Thread: Xi5

Originally Posted by Hotwater

I switched from the Xi5 to MK Terrova a few years ago. I agree with what crappiemax said regarding the remote. That is the reason I made the switch. I upgraded to a 24 volt system with 80 lb thrust as opposed to the Xi5 12 volt 55 lb thrust. The MK also has a rabbit feature that is useful. I had no issues with the Xi5 other than the remote.

During my 4 months of research between the Xi5 and the Terrova I had comments from 4 or 5 other Xi5 owners who shared your opinion. I never did talk to a Terrova owner who wished he went with the Xi5.

I did talk to a guy who had both the Terrova and the Xi5. I asked him about the noise. My hearing isn't so good but my wife is very noise sensitive. In all fairness he did say the Xi5 is quieter and that was a big plus for me but it just didn't trump the screen on the remote. I took a chance and yeah I can hear the Terrova make adjustments sometimes but it doesn't bother me or seem excessive. Most times I don't notice it and my wife said she doesn't find it annoying at all. Since he did have boats with both TM's he was a good source to talk too. He also commented he thought the Terrova was built better and that Xi5 would be his last MG.

At one of my early stops at a retailer who sold both the MK and the MG I was asking the manager in the electronics department about the 2 motors. He finally asked if I was asking for his opinion. I said sure and he pointed at the MK and said "buy that one...they never come back on returns". I asked what's the problem with the
MG's? He said it wasn't one particular thing but rather a variety of stuff. Even after his comment I was still leaning towards the Xi5 because I figure if something little was wrong I would get it fixed under warranty.

Still I just couldn't get past that screen (or lack of screen) on the remote.

One thing I try to point out to folks looking at these new TM's is to check on how much shaft extends BELOW the mount. I know on the MK Terrova with a 45" shaft, there is 32" of shaft below the bottom of the mount. On my MG Tour that I was removing it had a 42" shaft but it had 34" of shaft below the mount and I wanted to stay with that 34" as a minimum for my new TM as well in order to keep the motor 12" below the surface. I had to go with the 54" shaft on the Terrova in order to maintain that 34" depth, I was concerned with having that longer shaft and having so much shaft above my boat but (so far) it hasn't been a problem.

Like I said earlier I'm not trying to sway people one way or another. Buy whatever brand you like or has the features that best fits your style. I did also talk to a few MG guys who liked their setups but all of these guys did have their TM linked to their electronics.
One feature MG had that I did like was the wireless foot control. Mk's foot control is wired but is easily removed if you want to.

As I said my previous TM was a MG Tour. It was one of the smoothest TM's I ever owned. Right out of the box I did notice that the speed control seemed to be lacking in full range of use. I got used to it but in the back of my mind it didn't seem quite right, a few years later little things started coming out of adjustment. It was nothing major but it was annoying and it was constant.
In 2016 I had the steering cables replaced and the shop who did the work told me there was a problem in a circuit board which was causing the problem with the speed adjustment (this is what I noticed when it was new out of the box) The cost was $327 for the part plus labor. I declined the repair but I continued to use the TM until I replaced it this year. The Tour was not one of MG's cheapest TM's but I wasn't impressed with the quality. I've always thought MG made a quality TM but that Tour gave me some incentive to look (with an open mind) at both brands before buying. I always worried about the quality of MK's but that MG Tour sure didn't impress me at all. I asked a lot of MK owners if they liked their TM's and not one person said the wished the went with MG.

With all that said I still was leaning towards MG when I started my search mostly because MK's initial spot lock feature wasn't very accurate. In 2017 MK revised their spot-lock. Virtually everyone, both MK (2017 and newer) and MG owners thought their spot-lock feature was very accurate so either brand would have worked for
me. Still the one thing that MK had over MG was that display window.

I only try to pass along the info I gathered and MY reasoning for making MY choice. I was lucky doing my research and talked to a lot of guys on both sides with a lot more experience with these TM's than I had. These TM's cost a lot of money and they last a long time. Most of us are going to live with whatever model we choose for at least 10-15 years before buying another TM. I'm 68 years old and odds are this is my last TM purchase. I fish 3-4 times per week so I wanted what would work best for me.