So, in my attempt to avoid buying 2nd generation Toyota Sequoia (will happen, still, keep reading) I am renting these 3 row SUV's every time I need to rent something.
We went to Hawaii for a week since kids have a two-week fall break (our district has that, but they start school two weeks earlier). We chose Honolulu because we usually just stay in a hotel with a kitchen, and Honolulu is not as pricey, because of competition, but then we just spend time on North Shore etc.
I rented initially X5 through SIxt (I cannot say enough praise about them). It was $62 a day, and X7 was $117. However, month ago X7 dropped to like $80 a day and I asked them to switch reservation (email, no phone call) and they just switch it to X7, and did not charge anything extra. Nice!!!
So, some of you know I ditched VW Atlas because of a windshield issue. Very good vehicle with absolutely no other issues than cracking windshields. Not sure if that was my vehicle, but I see conflicting reviewers, some people having issues, some not. Still think in that category, absolutely the most practical SUV. So, I settled on getting 2nd generation Sequoia (which is EXPENSIVE, and it seems the more problems Toyota has with 3.4TT, the more expensive 2nd generation is getting). However, we had a development since then. Apparently, life for me and my wife was too boring in mid 40's, so we will have a third kid. This one volunteered; we did not plan! It will be interesting! So, that changed car buying options. I checked Armada, and I still cannot figure out how they designed such a big vehicle with such a small interior. An Achievement! I won't go in American vehicles; too many horror from friends.
Anyway, I was eager to see what X7 has to offer.
1. From get-go, it was clear that the trunk was small compared to the size of the vehicle. 46.6 cu ft I think. OK. We put suitcases in, and we hit the road to the hotel. Immediately it is obvious that if BMW just offered B58 engine in this car, no one would complain. This thing moves! And when you think it has 5,417lbs, you start wondering how does that ballistic missile stops. And it stops in fairly dramatic fashion if needed. It is a mild hybrid. First night I just drove in comfort mode, was too tired to check things out. But a 20-minute trip to the airport returned 24.5mpg. Interesting!
2. Next day we hit Wal mart and Costco to get some breakfast stuff for kids. Was driving strictly in comfort mode around Honolulu and Pearl City, around 25mpg. OK, this is becoming really interesting. In comfort mode you cannot feel hybrid at all. It does not coast with turned off engine, it just helps move vehicle forward when needed. The leather is superb, and the seats are superb, but I immediately got aggravated by the HVAC controls. Not as aggravating as in most vehicles, but any kind of adjustment short of just increasing or decreasing temperature requires three steps to go back to Apple carplay and see maps and music.
Other than that, the screen is absolutely brilliant. The colors, the layout. It is very friendly to just look at it. But I really have a gripe with HVAC not having physical controls. Obviously, BMW understands that some things should be physical, as the front and rear defrosters are physical, hazard lights, all drive modes AND volume control, having on-wheel volume but also a good ole volume knob (kudos to BMW for keeping that)!!!
3. On Monday we went to some beaches. Drove around Honolulu (Wal mart stop again, bcs. with 5 and 8yrs old, Wal Mart is destiny) but I switched vehicle in EcoPro. That is when hybrid kicked in. It coast vehicle to stop, engine throttle is more subtle, etc. After all day of driving in Honolulu, east side of island through some small towns, a little bit on H3, som 90+ miles, mpg? 26.8!!!
I was genuinely impressed. Now, that got my attention.
4. It was time to do EcoPro and just see how good mpg can get, but not hypermilling. Just drive. We went to the West side, then back to the east side and North Shore, and the car returned 29.3mpg going to Ka'ena Point. After that, we went to North Shore, which required going on H3, etc. Overall that day returned some 28mpg.
5. Now driving. G platform is far superior to F platform, and you can feel that here. The car feels like a castle and feels like driving, well, a car, not 5,400lbs behemoth. Put it in sports mode, and oh boy, does this thing move. I think the official 0-6mph time is 5.4sec, but that does not do justice to how this thing carves through the curves. It is simply ridiculously planted. I pushed it on HWY61 and H3 in just comfort mode, and once you push too much, at one point when you are way into jail time speed zone, you can feel weight through curves. Put into SPORT mode, and that feeling disappears. What I started to wonder is: How does the M Sport package feel? How does M60i drive?
6. OK, but we need a car for the family. Well, first row is typical BMW. It hugs you, and you are very comfortable, but you feel like the car is hugging you and wants you to know what it does. I drove an M340, etc., but did not expect that from an X7. The second row is HUGE! It has more legroom than Atlas, which is something! But the third row is a problem. It is not small (actually fairly bigger than Armada), and unlike Armada, one can move second-row seats forward. OK. That works, as one kid will have to sit in the third row on our road trips. The problem is the trunk. Simply it is not big enough for three kids and our road trips. We bring grill, cooler, bike accessories, etc. Regardless that we have 16cu ft Yakima, even in Atlas we were pushing it. Add a third kid? No way! Another issue is ALL electric seats. OK, I appreciate the fact that one can adjust seats in all imaginable ways. But folding seats and moving second-row seats to access the third row is, well, to be subtle, absolutely frustrating! You press the button, which you have to hold, then the first-row seat moves to make space, then the second-row seat starts moving, and by that time, my social security has expired! Congress does not take this long to pass a bill.
So, the final verdict: If we ended up with two kids, I would buy it! I would sell 16cu ft Yakima for 21cu ft one, and just made it work. But, with three kids, and one seat in third row being utilized on long trips (and we do sometimes 5,000+ mls road trips) it won't work. Regardless that I REALLY dig this car, handling, speed, consumption, I will have to end up with that gas guzzler. By the way, hand-calculated mpg for the whole trip, meaning eco pro, comfort, and sport (checking what it can do) returned 23.7mpg average consumption.
You can adjust height, lifting it to I think close to 10".
All seats in 2nd and 3rd row can be lowered from trunk. It is really clunky operation.
Since I had BW X5 I appreciated trunk lid. It is really useful. But as you can see, trunk is not that big.
Excuse the mess (small kids + beach). 2nd row has ample of space.
And did I mention those brakes (not M brakes which are also option):
We went to Hawaii for a week since kids have a two-week fall break (our district has that, but they start school two weeks earlier). We chose Honolulu because we usually just stay in a hotel with a kitchen, and Honolulu is not as pricey, because of competition, but then we just spend time on North Shore etc.
I rented initially X5 through SIxt (I cannot say enough praise about them). It was $62 a day, and X7 was $117. However, month ago X7 dropped to like $80 a day and I asked them to switch reservation (email, no phone call) and they just switch it to X7, and did not charge anything extra. Nice!!!
So, some of you know I ditched VW Atlas because of a windshield issue. Very good vehicle with absolutely no other issues than cracking windshields. Not sure if that was my vehicle, but I see conflicting reviewers, some people having issues, some not. Still think in that category, absolutely the most practical SUV. So, I settled on getting 2nd generation Sequoia (which is EXPENSIVE, and it seems the more problems Toyota has with 3.4TT, the more expensive 2nd generation is getting). However, we had a development since then. Apparently, life for me and my wife was too boring in mid 40's, so we will have a third kid. This one volunteered; we did not plan! It will be interesting! So, that changed car buying options. I checked Armada, and I still cannot figure out how they designed such a big vehicle with such a small interior. An Achievement! I won't go in American vehicles; too many horror from friends.
Anyway, I was eager to see what X7 has to offer.
1. From get-go, it was clear that the trunk was small compared to the size of the vehicle. 46.6 cu ft I think. OK. We put suitcases in, and we hit the road to the hotel. Immediately it is obvious that if BMW just offered B58 engine in this car, no one would complain. This thing moves! And when you think it has 5,417lbs, you start wondering how does that ballistic missile stops. And it stops in fairly dramatic fashion if needed. It is a mild hybrid. First night I just drove in comfort mode, was too tired to check things out. But a 20-minute trip to the airport returned 24.5mpg. Interesting!
2. Next day we hit Wal mart and Costco to get some breakfast stuff for kids. Was driving strictly in comfort mode around Honolulu and Pearl City, around 25mpg. OK, this is becoming really interesting. In comfort mode you cannot feel hybrid at all. It does not coast with turned off engine, it just helps move vehicle forward when needed. The leather is superb, and the seats are superb, but I immediately got aggravated by the HVAC controls. Not as aggravating as in most vehicles, but any kind of adjustment short of just increasing or decreasing temperature requires three steps to go back to Apple carplay and see maps and music.
Other than that, the screen is absolutely brilliant. The colors, the layout. It is very friendly to just look at it. But I really have a gripe with HVAC not having physical controls. Obviously, BMW understands that some things should be physical, as the front and rear defrosters are physical, hazard lights, all drive modes AND volume control, having on-wheel volume but also a good ole volume knob (kudos to BMW for keeping that)!!!
3. On Monday we went to some beaches. Drove around Honolulu (Wal mart stop again, bcs. with 5 and 8yrs old, Wal Mart is destiny) but I switched vehicle in EcoPro. That is when hybrid kicked in. It coast vehicle to stop, engine throttle is more subtle, etc. After all day of driving in Honolulu, east side of island through some small towns, a little bit on H3, som 90+ miles, mpg? 26.8!!!
I was genuinely impressed. Now, that got my attention.
4. It was time to do EcoPro and just see how good mpg can get, but not hypermilling. Just drive. We went to the West side, then back to the east side and North Shore, and the car returned 29.3mpg going to Ka'ena Point. After that, we went to North Shore, which required going on H3, etc. Overall that day returned some 28mpg.
5. Now driving. G platform is far superior to F platform, and you can feel that here. The car feels like a castle and feels like driving, well, a car, not 5,400lbs behemoth. Put it in sports mode, and oh boy, does this thing move. I think the official 0-6mph time is 5.4sec, but that does not do justice to how this thing carves through the curves. It is simply ridiculously planted. I pushed it on HWY61 and H3 in just comfort mode, and once you push too much, at one point when you are way into jail time speed zone, you can feel weight through curves. Put into SPORT mode, and that feeling disappears. What I started to wonder is: How does the M Sport package feel? How does M60i drive?
6. OK, but we need a car for the family. Well, first row is typical BMW. It hugs you, and you are very comfortable, but you feel like the car is hugging you and wants you to know what it does. I drove an M340, etc., but did not expect that from an X7. The second row is HUGE! It has more legroom than Atlas, which is something! But the third row is a problem. It is not small (actually fairly bigger than Armada), and unlike Armada, one can move second-row seats forward. OK. That works, as one kid will have to sit in the third row on our road trips. The problem is the trunk. Simply it is not big enough for three kids and our road trips. We bring grill, cooler, bike accessories, etc. Regardless that we have 16cu ft Yakima, even in Atlas we were pushing it. Add a third kid? No way! Another issue is ALL electric seats. OK, I appreciate the fact that one can adjust seats in all imaginable ways. But folding seats and moving second-row seats to access the third row is, well, to be subtle, absolutely frustrating! You press the button, which you have to hold, then the first-row seat moves to make space, then the second-row seat starts moving, and by that time, my social security has expired! Congress does not take this long to pass a bill.
So, the final verdict: If we ended up with two kids, I would buy it! I would sell 16cu ft Yakima for 21cu ft one, and just made it work. But, with three kids, and one seat in third row being utilized on long trips (and we do sometimes 5,000+ mls road trips) it won't work. Regardless that I REALLY dig this car, handling, speed, consumption, I will have to end up with that gas guzzler. By the way, hand-calculated mpg for the whole trip, meaning eco pro, comfort, and sport (checking what it can do) returned 23.7mpg average consumption.
You can adjust height, lifting it to I think close to 10".
All seats in 2nd and 3rd row can be lowered from trunk. It is really clunky operation.
Since I had BW X5 I appreciated trunk lid. It is really useful. But as you can see, trunk is not that big.
Excuse the mess (small kids + beach). 2nd row has ample of space.
And did I mention those brakes (not M brakes which are also option):
