Don't want a tow by a tractor!

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm looking at a new car and there are several tests it must pass.  One is not suffering the embarrassment of being towed out of a muddy field by a tractor.  If anyone has experience of the BMW X5 please advise me what it is like off road.

On road It is awesome, I just don't want to have to keep a few quid in the glove box to compensate tractor drivers each time I go into a damp field!!

Thoughts please!

 

[Dbac300566]

 Nothing wrong with the X5,but if you have sport tyres on then you will need money for the tractor.

 

[Holianl]

All 4x4 will get stuck with road tyres on believe me!!! I found myself stuck in a field with my friend for 4 hours after we decided to go for a "quick off road spin" in his discovery 2 last year. We searched high and low digging for bricks and branches to shove under the wheels. We got out eventually but it was a complete nightmare. A set of all terrain tyres are well worth a investment as they really do make a difference. They do wear allot quicker than road tyres so bare this in mind. Range rover sports are really cheap at the moment you can get a cracker for under 20k (make sure the air suspension  has been done though) X5's arnt bad, they are cramped in the back and unless you are getting one brand new the interior is out dated. If i could recomend a car it would be the new audi Q7 or the new landrover discovery (not discovery sport!!!) Hope this helps.

 

[Skeet UK]

...suffering the embarrassment of being towed out of a muddy field by a tractor

...BMW X5 off road.

There you go.

 

[chippy]

the problem with many modern 4x4s and x5s are one of the worst is that the tyres are much too wide.

 

[AW13]

Owned many 4x4's  and have 2 now. Best advice is tyres tyres tyres. And make sure you know how to drive your chosen vehicle off road, some rely on software programmes more than others.

 

[schmokinn]

Touareg V10 gets my vote.....maybe because i have one.

Awesome performance at a bargain price...was going to buy a Rangy but saw 4 broken down in the week i was going to buy and took that as an omen!

 

[AW13]

Touareg V10 gets my vote.....maybe because i have one.

Awesome performance at a bargain price...was going to buy a Rangy but saw 4 broken down in the week i was going to buy and took that as an omen!

Bet that is a tad thirsty.  But fun! 

 

[schmokinn]

Yes and Yes....very much so to both

 

[Hamster]

Hi,

I'm looking at a new car and there are several tests it must pass.  One is not suffering the embarrassment of being towed out of a muddy field by a tractor.  If anyone has experience of the BMW X5 please advise me what it is like off road.

On road It is awesome, I just don't want to have to keep a few quid in the glove box to compensate tractor drivers each time I go into a damp field!!

Thoughts please!

We have had two new X5's but my criteria was that it must be superb on road, not break down and not make me look like a builder. The last one had 4 Pirelli winter runflats at huge cost because I knew from past experience that the factory tyres are barely better than a two wheel drive in snow, (in fact quite possibly worse because the weight makes them hard to stop) but never got to see how they performed because we didn't so much as get any ice or snow but they did 20k, performed beautifully in terms of noise and adhesion and I got rid on ebay when the car went back. 

If I absolutely positively needed a SUV to go off road I would either get a Chelsea spec Defender or Range Rover, in truth a Land Cruiser is the right vehicle but that simply does not have the looks or finish. 

Every car in the sector including the X5 and Cayenne will go off road (within reason) so long as you fit the right tyres. 

ps. the X5 will eat the rest for breakfast when it comes to true mpg.

 

[Will Hewland]

I drove a Bentayga today. I can't really make this connect well with the topic here, but just wanted to say. ?

 

[Nimbusgb]

New Merc GLE 63 AMG with a set of proper tyres on it. 

Extremely capable offroad chassis and suspension, 5.5 litre twin turbo V8 with a bulletproof reputation, 560 hp, 4.3 seconds 0 to 60 will allow you to blow the doors off Porsches, Audis and other road crap.

All accompanied by a sound track straight out of Wagner!

 love my Merc's! 

 

[Jonny English]

Land rover discovery 4 all day long! Seven seats, air suspension, 8 speed auto, 3.5 ton tow capacity, well spec'ed, not over powering for image, superb ride, spacious. Superb off road. 3 litre 255Hp V6 diesel. Newer ones are more reliable than previous models. Ticks all the boxes. Well worth a look at. Bury an X5 any day of the week for off road use and ride comfort. No good on company car tax though.

 

[Jim Wheeler]

Subaru, cheap ,reliable, and worth more than a £100 after ten years,, you cannot give away European rubbish.

 

[Jeremy Baker]

Nearly anything with proper rubber will work. 

I had a Supercharged Sport that got stuck in a Car park in France at the Fitasc on standard 20" Rubber. 

I bought a set of 19" rims with General grabber rubber and the car was invincible. 

I took it through mud up to its axles game shooting and waded through rivers over boulders in Northumberland. 

Fantastic car. 

 

[ips]

tyres tyres tyres.

I have seen loads of RR and Disco etc get stuck on shoot days, all had road tyres on therefore what's the point of 4x4 your paying all that money just to have four wheels spin instead of two. I nearly bought a 4x4 as a second car just for shoot days but having witnessed these Chelsea tractors stuck I put M&S tyres on my two wheel drive and saved a packet

 

[Holianl]

The reason why 4x4's are so bad off road now is because they are fitted with 20 in low profile tyres/alloys. great for road grip although horrendous for potholes. My audi s3 has got 4 wheel drive and is exactly the same once it comes to a wet field. ino its not a 4x4 but it should at least be able to handle moderate off road duty's.

 

[ips]

lets be honest owning 4x4 or on demand SUV is all a bit pointless unless you go off road and put propper off road tyres on.

 

[Holianl]

lets be honest owning 4x4 or on demand SUV is all a bit pointless unless you go off road and put propper off road tyres on.

Totally agree ips. the only reason i would buy a 4x4 is for the extra boot space and for the dogs.