[U235]

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I thought I’d dedicate a post to a long-haul, multi-climate trip. I recall seeing other posts that were similar while I was considering and after buying my car. I will not be as thorough as those, but I always found those helpful if not just plain fun. I’ve done this trip (not exactly but the primary routes and long-hauls) before in our previous SUV 4 times, so I can offer solid comparisons.

Our previous SUV was a 2016 Volvo XC90 R-Design (covered in the next post). It was well loaded with 4C Air Suspension, AutoPilot2, Premium, Bowers & Wilkins and the Polestar factory tune. It performed flawlessly in all trips (except a rock to the windshield).

I’ll be able to compare how it does in terms of semi-autonomous driving, fuel efficiency, refinement, powering up high altitude passes, size, comfort, etc. Both vehicles are AWD with All-Season tires, the Volvo had 20”, the BMW 21”. The BMW has run-flats where the Volvo had a spare.

Since we’re doing a 3 week long trip, we decided to drive the BMW, which despite being almost 1.5 years old, only has 4,800 miles on it. We’re excited about the extra size, the smoother power delivery and I’m “thinking” I won’t take too much a penalty on efficiency, but we'll see. We had initially ordered a 40i, but quickly changed to the M60 due to FOMO.

Our route is:

Day 1 – Austin, TX to Amarillo, TX (likely via Winters/Sweetwater/Lubbock)
Day 2 – Amarillo, TX to Denver, CO (via Dalhart, Raton, Pueblo, Springs)
Day 3 – Denver, CO to Avon, CO (via I70/Eisenhower/Vail Pass)
Day 4 – Avon, CO to Breckenridge, CO
----> +1 Week
Breckenridge, CO to Vail, CO (via I70 and Vail Pass)
----> +8 Days
Vail, CO to Telluride, CO (likely via I70W through Montrose)
----> +1 Week
Telluride, CO to Clovis, NM
Following Day – Clovis, NM to Austin, TX (route to be determined)

I’ll create subsequent posts for different updates, the next post will cover the last car we took on this trip and its fuel efficiency logs from Fuelly, the same platform I’ll use for this trip.

Here's the basic route:

[U235]

We’ve done three trips to the Colorado mountains and one trip to Salt Lake City in the 2016 Volvo XC90 R-Design we purchased new in April 2016. It was a great car, but we got the itch for something newer and maybe slightly nicer. That said, our Volvo had autonomous driving, air suspension, Bowers & Wilkins; it soaked up miles with its comfy seats. We sold it with 40K miles on it after 6.5 years of problem-free ownership. I’ve driven a lot of cars in inclimate mountain weather, and the Volvo handled everything we threw at it just fine, very confident in the snow, never having any issues with steep driveways, mountain passes, etc. I recall driving through Leadville and seeing the thermometer say -6F, that may have been the coldest.

Taking similar amounts of gear, we really packed the car full, usually only a little tunnel in between bags to see out the back. I also had to really jam my ski bag in, it would always touch the front passenger seat , and often I couldn’t use the power rear gate close feature because it would hit the bag. The X7 provides a few extra inches and this is a non-issue. The load floor on the X7 feels higher, but having geared this car up with my normal three ski bags for airport parking, I’ve found it’s wider so I can easily get all three bags plus the ski bag nicely in the car, where as the Volvo I’d have to put one of the bags on top of the ski bags. Unfortunately, I never took pictures of the Volvo loaded, but I will for the BMW in the next post.

Here are two pics of it on various trips. We always fly, but Covid had us try the road trip and we enjoyed it, even with a 5.5 year old:

Crossing Hoosier Pass in the snow (Dec 2020):


Fueling up in Moab (March 2021):


Here's the Fuelly logs, this was an Austin, Lubbock, Denver, Avon (via I70), Amarillo (via Leadville/Alamosa), Austin round trip.


Despite the long downhill that got 29mpg, I would mostly average 22-23 mpg while cruising at 4 mph over the speed limit. This is consistent with the mileage I'd get driving to Dallas or Houston. Despite the EPA 25 mph highway, I was never able to get it.

[U235]

Washed and filled the car with gas today:


Started loading skis. Nothing like 6 skis for 3 people. You can see in the first shot how much room there is to fit this large 190cm+ ski bag. The front seat is quite far back, ready for the long trip:




I'll finish loading tomorrow and more pics to come with a trip report to Amarillo to follow!

[Phasers]

I love these types of post, thank you!

[Brigitte]

I'm looking forward to reading about your adventures while driving your X7!
I enjoy these types of posts as I don't do much traveling anymore!
I missed those good old days.

[U235]

We're about to leave, some last shots, including the car packed out.

I definitely have a lot more visibility through the back, basically no obstruction. We definitely brought more this time as well. The kid's area doesn't seem as crowded either with the seat basically all the way back.

[omnid00d]

That’s a beautiful blue, congrats! I’m an ‘16 XC90 owner for 7yrs and recently added a ‘21 X7 M50i to our garage. Our XC90 was highly problematic to the point that we stopped trusting the car for anything beyond local drives so got into the X7 as the main daily/long distance car. The X7 is a beast!

Also formerly an Austinite, looking forward to your updates!

[U235]

We are just north of Lubbock, 111 miles to go. I’m letting the missus drive a little bit. Car has been splendid, but it’s filthy now. We caught a lot of rain around Lampasas. We also had to drive through a mud pit in Snyder where my wife took over. Outside of that, flawless.

[U235]

We made it, roughly 500 miles. We stopped for gas twice, trying to target the last station(s) with 93 octane. In previous trips, I discovered that Santa Anna, Texas to be the last outpost of 93. I've often been stuck with 91 or even 90 beyond that, especially as the altitude climbed. I made a bio break in Plainview, Texas, roughly 30 miles north of Lubbock and happened to see 93 again, so I filled up there. Fuel log at the bottom of post.

Overall, the car did great. It's quite dirty due to rain and mud, but it drove very smooth. With Driver Assistant Pro, it just soaked up miles with little intervention. Most of our trip was cruise controlled at 79 mph, but when we hit I27, I pushed it to 81. I noticed that when construction or small Texas towns forced speed limits down to 50mph briefly, pressing resume to get back to 79 showed the M60's effortless acceleration abilities. Not needing to downshift, it just cruises up to speed so smoothly. In contrast, our previous Volvo would downshift and the complicated twin-charged powertrain would provide a reasonable amount of NVH. Similarly, despite having runflats, the X7 just felt more insulated, quieter and smoother over the variety of Texas roads which were in all shapes and sizes. It seemed to do really well with deformed roads that are warped from large trucks as well as ones that had multiple pavement types. The Volvo seemed to struggle more tracking in grooves and sending more noises through the cabin.

Despite a late start, it was a fatigue free drive and just felt easy. The seats were comfortable, but I can't quite tell if I still prefer the Volvo front seats for pure comfort.

All in all, a great 500 miles. Random pictures and below those, a fuel economy update, I think I'm beating the Volvo...

Happy 5000 miles:




Lights at night




Can't believe I found 93 this far north (when reg and mid are 86 and 88):


At the hotel:


For fuel economy, in post #2, if you look at fill-up’s 158 and 159, those Volvo ones most closely mirrored the BMW's shown below. 158 was the same exact Santa Anna station. The slight difference in mileage was that I had driven a little bit around Austin in the BMW yesterday, roughly 15 miles. So that is actually a penalty since it was city driving. That said, I beat it by more than 1 mpg. 159 compares to 23 shown below. 159 I filled in South Lubbock, 159 I filled 50 miles further North in Plainview (higher elevation). It was the same exact route otherwise. Again, the BMW beat it by 1 mpg. I believe this has to do with the BMW's ability to just lug along at 1800 RPM without fuss. The Volvo seemed to get punished once you got passed 70-75mph. It was rated at 26 mpg highway, and I just never got that. Considering the speeds I was traveling at, the weight fully loaded, as well as rain and some fierce weather, I'll take the 20-21mpg all day, exceeding what we got in our last car. It's worth noting, we're at 3,700' now, so it was basically a subtle climb almost the entire time. We'll see how it does moving up the passes.


Off to Denver tomorrow. I'll probably top-off in Dalhart on the border, and then make it all the way to Denver. I hope I can find a touchless car wash in Denver!

[overcooked]

Nice, I also just sold my 2018 XC90 T6 Inscription, fully loaded with 4C, B&W, etc, and with P* too.
And I placed an order for a X7 M60i with Tanzalite Blue II, fully loaded too.
I test drove the X7 and IMO the Volvo is not remotely comparable. The ride, the handling, the powertrain (either the B58 or S68).
Driving assist wise, my 2021 540i's ID7 is already miles better than Volvo's AP system, ID8 can only be better.
Efficiency wise, that POS twin charged 4 popper in Volvo is more thirsty than an American V8, I never got close to the claimed 27 highway MPG. Best I can got was 23 MPG, and day to day driving (50% highway 50% city) I was getting 14 ~ 16 mpg.
All in all I was very happy to get rid of that Volvo. Happily driving my 540 and Bronco now, and can't wait for X7 to arrive early next year.

[U235]

Originally Posted by overcooked

Nice, I also just sold my 2018 XC90 T6 Inscription, fully loaded with 4C, B&W, etc, and with P* too.
And I placed an order for a X7 M60i with Tanzalite Blue II, fully loaded too.
I test drove the X7 and IMO the Volvo is not remotely comparable. The ride, the handling, the powertrain (either the B58 or S68).
Driving assist wise, my 2021 540i's ID7 is already miles better than Volvo's AP system, ID8 can only be better.
Efficiency wise, that POS twin charged 4 popper in Volvo is more thirsty than an American V8, I never got close to the claimed 27 highway MPG. Best I can got was 23 MPG, and day to day driving (50% highway 50% city) I was getting 14 ~ 16 mpg.
All in all I was very happy to get rid of that Volvo. Happily driving my 540 and Bronco now, and can't wait for X7 to arrive early next year.

Agree on that 4-cylinder, quite disappointing the efficiency considering it's a 2.0L and it is less efficient that six cylinder competition and even V8s as I'm seeing.

That said, we still liked the Volvo. My wife continues to say it was an easier car to operate (infotainment) and drove lighter on its feet. My wife was struggling to get her presets to operate, change HUD settings, etc. She typically only drives short distances and doesn't care, but she did make a few comments, "This was so much easier on the Volvo." in terms of radio settings. I think much of it stems from CarPlay taking the entire screen where it only took half the screen on the Volvo.

Anyways, it's definitely an improvement. We're heading downstairs for breakfast, another ~450 miles journey including our first reasonably high altitude pass (Raton Pass @ 7,900').

Thanks for all the commentary.

[U235]

We made it to Denver. It was a great day to drive. Cold in parts, but not many cars on the road, and pure sun all day. Many pictures below. The car did great again. I was able to find a self-serve car wash to get most of the dirt off!

The X7 did incredible charging up Raton pass, effortless, no noise, just so much power with almost no revs or effort. You could close your eyes and probably assume you're driving an EV because of how much torque there is without any detectable vibration/noise/etc.

Sunrise in Channing, TX




Welcome to New Mexico:


5,500 miles


That's Capulin Volcano






Charging up Raton Pass


Welcome to Colorado:




After our last fuel-up (best mileage yet, see next post)! The car thinks it can go 600+ miles!


Bath time!


We're going over the pass tomorrow, I expect this car to just charge up the mountain!

[U235]

For the fuel log, the second to last log is Plainview, TX to Dalhart, TX including our stop last night in Amarillo which included driving to our hotel, to a restaurant, back to hotel, etc. I also remote started it to let it warm up this morning in the parking lot.

The second one was Dalhart, TX to Denver, CO direct. 23.38 mpg is pretty impressive considering we started at 3,500 foot elevation, climbed to 8,000 and then cruised back down to the mile high city. That said, this compares similarly to the Volvo's fuel log 161 shown in post 2, where it got 26.28 mpg. The route was the same, except there was some slightly different driving in the city of Denver as we stayed at a different hotel. I feel like we drove a little faster in the BMW than the Volvo, but I'm still happy with the 23mpg!

[omnid00d]

Beautiful photos, great blog!

Originally Posted by overcooked

Nice, I also just sold my 2018 XC90 T6 Inscription, fully loaded with 4C, B&W, etc, and with P* too.
And I placed an order for a X7 M60i with Tanzalite Blue II, fully loaded too.
I test drove the X7 and IMO the Volvo is not remotely comparable. The ride, the handling, the powertrain (either the B58 or S68).
Driving assist wise, my 2021 540i's ID7 is already miles better than Volvo's AP system, ID8 can only be better.
Efficiency wise, that POS twin charged 4 popper in Volvo is more thirsty than an American V8, I never got close to the claimed 27 highway MPG. Best I can got was 23 MPG, and day to day driving (50% highway 50% city) I was getting 14 ~ 16 mpg.
All in all I was very happy to get rid of that Volvo. Happily driving my 540 and Bronco now, and can't wait for X7 to arrive early next year.

Congrats on the new X7!
My X7 M50i feels like what my XC90 was supposed to be and of course I learned that it’s not and the X7 is easily a step up in every category and 2 steps up in the power category. Regarding power, the T6, while enough to get the job done, always felt strained, never mind that it sounded horrible. Whole shopping for the X7, I test drove the MDX TypeS several times and couldn’t get over the MPG that and the T6 got relative to their power ratings compared to the M50i. I just get the sense that those engines are just maxed out. I never saw more than 20mpg tho slightly more city(traffic) than highway. My M50i can pull for days, especially passing ppl at 60mph whereas I would never think to try to pass anyone going 60/70 in the XC90.

DAP under 40mph is a major quality of life help in my everyday commute, definitely a step up from PA2.

I think the XC90 was class leading for its time back in 2016 and competitive for its price category now but x7 is better on many fronts tho for more money.

[U235]

Originally Posted by omnid00d

Beautiful photos, great blog!



Congrats on the new X7!
My X7 M50i feels like what my XC90 was supposed to be and of course I learned that it’s not and the X7 is easily a step up in every category and 2 steps up in the power category. Regarding power, the T6, while enough to get the job done, always felt strained, never mind that it sounded horrible. Whole shopping for the X7, I test drove the MDX TypeS several times and couldn’t get over the MPG that and the T6 got relative to their power ratings compared to the M50i. I just get the sense that those engines are just maxed out. I never saw more than 20mpg tho slightly more city(traffic) than highway. My M50i can pull for days, especially passing ppl at 60mph whereas I would never think to try to pass anyone going 60/70 in the XC90.

DAP under 40mph is a major quality of life help in my everyday commute, definitely a step up from PA2.

I think the XC90 was class leading for its time back in 2016 and competitive for its price category now but x7 is better on many fronts tho for more money.

We considered the MDX Type-S, but I also was alarmed by the poor gas mileage. I agree, the XC90 T6 had plenty of power, but it was very unrefined and it didn't exactly blow it away at the gas pump either!

[U235]

Sorry for the delay, I had some Wi-Fi connectivity issues.

We made it up into the mountains. Wow, it was purely effortless to drive this car. I feel like I got good gas mileage despite the mountains. The car is reporting 20.5mpg since last refuel. Unfortunately, this is the point of our trip where it deviates significantly from our last trip, so I will no longer have comparisons against the XC90, but suffice to say, I basically feel like I'm getting the same economy despite more power, more size and more weight (both in terms of car and payload).

The day did start off with two very negative X7 experiences, I thought it is worth highlighting:

1. At 6am, I pulled the X7 up to the front door of the Marriott we were staying at to load it. Given it was cold, I was letting it warm up as we packed the car. As my wife and I were loading the car, like a possessed devil, the car was honking like crazy. Clearly, it was upset that keys were left in the car (keys meaning phones). Also, my Apple Watch was leaving the car. It just wouldn't stop, it was so annoying. At 6am, I'm sure the hotel guests appreciated it. My wife was yelling at me to get it to stop, but honestly I couldn't get it to stop. I threw my phone inside the car, but that didn't help as I think my watch was causing other issues with the car. Similarly, the night before we valet'd the car at a swank restaurant in downtown Denver, and it did the same thing while working with the valet guy (we gave him the hard key). The whole thing is stressful and embarrassing. This is well covered in this thread, but it's still a COMPLETE oversight by BMW: https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2039176

I guess we'll just turn the lock when walking away feature off which is a regrettably convenient feature.

2. While on cruise control, charging up the mountains at 70 mph (in a 65), the car just decides to automatically brake check people behind us when there's a moderate bend. The speed limit didn't go down, but it reads a bend in the road and just slows down abruptly without warning. This happened three times charging up I70. It resulted in two bright flashers, one middle finger and a couple of honks. Really stupid, I ended up not using cruise control during and winding roads.

Other than that, the car was great! So much power, so much refinement.

Here are the pics:

















I won't be driving much between now and December 24th, and even then it's just another trip over Vail pass, but extended forecast shows it may snow. It'll probably be until then before another update.

Happy Holidays!

[RunnerBrandon]

We used to make a similar trek from Austin to Telluride/Breck each year before finally just moving to Denver.

Thanks for sharing the journey with us - we are preparing to order a MBB X7 too! Hopefully some great early season snow for you this week and next.

[Opie55]

The challenge is to see if you can hold your breath through the entire Eisenhower tunnel (us locals need more exciting lives).

[keg97]

Originally Posted by U235

We considered the MDX Type-S, but I also was alarmed by the poor gas mileage. I agree, the XC90 T6 had plenty of power, but it was very unrefined and it didn't exactly blow it away at the gas pump either!

We looked at the XC90 5/6 years ago before we bought our Q7. We liked many components of the XC90 but that supercharged/turbocharged 4 cylinder powertrain was not one of them.

[Brigitte]

Originally Posted by U235

I won't be driving much between now and December 24th, and even then it's just another trip over Vail pass, but extended forecast shows it may snow. It'll probably be until then before another update.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays...drive safely!

[U235]

Quick update. Tomorrow morning we leave Breckenridge for Vail. It's snowing, and it's not expected to stop. That'll make for interesting and slow travel, especially over Vail Pass.

It doesn't look too bad, not blizzard, so the roads should stay open, and we have plenty of time for the relatively short journey. I'll report back tomorrow night based on how it goes.

We had a great time in Breck despite thin coverage in areas. Here's a shot of the car from a couple minutes ago, a light dusting:



Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all!

[XB7]

At any point have you wished you had true snow tires versus the all seasons?