X5 owners' views please

[dick_dastardly71]

Despite having vowed never to return to a large 4x4, I'm considering swapping the OH's 335d Touring for a new X5 3.0d SE Auto. This is driven by (i) the need for more room to accomodate a labrador sized dog plus family, (ii) living in a rural area and not wanting to be stranded by snow / floods as we were earlier this year, and (iii) the incredibly cheap deals on X5s thanks to the free dynamic pack and media pack (as well as dealer discount and only paying 15% VAT - so looking at a saving of c.£12k)

A 24 hour test drive is all well and good, but what are these things like to live with every day? In particular is the build quality up to usual bmw standards - I believe the X5 is still built in the USA so does this mean it's less well screwed together? A pet hate of mine is rattly cars, and all other bmw's I've owned have been pretty rock solid.

Any other comments / feedback also appreciated.

[wilftwo]

Happy with mine 6k miles in but its still early days. Much nicer place to be than 5 series tourer that I drive quite a bit as well.

[Carmo99]

Bought mine new in March 07 (one of the first). I have had no rattles fortunately, which is also one of my pet hates but I have had a number of problems including malfunctioning glove box (fixed after 3 attempts), automatic steering adjustment not returning (fixed after new ECU "reboot") loose rear parcel sheft (replaced). Apart from that the paint quality is shocking for a new car and the PDC is erractic. Overall I love the car, the handling and the ownership. I live in Switzerland and the BMW service is fantastic (car collection, replacement vehicle etc etc).

[pgilc1]

I had one for six months - Nov 07 to May 08.

Loved it. No major issues. Loved it to bits actually.

Got about 28mpg but mine was a pre ED model.

Would have one again.

[dean phillips]

3.0d SE, 18k miles on mine. Pretty trouble free, no rattles just one electrical gremlin where the car thinks the battery is only half charged. Trying a dealer fix on this.
Think I`d only swap it for a new X5 SD really.
Worth asking about the new `i drive` control that coming / not sure if its out yet?

[dick_dastardly71]

pgilc1 said:

I had one for six months - Nov 07 to May 08.

Loved it. No major issues. Loved it to bits actually.

Got about 28mpg but mine was a pre ED model.

Would have one again.

Thanks for your views. Out of interest, why did you get rid so quickly?

[dick_dastardly71]

dean phillips said:

3.0d SE, 18k miles on mine. Pretty trouble free, no rattles just one electrical gremlin where the car thinks the battery is only half charged. Trying a dealer fix on this.
Think I`d only swap it for a new X5 SD really.
Worth asking about the new `i drive` control that coming / not sure if its out yet?

Thanks. I've actually got idrive2 on my M3 and it is a real step forward (more intuitive, faster as it's hard drive based, and much better screen graphics/resolution). Sadly it's not available on the X5 yet.