Picked up 2010 X535D today

[Drakos]

After 3 long months, my X5 finally showed up. It came equipped with pretty much every conceivable option exept for Individual. I picked Monaco Blue with Camel interior. I think it is a nice combination and complements each other nicely. I must say that I am quite impressed with the fit and finish of the vehicle.

Impressions:

- Diesel is butter smooth and quiet. For some reason on the test drive of the vehicle at the dealer, it seemed to have more pep. Mind you I drive a slightly modded 335i also, so I'm kinda spoiled by the power

- i-drive is absolutely fantastic. I never had the liberty to try the old version, understanding that there were many complaints about it. The new gen i-drive is quick and very intuitive. I was able to navigate with ease. For anyone who ever contemplated getting the HUD, it is a great feature. I was expecting the projected image to be close up right above the dash. On the contrary, the image is shown to appear right at the end of the hood. Pretty cool optical illusion. The nav guidance and speedometer reading is fantastic and should be available in all cars IMO.

- Premium sound group is an absolute must!! This system absolutely pounds. Comparing to the audiophile package in the 335i, the system in the X5 is crisper, louder and completely thumps.

- Third row seating. If you can call it that. Chose this option for the odd occasion of toting around my parents. To fit, they might need to be amputated. Gonna take them out this weekend so this might be amusing.

- Handling and feel is typical BMW pleasure. An SUV that drives like a car is stellar in my books. I tried the tranny in ds mode and it works very much like my 335i. It feels a little more responsive and reduces some of the lag. Can hardly wait for a good tune solution.

Some disappointing notes:

- Rear entertainment system cannot be controlled from the i-drive. This is really inconvienient. If you have young kids sitting in the back, they better be good at operating a remote control for the dvd or else you are SOL. I think it is rediculous that you can't control the rear dvd from the i-drive. Nothing like having the dvd stuck on the menu or stopped and hearing your kids freak out. You will need to pull over just to navigate the dvd. No remote control. When I picked up the ride, I noticed there was no remote for the rear dvd. The salesman was not sure if it came with one, but I just verified that it does on the BMW website brochure. I'm sure this will be sorted out. Otherwise I have a useless dvd player in the back. For anyone considering getting this option on your X5, don't!! It is a complete waste of money. You can't control the rear system from the i-drive which to me is a total inconvenience and a safety hazzard.

- Little bit of effort required to put third row seats up and down. The second row seats must be moved and tilted forward slightly in order to put these seats up or down. Kinda hard when you have child seats anchored. The fold flat floor is nice, but does not offset the inconvienience.

- Storage compartments are a bit small. You can put a few items in the center and glove box, but don't expect a lot. Kinda disappointing when you consider how large the vehicle is. The center console is opened in 2 halves and while it looks cool, it becomes a pain in the ass when you try to get to anything. The side compartments on the door are fairly large but you have to reach right down to get to anything.

- No rear backup camera. Canadians get the shaft again!! Although I ordered this option for the factory order build, BMW decided that Canada was not important enough to have this option during a shortage in supply. This did not affect US customers and the cameras are only available to Canadians purchasing either the X5 M or 4.8. No eco rebate, no camera, and no focus on customer service. Sorry hehe, still a little ticked over those issues.

- Front license plate screwed on. Why the hell do they not make this option exclusive for the dealership to install during the pdi? The factory apparently installed this during build, not even caring where the car is being shipped to and if a front plate is required. Well, in Alberta a front plate is not required. Now you have a crappy front plate holder that when removed, have 4 holes drilled into the bumper. Stupidity if you ask me.

Despite some disappointments, overall I am very pleased with my purchase. The X5 is our new family vehicle and my wife's new ride.

Here are some quick pics from my Blackberry:

[vladberca]

Congrats for your great new car!

[Hustler001]

enjoy

[archwerks]

Congrats! Enjoy ur new ride!
I've test driven the X5 3.5D. lot's of power. Too bad that engine is not available in N. Am. for the x6. Hope u have adaptive drive.
HUD Position is easily adjustable.

[Drakos]

I love the car, but the wheels are a little bland. Priced out some aftermarkets, and damn they are expensive.

[docdave]

Congratulations - beautiful car! (I'm picking up same (colour, leather combo) in 2 days. <gr>

[Vintage]

looks great and sorry about the back-up camera, that is not nice; the dealer put on your front plate - that is definitely NOT done at the factory (your dealer just does not want to fess-up to it)

[Cdnrockies]

Originally Posted by VintageBMW

looks great and sorry about the back-up camera, that is not nice; the dealer put on your front plate - that is definitely NOT done at the factory (your dealer just does not want to fess-up to it)

Congrats again Drakos!

But I still don't understand these two points. I ordered mine just after you and mine came with the cameras. Also, mine showed up without the front plate frame. This seems really odd as we would have purchased from the same dealership group. I'd be having a conversation with your sales guy to sort some of this out.

[Drakos]

Originally Posted by Cdnrockies

Congrats again Drakos!

But I still don't understand these two points. I ordered mine just after you and mine came with the cameras. Also, mine showed up without the front plate frame. This seems really odd as we would have purchased from the same dealership group. I'd be having a conversation with your sales guy to sort some of this out.

I am thinking that when you placed the factory order for your vehicle, the dealer just modified an existing stock allocation unit and did not order from scratch. The vehicle was not purchased in Calgary. Hence the front plate. My friend works at the dealership I purchased it from and why I got such a good deal on the vehicle. The Calgary monopoly does not like to discount the cars very much. I tried my best to shop both Calgary BMW Gallery and Calgary BMW with not much luck in a good discount. Their pricing was virtually identical which leads me to believe they are price fixing. Thanks for the nice sentiments.

[Cdnrockies]

Originally Posted by Drakos

I am thinking that when you placed the factory order for your vehicle, the dealer just modified an existing stock allocation unit and did not order from scratch. The vehicle was not purchased in Calgary. Hence the front plate. My friend works at the dealership I purchased it from and why I got such a good deal on the vehicle. The Calgary monopoly does not like to discount the cars very much. I tried my best to shop both Calgary BMW Gallery and Calgary BMW with not much luck in a good discount. Their pricing was virtually identical which leads me to believe they are price fixing. Thanks for the nice sentiments.

Ah...right...my apologies...it's been a while since we chatted and I forgot that you had purchased it in Kelowna.

I think you're right that they had modified an existing order.

Ironically, at the very last second I almost switched mine to your exact color combo, but the wife doesn't like blue...lol. Enjoy your new ride, it's a fun drive.

I did have another small issue pop up today. The same problem that's been discussed at length. At 6606 km, I got my first warning about an AdBlue reserve being low. I talked to the dealership and they said they'll sort it out. I'll keep you posted.