| craniotes |
I just got back from a week-long trip to Lake George and Montreal today, and I couldn't have been more pleased with how well the X comported itself. We had more than enough room for six days' worth of our crap and the baby's crap, including his Bugaboo Chamelon (read: big ass stroller) and exer-saucer; the navigation system worked like a charm, both here and in Montreal (nice that it can be programmed on the fly, like when we decided to detour to Howe Caverns on the way up); and the tall gearing made for a nice, relaxed 2,000rpm at 80mph (though we actually saw 105mph at one point -- opps ). Wanna pass a left-lane bandit? Slap it into manual, drop to 3rd, and see ya! Heck, in spite of my leadfoot, we still averaged 21mpg, which ain't so bad for a 4500lb, 300hp vehicle that spent more time at or above 90mph than I care to admit.
We drove on interstates (comfort mode), twisty two-lanes (sport mode) and narrow cobblestone streets (back to comfort mode), and the X never once missed a beat. We also drove through a couple of blinding thunderstorms which the X took in stride as well (the wipers are nothing short of amazing).
As for life inside the X, I've got nothing to complain about here either. The seats were supremely comfortable and suportive for 3 hour stints behind the wheel (gotta love the adjustable lumbar support and seat heaters), and my wife had plenty of leg room sitting behind me, in spite of the driver's seat being adjusted for my 6'1" height. Also, the split armrest -- which I was seriously not digging when I brought the X home -- turned out to be a godsend since it seemed like my wife was reaching in there from the back seat every five minutes, looking for what I couldn't tell you. The cabin was surprisingly quiet (everyone harps on how loud it is, but we were conversing at normal volume at 90+mph), and the ride was as smooth as glass, admittedly helped in no small part by I-87's well-maintained asphalt. The baby slept like, well, a baby for most of the time we were driving, but when he was awake, the iPod and 6-disc CD changer made beautiful music through the ELS-tuned stereo. Folks harsh on this system, but it sounds great to my ears -- moreso once I turned up the center speaker.
I also have to comment here on how comfortable I became with the ergonomics of the X on this trip. When I first picked it up I almost rear-ended someone trying to figure out how to turn on the stereo, yet now I have no problem switching from CD to AUX, adjusting the temperature, or using the NAV, all while comfortably cruising at super-legal speeds. Between the intuitive voice-command system, steering wheel buttons, Bluetooth and center joystick, I rarely needed to take my eyes from the road, and when I did, the high-mounted navigation screen kept the road in my line of sight. The navigation system, in particular, is well thought out and simple to use -- whether I was expanding the view, searching for alternate routes, entering a new destination, or jumping ahead to see how far I was from my current destination, it couldn't have been easier to use. True, all the buttons, knobs and readouts were a bit intimidating at first blush, but now that I'm used to them, the X is a delight to use to its fullest.
Total battle damage for almost 1000 miles of travel:
- 1 door ding (rear passenger door)
- 1 scratch on rear driver-side rim
- 2 light scratches near the fuel-filler door (likely from the snooty French-only speaking pump jockey in Montreal -- seriously, he was snooty). Fortunately these can be buffed out, but still...
Overall, not too bad considering how many miles we drove, how many parking lots we parked in, and the fact that we had valet parking in Montreal. Mind you, I don't really get that bent out of shape over crap like this -- it's a car, it gets driven, $hit happens. Frankly, I'm more impressed that there are no chips in the paint on the hood and front of the car. Usually, I let the dings and scratches pile up over the course of a year, and then have it detailed in the spring. I don't expect to do anything differently with the X, though I am anticipating more door dings owing to its extreme width.
So, what didn't I like? To be honest, not much. For those of you who lease your cars, you probably have more experience with what's current, hence you can find more to criticize. Me, I pay cash for my rides and drive 'em into the ground, which is why my point of reference for comparison here is a ten year old Mercedes and a nine year old Honda. I suppose this is why I get such a kick out of one of my X's most basic of features; namely, the power liftgate (seriously, I was opening and closing it from the fourth floor of our motel in Lake George when people walked past it in the parking lot just because I could). I suppose if I was coming off lease from a Lexus RX or an Infiniti FX, I might be more jaded, but since the coolest thing about my '97 E420 are the retractable rear headrests, everything about my X feels like it comes straight from the 24th century.
Verdict? The X is a keeper. All-in-all I can't imagine a better travelling companion for a family road trip, and I can't wait for the next one. And to think that we were going to make this trip with my wife's Honda Accord...
"...can't wait to get on the road again."
Regards,
Adam |
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| HuMan321 |
Nice Story!
Thanks for sharing |
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| dj-mdx2 |
| You're on the wrong side of the road!:D |
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| gmc74 |
Did your baby take that picture?
:)
Nice write up |
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| craniotes |
quote:
Originally posted by dj-mdx2
You're on the wrong side of the road!:D
Ha! You know, I had to look twice at that pic after I posted it for just that reason.
And no, GMC, my baby didn't take that picture -- he's still facing backwards in his car seat (though to be honest, I think the fact that he's 10 months old has more to do with it ;) ).
Regards,
Adam
PS - Anyone else care to share their long-distance driving experiences with their X's? |
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| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by craniotes
PS - Anyone else care to share their long-distance driving experiences with their X's?
OK, since you asked.:D Couple of trips a while back:
Took the brood to Mickey Land Orlando back in March when the X was barely 3000 miles old. Only hitch was the trip there when my wife was given a ticket by the sneaky air patrol in Florida. Our then newly installed V1 didn't stand a chance! The irony must not have been lost on the Trooper when he peeked in with me reading the instruction manual for the V1. Needless to say I drove the rest of the time. Well I guess the other snag was when my youngest got Rotavirus there and we had an interesting drive home and went straight to the hospital. The X did fine - I pushed her to 100+ mph on occasion since we had to scoot from one rest area to the other for cleanup. Very fine driving machine - no complaints from the crew who were for the most part happily watching their DVDs. The NAV helped immensely. That was nearly 1000 miles roundtrip.
Second semi-long drive to Lookout Mountain in Tennesee where we did the Chatanooga roundup - Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline. Literally from the depths of the earth to see an underground waterfall, up the aptly named Incline railway which at one point is angled at 70% grade and on to a breathtaking view atop Rock City where you can see 7 states. Roundtrip around 500 miles. Again very pleasant driving. I got to enjoy the twisties going up and down Lookout Mountain while my friend followed (and got left behind) in his Odyssey. I deliberately took some curves at speed to test the handling and was not surprised by the excellent response from the SH-AWD.
Looking forward to Washington DC next spring but we probably will take the Ody (yes we got a minivan!) then. |
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| gmc74 |
I have taken 3 road trips in my X in the just short of 3 months that I have owned it.
The first was a 120 mile trip to Tucson, it was a pretty boring trip down I-10 and was rather uneventful. I did notice that the X was super comfortable for the short ride.
The second was a trip up through the mountains to Flagstaff/Williams Arizona. The X proved to be up to the challenge through the hills. I had a lot of fun on this trip. The X has plenty of power to push up the big hills to elevations over 6000 ft.
The last was to Anaheim CA, a 5.5 hour journey down I-10. Pretty benign, but still fun.
The biggest things I noticed were the comfort and passing power. I didn't find myself shifting in my seat during the road trips, and passing cars was a thing of ease.
I have another trip to CA, not quite as far, in two weeks, and I can't wait! |
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| eujinc |
Just back from spending a week at Bethany Beach. Total trip was less than 400 miles but had the X loaded with 4 adults, 1 toddler, 1 baby and a trunk & roof load of stuff. Managed to squeeze even more stuff on the way back thanks to Delaware's tax-free outlet shopping.
One thing to note when going on a beach vacation ... sand gets into EVERYTHING. Had a heck of a time vacuuming when we got back. The wife also managed to drop the key on the beach and let me tell you, all it takes is a couple of grains of sand to royally jam the key. Had to pry it out from the fob and then saturate with WD40 to get the darn thing to work normally.
2 things I noticed: Lack of torque while cruising at highway speeds almost always necessitate a downshift to 4th for passing or closing the gap (then again I was carrying a hefty load) and the vsa light flashes when going over speed bumps in Comfort mode and light load (maybe I should slow down but the light doesn't flash in Sport).
Overall, I could not ask for a better vehicle for road trips. |
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| gmc74 |
quote:
Originally posted by eujinc
sand gets into EVERYTHING.
Yeah, it sucks when you have to wash it out from between your... oops, wrong forum!:o |
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| eujinc |
quote:
Originally posted by gmc74
Yeah, it sucks when you have to wash it out from between your... oops, wrong forum!:o
Yep, that too. Thank goodness for handheld shower heads. :D |
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| Mike_TX |
quote:
Originally posted by eujinc
Things I noticed: Lack of torque while cruising at highway speeds almost always necessitate a downshift to 4th for passing or closing the gap.
Not to nit pick, but I think it's more a gearing issue than a lack of torque. We've got 275 lbs.-ft. of torque at 5,000 rpm, which is class-competitive.
A nice 6spd tranny would spread the ratios better and reduce the number of downshifts (although I like a downshift when I'm passing).
In the meantime, that high gearing in 5th helps us get that 21+ mpg on the highway.
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