RE: BMW X5 M50d: Driven

RE: BMW X5 M50d: Driven

Author
Discussion

flatso

1,240 posts

128 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
Have a good hard look at this blob and get used to it. All your whining, bhin’ and complaining about its looks, uselessness, lack of charm and purpose ain’t worth anything. This is the future of vehicles. In the US Truck and SUV sales are booming and “regular” saloons or other body styles are tanking. Europe is but a few years behind the trend.

https://wolfstreet.com/2019/02/05/new-trucks-are-h...

Ford USA has allready abandoned all sedans and hatches and will build exclusively trucks and SUV’s.
At some point normal cars will be a safety lliability, when most vehicles are SUV’s I do not want to take my chances in a regular saloon.

Haltamer

2,454 posts

79 months

Monday 11th February 2019
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Whoever signed off on the grille dimensions at BMW needs their eyes tested - They look bad enough on the SUVs, but totally ungainly on the 7 series.

As for the car itself, quad-turbo is a great flex for the pub, but as others have mentioned, not one to keep in the long term for maintenance and dieseley-ness.

HoHoHo

14,980 posts

249 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
I've had the current 50d from new (two years old now) and it amazes me how quickly it picks up speed from the lights in sport mode.

The new quad turbo doesn't appear to be any faster 0-60 but I guess mid-range will be better and the F15 is already pretty quick.

Personally I really like the exterior and interior with some brilliant new technology available if you've got deep pockets but I'm possibly a tiny bit biased wink

I got 23% discount off mine, will be interesting to see where the new 50d sits once prices have settled down.

aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Monday 11th February 2019
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B17NNS said:
QBee said:
41.5mpg combined.......presumably driven using two cylinders and no turbos, with a feather pillow between hoof and pedal?
Decent review below from Matt at carwow in the 3.0d - he averages 29mpg.
I average 30.5 in my F15 40d, and that's with probably 60% of my current mileage within the confines of the M25..!

The 40d having the sequential turbo setup is much nicer to drive, much more responsive from low revs, which a quick glance at the power and torque curves shows. I think its a real shame that they've dropped the 40d in the new version.

E65Ross

34,946 posts

211 months

Monday 11th February 2019
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I must say I think the X5 has got uglier and uglier with each successive generation. The 1st was a fairly handsome design I think, this is just hideous at the front, and plain dull from the back.

Engine sounds good though, for a diesel.

Fresh Prince

527 posts

171 months

Monday 11th February 2019
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greenarrow said:
Tom_Spotley_When said:
What will cost on PCP?

Can I drive it as a not-very powerfully built Company Director, or will are they only allowed to be driven by orange women who live in the Home Counties to drop their children off at the local school - parking badly in the process?

If I got one, would drivers of 15 year old Mercedes Benz saloons look down on me for assuming that I've not payed for it in cash?

Will it explode after Brexit?

Will strange looking men in BMW M//// branded polo shirts stalk me, waiting to tell me in boringly excruciating detail why it isn't a Proper M Car?

Will I be able to drive it in winter without spending several thousand pounds on Winter wheels and tyres, or will I crash into a tree with devastating understeer at the first sight of snow or ambient temperatures below 7 degrees if I drive it to Sainsbury's on summer tyres?
Post of the day - made me chortle - well done!!
Indeed. Very good.

housen

2,366 posts

191 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
it is very handsome

but yeah that diesel lump given the regs coming in


QBee

20,904 posts

143 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
Fresh Prince said:
greenarrow said:
Tom_Spotley_When said:
What will cost on PCP?

Can I drive it as a not-very powerfully built Company Director, or will are they only allowed to be driven by orange women who live in the Home Counties to drop their children off at the local school - parking badly in the process?

If I got one, would drivers of 15 year old Mercedes Benz saloons look down on me for assuming that I've not payed for it in cash?

Will it explode after Brexit?

Will strange looking men in BMW M//// branded polo shirts stalk me, waiting to tell me in boringly excruciating detail why it isn't a Proper M Car?

Will I be able to drive it in winter without spending several thousand pounds on Winter wheels and tyres, or will I crash into a tree with devastating understeer at the first sight of snow or ambient temperatures below 7 degrees if I drive it to Sainsbury's on summer tyres?
Post of the day - made me chortle - well done!!
Indeed. Very good.
You WILL be able to park on the bus stop (thick yellow like) right outside the gate of my grandkids primary school.
Far preferable to parking 50 yards away and risking wasting a few precious seconds of your life.
Far better putting other peoples' kids at risk trying to cross the road unable to see oncoming traffic.
It's a fact - I have seen the 5 and 6 series and X5 mums and dads using their divine right of parking every morning. [/rant over]

martin mrt

3,768 posts

200 months

Monday 11th February 2019
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Quhet said:
It'll be interesting to see whether they sell. At a point where everyone is deserting diesel, I can't many buying them...
My wife has sold 3 in the space of a couple of months, so there are people buying them yes.

Personally wouldn’t buy an X5 (or any other type of vehicle similar to it) in any fuel form but diesel

My 140 is “ok” on fuel, has a decent amount of shove, the same engine in the X5 would be somewhat brutal at the pumps

HoHoHo

14,980 posts

249 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
martin mrt said:
Quhet said:
It'll be interesting to see whether they sell. At a point where everyone is deserting diesel, I can't many buying them...
My wife has sold 3 in the space of a couple of months, so there are people buying them yes.

Personally wouldn’t buy an X5 (or any other type of vehicle similar to it) in any fuel form but diesel

My 140 is “ok” on fuel, has a decent amount of shove, the same engine in the X5 would be somewhat brutal at the pumps
As it stands there's nothing to be concerned about buying a Euro 6 diesel, when that becomes an issue petrol will also be on the agenda yes

These 6 cylinder diesels are bloody great in something as big as an X5.

Beechie

45 posts

71 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
The wafflemeister strikes again...

Beechie

45 posts

71 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
The wafflemeister strikes again...

Jag_NE

2,949 posts

99 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
housen said:
it is very handsome

but yeah that diesel lump given the regs coming in
Which regs?

Jag_NE

2,949 posts

99 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
HoHoHo said:
martin mrt said:
Quhet said:
It'll be interesting to see whether they sell. At a point where everyone is deserting diesel, I can't many buying them...
My wife has sold 3 in the space of a couple of months, so there are people buying them yes.

Personally wouldn’t buy an X5 (or any other type of vehicle similar to it) in any fuel form but diesel

My 140 is “ok” on fuel, has a decent amount of shove, the same engine in the X5 would be somewhat brutal at the pumps
As it stands there's nothing to be concerned about buying a Euro 6 diesel, when that becomes an issue petrol will also be on the agenda yes

These 6 cylinder diesels are bloody great in something as big as an X5.
Agree on all points.

Regarding the other posts about 4 turbochargers, remember that a new petrol engine in 2019 will also be turbocharged. Highly likely less than 4 turbos but the savings on fuel will likely offset. And virtually nobody who “buys” one of these will care. I am not a turbo expert but I would expect that the duty cycle of the quad turbo arrangement is less harsh than a single or twin, meaning the turbos may last longer.

HoHoHo

14,980 posts

249 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
Jag_NE said:
housen said:
it is very handsome

but yeah that diesel lump given the regs coming in
Which regs?
Exactly.

Currently there are no new regs being introduced that effect Euro 6 Diesel engines.

Oz83

687 posts

138 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
Beechie said:
The wafflemeister strikes again...
Agree. Absolute word salad.

Saw a new X5 30d m sport the other day. Great looking thing.

aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
martin mrt said:
My 140 is “ok” on fuel, has a decent amount of shove, the same engine in the X5 would be somewhat brutal at the pumps
Exactly, I hate to think what consumption those that do order a 40i X5 will be getting.
I can't imagine the B58 is significantly more efficient than the old N55 was, and I used to average 23mpg in my old 135i on the same journey profile, that I can now average 31mpg in my 40d X5, and given the weight and size of the damn thing, I think that's mighty impressive.

jjr1

3,023 posts

259 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
I had the new X5 on loan for a day last week and was absolutely stunned by how much I liked it.

So easy to waft around in and all the best toys to play with. Of particular note was the reverse feature allowing you to 'rewind' your last 50 metres or so. I actually used it in earnest in a car park and it worked a treat.

The car also had the active lane keeping and so coupled with the cruise control, I could just meander down the motorway while letting the car do most of the work.

The only thing letting this and all BMW's down at the monet is you can't have Android Auto with them.

Once the depreciation properly kicks in on these new cars I will happily consider one, maybe a year or so.

rassi

2,447 posts

250 months

Monday 11th February 2019
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I had a F15 M50D for 6 months, and stupidly bought it to replace a F10 M5, which obviously made it feel like a very slow boat indeed. Got 24.5 MPG over 10.000 km, had it remapped to 435 bhp and 840 nm, and while it made it as fast as I thought it should be, it was still not a particularly good drive, and very thirsty for the performance. The F10 M5 was not much more thirsty.

This model is an improvement in the interior and the new quad turbo is probably very nice, if complex, but as others noted, if you really want a silly fast diesel SUV, an SQ7 is a better bet.

ashway

532 posts

164 months

Monday 11th February 2019
quotequote all
HoHoHo said:
I've had the current 50d from new (two years old now) and it amazes me how quickly it picks up speed from the lights in sport mode.

The new quad turbo doesn't appear to be any faster 0-60 but I guess mid-range will be better and the F15 is already pretty quick.

Personally I really like the exterior and interior with some brilliant new technology available if you've got deep pockets but I'm possibly a tiny bit biased wink

I got 23% discount off mine, will be interesting to see where the new 50d sits once prices have settled down.
I'm in the same boat 2 years in and still love mine, it does our annual trek down to Spain with ease and in comfort. Would buy the new one again if I could get the same sort of deal as the current one.