BMW X5 3.0 Sport | Shed of the Week
Remember when manual, petrol-powered SUVs were a thing?
ULEZ has been in the news this week. Not because of something Mrs Shed rudely shouted at the postmistress in the corner shop the other day but because of the controversial (to some) extension of London’s clean air zone.
Shed likes ultra-low emissions zones because of the effect that they have had in forcing nice motors out of the cities and into his own ultra-high emissions neighbourhood, where the air is constantly perfumed by the eye-watering pem of newly-mucked fields and old sheep wee.
This week’s shed, a Euro 3 BMW X5 Sport with the 231hp 3.0 petrol engine and five-speed manual, is a case in point. When X5s come into any conversation you can usually hear the sound of massed PH bargepoles being extracted from their scabbards for non-use. That represents a big shift in sentiment from the X5’s 1999 debut in 4.4-litre V8 form when it was being hailed as the best thing since sliced halloumi.
You could see why too. The X5 was one of the first truly premium SUVs, offering a convincing mix of family space and all-conditions performance along with all the other stuff that made people want to buy BMWs. The engines came from the E39 5 Series, a good car, and the clever off-road gizmos came from the L322 Range Rover, which should have been a good car.
The reasons for the drop-off in X5 respect centred around the cost of fixing things when they went wrong. Shed will drone on about some of these in the next para, but before we spark up our pagan torches and carefully remove the rubber protectors from our glinting pitchforks, let’s admire the good stuff on this October ’04 facelifter. For a change, there’s plenty to admire. Among other things, the facelift gave the 3.0 petrol BMW’s new and brainier xDrive all-wheel drive system, although the manual box continued as a 5-speeder. Dechromed Sport models like this one had 19-inch wheels, sports suspension setting and sporty seats.
Old X5s are traditionally flogged to death by used owners looking for a premium experience at budget cost, but this 125,000-mile gen-one E53 has an unusually cared-for look to it. The MOT history seems to have plenty of ink on it, but most of the entries refer to consumable items like tyres, brakes and suspension parts. All of these were very consumable on the X5, so many of them were run to the limit and beyond by penny-pinchers. Rear subframe bushes, bushes, ball joints and CV boots were eaten up. If you got more than 60,000 miles out of the front suspension control arms you were doing well. Front driveshaft splines could fail on manual X5s.
That wasn’t the end of it. There were fuel system issues too. X5 air con and air suspension systems could be troublesome and door handles were fragile. None of these was the main cause of dissatisfaction among E53 X5 owners though. Electrical problems have always been number one. Various lights have failed to function on our shed over the years. The actuator on the transfer box on post-facelift cars needs checking for function. Slow churning on startup suggested dodgy windings in the starter motor.
The oil leaks that get two mentions on this car’s MOT history were fairly common, as were coolant leaks from frazzled hoses. On the plus side water pump replacement was easier on the sixes than it was on the V8-powered X5s. Still, when you found yourself with a bad X5, there was a good chance it would be really bad.
Shame really because the good ones were really good, as was the original concept and then the final design, which according to legend was knocked out by Frank Stephenson on a plane in two hours flat after he had been set a challenge to create an SUV prototype before touchdown by his then boss Chris Bangle. Story goes that there virtually no changes were made to Stephenson’s scribblings. It must be great to be that talented.
Look at this one though. Surely it’s going to be OK? It sits well and the body and wheels look very good. The reg number is X99 RDB but anyone called Rob won’t be seeing it that way. There’s that nicely leathered Sport interior too, with wood. Unlike the ULEZ extension, however, it’s poplar.
The only gripe I had with my X5 was the auto gearbox and it wasn't very good for me. So seeing this one with a manual gearbox really peaks my interest big time.
So I'm definitely in for this for certain.
Soon to be used as a posh painter's & decorator's van in a rural town near you, now all the Volvo estates are about to be snapped up as classic cars!
I just put what I paid for my first car - a sh!tbox Metro - into the Bank of England inflation calculator and it basically told me if I had the same funds to buy a first car now I could have put myself in the driver’s seat of this. I mean obviously apart from insurance and the fact it would have financially ruined me if literally anything had gone wrong, the cost of fuel etc, but still.
As a student I once gave a lift to six of my mates in a Fiat Panda
. Honestly if I had teenage kids now I’d buy this for them. Get 2 years out of it regularly carrying 11 young people without a horrific failure and you’ve had your money’s worth. This is the kind of transit Citizen Khan should buy into. Even if it dies 6 months in, you’ve only spent the same as 6 months worth of PCP’s on a Renault Captur or a Nissan Juke, and you can walk away. Seriously tempted…The only gripe I had with my X5 was the auto gearbox and it wasn't very good for me. So seeing this one with a manual gearbox really peaks my interest big time.
So I'm definitely in for this for certain.
M54 as in this one is a lovely engine but it felt a bit out of its depth in my 330, always needed a kick-down to really get going. So it must struggle a bit in this (though the manual will help). Didn’t know any of the off-road stuff came from Range Rover. Not that it’ll ever be used, but still…
We have an 04 3.0 auto just like this one! My OH loves it and will not change it for something else.
Door handle carriers have been a pain, but DIYable with plenty of good resources on YouTube.
Oil and coolant leaks are an issue but seem to be a problem with this engine rather than an X5 specific thing.
I know this will seem really odd but the exhausts really annoyed me on the 6 cylinder cars - those puny outlets on the petrol and those hideous and obvious blanking plates on the diesel really made my teeth itch for some reason - it was like BMW was annoyed at having to make none V8 models.
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