[fragra]

Took a stroll at lunch and caught some pics of the X-Drive event being set up on the old Indy car track by BC Place. My wife and I will be attending this weekend. According to the invite we'll be able to test 330xi, 325xi against IS350, IS250, and an A4 3.2 quattro. We'll also be able to compare an X3 against that Lexus crossover thingy. Should be interesting.

Apologies for the crappy photos taken from a distance through the fence by a crappy photographer. I'll take more pictures when I attend and offer some not-very-expert comments on the experience later.

[fragra]

OT. Seems I work at test-drive event central. Mercedes is setting up just across the street from my office. I'll have to poke my nose around there tomorrow.

Edit: Just peeked out the window - people have begun tootling around the course in Smarts and B-Classes. Ho-hum.

[fragra]

Really OT: Spotted while walking to the X-Drive event site. Do you think this is dropped a tad too much?

[KL2DC]

Shooot that BMW HPDE is only for Canada....

[icedragon]

I wonder if we have one for Ontario? or Toronto?

[3s-a-charm]

There's one in Calgary during Easter weekend... I'm signed up. It so happens my production date is around the same time.

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by Ethirtynine

I don't get whty they would compare a 330xi to an IS350.
What do you mean by the Lexus crossover?

I bet he meant the rx330 or rx350. The are using the 330xi i think because they will have a wet section of pavement to show how much better the BMW is with X-drive compared to the lexus RWD. They will also let everyone know you can get the is350 with awd but you can with a BMW. I bet thats why.

[06330i]

is that yellow truck a concept from BMW? lol just kiddin

[fragra]

OK, took another noon stroll to the X-drive event to take some shots of the first day of the event. This time I walked out the on the Georgia Viaduct to get some shots from overhead down on the course. (Gawd, what a walk - semis whizzing by your ear at near lightspeed. The things you do for e90post. )

Ethirtynine, alpine6spd: You're correct. It is an rx350, not is350. My bad... can't say I know much about a vehicle I have close to zero interest in.

Anyway, here's some more crappy shots. As I walked up the 330ix, the is250, the a4, and that rx350 thingy were being taken around the course. By the time I got there only the A4 was on the course. I couldn't hang around all day - lunch beckoned - so I only got shots of the A4. Like Ethirtynine I expected at least part of the course to be kept wet by a dude with a hose like the the dude with a broom kept the sand on the track at the e90 intro session last year. But the course is dry as a bone. Go figure.

BTW - The first shot could be list member DerekS pulling away rather quickly on Pacific Blvd. A TiAg e91 on 161s - can't be many of them in Vancouver. Is that you Derek?

[E90PWR]

Does anyone know the schedule start times or sessions? I know it is ending on Sunday.

[fragra]

So here's my impressions, such as they are...

The event takes a total of 2 hours – a half hour of instruction followed by the driving itself. It was pouring rain. You could hear it hammering on the tent during the introductory presentation.

I found the presentation to be informative, with seemingly little bias or hype. The instructor was clearly trying to convey that purchasers of AWD must understand the benefits, and limitations, of the system they are looking at, and of AWD in general. A couple of points he made... X-drive was the only AWD system there that is able to transfer 100% of power to the front or rear axle, a worthwhile advantage. He also made it clear that AWD does not equal invincible – it may help you get going in slippery conditions, but has no effect on turning or stopping.

After the presentation, the instructors take car-loads of participants around the track for a familiarization run after which you are let loose on the cars. The participants line up and take turns with the cars as they arrive. The instructors emphasize safety – no hero driving. If you do take out some cones, it's $5 a cone to the instructor’s beer fund and you get sit the rest of the event out in the penalty box.

I drove 325ix, 330ix, 330ix w/sport, rx-330, my wife drove 325ix, 330ix, 330ix w/sport, is-250. Our timing didn’t work out to get into the Audi, and I was unable to try the is-250. My wife thought the is-250 was a worthy competitor to the 325, but she didn’t particularly care for the interior. Too fussy she said. I didn’t really want to drive the rx-330, but WTH. You could say it lived down to my expectations – more body roll than the boat in the Perfect Storm. Our favorite was the 330ix w/sport – no surprise there. And just listening to the BMWs accelerating hard while standing in line for your turn was enjoyable in itself. Pure six cylinder music.

The event was a gas, the staff who organize it make sure that everyone has a fun and safe experience. Everyone had smiles on their faces when they climbed out of a car. If you have the opportunity to go to a BMW driving event I highly recommend it.

I apologize for the lack of pictures – rain on the lens ruined what few pictures I had the presence of mind to take. Here’s one of our instructor preparing us for the familiarization lap.

[DerekS]

Originally Posted by fragra

So here's my impressions, such as they are...

The event takes a total of 2 hours – a half hour of instruction followed by the driving itself. It was pouring rain. You could hear it hammering on the tent during the introductory presentation.

I found the presentation to be informative, with seemingly little bias or hype. The instructor was clearly trying to convey that purchasers of AWD must understand the benefits, and limitations, of the system they are looking at, and of AWD in general. A couple of points he made... X-drive was the only AWD system there that is able to transfer 100% of power to the front or rear axle, a worthwhile advantage. He also made it clear that AWD does not equal invincible – it may help you get going in slippery conditions, but has no effect on turning or stopping.

After the presentation, the instructors take car-loads of participants around the track for a familiarization run after which you are let loose on the cars. The participants line up and take turns with the cars as they arrive. The instructors emphasize safety – no hero driving. If you do take out some cones, it's $5 a cone to the instructor’s beer fund and you get sit the rest of the event out in the penalty box.

I drove 325ix, 330ix, 330ix w/sport, rx-330, my wife drove 325ix, 330ix, 330ix w/sport, is-250. Our timing didn’t work out to get into the Audi, and I was unable to try the is-250. My wife thought the is-250 was a worthy competitor to the 325, but she didn’t particularly care for the interior. Too fussy she said. I didn’t really want to drive the rx-330, but WTH. You could say it lived down to my expectations – more body roll than the boat in the Perfect Storm. Our favorite was the 330is w/sport – no surprise there. And just listening to the BMWs accelerating hard while standing in line for your turn was enjoyable in itself. Pure six cylinder music.

The event was a gas, the staff who organize it make sure that everyone has a fun and safe experience. Everyone had smiles on their faces when they climbed out of a car. If you have the opportunity to go to a BMW driving event I highly recommend it.

I apologize for the lack of pictures – rain on the lens ruined what few pictures I had the presence of mind to take. Here’s one of our instructor preparing us for the familiarization lap.

Hi Fragra,
Excellent report of the event. Yes, you caught my 325XiT leaving the site on Friday. If you're interested, you can read my impressions which are now on p.2 or 3 of the main postings. Too bad you didn't get to drive the Audi A4 and the IS250, then you would really appreciate the E90 even more. By the way, was that your silver E46 Touring parked next to my car ?

[fragra]

So that was you! Your car sounds great from above - not a normal place to listen to a vehicle. You can really hear the valve train. Sounds awesome. You were pulling away just as I was taking my camera out, that's the best shot I could get of you as you pulled away.

Our e46 is black sapphire. We were down there on Sunday bright and early at 8:00AM. I wish I had more time with the cars - before you know it, it's over. I found and read your comments... much more qualitative about the cars than my ramblings.

If they do another event next year, I'm in.

[davinet78]

it must be a great experience to be able to compare the cars directly