Help selecting an X5 version

[fireroasted]

Hello,

I am new to this forum, but a long time EvotionM.net forum member, and you guys also have a great forum here. I am in the market for an X5, as my wife needs a new car, and we need to occasionally transport 5 adults. However this is really 6 in the car world, because 2 of those are baby seats. 2 adults, 2 baby seats, and any normal 5 passenger is full. So we need a 3rd row to stick someone in for shorter trips. In the X5 they will likely have to sit sideways, but that is OK.

So, 3rd row is really my only requirement, and I know what you guys will say to those versions, but lets just way no choice there, and that is why an M is out too. (that and I don't have the cash for an M).

I have driven and read about every variant. First I was good for an 09 V8 with all the options. Everything, but then my wife started worrying about it being too old, and it was starting to creek and grown the plastics here and there. So now we are looking for a 2011. Its likely something in between.

I wanted to know what you guys thought, knowing what you know now about your cars from actual experience/ownership.

2009, 2010, 2011? and why?
V6, Diesel, or V8 and why?
or 2011 turbo iterations of the V6 and V8.
Color of interior, and why?
packages, which ones and why?

I was initially really into the space grey metallic, but our friends have one. I thought I wanted to tow package, but besides the actual hitch bar does it change anything in the car? I thought black interior looks too dark and without contrast, and tan interior would get too dirty. I liked the oyster with black, but could be bad for having kids? Does it clean well? I read great reviews on the diesel, and on here I read some contradictory posts about the diesel being sluggish around town?

Anything you guys could comment could help us out. We may have been shopping for too long, going into 2 months now.

Thanks

[fireroasted]

Nobody has any opinions for purchasing based on your experience. bump to see if I can scrounge up some dialog.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by fireroasted

Nobody has any opinions for purchasing based on your experience. bump to see if I can scrounge up some dialog.

I don't have much to offer regarding all of the options because I already knew that I didn't want a diesel or one of the gas guzzling X's. That left the 35i for me. I knew that I didn't want an X5 without M-Sport, and I was set on either Alpine White or Carbon Black Metallic. I also wouldn't have opted for an X5 older than a 2011, but despite my willingness to consider used, I ended up with a new vehicle as usual. Navigation was a must as well; every other option was negotiable.

[serge1]

Welcome to the forum!
I have 2 kids (6 and 8). I have owned an alpine white 2011 X5 diesel with 3rd row, oyster seats, black interior for almost 2 years now. Let me try to give you some feedback based on categories.

3rd row: I ocasionally invite our friends couple on trips with us. In those cases, we put our 2 kids in the 3rd row. They seem to be doing fine back there, even in hot weather (there's a fan back there). The visibility to outside is not great for them, but we have done 300mi trips and I heard no complaints. I think the 3rd row is good for kids up to 10 years old.

LCI/pre-LCI: Go with LCI, you get updated bumpers and LED coronas. Looks beast.

Towing: If you going to to any towing, get the diesel. The gassers will do just fine, but the diesel is more capable (even more capable than the 50i turbo).

Fuel: My choices 2 years ago were between 35i and 35d. Both twin turbo engines. I drove both and chose the diesel due to:
-More fun around town due to high torque. It will lose a 0-60 race to gasser though.

It's the horsepower vs torque thing. Let me try to explain it without putting everyone to sleep:

Think of torque as amount of force needed to break loose a lug nut with a wrench. Like sometimes you have to put your whole body weight on that wrench to break it loose.
In the 35d, that amount equals to 425lb man holding a 1ft wrench, and putting his whole weight to break the lug nut free.
In the 35i gasser, we are stuck with 300lb man. Enough to break most lug nuts, but too light for others. Think of towing a big boat.

Horsepower, on the other hand, is about how fast you can unscrew that lugnut completely. 35i has higher horsepower (300hp vs 265 for diesel). Therefore, once the initial movement started, the 35i will propell the vehicle to 60mph faster (unscrew the lugnut). Whew..

-Fuel savings, even considering price of diesel 20cents higher than premium in the winter.
-Better highway cruiser. Mountain passes, hills, valleys - 6th gear, no changes.

Turbo/non: If you are going to go with a gasser, get the turbo version. The old 3.0i is quite a bit weak, and 4.8i yields low mpgs and bad reliability.

Colors: I have put clear plastic on the back seats to avoid them being scratched by the booster seats my child still use. The seats still look new after 2 years - better than front seats my wife and I sit, due to no protection.
Warning: the oyster leather easily picks up dye from jeans. Not easy to clean. Totally worth it though - the contrast between white leather and the rest of interior being black looks amazing. Looks really nice with soft red ambient lighting at night, too.

Choose non-black exterior. The LCI releases look much better from front and back with new bumpers. That contrast is not visible on vehicles with black or dark blue exterior.

Towing: since you required 3rd row, the vehicle will come with rear self-leveling suspension. People on this forum who do towing, say that self-leveling rear suspension an almost a must have. Really helps to stabilize the vehicle.

[P1]

Go with a 2011 or newer as it will be an LCI version. The early 2011s did NOT come with LED coronas only the later 2011s and up. I have a 35i version and the mileage is pretty much the same as the diesel (source: my dad has a 2012 M Sport diesel). That being said, he's in Europe where you can get diesel AND M Sport. In the US, for some daft reason, you can only get the M Sport if you choose the petrol version.

[1HOT BMR]

2012 X5 Diesel is my recommendation and what we got for my wife after carefully evaluating all the options available. Regarding the diesel being sluggish around town . . . sluggish? . . . was that a serious opinion that you read? On the contrary, the diesel is amazingly peppy around town thanks to its massive torque at low rpm. My fuel consumption is getting better as the miles pile up: 20-21 overall at the beginning and 23-24 overall now at 25K miles. With the exception of a lose connector on one of my rear lights that I promptly fixed myself the car has been totally 100% reliable.

The biggest reason to get the diesel is the amazing torque that makes it feel a whole lot faster than it really is. When you go up a mountain road loaded to the hilt it feels like the mountain is not there - it's like a goat!: effortless climb The only negative I can think of - besides the loud diesel engine noise for a modern diesel - is that the steering is heavy at low speeds but one gets used to it and now I like it a lot, and so does my wife. I recommend you get a car that has Adaptive Drive if you can find one (a rare and special request option on a diesel) - I ordered it for mine and it's just phenomenal. Also, get rid of the RFTs and replace them with Pirelli Scorpion Verdes. This will give you a super cushy ride with exceptional handling.

Space Gray is beautiful, especially with the black grills

[fireroasted]

Aha, That's what I'm talking about. Thank you all. Its always valuable for a noob to get the forum feedback.

The comment on the diesel being sluggish was actually from a post on here, and recently. So I needed to get some feedback on that, and I got it. I also expected the diesel to pop off the line, and then fade, which is fine.

I appreciate the HP/TRQ explanation. Nice. I do actually program the ECU on my and friends' Evo's and built the engine by hand so was familiar, but I love forums where the folks share info. The EvoM forum is one of the best because of it. There are lots of M3 track guys that troll around in that forum. I think they might be former evo owners and just graduated up to less of a rattle box.

Space Grey is my favorite color, but our good friends have that one, and I feel like a moron getting the same thing. So it has to be something else. My wife also likes the contrasts when the car is not black or dark blue, so it was interesting to read that as a comment as well.

I had to look up what LCI was. hahahaha. noob. In the posts that I read I didn't see the way that I would identify that in an add for a 2011. Is there an easy tell, by VIN, or something, or should I be able to tell by the bumpers/lights?

Thanks

1hotbmr Nice pic!

[serge1]

LCI (short for life cycle impulse, simply called "facelift" by simple folk) was introduced in 2011. that's new bumpers and (i think) iDrive components. However, untill about September, LCI vehicles still came with old headlights - yellow halos.

To see if LCI or not:
Look at the bumper.

LCI:


Pre-LCI:


To see if it has white LDE coronas vs angel eye halos (yellow).
Look inside the headlight, coronas have 2 chrome strips inside.

LED Coronas:


Halogen angel eyes. Note, the vehicle on this picture has the updated bumper, yet old headlights.

[fireroasted]

@serge1 - Thanks!, thats pretty easy to follow now with the pics.

[P1]

Originally Posted by serge1

LCI (short for life cycle impulse, simply called "facelift" by simple folk) was introduced in 2011. that's new bumpers and (i think) iDrive components. However, untill about September, LCI vehicles still came with old headlights - yellow halos.

To see if LCI or not:
Look at the bumper.

LCI:


Pre-LCI:


To see if it has white LDE coronas vs angel eye halos (yellow).
Look inside the headlight, coronas have 2 chrome strips inside.

LED Coronas:


Halogen angel eyes. Note, the vehicle on this picture has the updated bumper, yet old headlights.

I have a 10/10 build and still have the yellow angel eyes...

[serge1]

Originally Posted by P1et

I have a 10/10 build and still have the yellow angel eyes...

10/10 = October 2010? Or October 10, 2011?

I bought my 2011 on October 11, 2011, drove off the lot, which means it must have been built a good month prior (to having been reached the dealership). Not to mention, there was a good week of negotiating over email with the salesguy, after I saw that one listed for sale.

Mine has LED coronas.

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by fireroasted

Space Grey is my favorite color, but our good friends have that one, and I feel like a moron getting the same thing. So it has to be something else. My wife also likes the contrasts when the car is not black or dark blue, so it was interesting to read that as a comment as well.

Consider platinum grey.. Its a little more darker than the space grey.. I have space grey and my second option was plat grey...

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by serge1

10/10 = October 2010? Or October 10, 2011?

I bought my 2011 on October 11, 2011, drove off the lot, which means it must have been built a good month prior (to having been reached the dealership). Not to mention, there was a good week of negotiating over email with the salesguy, after I saw that one listed for sale.

Mine has LED coronas.

2011 Model year started production in April of 2010, they were produced for close to a year before they got the LED coronas.

All of the LCI X5s have lowend torque if you're really worried about mountain driving. No issues at 11k feet with the 35i, just use the pedals and go between 6th, 7th and 8th depending on the grade. Which brings us to the 35i and 50i having the newer 8 speed ZF, whereas the 35d still has the older 6 speed.

[P1]

Originally Posted by serge1

10/10 = October 2010? Or October 10, 2011?

I bought my 2011 on October 11, 2011, drove off the lot, which means it must have been built a good month prior (to having been reached the dealership). Not to mention, there was a good week of negotiating over email with the salesguy, after I saw that one listed for sale.

Mine has LED coronas.

My 2011 X5 was has a production date of October 1st, 2010. If you give me the last seven of your VIN, I can tell you exactly what date it was built.

[Murph335]

Logic7 and comfort access, luxury seating are tough to find on diesels but are must have imo.

Rockin oyster int here . Avoid the 3.0 and the 4.8. If considering 35i just go diesel feels better around town.
Heard a Rumor for 700mi range for highway road trip.

'11 Angel eye led upgrade ordered!

[delviacv2]

LED coronas started from production date 4/2011 on.

[serge1]

Originally Posted by Murph335

Logic7 and comfort access, luxury seating are tough to find on diesels but are must have imo.

Rockin oyster int here . Avoid the 3.0 and the 4.8. If considering 35i just go diesel feels better around town.
Heard a Rumor for 700mi range for highway road trip.

'11 Angel eye led upgrade ordered!

Agree with everything, except the 700mi range. Best I got was 605.

[fireroasted]

Do any of you not have the convenience package? I have seen a few oddly without Nav, and therefore I assume that package. Is a nav unit something folks on the forum can install, purchase from a part out, or upgrade after the fact? Or is that something that has wiring harness deficiencies.

Thanks for all the info. I think I might be over shopping a bit, but I am somewhat OCD when it comes to anything automotive.

[P1]

Originally Posted by fireroasted

Do any of you not have the convenience package? I have seen a few oddly without Nav, and therefore I assume that package. Is a nav unit something folks on the forum can install, purchase from a part out, or upgrade after the fact? Or is that something that has wiring harness deficiencies.

Thanks for all the info. I think I might be over shopping a bit, but I am somewhat OCD when it comes to anything automotive.

Don't mess with it. If you can, just buy yourself one with navigation already installed. Anything aftermarket sounds like fun, but often times more of a hassle than anything else. I had to be patient when I was looking for my Alpine White X5 M Sport but my patience paid off.

[fireroasted]

haha, yeah patient for sure, but I am trying to buy used, which makes it even more difficult. I wasn't thinking of aftermarket, but bmw after the fact. Or just seeing if anyone has done that, or if its even possible. There are a couple of used ones that don't have Nav, and I am wondering if I just don't care (cause I am used to using my phone for that) or if there are other major things missing in that package I will regret.

[fireroasted]

Guys, Thanks for the feedback and help. I ended up pulling the trigger on this 2011 5.0 Msport. Just finished clay barring the thing, for what is certainly the first time ever. It has a couple of little niggles that I will work on, maybe with some help from the forum, but mostly its in excellent condition.



This is just a quick phone pic when I picked it up after its official BMW full inspection. Worth every penny of the 300 bucks. It was interesting standing eye to eye with Ingrid (i'm 6'5"), who was completely capable of discussing the function of a upper control arm thrust bushing. It was an odd day, and a long drive home.

[P1]

Nice choice! The M Sport is a must. What is the $300 BMW inspection? It looks like you bought it from a BMW dealership, why would you have to pay $300 to have it inspected?