2022 ended with a nice road trip to Flagstaff, AZ for New Years. It was a fun opportunity to explore more of the Rockies and put the X5 to work. On the outbound trip there was "motivated" driving to get as far as possible before we hit weather a couple hundred miles in, once we hit snow the pace simmered and the second half of the trip through Durango and Cortez was mellow. I filled up just outside Flagstaff and the trip yielded 29.5mpg over the 580 miles.
On the return leg we took a different route North from Flagstaff to Moab, UT so we could take i70E and pass through Vail. With the total trip being 600+ miles from AZ to CO this was a nice opportunity to get a nice clean pull for fuel efficiency, the X5 was also free of any roof cargo box and/or mountain bike air-brakes hanging off the back.
So often the fuel efficiency deteriorates quickly with urban (or spirited) driving and having a vehicle with a long range seldomly do you get mostly highway miles on a tank. The speed limits on our route were mostly 65mph except for i70 where it was 70/75mph but weather and some congestion slowed the flow of traffic. Average speed on the return trip was ~65mph which worked to the X5's advantage as efficiency really suffer at speeds above 70mph, even with my 3.15 gearing.
On this return trip elevation was between 5,000-11,000+ft with a cumulative elevation gain of 20,000ft. No doubt the X5 would be more efficient on a level surface especially at sea level with denser air but the X5 seems to do well with rolling hills and elevation gain where there is an equal amount of elevation lost afterwards.
The X5 returned an impressive 35.5mpg over 650miles. My goal was to make the trip in 1 tank which I did easily. I calculated my theoretical range if I kept driving and it was 800+ miles for the tank! Not bad for a 5,000lb athletic brick that makes great power, runs 295 section width tires, and was filled with cargo. Can't beat the power + efficiency of a diesel. I plan on enjoying them while I can before they are phased out. It also makes me want to build a X7 M50d or SQ7 TDI here in the US. mmmmmmm Anyway, onto the pics.
My original plan was to keep my all seasons on my 20x11 wheels and put the snow tires on another 20x10 set but I didn't get my act together quickly enough and had to swap the snow tires onto my 20x11s.
Hitting weather in the Rockies on the outbound trip ... and potty break for the doggo. Platinum Grey Metallic is such a cool color!
Yummy
Did I mention PGM is a cool paint color?
Early morning departure from Flagstaff
Following the Colorado River in Moab
Lunch just outside Breckenridge
Who's a good boi?
7mph seems a bit excessive
What an engine!