Lol, a 6.4 Hemi doesn't "run out of breath".

 

Sounds like the Dodge dealer has a vehicle for you.....Black is really easy to keep up with......http://autogeek.com

 

I stream youtube too and don't have problem when picking up calls. Music would continue no problem for me.

 

On some infotainment systems, including older BMWs, streaming music would pause after a phone call, but it is as simple as pushing the volume on/off button, which essentially sends pause/resume signal to the phone.

 

X7 M50i Update:

So I finally took a long trip (about 7 hours) in our 2021 X7 M50i from Maryland to Niagra Falls, NY a couple weeks ago so I finally got some good seat time to provide a fair assessment. I ordered the X7 so I optioned it with everything available with the exception of captains second row seats.

The drive itself was long and up and down long winding mountain roads. The cabin noise for this trip was excellent, much better than the Durango SRT it replaced (obviously) and the seats were much more comfortable although not as supportive as the SRT. The massage function was great for the long trip. It's not that it really massages you because it is really just a bunch of air bladders inflating and deflating, but it keeps your back and butt moving so you don't get restless which was great. The seats are some of the most comfortable I have sat in and the adjustments are infinite. The adaptive cruise control is excellent, goes around turns very well and also allows you to automatically change lanes just by using the turn signal stalk.

As for the engine, having 523hp on tap really helped going up and down the mountainess roads espcially when averaging about 75-80 mph and it was really effortless. I do still miss the instant torque of the large V8 in the SRT vs. the small V8TT in the X7. Where I was a little disappointed was in the handling. I started out with the suspension in "adaptive" mode which allows the intelligence of the vehicle to automatically adjust throttle sensitivity, steering shifting and dampers and while driving on the winding roads it was very floaty, enough that my wife complained about it from the passenger seat. Although floaty, the suspension itself was really nice over any road imperfections and very very smooth. I then tried putting the suspension in sport mode "individual" which I set up to put the suspension in sport mode (which also puts ride height one notch below normal) but I kept the steering and engine in normal mode. This made the driving experience much better but it still had a little more body lean than I would have liked. I have the $3,400 dynamic handling package and I still feel like the handling could be better especially for the price and what it says it does. It just didn't feel confidence inspiring going around the winding roads at the speeds I was going compared to my old SRT which handled unbelievably for a large SUV although was not as comfortable.

The bad part of the trip was when we were in Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half from home, I took an exit to grab a quick bite to eat and I ran over something in the road that punctured my tire. The object punctured it so bad that the air went out in about a minute. Basically, the TPMS sensor light went on and by the time I checked the tire pressure on the screen, it was at zero. I pulled over into a vacant parking lot and called AAA even though I could have called BMW roadside assistance. In my experience they both just call a local tow truck anyway but of course they said it would be 60-90 minutes until someone could get to me. Luckily for me I paid for $150 for a spare tire because I had my winter tires on which are not runflats and it was a Sunday night around 7pm so there wasn't anywhere around I could get the tire patched. Of course the tire is under the rear cargo area so I had to unload all of the luggage to get to it. The SRT and my old GX460 are much better since the tire is under the SUV and it is a bigger spare. The X7 spare is a little donut and you are not supposed to exceed 50mph on it. So I finally get the tire out and figured I would wait for the tow truck to arrive so I could use their jack instead of the crappy scissor jacks that come with cars. Well after about 10 minutes of waiting I got impatient and just changed it myself in about 10 minutes and was on my way. Luckily it was the back tire so it didn't affect the drivability too much. The whole time I was driving I was remembering the discussions here about having a full size spare and how beneficial but regardless, the donut got me home which is all I really needed.

All in all, the X7 is an excellent SUV for traveling and I am having a hard time finding something out there that I would want to replace it with right now. It's not perfect, but it's really really good at most things.

 

And here ya go, folks. State of the art BMW engine and he misses the NA torque from a huge, old school V8. No replacement for displacement. Glad you're enjoying your new ride, trip sounds fun, and sorry about the tire! BTW I've watched our discussion on these and the ones I notice are V8s, at least I seem to see more. I have noticed the split tailgate and that is super nice.

 

It’s a great vehicle, definitely ride vs handling biased though.

 

A little low to the ground but they do have impressive ground clearance, so who cares. There's even an off road package, kudos BMW for making an effort.

It's not just off roading, when you have a higher up vehicle just being able to run over things you couldn't in a car is major appeal. For example I had to run over a median and into the grass the other day because an ambulance was coming. Just wanted to be completely off the road. The 200LC right near me chose to stay on pavement, lame.

 

patgilm, thanks for sharing that trip report.

bummer about the flat and especially a bummer to have to empty the cargo in the middle of nowhere to get to the donut spare, etc., but hats off to you for getting it done and getting home.

about the handling, bmw has clearly moved away from 'the ultimate driving machine' for their non-M line-up, so not entirely surprised by your comments. i wonder how the GLS compares in ride/handling setup or even a lwb range rover.

 

Sucks about the tire, glad the car performed well. I'm not too surprised with the difference vs an SRT since those are the somewhat like the M lineup

 

we are planning a summer long trip this year throughout the states with my new 4R. So happy we have full size spare.

Every car should have full size spare.

Surprised your X7 doesn’t have run flats.

 

I get that it's not a true M but a M-Lite but I guess I just expected more from a $3,400 handling option. I test drove the GLS and while I didn't have a lot of seat time in it, we liked the X7 much better.

My X7 did come with run flats but here lies the problem. I bought it with 22" staggered wheels with summer runflat tires which are 275/315 front/back widths..They don't make all seasons in this size so I bought new wheels and I swapped those summer tires to the new "summer" wheels. I used the factory wheels for my winter set and it's nearly impossible to get any tires (summer or winter) in the factory sizes as they are all backordered so I ended up putting 285 width winter tires (Vredestein) on all four corners that are not runflats. It's really unfortunate BMW used tires where there is really only one choice in the factory sizes. . .

Luckily I was able to get the tire patched because if I hadn't, the winter tires aren't available until next fall although I did just put my summer wheels on last weekend anyway.

 

I agree but cell phones have made spares pretty much obsolete. I still want my full size and I have them for both vehicles, but yeah. But if I get a flat AAA is coming to change it, lol people can make fun all they want lol.

 

The X7 feels much better than the GLS, the GLS is very floaty boaty and vague. The Range Rover feels similar to the X7

 

AAA doesn’t bring a spare, so if the tire can’t be patched or plugged you’re still hosed.