BMW X5 4.4 - My first V8
Discussion
I have never had a V8 before, apparently the old Rover V8 lump I had in a shed and talked about putting in my Defender doesn't count, so to remedy this situation I have done something quite stupid. I sold my rapid, frugal and newer 123d Coupe and today bought a 2005 X5 4.4.
This is madness as at the moment I have a 50mile a day commute but a decent chunk is on the M4 so hopefully it won't be to expensive. I also deployed some other 'logic' in that the 123d was newer and very low miles so was going to BMW for its services (expensive for them to spend 10 minutes chucking some oil in a tractor engine) and convinced myself that it was also not very useful as a car.
In reality I hurt my back and the Msport suspension is shocking, and I don't like the noise the little tractor made. I should note that they are still very good cars and pretty speedy.
Anyway on to the V8 search. I quickly narrowed down that it needed to be 2004 or newer as the X5 got a smarter engine setup (valvetronic and some clever electrics) which improve the efficiency and also the power. I also thought they looked better at the front end. I also decided I wanted the panoramic roof which was hard to find on cars for sale but after a few false starts one popped up on Autotrader this morning 30 miles from home so we went and got it.
Its a lovely grey colour with almost a blue tint, the interior is cream leather with deep almost black wooden nonsense and black dash. I also found it has a tray in the boot that comes out to make putting things in even easier!
It tried some rapid driving and it was very nice and fast, then I tried some casual to let my wife catch up in her old shogun sport (comedy car - its slow) and got home on 25mpg. Not bad and in my head means it can be affordable so I will switch that gauge off and assume it always does that
This is madness as at the moment I have a 50mile a day commute but a decent chunk is on the M4 so hopefully it won't be to expensive. I also deployed some other 'logic' in that the 123d was newer and very low miles so was going to BMW for its services (expensive for them to spend 10 minutes chucking some oil in a tractor engine) and convinced myself that it was also not very useful as a car.
In reality I hurt my back and the Msport suspension is shocking, and I don't like the noise the little tractor made. I should note that they are still very good cars and pretty speedy.
Anyway on to the V8 search. I quickly narrowed down that it needed to be 2004 or newer as the X5 got a smarter engine setup (valvetronic and some clever electrics) which improve the efficiency and also the power. I also thought they looked better at the front end. I also decided I wanted the panoramic roof which was hard to find on cars for sale but after a few false starts one popped up on Autotrader this morning 30 miles from home so we went and got it.
Its a lovely grey colour with almost a blue tint, the interior is cream leather with deep almost black wooden nonsense and black dash. I also found it has a tray in the boot that comes out to make putting things in even easier!
It tried some rapid driving and it was very nice and fast, then I tried some casual to let my wife catch up in her old shogun sport (comedy car - its slow) and got home on 25mpg. Not bad and in my head means it can be affordable so I will switch that gauge off and assume it always does that
Edited by andy.cowman on Saturday 22 October 19:14
Edited by andy.cowman on Saturday 22 October 19:15
Very nice spec!
A friend had one of these, he liked it but it was shockingly expensive on consumables as they are I suppose at that age. Also he only ever got 12mpg round town. He told me the Aston Martin was cheaper to run. But he really missed it and recently swapped the Aston for a RRS as he missed the BMW so much.
A friend had one of these, he liked it but it was shockingly expensive on consumables as they are I suppose at that age. Also he only ever got 12mpg round town. He told me the Aston Martin was cheaper to run. But he really missed it and recently swapped the Aston for a RRS as he missed the BMW so much.
My wife has had a black 4.4V8 with panoramic sunroof etc etc for the last few years. We both love it and it sounds pretty fruity too.
I was surprised how fast it was and it handles more like a car than a 4x4.
Make sure the sunroof drainage channels are clear - trim the bottom of them off if you can as the stupid design of them means they clog and that is not good. Ask me how I know.
I was surprised how fast it was and it handles more like a car than a 4x4.
Make sure the sunroof drainage channels are clear - trim the bottom of them off if you can as the stupid design of them means they clog and that is not good. Ask me how I know.
LanceRS said:
These are growing on me as a family bus. A lot of car for the money and probably not too bad on servicing at an independent. Can we have some interior shots please?
These are expensive old things to maintain. My dad has run two from new. A 4.6is and a 3.0i. The 4.6 did single figures fuel economy at times, and the 3.0 is has a long term average of 24mpg. That is spending 99% of the time on the motorway. The 3.0 has 203,000 miles on it and probably costs a good £2,000 in maintenance at an independent per year. The dealer threw up some horrendous bills before I convinced him to move away from dealer servicing for a 150k car. That doesn't include tyres or brakes. It has been an utterly dependable, and reliable car though. Having waded flood water that was higher than the bonnet in the 2007 floods to making light work of the snow whenever we get it. They are still very comfortable things to cover distance in and having spent a good amount of time behind the wheel it does that magic BMW thing of shrinking around you. I'd recommend them, and I think they're my favourite X5 but they're not a cheap car to run by any means.
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