I ended up replacing 2 cars in the fleet this week. I got a new 2021 Suburban Z71 to replace my Yukon Denali XL, and Kristin got a new 2021 X5 45e plug in hybrid to replace her 2016 Volvo XC90.

The Z71 was a replacement for my Yukon which I use for the typical people and stuff transport as well as to tow both of my trailers. I really like to idea of a diesel suburban so I’l probably trade this one once they new 3.0 diesel version is out and working well. I really really like Suburbans and have had one in my fleet for over 20 years.

Kristin’s car was a choice between this X5 45e and all of the other electric cars we could find. The 45e is an interesting car.. it has a 3.0L turbo inline six (289hp), plus a 111hp electric motor combined with a 24kWh battery. That gives is a range of 35-40 miles on all electric.

So far we have driven 216 of the 230 miles on all electric, and most of that gas driving was me being a jackass in Sport mode. 😉 It has been actually quite usable in all electric mode, especially for the use cases Kristin sees most. (small trips that are 10-30 miles in total distance). I suspect she will go months without using gasoline. Everything else is typical BMW – Good drive feel, excellent interior materials, typical German over engineering..

Kristin did consider the Tesla Model Y, but the ride quality just isn’t there compared to the BMW… and that follows with pretty much all of the interior features. ( remember I also have a Model 3 Performance ). We also looked at the Jag, the Merc, and Audi eTron, and the Volvo.

Certainly I’ll have more to report as we accumulate some experience.