Considering going from E90 to an E70 for daily driving, will I be disappointed?

[Autobacs]

I guess everyone has their perspective. I will never compare an SUV to a car, obviously with the higher center of gravity, you will never match the handling of a sports car.

I have a 1200 WHP GTR and having said that, I have a ton of fun driving the X5M. Obviously I'm not comparing them because they are apples and oranges. For what it is, it does it well. Great daily, great handling, and great to piss off Truckers with turbo diesels or V8's that think they are best thing in the road since sliced bread. Enough to piss off a good number of cars too, i.e. Z car or even my Lexus GSF.

Last thing, get an X5M. I had an N63 CPO 650i and never again. Went to the dealership for repairs four times in the year and a half I owned it and had to put almost a quart of oil every 1K miles. I ditched it before the CPO warranty expired.

Gone 2 years now on my X5M and only repair is the expansion coolant tank and I only need to add half a quart every 5K miles. Makes me wonder if I really need my aftermarket warranty, LOL.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by X5 MAN

Same here

Bought a 2011 E70 X5 50i two years ago . It is M-Sport WITH active suspension !!

It is a blast to drive and the acceleration just a couple of seconds more then the X5M

Got valve stem seals done and along with lot of coolant and oil plumbing, thermostat , water pump and front suspension replaced.

Drives like new.

Put on 20k miles in two years with no problems.It is at 120k now

Nothing can beat it in sheer interstate driving at 90mph

I agree with you on Interstate cruising, its addictive to cruise on open roads (only in Mexico of course ) at triple digits so effortlessly with the engine basically sleeping. And if you throw an ESS tune on it, it REALLY wakes up the n63, below is my latest draggy and this is on the orginal n63 engine with 166K miles.

[michaelalex3]

Originally Posted by Autobacs

I guess everyone has their perspective. I will never compare an SUV to a car, obviously with the higher center of gravity, you will never match the handling of a sports car.

I have a 1200 WHP GTR and having said that, I have a ton of fun driving the X5M. Obviously I'm not comparing them because they are apples and oranges. For what it is, it does it well. Great daily, great handling, and great to piss off Truckers with turbo diesels or V8's that think they are best thing in the road since sliced bread. Enough to piss off a good number of cars too, i.e. Z car or even my Lexus GSF.

Last thing, get an X5M. I had an N63 CPO 650i and never again. Went to the dealership for repairs four times in the year and a half I owned it and had to put almost a quart of oil every 1K miles. I ditched it before the CPO warranty expired.

Gone 2 years now on my X5M and only repair is the expansion coolant tank and I only need to add half a quart every 5K miles. Makes me wonder if I really need my aftermarket warranty, LOL.

You guys are not making this decision easy lol

I'd love an X5M, I'm just not sure I can spend $25k+ for a nice one. I'd really like to spend under $20k on an X5, since I'll likely be spending $30k+ on my Boxster, and I've arbitrarily decided I don't want to have over $50k in cars. I'm still young, and I don't want to make too terrible of financial decisions!

I'm seeing some other people suggest the N63... but most of what I've read is terrible. In your specific case, did your 650i have the CCP done yet?

[GTBrandon]

Originally Posted by michaelalex3

You guys are not making this decision easy lol

I'd love an X5M, I'm just not sure I can spend $25k+ for a nice one. I'd really like to spend under $20k on an X5, since I'll likely be spending $30k+ on my Boxster, and I've arbitrarily decided I don't want to have over $50k in cars. I'm still young, and I don't want to make too terrible of financial decisions!

I'm seeing some other people suggest the N63... but most of what I've read is terrible. In your specific case, did your 650i have the CCP done yet?

You can get an X5M for 20k, I was looking at a few 2011/2012’s with 80k miles or so at that price, very clean examples as well. Just some food for thought, deals exist out there and you can have both of the cars you want for under $50k. Would be a badass combo too

[Autobacs]

Originally Posted by michaelalex3

You guys are not making this decision easy lol

I'd love an X5M, I'm just not sure I can spend $25k+ for a nice one. I'd really like to spend under $20k on an X5, since I'll likely be spending $30k+ on my Boxster, and I've arbitrarily decided I don't want to have over $50k in cars. I'm still young, and I don't want to make too terrible of financial decisions!

I'm seeing some other people suggest the N63... but most of what I've read is terrible. In your specific case, did your 650i have the CCP done yet?

It had 43K miles when I got it. No idea if it was done or not. My guess is it was not. I figured since they CPO'ed it, it should be good to go. I just went ahead and sold it. As you already found out, oil consumption is a common issue with them. The BMW advisory even says that unless your oil consumption is OVER 1 quart in 1K, anything less is not an issue, LOL.

I hear you on not going over 50K on cars. It is smart to put a cap on how much you spend on them as they are not investments. If I sold mine right now (which I do not plan on) I would honestly ask for 21K or so and am at 79K miles, so you should be able to get them for less than 25K. Good Luck!

[mikee5]

I have both an E90 325i and E70 X5 V8.
Both are great, but they are nothing alike.
The E90 is lightly modified 325i, with sports suspension, "Whiteline" suspension bushes, 335 brakes and non run flat tires.
The 325i easily gets 40+ mpg on a trip, it handles neutral and flat; stops very easily with its 335i brakes, s/s brakes lines and caliper guide bushings.

The Whiteline suspension bushes, sports suspension and non run flat tires provide a firm but comfortable ride.
Its a fun driving machine, the only thing its missing is lots of power and torque.

The X5 is the exact opposite, its big, bulky, gets pretty poor fuel consumption, usually 15-20 mpg and worst of all is still on run flat tires. The tires make the ride needlessly harsh, but they were new on the car when I got it so they will be staying for awhile.

After the 325i the X5 doesn't handle or stop particularly well, but for a bulky
2 ton car it is pretty good, particularly if you compare it to other 2 ton SUV's.
Its still on its standard brakes and bushings; I'd like to upgrade the brakes to
X5M and the suspension to...... I don't know yet.

The truck as we call it wasn't brought to run around town or go flat out through the bends, we have the 325i for that. No it was brought for long distance trips through the Aussie outback and towing crap all over the country side.
Yes its big and bulky, but its very spacious and my wife likes its bigger seats
and high seating position. The 4.8i V8 has enough power and torque for our needs, the fuel consumption while heavy isn't unexpected or of any real concern; after all its a 2 ton V8 and if you were expecting better you're deluding yourself.

In time I'll get rid of the run flats, change the water thermostat for a cooler one and fit a very large transmission cooler in place of the heat exchanger. I live in Australia after all.

My advice, if you can keep both; they are very different cars but both are so worth it.

Mike

[T-Dubbs]

I went from an e91 m sport to a x5 35d... Did the deletes and maintenance..
Absolutely love it! doesn't have X5M power, but it can get 35+mpg. Good luck getting that with an x5M.
The low end grunt of the deleted diesel with 580wtq , makes it a rocket light to light.

[drummr8]

For a daily driver, I think the E70 is better, assuming you get one with decent options. If it's pretty basic then it won't be much better than the E90. With things like comfort seats, climate seats, heated steering, HUD, adaptive high beams, etc, the E70 is just way more comfortable. If your daily drive has lots of twisties then you may want to stay with an E90. Our family car/my wife's car changed from an E91 6MT to an E70 35i msport and I actually really enjoy the E70. Of course the E91 is more engaging with the 6MT but for a daily drive that 8speed auto is nice, as well as the power from the N55. It's also nice to have the option to tow something if necessary. Plus, it's much easier to load a kid into...

The only thing I wish of the E70 is that they had made an sDrive version for that generation. I have no need for xDrive where I live... which is hilarious because all 3 of my vehicles are xDrive

[RL18]

Originally Posted by drummr8

The only thing I wish of the E70 is that they had made an sDrive version for that generation. I have no need for xDrive where I live... which is hilarious because all 3 of my vehicles are xDrive

Have you heard of x-delete?

[drummr8]

Originally Posted by RL18

Have you heard of x-delete?

Yes, I have. If there was a magical hardware version of x-delete, I'd get it

I just don't like the added components, weight, and the fact that it gets in the way of doing other jobs.