2017 X5, X3 M-Sport and Nissan Titan (mini-reviews, some pics included)

[Matticus91]

You guys seem to like these threads so I figured I'd share my escapades in more detail to soak up my current boredom

Some past threads:
M235i 6-Speed Manual and M235i X-Drive Auto
2017 Mustang GT (loaded, manual trans)
2017 430i Vert

On to the new ones! I'll keep this quick since I'm combining 3 in one here

Reviews in order of "trial":

Please note that my reviews are heavily opinionated and extremely biased. I do not have any formal auto-reviewing experience and have learned literally everything I know from the internet. Seriously. I learned to walk by playing QWOP.

The 2017 BMW X5! I had this thing for about a week and I really wanted to like it. The sticker price of the one I drove was just a hair under $90k and there weren't many options it didn't have. It looked great, and was super comfortable. Day one I felt like a total baller and loved the change from the 1er for a while - being high off the ground and having enough legroom to do an Irish jig.

After a few days of having the thing I quickly started to wish it would leave. The steering was beyond horrible and vague, and every turn made me feel like the car was going to roll over. I couldn't believe how "wallowy" it felt. It rolled around more aimlessly than honey boo boo in a candy store.

That said, it was still very easy to drive and very comfortable. The heated steering wheel and tech package made it mindless to drive even in the city. Parallel parking has never been that easy with a vehicle of that size. So if you don't care, at all, like... even a little, about driving feel, and need a big SUV - go for it!

20161227_160534 by Matt Steele, on Flickr
20161227_143333 by Matt Steele, on Flickr

Now on to the X3 M-Sport: After driving the X5 I was very curious to see how the 3 would feel. The second I got in I loved it, and that feeling did not change after another week of use. I absolutely believe this is the best mid-size SUV/crossover/whateverthefudge you want to call this class of vehicle. Personally, this would be my vehicle of choice for my SO. She's currently in a Mazda 3 but wants something slightly bigger. The X-Drive would be great for the winter, there's more safety features than Fort Knox, and it drives very nice. The engine was also surprising fun and in Sport+ mode it made lots of exciting noises, which was cool.

Steering was, well, modern-BMW steering. It's "fine". The kind of "fine" you get when your SO is pissed but doesn't want to talk about it. Suspension was so many leagues better than the X5, I understand they're completely different vehicles, but honestly I'd hate to "need" the X5 because I'd so much rather have the 3.

When something came up and I had to take the loaner to NJ, (a 400 mile round trip) I was actually excited. The Baltimore tunnel was surprisingly fun with the exhaust note in Sport+, and cruising speeds are effortless and comfortable.

Anyone in the market for a mid-sized thing should definitely go drive an X3 and see what it does for you. I also briefly test-drove a 2015 base model that I was considering purchasing and was just as happy with it. Decided not to pull the trigger simply because I didn't want to be stabbed that day.

No pictures of the X3 sadly - I have failed you all.

The NON-BMW, 2017 Nissan Titan: This was an accident, but a happy accident, just like me. I was relying on my insurance to book a rental car for me, which didn't happen because, they kind of suck. So it came down to Monday morning and I needed to get to work so I booked a car and hitched a ride with my fiance to the Enterprise a couple blocks away. To preface, this particular Enterprise has a notoriously tiny lot and at any given moment has a fleet of just 5-10 cars. So I walk in, and having booked a "standard car" (Buick or other comparable 3rd tier), they bring me out to a complete shitbox Toyota Corolla with stained, torn (not joking) seats, and a steering wheel that was falling apart. I quickly stab the representative in the kidney and ask for anything, literally anything else.

He replies, "...we only have one other vehicle sir...". So, around the back of the building he takes me. To a 2017 Nissan Titan that's so large it wouldn't fit in the normal-sized parking spots available, so in this tiny lot it was taking up two places of valuable real-estate. It's so new that it had less than 30 miles on it, the white plastic is still (even now) on the paint, and there was blue plastic on some parts of the interior. It says "V8 Endurance" on the side in massive chrome letters.

I looked at him and nodded.

I've since been averaging about 8... yes EIGHT miles to the gallon. The truck has about 400hp and 550lb-ft of torque, weighs 6,000lbs, and is nearly 20ft long.

I effing love it.

It's huge and the V8 is loud, and obnoxious in every way. The seats are comfortable and it's actually pretty easy to drive. It's not at all easy to park but that's expected with something like this. I was pretty blown away that there's no backup camera, but I've managed to not hit anything so far. I have no practical application for this vehicle. It doesn't fit in my garage at home, it doesn't fit in my fiance's parking spot outside, it doesn't fit in my garage at work. I don't drive with more than 1 person and a dog, I don't haul anything, and I don't have any tools that wouldn't fit in a trunk. I think I might put a hammer in the bed for shits and giggles. The only thing I might use it for is transporting the hood for my 1er to the shop to save some $ instead of having them ship it the extra 8 miles. However, seeing as how that drive of 8 miles will use exactly ONE FULL GALLON OF GAS, it will at least cost me the local rate of $3...

So of course I've been living the truck driver life and parking like I mean it, especially at the office...

20170328_163329 by Matt Steele, on Flickr
20170328_163313 by Matt Steele, on Flickr

I have to give the truck back tomorrow and the following Monday I'll be in something else. Hopefully whatever it is will at least fit in my garage, but I'll miss this behemoth!