind since it engages them.

"Do you have anything else available? I rent a lot of cars and like to try new ones when I can"

[D Griff]

BMWs are pretty nice in general, you do get something for the price premium. My can is quite nice to the touch everywhere still and built in a very quality manner. There are elements that seem very dated (mostly the tech) and things that are optional that should 100% be standard on cars in their price tier, but they do build quality products.

I actually have a Camry rental this week. Finally got bumped up to executive and they didn't have shit at the airport in Nashville. I thought about going but I just can't justify the

Don't be bashful about asking for something else. Most attendants don't mind since it engages them.

Do they have hidden stores or something? It always seems like the vehicles come in, they bring them around to be washed and then right back out to the line. I think there is still somewhat of a shortage as the spaces tend to be only 1/3-1/2 full and the cars are always still wet from being washed.

[max225]

This is going to be a semi long one... I spent about 400 miles in a X5E45.

I think I will focus most of this on the powertrain because that's where most of the interest lies for me.
First things first… some background.
This thing has the B58I6 + a 24kw battery so it is essentially a “Plug in Hybrid” but the reality is a bit different. Only 17KW are available… because of some sort of US regulation.
Fuel consumption:
2.1KW per mile for EV so about ~34 miles on all EV (teslas get 3+ for a comparable size vehicle)
22mpg on Gas only.
28mpg in hybrid mode.
The engine requires 89+ so it won’t run on donkey piss.
So how does it all work? Actually quite well… when it comes to smoothness and performance but at the cost of fuel efficiency. This is no better in MPGs than the gas model as expected… even given all the regen etc…
3 Main modes (all user selectable)
1. Full EV (30% power)
2. Hybrid Just like a prius
3. Full gasoline mode
EV only mode is about 30% of overall power, so it’s enough to “commute” but gasoline kicks in when you floor it etc.
Also this thing doesn’t fast charge. SO you can’t charge it anywhere but overnight… which takes about 4-8hrs.
So the only USE case I think of is:
1. You take a lot of road trips where you need the engine
2. You need to have at home/work charging
3. Commuting takes less than 30 miles per day and you’re willing to stay at under 30% power output.
All of the above needs to happen otherwise a proper EV or a proper gasoline vehicle makes more sense.
I cringe at the complexity of this thing… It literally has both powerplants with all of the downsides of each… The vehicle is heavy AF, it has a gasoline flap and a charge flap… it has dead steering, it has non sporty brakes, it has very limited regen + it doesn’t allow 1 pedal driving.

So bizzare… overall I’d say I see NO point in this thing over a X3… in gasoline version. Because that thing gets better MPGs, is 30k cheaper and has nearly the same amount of space. Hard pass from me.

This thing does do a couple things really well...

1. Supremely quiet
2. Best hybrid smoothness I experienced
3. This thing is fast AF

Overall it's 2/7