Thread: Xi5

I have talked with 2 people who has the Xi5. 1 hates it and 1 likes it. May take a year or so to get all the bugs worked out to really see what they can/will do.

I was looking at the Xi5 back in the winter and decided after a lot of looking and searching to go with the MK Terrova. I spent about 4 months doing my homework before I made my purchase.
Both the Xi5 and Terrova both had their followers but what pushed me to the Terrova was the remote. The remote on the Terrova had a display window and the Xi5 did not. Since I had no intention of linking my TM to my electronics, having the display window on the remote seemed like a better idea than having no display to check your settings. I guess if you're linking your TM to your electronics you info will display on you screen so it wouldn't matter.

Now I have to say I was a MG fan and used MG TM's since 1979. Switching to MK was not any easy move for me.
So far I have to say I am not disappointed in this Terrova at all and I've since became a huge MK convert.

I thought it would be hard to go from my cable steer to electric but I don't miss the cable steer at all. I did have about a 2 month learning curve to mostly get used to the remote and what the buttons did.

I'm not trying to push MK over MG, I'm just trying to share what info and experience I had to help you make an informed decision.

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.

love mine 55# thrust 12vlt have it on my 18ft Bass Tracker pontoon and does great up to about 12-15mph winds, after that time to get out of the wind or off the lake.. GPS/pinpoint work awesome will keep you right where you set anchor.
Do not care for MK due to the noise everyone Ive seen has been very noisy, MG is dead quiet when at anchor. MG doesn't have a display but after you use it enough you get to know how many taps on button will get you a certain speed.

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.

One of my good buddies used the x15 and switched to mk. When I was going to retire I went with the mk, I have been using it for two years and I have no complaints. I went with the self deploying model because I know as I get older it will be a lot easier on my body. No more heavy lifting.

I have the xi5 and love it. I bought a Lowrance elite ti fishfinder to run it. Can program routes on Lowrance and set speed and forget about it. It will run your same route every time. You can pair a hummingbird to a Minn Kota to do the same thing. I would not hesitate to buy a xi5 but minn kota may be better I have never tried one.


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