X5 30d vs 40d

[Speed addicted]

Due to a change of circumstances I’m thinking about getting rid of my pickup and 645 and going down to one car.
After a bit of thought another X5 appears to be a sensible choice. It’s big enough, has 4x4 for winter and I like them more than estate cars.
I’ll be spending up to about 16ish so I’m looking at post LCI 2010 to 2012 cars.

I can get any number of 30d for the money, or the occasional 40d with more miles on it.

I’d prefer the more powerful engine, but buying a car with 95k miles (compared to 65k) on it puts me off. More due to interior and suspension wear than mechanical issues.

I could buy the 30d and remap it to get up to the same 300bhp but I’m concerned about drivability and extra stress on the turbo etc.

Any ideas?
Long story short - do I buy a faster car with more miles for more money or just get the slower one and be done with it.

[scz4]

Hi,

I just PM'd you as I may have just what you're after.

I've a 30d and never felt short changed in it's performance for daily duties, lots of grunt and torque. You'll definitely get a lower mileage, better spec'd 30d for the same money.

[cerb4.5lee]

I love the 40d engine(had it in a 640d) but with the X5 it suits a more laid back driving style imo...so I think I'd go for the lower mileage 30d. The 30d is still a very nice torquey engine(had it in a 330d) anyway.

[Aluminati]

Having had both, i’d go with the 4.0 d.

Saying that, the 3.0 d is not a bad car, and how many times in the real world can you use the extra ?

Make sure models of that era have had the front prop recall done.

[smashy]

Hi in the UK where on earth are you going to use this extra 50 bhp? I find that comment so frustrating by the way I never put my 330d in Sport whats the point its too quick...my neighbour had his X6 30d stolen and got an X6 40d I asked him about the 40d and he said it is "fizzier" make that of what you will

[Speed addicted]

smashy said:

Hi in the UK where on earth are you going to use this extra 50 bhp? I find that comment so frustrating by the way I never put my 330d in Sport whats the point its too quick...my neighbour had his X6 30d stolen and got an X6 40d I asked him about the 40d and he said it is "fizzier" make that of what you will

I live in NE Scotland. My 645 has a 330 bhp V8 and is quite handy for overtaking, I’d be looking at X5Ms if I had more cash!

[cerb4.5lee]

Speed addicted said:

I live in NE Scotland. My 645 has a 330 bhp V8 and is quite handy for overtaking, I’d be looking at X5Ms if I had more cash!

I currently miss the extra turbo and the extra power that my 640d(313bhp) had in comparison to the GLC350d(260bhp) I have now, so I do understand what you are saying.

The 640d felt strong at low and high revs...whereas the GLC doesn't have quite the same punch(both cars weigh similar). So I can really understand your attraction to the X5 40d.

[The Stiglet]

I bought the 40d as it felt the stronger engine above 50mph or so. Mid range punch was better and I like that, so must the guys who nicked it but I digress...

[jagr]

Go for the model with all the features you want.
I know it's not exact comparison but I expected to miss the extra turbo from my X3 E83 35d when I bought my X3 F25 30d but so far everyday driving I can't say I have missed it or think I can't overtake when needed.

I like my fast cars (Corvette C5. V8 BMW, V8 Merc etc) but in diesel guise the 30d is a great sweet spot.

[Speed addicted]

I was thinking about must haves, the standard cars were pretty well specced for the time.

I’ve narrowed it down to must haves:
Electric seat with memory
Heated seats
Dark coloured interior, the light leather seats look good but I pretty much live in jeans and they would stain the seats
DAB radio
Wide screen nav/computer
Xenon lights (think all the LCI cars had them anyway)
Wheels that are 19-20”

Nice to haves include
Tow bar, not something I use regularly but they’re handy
Tinted windows
Reversing camera (top down view would be better)
More electrical gizmos

Colour wise I’m not really bothered, as long as it’s not gold. Which is a shame as there’s a 40d near me that’s a couple of thousand cheaper than ones in nicer colours!

[The Stiglet]

Try to get one without the standard speakers as they aren’t as good.

Pan roof is nice but can be troublesome apparently and expensive to fix.

Better ride without the fancy big wheels - they are also diamond cut and the lacquer comes off, which means they corrode. They can only be recut once or twice and are a total PITA.

Tailgate/parcel shelf thing all rattle but there are ways to pack it out, don’t worry too much on a test drive.

[theboss]

I had a 40d from this era and rated it very highly. Having had various incarnations of 30d and 40d I personally prefer the smoother more linear power delivery of the twin-turbo setup. I wouldn’t doubt the 30d is more than adequate to drive so it will really come down to prioritising the better drivetrain over spec and mileage.

Echo the point about pano roof - a really nice to have but they are a bit of a risk on an older car. I had one fail in a AUC car and the cost of replacement (warranted fortunately) was about £2.5k

I also much preferred the ride of my E70 on its 19” winter wheels so SE spec might be preferable to the ubiquitous M Sport with 20+ inch wheels.

[Speed addicted]

I had an older e53 with the pano roof. It was lovely but squeeked on bumpy roads, I never managed to get it sorted out in the time I owned the car.
It’s put me off them permanently!

My wife has an evoque with the fixed glass roof and I think it’s a better option.

I’ve noticed the diamond cut wheels on the m etc cars. I think it’s a daft idea for anything that’ll actually get used in winter. Looks like quite a few of them have been painted silver or black.

I’m not too worried about the m sport body kit or wheels, but I’d try to keep to 19-20” for looks. The 18” wheels look lost and going over 20” is likely to totally ruin the ride on the country roads I’ll be using it on.

Cheap tyres are also something that puts me off cars. It makes me think they may have scrimped on other things too.

Edited by Speed addicted on Thursday 15th August 12:12

[theboss]

I had the 20” diamond cut alloys and they corroded in a couple of years. I was actually offered the 22” M performance set as a replacement by my dealer but only accepted these as I was about to trade the car anyway. I wouldn’t have wanted the worsened ride. I also had an M Sport car with the M sport suspension deletion option - probably hard to find no now in the used market, but something to bear in mind.

[StuB]

We have a 3.0 sd, the twin turbo from 2008, only think I wish we'd done is get the later 8 speed auto, which was only just out in 2010 when we picked this one up.

The car's robust, well maintained (specialists) and now has nearly 150k miles, with the only real 'breakdown' as a result of the timing belt tentioner pulley mounting bolt failing this time last year in Italy.

It's a great family barge, load lugger, great as a 7 seater too and gets us all in great comfort across Europe several times a year.

You'll need Winter wheels/tyres though IMHO as nothing with RFT is going to 'do' a propper winter credibly!

I'd make the usual PH comment, 'buy on condition' not mileage.

[JohnBRG]

I've had both and would definitely go 40d. Must have spec for me - the overhead view parking camera and head-up display.

Incidentally, the ride on our 40d improved massively when we swapped 20" wheels for 18s.

Great family cars.

[Speed addicted]

I have the heads up display in the 6 series, I love it but haven’t seen it on any X5s in my price range (they are a vaguely sane distance from home).

Regarding the winter tyres I’ll probably go for decent all seasons, the continentals on my pick up have been pretty good in crappy conditions and would save my buying another set of wheels.

[aeropilot]

JohnBRG said:

I've had both and would definitely go 40d. Must have spec for me - the overhead view parking camera and head-up display.

Incidentally, the ride on our 40d improved massively when we swapped 20" wheels for 18s.

Which is why I specced my 40d as an SE not a M-Sport as I wanted the square all around 19" wheels with all-season tyres.

And after trying both I went for the 40d over the 30d, as it had a much more driveable engine IMHO, the better throttle response from the sequential turbo's made it nicer to drive, rather than the extra power/torque being the factor.

[The Stiglet]

Does the 30d vs 40d equation still hold in the F15 model?

[aeropilot]

The Stiglet said:

Does the 30d vs 40d equation still hold in the F15 model?

DId for me, as it was a F15 I was buying.