Test drove a X5M on Saturday... I planned on doing a little write-up on my experience, but quickly... here are my impressions of the steering feel.
Background: I have had in order: E46 330, E60 550 Sport, E90 M3, and currently drive an E70 5.0 Sport. Also, my wife has an F15 3.5 (without sports package) which I drive a lot and my dad has a 2013 Cayenne Turbo, which I drive on occasion.
Going into the test drive... I loved the heavy feel of the E70, HATED the light steering in the F15. The Cayenne is heavier than the F15, but much lighter than my E70. I drove the X5M with the steering in sport plus mode, because of my limited time, I wanted to see if that setting was heavy/tight enough.
I'm happy to report that although definitely lighter than the E70, the steering felt great. I like when the steering has a nice "elastic" return to center feel. And the new X5M has that. Nice road feel and it certainly felt responsive.
To me the X5M steering is most comparable to the Cayenne. In fact, I think they are very close. Much more precise feeling than then E70 and light years ahead of the awful F15 steering. The X5M steering is not light, it just feels right and very precise like the Cayenne - and what this does for both trucks is to give the driver the impression that you are driving a very sporty "car" that is not nearly carrying as much weight as it is. I was hugely impressed.
After the 20 minute test drive, the heavy feel of my E70 was not nearly as enjoyable before. The E70 now felt bigger, heavier, and the steering less responsive. The E70 now felt more like a battering ram than an ultra-performance SUV like the X5M.
And here I was worrying about whether I would like the steering in the new X5M.
