First 24 with new X5d

[jbeene]

Picked up the new d yesterday afternoon. Its a clone of our 4.8i but has a few more options like comfort seats etc.

After booting around in town in it for about 100km all I can say is wow. BMW has done a great job with this engine. It doesn't have the visceral sensations provided by the V8 but for a quiet competent cruiser it is very good.

Even on a fresh engine (12km when I picked it up) and after sitting in city traffic to and from work its averaging 11 litres per 100km. To put this in context in the same traffic the 4.8i gets 15.5 litres per 100km and my M3 is usually around 19 litres per 100km.

The beauty of the diesel is the same thing that made my 335's so much fun to drive. The torque shoots you away and you're into the next gear and ripping forward again. Its not sustained fury like the 4.8 but it is quick.

Other observations - i-drive is fixed. The new i-drive is light years better than the 08's - so good I may pony up and try to retrofit the M3.

Comfort seats, I can't believe I talked myself out of them in the 4.8. Get them, they are worth every penny.

It goes without saying that I'm pretty darn happy with the purchase, its almost sad to think about how the family is going to tear it apart over the next 4 years.

Sorry no pics, its dark and now its covered in melted road grime. It was clean for about 5 minutes.

[Cdnrockies]

Congrats man!!

Can't wait to see pics. I'm very jealous at the moment as I'm still over a month away from getting mine....and could definitely use it in the weather we've had lately....lol.

[jbeene]

We just got lucky with one that someone else ordered in and then bailed on otherwise we would have been waiting awhile as well.

It was funny I was at the dealership with my M and my salesman took me around to have a look at the X5d's they had with 3rd row. We came across this one but it had a sold sign on it so we pulled the specs and I was about to put in the order for the identical car but with premium sound as well.

Then they had another one coming in a different color combo with specs I wanted. A couple weeks later it showed up and I got to take it home for the night. In short my wife hated the color combo. We returned the demo and the one I was duplicating was there - when my wife saw it she said "why can"t I have that one". You can - in 12 weeks...

We let it go for a couple weeks before I was going to go in and order and when I got there to order it this one was available because the deal tanked.

Couldn't have worked out better.

Now to get rid of the 4.8...

[Vintage]

that is great - the engine dramatically improves in gas mileage at around 1,200 miles; it also feels like it has more power - but that is probably because I babied it during break in and now I am a little more aggressive

[vladberca]

don t forget to put the pictures!

[Jeff Yap]

Had my 2009 X5 35d since March and had a few hiccups:
1.00) Alternator gave up but dealer replaced FOC as under warrantee.
2.00) GPS reader gave up after long trip to Grande Prairie and Vancouver. Dealer replaced FOC.
Recently switched to BMW 19in Winter Tyres on M rims...looks great! You are right, the Sapphire Black gets really dirty in Calgary especially around this time of the year but apart from the above 2 items, its one incredible BMW!
Would love to get another BMW, a smaller one for the city ( a 335dXi but the NAmerican market does not have the X Drive version).
Have had a few questions on the starting from the cold but so far so good although the car is garaged.

[Vintage]

agreed on wanting another BMW diesel product - I would love a 320d or 120d option for a pure work commuter; I hope BMW is listening because I will buy one if offered!!!

[jbeene]

I think its going to be awhile for pics. Have been back and forth the Fernie in it now and managed 880km out of the first tank. Outstanding vehicle. Dirty as hell though plus it has the remnants of 50cm of snow on the roof.

Don't have my snows on yet but the Duelers are reasonable (we run Nokians in winter).

Loving the comfort seats, now that it has a few miles on it I've opened her up a bit and you gotta love the torque.

Had a brain fart this morning and actually thought about selling the M3 instead of the 4.8. I'm over it now. Waited too long for coffee this morning.

One real difference I've noticed from the 4.8 is that the sport suspension feels much more buttoned down with less body roll in the corners. Ride isn't bad at all.

Sad part is the only reason I wanted the sport is for the 19 inch wheels. I just think they look better but the sport steering wheel is nice and the suspension tuning is a welcome addition.

OK. I'll go snap a pic of the dirty pig...

[jbeene]

I can't beleive it but in a little over a week we've put over 1200km on the d.

Last night on the run back to Fernie for the week traffic was pretty thin and I decided it was probably OK to run it a little harder. Have been pretty gentle on the engine giving it lots of up and down revs etc during the first 1000km.

On the two lane it passes well, in comparison to the V8 its a little slower. For example punching it at 120 to pass in the V8 generally gets you to 160 by the time you pull back in. In the D its more like 150. But the engine is quite a bit quieter when cruising.

If traffic is light and the roads are good I usually run at about 135 to 140 most of the way, last night I looked down a couple times and had crept up over 150.

So its a pretty effiicient highway vehicle. We average 11 litres per 100 last night but the average speeds were pretty high so it seems reasonable. The V8 does about 14.5 at those speeds.

Although I tippy toed into the diesel acquisition I can say I am a convert now.

Though I still really love the V8 in the 4.8 and the M3 (obviously different animal altogether)

Minus 22 this morning. Think I'll wait awhile before I strap the planks on today. Life is too short for cold hard pack.