[x7bmw23]

I did a three day test drive with the model S a couple years ago. Nice car but too minimalist for me. I'm spoiled by the various amenities that other manufacturers have provided over the years. Tesla is the future but as a 51 year old male, I'm leaning more towards a reliable proven brand. I may see a model 3 in our future as a third vehicle to use for an everyday vehicle to save miles/gas on the fleet.

My wife loves the model X. I wasn't willing to drop $130k on it at the time and still feel that way. The X7 is our current flagship vehicle in our garage and it's on the wife and I but we're very active (kayaking, hiking, biking, traveling) so we need a hauler for all the stuff.

If I was looking at your situation, I would evaluate what fits your personal needs the best. That's all that matters at end of the day. I could see me choosing either way. Model X because my wife loves it. I personally don't like the egg shaped look of the exterior, buts that me. X7 because my wife and I hv had plenty of their vehicles over the years as well as family members owning several as well. I was with BMW brand and then left for 6 years to lease two different Mercedes vehicles. I came back to BMW because of the relationship I had with my dealership and the way I was treated. I told myself that I'm home now with BMW. My wife laughs when I say that because she knows if some new and exciting vehicle is released in the future that I will make it happen to get it in my garage 😂. Those Audi RSQ8 SUV's sure are nice looking……lol

[Ucla98]

Originally Posted by thenew3

An acquaintance of mine is on his 3rd tesla (two S, one 3) and he says BMW's assisted drive pro is better than tesla autopilot based on his experience.

Also earlier this year, I had dinner with a relative of my co-worker who currently owns a X and a 3, he says he does not use autopilot because it's so unreliable.

I find BMW's assisted drive pro to work very well. Have done about 4k miles in the last 4 months using assisted drive. The only situation it didn't work well was when we were in the winding mountain roads of Yosemite.

My neighbor was going to buy a tesla thinking "autopilot" meant she didn't have to drive at all. She could simply get in the car, tell it where she wants to go and it would take her there. There's tesla marketing for ya. I have heard that from many individuals, thinking "autopilot" means the car will do 100% of the driving and you just have to tell it where you want to go.

Both have a level 2 semi-autonomous system, which means that you have to hold the steering wheel and be ready to take over the control of the car at anytime. Both systems work well in the traffic jamp situation (under 40 mph). If you don't touch the steering wheel the car gives a warning to ask you to touch it. The warning message is much less frequent with the Tesla than with the BMW. For the autosteer to work on the BMW, it requires clear lane markings on both sides. With the Tesla, the car can autostreer on a street with a single lane markings.

Neither system is perfect (since neither of them is a full self driving system) but they both serve me well. I am glad that I have it on the my new X7. I just like the Tesla's sytem a litte bit more.

[Ucla98]

Originally Posted by aas5

I haven't tested Model X auto pilot but I am pleasantly surprised how well it works in X7 every day. It is a well designed system, whether you are stuck in traffic and going under 40 mph (completely autonomous) or driving on a highway at faster speeds. Also, my stock 22s are non-run flats. I would actually prefer to have run flats. I am surprised by your insurance comment, I thought Tesla's are cheaper as there are fewer things that break and have highest crash test ratings. I would not call BMW not reliable. Probably not as reliable as Teslas. RR is not reliable. Agree mpg is not great but we knew that when picking V8s. I would consider a Tesla or Lucid in the future but as of now Tesla doesn't check many of the boxes for me and I am not ready to drive it just for the fact that it is electric

IF you want a car that requires very little maintaince, then model X is for you. Tire change is all you need for the first 3 years. If you buy/lease a BMW, expect to bring the car in to the service center at least once a year. BMW has a lot of electrical problems, that require you to bring it in very frequently. I know because I had leased 3 different 7 series before. And everytime you visit the center, you spend at least an hour there (waiting for an advisor, talking to an advisor, getting a loaner car etc)....and another 30 minutes to pick up the car. Some Bmw parts take a while to order and they will keep your car for several days. I am semi-retire now and I don't mind the wait...that's why I went back to leasing a X7.

On my earlier post, I mentioned that I got the "replace battery" on the day that I signed the lease on the X7. The dearlership, where I got the car from, is 2 hours away (I got the car from them because they had the car with driving assistance package that I wanted). When I brought the car in this morning to a nearby BMW center, this center said the battery is not under the warranty because the original dealership did not charge the battery properly. To replace it for free, I had to drive 2hrs back to the original dealership. The X7 only has 100 miles on it.

Edit: Just spoken with the saleperson from the original dealership. He will send someone to our house to pick the car up, replace the battery, and then drop the car off. I hope he'll keep his promise. I guess I will have to get an Uber or use my teenage son's 2014 Lexus to get around town while the car is at the shop.

[mitch57]

Originally Posted by wh1te

Quality materials from what tesla is built (eco leather that should save the planet but degradates like plastic), quality of paint job when you can find sand under clear coat, quality of door seals that breaks if you roll down windows too often or open falcon wings too often and many many other things. Plus don't understand why people consider it a enviromental friendly car when it does the same damage than gasoline cars considering that nobody wants to recycle batteries and you have to bury them in you back yard (and if you think that it's fine than what kind of water you use?) will be fine when you will use salted ocean water for all your needs and still gonna be too dangerous, not talking about tires and breakes that are exactly the same as in engine powered car. And about this you can talk all week, so i said your f..k planet anyway so i chose X7.

People are miss informed when they believe all the hype about how converting to all electric is going to save the planet and prevent continued global warning.

How many people actually know where electricity comes from? I would bet it's a very small percentage. Most just believe the lying politicians that electric vehicles are the answer without looking at the big picture. Where is the infrastructure to support all the electric cars that many global governments are pushing? They are putting the cart before the horse.

Just a few facts for those who don't know where the electricity comes from in the US. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/...-in-the-us.php. 60% of all the electrical power is produced from fossil fuel. Only 20% of electric power is produced from renewable sources. So someone please tell me how switching to all electric vehicles is going to reduce global warming.

Until the world converts all of it's energy sources to renewable "Green" sources we will only be trading "Tit for Tat" without really making a dent in global warming.

[Ucla98]

Originally Posted by x7bmw23

I did a three day test drive with the model S a couple years ago. Nice car but too minimalist for me. I'm spoiled by the various amenities that other manufacturers have provided over the years. Tesla is the future but as a 51 year old male, I'm leaning more towards a reliable proven brand. I may see a model 3 in our future as a third vehicle to use for an everyday vehicle to save miles/gas on the fleet.

My wife loves the model X. I wasn't willing to drop $130k on it at the time and still feel that way. The X7 is our current flagship vehicle in our garage and it's on the wife and I but we're very active (kayaking, hiking, biking, traveling) so we need a hauler for all the stuff.

If I was looking at your situation, I would evaluate what fits your personal needs the best. That's all that matters at end of the day. I could see me choosing either way. Model X because my wife loves it. I personally don't like the egg shaped look of the exterior, buts that me. X7 because my wife and I hv had plenty of their vehicles over the years as well as family members owning several as well. I was with BMW brand and then left for 6 years to lease two different Mercedes vehicles. I came back to BMW because of the relationship I had with my dealership and the way I was treated. I told myself that I'm home now with BMW. My wife laughs when I say that because she knows if some new and exciting vehicle is released in the future that I will make it happen to get it in my garage ��. Those Audi RSQ8 SUV's sure are nice looking……lol

I agree. I don't like the egg shaped look of the model X either. That's why I decided to change to the X7. I still keep my model S, which is a much nicer looking car, for work. The X7 is definitely a more luxurious car both on the inside and outside.....very smooth and comfortable...and not floating in air like the model X.

I guess I am spoiled with the fast and instant acceleration of the Tesla. The X7 M50i is not a slow car by any mean. It's ok for me that the X7 is slightly slower. As I am getting older (just turned 50 last month), I prefer comfortable ride and good handling, which the X7 has, over speed. I plan to get the Mercedes EQS in a few years...it's a fast electric car and it's smooth like the regular S class. I avoid buying the first year model. I wait for Mercedes to fix all the bugs that the current EQS has and I will get it in a few years. I heard that Mercedes will try to make 50% of their cars electric by 2035. Electric cars are the future.

One last note about BMW vs Mercedes. It's cheaper to lease a BMW than Mercedes. I also looked at the GLS450 before I got the X7 and the Mercedes saleman quoted me $100 higher per month in lease payments for the GLS450 than for the X7. The MSRP for my X7 is $105k and the MSRP for the GLS450 is only $87k. BMW also offers free car maintenance for the first 3 years. Mercedes does not.

[Ucla98]

Originally Posted by mitch57

People are miss informed when they believe all the hype about how converting to all electric is going to save the planet and prevent continued global warning.

How many people actually know where electricity comes from? I would bet it's a very small percentage. Most just believe the lying politicians that electric vehicles are the answer without looking at the big picture. Where is the infrastructure to support all the electric cars that many global governments are pushing? They are putting the cart before the horse.

Just a few facts for those who don't know where the electricity comes from in the US. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/...-in-the-us.php. 60% of all the electrical power is produced from fossil fuel. Only 20% of electric power is produced from renewable sources. So someone please tell me how switching to all electric vehicles is going to reduce global warming.

Until the world converts all of it's energy sources to renewable "Green" sources we will only be trading "Tit for Tat" without really making a dent in global warming.

The reason I drive the Tesla is I love the technology and how fast the car accelerates...and not because it is environmental friendly. Last year, during a very hot summer month in Southern California, Tesla company sent the messages to all the Tesla owners asking them not to charge their cars during the peak hours because the company was afraid that electrical grits would become overloaded and a massive power outage would occur. Fast charging a Tesla draws a lot of power....much more than running a central AC unit. The current electrical grit system is not ready if everybody switches to electric cars.

[bradythedog12]

Chiming in on BMW reliability… we’re on our 3rd (2010 X5 4.8i - gone, 2014 X6 5.0i - still here, and our 2020 X7M50)… with the exception of the big valve issue (tech term) on our X5 that needed to be replaced (under warranty thank goodness), we’ve never had to bring our car in for “wacky” or “unexpected” issues.

I know we all have our fair share of crap we don’t want to or shouldn’t have to deal with but I wouldn’t blanket all cars under that umbrella just because one had a bad experience. This forum brings out a lot of greats and a lot of bands… lots of mediums don’t even get mentioned but I’d bet that most of those mediums are on the good side just not great enough to make a post about it.

[jasheaer]

Originally Posted by mitch57

They are putting the cart before the horse.

Its funny that you quote horse and carts... I'm guessing you would have been in the crowd that thought automobiles were a ridiculous invention and that people should continue to utilize the original horse power.

By your logic, we should all have gas generators powering our houses... if you don't believe there is efficiency in mass production then I'm not sure anyone can help you.

Are electric vehicles in the current form the perfect savior probably not, but dismissing them as a party trick is ridiculous.

Note that I drive a 3/4 ton diesel, and x7m50 and a 70 year old ute, so I'm not some sort of environmental extremist.

Jay

[aas5]

Originally Posted by bradythedog12

Chiming in on BMW reliability… we’re on our 3rd (2010 X5 4.8i - gone, 2014 X6 5.0i - still here, and our 2020 X7M50)… with the exception of the big valve issue (tech term) on our X5 that needed to be replaced (under warranty thank goodness), we’ve never had to bring our car in for “wacky” or “unexpected” issues.

I know we all have our fair share of crap we don’t want to or shouldn’t have to deal with but I wouldn’t blanket all cars under that umbrella just because one had a bad experience. This forum brings out a lot of greats and a lot of bands… lots of mediums don’t even get mentioned but I’d bet that most of those mediums are on the good side just not great enough to make a post about it.

Agree. I am on my fourth BMW and have had very few issues. Certainly nothing to make me think twice about leasing BMW. FWIW, I am surprised that my wife's current and previous Honda Civic had issues with A/C, speakers and back up camera.

[mitch57]

Originally Posted by jasheaer

Its funny that you quote horse and carts... I'm guessing you would have been in the crowd that thought automobiles were a ridiculous invention and that people should continue to utilize the original horse power.

By your logic, we should all have gas generators powering our houses... if you don't believe there is efficiency in mass production then I'm not sure anyone can help you.

Are electric vehicles in the current form the perfect savior probably not, but dismissing them as a party trick is ridiculous.

Note that I drive a 3/4 ton diesel, and x7m50 and a 70 year old ute, so I'm not some sort of environmental extremist.

Jay

My intent was that the government is pushing electric vehicles as the solution to achieving green energy. Yet, 60% of all electric power is produced using fossil fuel. So tell my how converting to electric vehicles in the current fossil fuel produced electric infrastructure is going to accomplish that?

Additionally, as I clearly stated, the infrastructure to support an all electric vehicle country doesn't even exist yet. So how is the country going to be able to support an all electric vehicle fleet in 10 years if we don't even have a 100th of the charging stations available to support all those electric vehicles? Hence, Cart before the horse. How are you going to move the cart if you don't have a horse to pull it?

Oh, and where did I dismiss electric vehicles as a party trick in my post?

[rich5741]

I wonder if your feel that the autopilot in Tesla is better than BMW is due to the Tesla system being far more aggressive (in terms of staying on through a wider variety of situations). I have limited experience with Tesla, and own a BMW with the DAP, and I do feel like the BMW system forces you to take over a lot more quickly.

I wonder if the accident rate for auto drive is higher than the other automakers’ systems? It seems like that from news reports, but maybe that’s because you may not know reliably what systems are active when a non-Tesla gets into an accident.

I echo everyone else here in terms of driving dynamics (based on my limited experience), although I also felt in real life, the passing performance, (e.g. already going 50-60, speeding up to 80-90 to pass someone) was about the same as BMW but I did not do any formal measurements so I could be wrong there (also the Tesla I drove was a friends that was below 50% charged, and he mentioned the car would automatically drop in power as the battery drained). In terms of interior ergonomics, I think BMW is hands down the winner, but I also personally hate being forced to use touch screens in cars - I do like it in certain instances, but having hard keys for climate, volume, shortcuts, as well as the option to use iDrive for screen functions is important to me. I find it much less distracting that a touch screen only config.

[TXSchnee]

Originally Posted by mitch57

My intent was that the government is pushing electric vehicles as the solution to achieving green energy. Yet, 60% of all electric power is produced using fossil fuel. So tell my how converting to electric vehicles in the current fossil fuel produced electric infrastructure is going to accomplish that?

Additionally, as I clearly stated, the infrastructure to support an all electric vehicle country doesn't even exist yet. So how is the country going to be able to support an all electric vehicle fleet in 10 years if we don't even have a 100th of the charging stations available to support all those electric vehicles? Hence, Cart before the horse. How are you going to move the cart if you don't have a horse to pull it?

Oh, and where did I dismiss electric vehicles as a party trick in my post?

Complaining about how the electricity is still 60% fossil fuels misses the point that it is easier to mandate pollution controls on one central plant than on every single tailpipe. It is basically just that local pollution goes down (cars spew a lot of local pollution) and so even with the electricity generation make up we have currently, electric is still cleaner. What really needs to be done, other than/in addition to mandating every one buy electric is to also put in place solar mandates on new build homes and any home undergoing a renovation, that would help with generation capabilities and throw more available power back to the grid.

[Ucla98]

Originally Posted by rich5741

I wonder if your feel that the autopilot in Tesla is better than BMW is due to the Tesla system being far more aggressive (in terms of staying on through a wider variety of situations). I have limited experience with Tesla, and own a BMW with the DAP, and I do feel like the BMW system forces you to take over a lot more quickly.

I feel Tesla's autopilot system drives more like a human. Tesla resumes/accelerates quicker after the vehicle in front goes from a complete stop. I'ts little bit laggy on the X7.....I have to hit the gas pedal to accelerate it so the car behind me won't honk at me. When the car takes a freeway exit, Tesla knows that it's an exit ramp (GPS base) and starts to slow down automatically. The X7 keeps going at full speed and I have to slam on the brake (and thus cancel the apdaptive cruise control). For a stop and go traffic, both systems work very well. Tesla has much fewer annoying warning beeping sound asking me to touch the steering wheel than the X7.

Tesla constantly improves the autopilot system with the OTA updates. I get OTA updates every month. It's like a giant computer on wheels.

Originally Posted by rich5741

I wonder if the accident rate for auto drive is higher than the other automakers’ systems? It seems like that from news reports, but maybe that’s because you may not know reliably what systems are active when a non-Tesla gets into an accident.

I think it's because 100% of Tesla cars are equiped with the autopilot system....it's a standard option. With higher % of Tesla owners who uses this autopilot system, the % of accidents that are reported by the news also increases. There are very few BMW cars that has this DAP option. I had to drive 2 hours to a different dealership so I could get the X7 that has this DAP option. Autopilot is one of Tesla's strong selling point. I wish there will be more German cars equipped with this self-driving feature. I love driving German cars. The X7 is many years ahead of Tesla in ride comfort, luxurious interior, acoustics (very quiet with double panned windows), paint quality, fits and finishes.

Originally Posted by rich5741

I echo everyone else here in terms of driving dynamics (based on my limited experience), although I also felt in real life, the passing performance, (e.g. already going 50-60, speeding up to 80-90 to pass someone) was about the same as BMW but I did not do any formal measurements so I could be wrong there (also the Tesla I drove was a friends that was below 50% charged, and he mentioned the car would automatically drop in power as the battery drained). In terms of interior ergonomics, I think BMW is hands down the winner, but I also personally hate being forced to use touch screens in cars - I do like it in certain instances, but having hard keys for climate, volume, shortcuts, as well as the option to use iDrive for screen functions is important to me. I find it much less distracting that a touch screen only config.

I think Tesla's center touchscreen panel is more user-friendly than the X7's I drive system, especially for clueless non-tech person like my wife. You can remap the 2 scroll wheels on the steering wheel of the the Model X (and S) to control volume, temperature, skip music tracks etc. The bigger screen on the Tesla helps you search songs on Spotify easier. When the car is in park, you can watch youtube TV, youtube videos, Hulu, Netflix, and play a few video games on that massive center screen. I find the X7's 12 screen a little bit small.

Tesla doesn't have wake words like "Hey BMW" but its voice command is more superior than the BMW. You can give a voice command right after you hit the microphone icon on the Tesla. For the X7, I have to wait for the BMW to say "how can I help?" before I can start giving out verbal command. And Tesla responds to the verbal request very quickly....almost as fast as the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Tesla also detects the voice command better. The X7 keeps asking me to repeat the command.

I don't know much about the newly re-designed Tesla's yoke steering wheel on their 2021 Model X and S. I've heard a lot of complaints about this new design. There are still 2 scroll wheels on the new yoke steering wheel but all the + , - , Up and down buttons are now touch capacity buttons. on the old steering wheel, all these buttons are physical buttons.

[superpanjy]

I was thinking model x before but I changed my mind after I test drove one.

I worked for tesla before I know the quality. I own a model 3 so I kinda know the overall Tesla driving experience.

In my opinion, quality is so so. And somehow that back seat cover was plastic and shinning, that turned me off. 3rd row space is terrible compare to X7.

I recently pickup my x7. Love it and no regrets at all.

Well I will have to pay gas now. I did not go to gas station for 3+ years. I was shocked by the price . ($5.5 / gal, wtf, what's going on? )

I do like over all tesla simplified GUI, less buttons.

First time I sat in X7, I thought I was about to flying an airplane.

[Delrazdan]

A model x is around 110k. With all the cheap interior.

[Roundown]

Bought an X7 (and am long time BMW owner) while I wait for my Model X. It's a fine BMW/car, but boy does it feel like the best of what is a dying breed. In general, dealing with keys, start buttons, gas stations, clunky transmission and the general NVH of an ICE car is a bit odd after driving an EV for a while.

I have a soft spot for ICE in sports cars, but if I could snap my fingers and put Tesla's drivetrain inside the X7 I'd like it more.