[dimbimjim]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

I live in the bay area and plan to order a MY2023 M60i soon. However, there is one little thing that is making me rethink this decision. So far I have seen only 2 X7s in the bay area, that too only 40is and I am yet to see a M50i on the road here. I am a bit surprised by the lack of X7s here. I don’t think it is due to X7’s price or the crazy expensive gas here. I see a lot of Model Xs and Lucid Airs on the road here. But for gas powered luxury suvs, porsche cayenne seems to be the most popular followed by range rovers and escalades. What I want to know from you is, is there some sort of unspoken taboo against X7s in the bay area that I am not aware of or what? I want to get mine in Marina Bay Blue which is a bright color and I don’t want my car to be targeted or something. Am I being just paranoid? What do you guys think?

[MystroX5]

More the reason to get one. Be exclusive. Full size flagship SUV’s are rare in my area but that is due to economic demographic. That said even on cross country trips down the east coast, I will see a few X7 40i but I have yet to see a X7M50i the entire 3300 mile trip.

I also don’t see a lot of 7 series sedans. My dealer confirmed since the X7 came out it took 80% of their 7 series car sales away. I think in the top tier luxury buyers mind set you have two camps. The ones that want the flagship big luxury SUV experience or you have those that want the traditional flagship lower sitting large sedans. I have owned both and I will never go back to a full size luxury sedan even when my kids are gone. The X7M50i has tremendous road presence with its size and menacing front end. I noticed other vehicles get out of the left lane when I come up on them more than any other luxury vehicle I have taken on long road trips. They magically move to the right lane and let me drive by when I am 1-2 car lengths behind.

[Eugr]

I don't see many X7's here in SoCal too. I do see 40i's mostly, haven't seen M50i in the wild yet except for the dealership lot (and mine). But not many people buy an expensive family SUV in its most expensive and gas thirsty trim. I guess it's mostly car enthusiasts with good income who have family with kids and enjoy driving but don't want to keep an extra "fun" car around.

Regardless, why would you care what others might think? If you like the car and can comfortably afford it, just buy it!

The only exception would be if you don't want to project wealth for any reason. But even in this case there is no difference between X7 and, say, Model X.

[nullpointer]

In the 7 months since I got my M50i, I have seen other M50i twice in the South Bay Area. But I do see 40i every other day.

I don't see X7 standing out too much here (sure, your blue color will definitely stand out more than my white). There are too many (loud) sports cars and super cars, people rarely pay attention to a family hauler.

[dimbimjim]

Thank you for all your responses. I really appreciate it. You guys gave me some peace.

[X5M50D]

Here in the UK, seeing an X7 is quite rare. I’m on the outskirts of London and probably see mainly 30d and 40d variants. Don’t think I’ve seen a 50i on the road yet? As for the 50d this is a rare sight as well bearing in mind they have stopped making this engine, so hoping there maybe some exclusivity in the future with prices holding well

[ComingInHot]

As my wife says you have to live your life regardless of what others might think. I initially didn't want to buy the M50i X7 because it would stick out where I live but I really wanted a nice road trip vehicle. As someone mentioned it's not often you see luxury behemoths on the road

In my area I have seen only one other M50i and it's black. I've seen a few 40i (<7) in grey, black etc.

I'm still the only Tanzanite Blue II that I have seen in the wild. I've been looking for a twin on road trips but nothing yet.

You do you

[cardtables]

X7’s are all over the place in Tiburon/Marin county etc. I was out there a few weeks ago and was surprised how many I saw.

[PNWM3]

In just over a year I’ve never seen another XB7 on the road here in Seattle. Other X7’s almost daily. Agree with the statement on road pretense and folks moving to the right. These things coming up on you at speed get noticed and folks move over. More than I’ve ever experienced with an M car. And less folks want to “race”, they just make way.

[Jbird73]

It is funny how "few" I see here in SoCal (South Bay of SoCal) while spotting a Range Rover and Porsche Cayenne and of course Tesla Model X seem to be available at every major intersection if stopped for 30 seconds or more.

Outside of my own M50i this year (when I decided that was the car I wanted) I have only seen two X7's in the area...one is a 40 and the other is a White Alpina XB7.

Enjoy the car. It's a blast to drive and I laughed at the comment above since people have never wanted to "race" but they do indeed tend to get out of your way (which is rare down here for someone to actually move out of the fast lane when doing 70mph)!

[unfoundnemo]

I see a couple along with some late model GLS, G Wagon, RR, one Model X, etc., in the pickup line for my daughter's school. Outside of that I might see 2 others on an occasional basis within 50 miles or so of me (and they very well may be in that pickup line), but I'm in a similar demographic area to @MystroX5.

Originally Posted by MystroX5

The X7M50i has tremendous road presence with its size and menacing front end. I noticed other vehicles get out of the left lane when I come up on them more than any other luxury vehicle I have taken on long road trips. They magically move to the right lane and let me drive by when I am 1-2 car lengths behind.

My wife noted that they only seem to do that when I'm driving... When I'm in the car... they tend to do it when they see me coming from a good 1/4 mile behind or so.

[U235]

I see a lot in Austin, TX, but larger vehicles are more popular here than in California (I’m from LA).

I don’t know the production breakup, but I see almost exclusively 40is. I might see an M50i once a month while seeing 40is daily.

[sandwi54]

I have a M50i here living in the east bay, so here you go! I've seen a few M50i all over the east/South Bay too, but I do admit I see more 40i.

[rangerfan94]

They are all in the Westchester, NY / Fairfield County, CT area.

[davecraze]

I see at least four or five a day here in the Dallas suburbs. Like 90+% are 40i, <10% are m50. Very occasionally, I see an XB7.

[dimbimjim]

Originally Posted by ComingInHot

As my wife says you have to live your life regardless of what others might think. I initially didn't want to buy the M50i X7 because it would stick out where I live but I really wanted a nice road trip vehicle. As someone mentioned it's not often you see luxury behemoths on the road
:

All my life I have driven only econoboxes likes hondas and toyotas Now i drive a silver 330i which is dime a dozen here and blends in well in the crowd. It kinda gives me a comfort on the fact that there are no eyes on me. When I get my M60i, it will be first time I will be in a car that turns heads and like someone else said ‘make people move to the right’. This sort of unwanted attention is what I am not comfortable with or have not experienced yet. Please dont get me wrong. I mean I understand that I can’t have the cake and eat it too. If I don’t want the attention, I should get a honda pilot or something like that. This new vehicle is going to be our family hauler and I want it to be something nice. Out of all the high end suvs I liked only the X7. Also, I am so in love with the color MBB after seeing the pictures of MBB X5Ms. So if I am going to pay more that 100k for a car I want to sculpt the car of choice which made me choose MBB M60i. I just wish there are more X7s here where I live so people are used to this type of car and wont notice us when we travel.

[Eugr]

I know this is a BMW forum, but if you want "stealth luxury" you can look into Volvo XC90. Their highest trims are very nice, and Recharge plug-in hybrid will give you 35 miles of EV range, great fuel economy and 455 hp / 523 lb-ft torque. 4.8s 0-60. The transmission is not as quick and smooth as ZF, but it's still pleasant to drive.

I had one on order before pulling the trigger on X7 M50i. My M50i is nicer inside, has much better 3rd row and more fun to drive, but it won by a very narrow margin over the Volvo.

[TXSchnee]

Tons of X7s here in Austin, I live in the NW suburbs and see about a 60:40 split of 40i to M50i, even see a Dark Shadow Edition almost every other day. Maybe they are all in TX.

[jasheaer]

Interesting thread... like @TXSchnee I see X7s fairly regularly in the local neighborhoods where I walk the dog. Mostly 40s, but there is another m50i like ours rolling around as well. We don't live in a large population, but I think the fact that we're in the midwest where most people were accustomed to driving big trucks/suvs (suburbans/escalades/navigators), when the opportunity to have a more refined version of a larger SUV came around people jumped at the chance. The local BMW dealer is also fairly good and we don't have too many other luxury options available (no porsche/rover/etc).

Jay

[nullpointer]

Just debadge or cover the badge with something like this and most people would think it's some sort of X5

[jrmMD]

Originally Posted by nullpointer

Just debadge or cover the badge with something like this and most people would think it's some sort of X5

[Audio Fan]

In Raleigh/Durham/Cary area, I see a decent number of X7s, but very few of the newest GLSs. My wife is swapping the 8 year old GL450 for a 23 X7. After driving the new GLS and an X7, the X7 seemed like the clear winner. I think MB got a little lazy with the new GLS and wonder if BMW is selling way more X7s than MB a s selling GLSs.