X5 4.4 advise

[andye30m3]

Been looking for a reasonably priced tow car and a 4.4 x5 has come up at a local dealer

I’d been looking at the 3.0d but hadn’t really considered a petrol before.

Any advise on what to look for on these? From what I’ve found so far they seem reasonably reliable.

Is mpg of about 20 achievable as an average, not sure I’d want to be much below that most of my driving is on A and B roads without too much traffic.

Also what do they townlike, presumably pretty well with a 4.4.

[Touring442]

I'm guessing that's an old E53? They're okayish but are now at the age where everything is starting to go wrong. Minor stuff - broken door handles and the lenses falling off the tail lights on the tailgate. Major stuff is timing chain guides - a huge job - and rad expansion tanks. They run very hot for emissions and the cooling system is marginal at best. Water cooled alternators, oil leaks into the plug wells and the usual X5 autobox and diff issues. In other words, enough to bury you in the thing. It could be completely reliable, but problems will quickly cost the value of the car to fix. They're often slated but the old ML Merc is a better bet. The ML500 is near enough valueless but mechanically they are much better.

[helix402]

The one’s I’ve driven have usually shown an indicated mpg of 14.

[Trev450]

A friend has one and doesn't get much more than around 17 mpg.

[andye30m3]

Cheers For the replies

Not sure it’s for me, certainly not this one which had really good history according to the dealer except for missing all service stamps and records between 17k and 92k miles

sub 20mpg isn’t ideal so maybe I’d be better off looking at the diesel options

[Hashtaggggg]

I have a 545 touring, same engine but a lighter car.

I cannot get 20mpg, and around town is in single figures.

Have the stem seals been done,

And the dreaded oil leak, that require the engine to come out to replace a £2.00 part.

Oh, and the gearbox...

Walk away swiftly!

[Quavers]

Valve stem oils cost £1k to replace.

[WarnieV6GT]

Hashtaggggg said:

I have a 545 touring, same engine but a lighter car.

I cannot get 20mpg, and around town is in single figures.

Have the stem seals been done,

And the dreaded oil leak, that require the engine to come out to replace a £2.00 part.

Oh, and the gearbox...

Walk away swiftly!

I can get low 30's on a run in my 545, but it's 17-18 for really short trips around town.

I imagine yours must be fked

[OnTheSauce]

Hashtaggggg said:

I have a 545 touring, same engine but a lighter car.

I cannot get 20mpg, and around town is in single figures.

Have the stem seals been done,

And the dreaded oil leak, that require the engine to come out to replace a £2.00 part.

Oh, and the gearbox...

Walk away swiftly!

Your 545 sounds broken. I have a 650i and am currently on 25.2 MPG. Lowest I’ve seen is 19 and get 30ish on a run.

What leak requires the engine to come out!?

Valve stem seals can be done by a specialist in Northampton for £700, if you know the correct FB groups.

[njw1]

As much as I love a V8 engine it makes no sense to me to have one over a diesel in a big heavy 4x4, with a V8 it's still not going to be very fast, it's still not going to handle fantastically and whilst it may be more refined it'll use vastly more fuel, you'll be paying a lot more in running costs just to have a nicer sounding engine basically. I'd be going for one with the m57 diesel lump myself (although I have been told they have a weaker gearbox than the petrol...).

[Hashtaggggg]

njw1 said:

As much as I love a V8 engine it makes no sense to me to have one over a diesel in a big heavy 4x4, with a V8 it's still not going to be very fast, it's still not going to handle fantastically and whilst it may be more refined it'll use vastly more fuel, you'll be paying a lot more in running costs just to have a nicer sounding engine basically. I'd be going for one with the m57 diesel lump myself (although I have been told they have a weaker gearbox than the petrol...).

if it is the 5HP the auto box is chocolate

I had a TD6 Range Rover that went through 4 (actually 5 but the 5th broke because the main dealer did not put any oil in it, so lasted about 2 miles)
over 180,000 miles.

[cerb4.5lee]

njw1 said:

As much as I love a V8 engine it makes no sense to me to have one over a diesel in a big heavy 4x4, with a V8 it's still not going to be very fast, it's still not going to handle fantastically and whilst it may be more refined it'll use vastly more fuel, you'll be paying a lot more in running costs just to have a nicer sounding engine basically. I'd be going for one with the m57 diesel lump myself (although I have been told they have a weaker gearbox than the petrol...).

Having had the 4.8 V8 in the 4.8iS X5 I do agree with your sentiments. I did love mine to bits and obviously the sound was great, but it is such a heavy car with so so handling that the engine/performance/thirst is a bit of a waste for me.

I do think that a more laid back approach suits this type of car and I'd also recommend the diesel in one of these.