2012 3.5 or 2011 3.5d

[robotrenegade]

I'm in the hunt for a new X5 for my wife. I'm having trouble making a decision on the 2012 premium 3.5 or the 2011 3.5D. I know the diesel has more torque and better MPG. Is the MPG in the diesel a noticeable difference? Should we wait till the 2012 3.5d come out? Right now BMW is still offering 3,500 incentive for the diesel. Both of our builds run about 62,000 MSRP (with the 3,500 incentive on the diesel). Last question, with a 62,000 MSRP tag whats a good deal to pay for it?

[krnnerdboy]

When I was shopping in march the selection of diesels were pretty sparse, which made the dealers not want to deal much on them. So I decided to take a look at the 35i and ended up purchasing one. I'm avg 20mpg on 35% hwy and the 8spd tranny alone is worth not getting the diesel over. Not to mention the acceleration is quicker than pre lci's v8's and lighter by a couple hundred pounds to the diesel

I'm a die hard diesel fan but I feel the n55 MPG's have caught up to the diesels. Unless the 2012 diesels get the 8spd I wouldn't think twice about this decision

[Barbja]

What are your wife's driving habits? When she drives, is it fast and far? If so, then the 35d is good. If not, then maybe not so much.

I drive about 1k/month. Most of it is within a 7 mile radius of my house. (At my last service, my SA said that my computer said that I had >120 trips of <5km in the last 60 days). My in town mpg is 17-19; abysmal for a diesel. Plus, since most of my driving is in the low rpm zone (where the diesel is not so torquey), it's pretty annoying.

However, get that puppy out on the toll road and it's pretty cool.

[smallseafishie]

I love the torque! Mpg all hwy for me at 80mph is about 27. Mixed city and hwy is about 22. Not bad for a car this size. Both are nice. You can't go wrong with one or the other.

[robotrenegade]

Originally Posted by Barbja

What are your wife's driving habits? When she drives, is it fast and far? If so, then the 35d is good. If not, then maybe not so much.

I drive about 1k/month. Most of it is within a 7 mile radius of my house. (At my last service, my SA said that my computer said that I had >120 trips of <5km in the last 60 days). My in town mpg is 17-19; abysmal for a diesel. Plus, since most of my driving is in the low rpm zone (where the diesel is not so torquey), it's pretty annoying.

However, get that puppy out on the toll road and it's pretty cool.

She drives a lot for work. Mostly highway. When does the 2012 diesel come out? Also when is the new x5 body style coming out. I don't want to be left behind two years from now.

[Barbja]

Originally Posted by atlanta2004m3

low rpm where diesel is not so "torquey"? what? what color is the sky in your world? where the hell do you think the diesel actually makes it's torque? answer, in the low end of the rpm scale, as in peak torque around 1750 rpm or so. feel free to look it up....

I don't know what your 35d does, but mine runs in 4th gear at 35mph. That is about 1250rpm. (I didn't have to look that up, I just pulled my car out of the garage and drove it to check). Siennas can outgoose me at 35 at 1250. (you know, people who are behind you in the wrong lane of a merge and decide that they have a right to be in front...) The feeder road to my neighborhood has one of those. I'm always in the correct lane. I was never ever ever outgoosed in my e53. Ever.

Get my 35d up to 45 or so and it's more in the mood.

I'm sorry if you don't have the same opinion as me, but I'm an extremely aggressive driver who happens to do a lot of not very fast driving. Take off particularly sucks. I drove an e53 for 7yrs and my 35d is driving me batty. Before the e53, I drove standard xmission turbo cars for many years.

I gave the e70 a year to grow on me. I love everything about the inside of the car, the adaptive drive, and being able to pass on the highway without shifting myself. If I had a different kind of commute, it would be great. However, I don't. I'm trading my e70 for an e71 (that I hope will come in next week!).

[robotrenegade]

I have three option at this point. The first two cars prices are negotiable.

Car 1: Used 2011 3.5i (12k miles) Sparkling Bronze metallic with Black Nevada Leather. Convenience Package, Cold Weather Package, Technology Package, 19" Alloy Star-spoke wheels, Tire pressure monitor, Power adj. steering column, Space-saver spare, Comfort Access keyless entry, Running boards, Roof rails, Dark Burl Walnut wood trim, Panoramic moonroof, Auto-dimming rearview mirror, Smoker's package, Power front seats, BMW TeleServices, TeleService Control, Rear seat entertainment. Asking 54k

Car 2: New 2011 3.5i White, with beige. With everything we're looking for. Asking 61,000 but I can build the same car online but its a 2012.

Car 3: Build a new 3.5 or 3.5D

[robotrenegade]

I saw this at Columbia, SC. Is this a good deal or should I still work them hard?


Year 2011
Model X5
Trim Level 3.5D
MSRP $65,875.00
Internet Discount $3,875.00
Sale Before Rebate $62,000.00
Current Incentive $3,500.00
Sale After Incentive $58,500.00
Total Internet Savings $7,375.00

Sport Package
Sport Activity Package
Cold Weather Package
Premium Package
Rear Climate Package
Technology Package
CO2 relevant vehicles
Tire pressure monitor
Comfort Access keyless entry
Roof rails
Panoramic moonroof
Smoker's package
Multi-contour seats
Dark Burl Walnut wood trim
Additional 12-V power sockets
Satellite radio w/1 year sub.
DVD Area coding, North America
iPod and USB adapter
Smartphone Integration
BMW Apps
Combox controller
Oil Chg 15,000 miles/18 months
Variable Light Decoding
TeleService Activation
Daytime driving

[sbb]

I love the 35d, mine has 5000 miles (march 2011) and it is fantastic.
I'm not sure why the previous poster is so down on his. Probably completely the wrong car for him. Test drive it and see how you feel about it, I find that it has the power exactly when I need it. Who cares if you are not the first off the line? You drive a SUV, if you want to peel off the line, get a M3... I have ALL the power I need when it's useful, ie getting on the highway or passing.
BTW, I do most of my driving in town. Let your wife test drive it too, if she is a car lover, she'll love it, I know I rather drive mine than my husband's 335xi and that's coming from a woman who prefers to drive manual...

[Don Juan]

HI,
I had a 550i and a 335I chipped before my 2011 X5 35d. I had to go go in a bigger class as family is growing (4 kids). I checked with some parents and friends around (we drive a lot in town, stop and go and short distances) that have a 35i and 48i were getting below 15mpgs.. and they were suffering every time they needed to fill their car with 20 gals+ at $4.10 a gal every 5 days. I test drove the 35d twice before deciding, but was not really convinced. What really made the difference was a fellow bimmer that parked next to my 335i with a 335d at the grocery store. We started talking and he was so happy and excited about his car and power. He was averaging 30+mpgs in that car while the best i could do in my 335i was 18 to 19mpgs :-( (i think its because it was modified with a tune plus my heavy foot ). I mentioned to him I wanted the best of both worlds, good power and good mpg. He laughted but said he felt the 35d stock a bit lethargic in the low rpm and top end. What cured that issue was something called JBD. So the conversation continued about that...
Bough my x5 35d and after 2 days, I was feeling the lethargic reaction he was referring to (turbo lag ?) , then strong torque but gutless at the top end. Followed his advise and invested on the JBD. The install took 5 mins and all i can say is WAO, a completely different car. I have left other cars behind thinking they can out run my tank ;-)
I'm only averaging 19 to 20 mpgs in this nice TANK but that is because I drive less than 10% in hwy and the most important part; a heavy foot. As a contrast we decided to take my X5 instead of the Odyseey to Orlando (about 200 miles away), the car average 27mpg!! much better than the HOmda :-0
last but not,least, the feel of my car is totally different and I think I'm as fast if not faster than a x5 35i ;-)

The only complaint I still have is the diesel engine noise at the beginning of the acceleration, otherwise the car is designed very well retaining the driving experience we all look in a bmw.
just my 2cents

[robotrenegade]

Ok, we like the X5d. Now with a build of 65k. Whats a good payment? With 4k down?

[sbb]

Negotiate the price and walk in with your own financing. Our CU offers 1.99% on new cars (dcu.org), you won't get that low with BMW. You can use sites like truecars.com or Edmunds to get invoice price and negotiate up from there.

[cmk227]

Originally Posted by Don Juan

HI,
I had a 550i and a 335I chipped before my 2011 X5 35d. I had to go go in a bigger class as family is growing (4 kids). I checked with some parents and friends around (we drive a lot in town, stop and go and short distances) that have a 35i and 48i were getting below 15mpgs.. and they were suffering every time they needed to fill their car with 20 gals+ at $4.10 a gal every 5 days. I test drove the 35d twice before deciding, but was not really convinced. What really made the difference was a fellow bimmer that parked next to my 335i with a 335d at the grocery store. We started talking and he was so happy and excited about his car and power. He was averaging 30+mpgs in that car while the best i could do in my 335i was 18 to 19mpgs :-( (i think its because it was modified with a tune plus my heavy foot ). I mentioned to him I wanted the best of both worlds, good power and good mpg. He laughted but said he felt the 35d stock a bit lethargic in the low rpm and top end. What cured that issue was something called JBD. So the conversation continued about that...
Bough my x5 35d and after 2 days, I was feeling the lethargic reaction he was referring to (turbo lag ?) , then strong torque but gutless at the top end. Followed his advise and invested on the JBD. The install took 5 mins and all i can say is WAO, a completely different car. I have left other cars behind thinking they can out run my tank ;-)
I'm only averaging 19 to 20 mpgs in this nice TANK but that is because I drive less than 10% in hwy and the most important part; a heavy foot. As a contrast we decided to take my X5 instead of the Odyseey to Orlando (about 200 miles away), the car average 27mpg!! much better than the HOmda :-0
last but not,least, the feel of my car is totally different and I think I'm as fast if not faster than a x5 35i ;-)

The only complaint I still have is the diesel engine noise at the beginning of the acceleration, otherwise the car is designed very well retaining the driving experience we all look in a bmw.
just my 2cents

What is a JSB and what does it do + cost. Thank you.

Originally Posted by robotrenegade

I saw this at Columbia, SC. Is this a good deal or should I still work them hard?


Year 2011
Model X5
Trim Level 3.5D
MSRP $65,875.00
Internet Discount $3,875.00
Sale Before Rebate $62,000.00
Current Incentive $3,500.00
Sale After Incentive $58,500.00
Total Internet Savings $7,375.00

Sport Package
Sport Activity Package
Cold Weather Package
Premium Package
Rear Climate Package
Technology Package
CO2 relevant vehicles
Tire pressure monitor
Comfort Access keyless entry
Roof rails
Panoramic moonroof
Smoker's package
Multi-contour seats
Dark Burl Walnut wood trim
Additional 12-V power sockets
Satellite radio w/1 year sub.
DVD Area coding, North America
iPod and USB adapter
Smartphone Integration
BMW Apps
Combox controller
Oil Chg 15,000 miles/18 months
Variable Light Decoding
TeleService Activation
Daytime driving

This look like a good deal. I am still looking for one for my wife so I let you know if I find a good deal. When does the 2012 35D come out.

[robotrenegade]

Here she is!

[richard in NC]

Originally Posted by robotrenegade

Here she is!

Sorry, just a Red X for me.