| Author |
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Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Thursday, August 15, 2002 - 02:49 pm: | 
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'03 Rangie - I have to admit I walked away this weekend with a little (okay, a lot) more appreciation for the '03 Rangie. It's a sweet ride. Ho, you're right ... again. I thought all of the articulation claims on the Rangie were BS until I saw it. It works very nice for an IFS/IRS vehicle. I didn't get to drive it but spent a couple of days on some "Green" trails at Paragon. It was cool to see the suspension inflate and deflate as quick as it did. It placed those wheels on the ground when needed and the ETC did the rest. Lots of the parts off the vehicle seems to be right out of the X5 parts bin, from the surface. I don't buy the claims that it's a pure BMW that is just built in Sollihul just as my X5 isn't a pure BMW just built in Greer, South Carolina. My Dingolfing Germany built 540i is much more a BMW (fit and finish) than any X5 I've seen or driven so I'm still a holdout on the build quality of the new Rangie for a few more years. The M62 4.4L engine is another story. On the downside, despite it's abilities, I don't think this Rangie will ever have a market for first or second owners who are looking for an offroad vehicle. I just don't think modifying one of these will be easy and the EAS is still prone to failure as a Rangie 4.6 on the same trail had done. At least with the 4.6 you can just drop in coils. But if you're looking for a capable on road vehicle but want *some* off road capabilities without mods the '03 may be your ticket. Very sweet!
Freelander - What can I say? LOL! It's a good first attempt for Land Rover at an AWD 4 door hatchback. I'm not slamming the vehicle but to call it an off road SUV is just hype just as much as calling an X5 an off roader is. The lack of a low range makes it anemic on ANY off road hill climb. The articulation is what you would expect of an IFS/IRS vehicle. ETC works but is best used in snow and light mud on flat roads or small hills. Approach, break over, and departure angles really limit where this vehicle can go. But if you're looking for an AWD vehicle to drive in snow on the street and have a little more cargo room then the Freelander might be a good choice. Just don't kid yourself that it's an offroader.
Disco II - I won't go too much into this one here other than some points I've experienced with my own 1999 D2. It's a great vehicle and I still wonder WTF LRNA was thinking when they castrated the beast. CDL is a must on it. CDL and ETC work wonders and I would like to see if the SLABS ECU would fit into a D1 or D90 to give it ETC on all 4 wheels. My biggest bitch with the D2 (aside from the CDL) is with it's approach and departure angle and the cross members that limit the break over angle. I'm surprised I haven't seen more aftermarket stuff to help with this. AFAIK there are two commercial rear bumpers and maybe 4 front bumpers. Few of which help with the approach and departure. Jeepers (XJ's) have used skids on their cross members to keep from getting hung up on those limiting points but I have yet to see one for a D2. The CV boots and axle design remind me more of a Jeep than a Rover. What happened to field repairs on a Rover? CV boots are easy to rip in mud when there are buried sticks and press fit bearings are a bitch to fix on a trail. And the axles still seem to be full float but not as easy to service as on earlier Land Rovers. Despite these limits the D2 can still do quite a lot if it's CDL capable. I don't think the later 2001-2002 (or '03?) will have much of a market for off roaders since they're not CDL capable. If you're looking for a D2 make sure it's capable of getting the CDL mod. |
offrovn
| | Posted on Monday, August 19, 2002 - 10:04 am: |
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Al,
I was interested in finding out more about your X5 (even though this is a rover club). I was looking into them as an addition, not instead of. I wanted to find out which engine you had 3.0, 4.4 or even 4.6. I am most interested in the 4.4. I know they are not off road vehicles at all but besides that tell me what you think. Everything you like about it and do not like. What are some options you have that you could do with out or some you wish you had. How has your BMW ownership quality been with serivce, vehicle quality and anything else. Thanks for your help and input |
Todd Sanders (Sanderskog)
| | Posted on Monday, August 19, 2002 - 11:01 am: |
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A good board to learn about BMW products is ROADFLY. Post a message there, I am sure you'll get a bunch of responses.
Or better yet, search the archives first and they won't back you for being  .
Todd |
offrovn
| | Posted on Monday, August 19, 2002 - 11:47 am: |
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Thanks Todd, I appreciate it. The site really gave some good info.
Brett |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 20, 2002 - 03:48 pm: |
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Roadfly aka www.bimmer.org is a good place to go. I have a 4.4 and I like it but regardless of what others will tell you it can't touch my 540i/6 for build quality. It's still better built than most vehicles on the road today but you can't beat a BMW built in Dingolfing. No matter how good that Greer plant is. The engine in the X5 is bullet proof. I picked up the X5 with just about every option except for the front air suspension, sport package, and heated steering wheel. I wish I had both the heated steering wheel and sport package now but that has to do with my taste in street driving. Some have said that the sport package is too stiff but for me it's fine. BMW ownership quality has a lot to do with your dealer just like any other car. I'm on my 7th BMW over the years and currently own two. It won't be my last. I've been to dealers in 4 states and have seen my share of hacks but for the most part they're pretty good. Here in the Metro DC area there are 7 dealers and most of them are pretty good. If you get a BMW join the BMW CCA. It's well worth it and I wish Land Rover had something like that too. |
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