great road trip (no fires) (archive)

Just finished 800 miles in the Colorado mountains including no less than 6 mountain passes (7 if you count the Eisenhower Tunnel). I drive a 3.0i, and can finally answer the infamous question, "does the 3 have enough power?" YES. At no time did I feel as if I lacked power, be it in the mountains or passing at speeds > 65 out on the open high plains. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I could go from 65 to 85+ when passing, and how smooth it travels at that speed. I scaled Wolf Creek in a driving thunderstorm and never felt a lack of traction. On the way back I stopped at Wolf Creek's base (Pagosa side) and that's the only time I heard the aux fan activate when stopped. "If it's gonna burn, it'll burn now" I thought. Nothing happened.

Oh, and I FOUND MY PUDDLE LIGHTS! Weeks ago I saw several posts 'bout puddle lights under the outside mirrors -- mine don't have lights. Mine are at the bottom of all 4 doors. It was pretty dark and I was impressed at how well it illuminated the ground around me. I was also impressed at how much light the rear door threw down when open.

It was fast, comfortable, quiet (no rattles). I may opt for the voice module on the nav system though -- I find myself doing a lot of zoom in/out when traveling. And I've decided that the X5's nav system is no smarter/dumber than mapquest. I tried maquest, yahoo/mapquest, and X5...all gave different answers for fastest route, and all were wrong (as I already knew the fastest route). Nav systems are better than being lost, but they can't replace proper planning.

BTW, if you're planning a long trip w/ little kids, a 9" TV/VCR combo sits nicely on the console between the two front seats, putting an end to the timeless "are we there yet?" questions from the rear.

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Re: great road trip (no fires) JPW 12:45 7/08/2001 (0)

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