I've got a 2001 3.0i with coil springs. And I even had them out last week!

I replaced several components on my rear suspension, and found that this was made easier with the springs compressed to remove the load. The compressors I rented did not fit. I tried both a regular spring compressor and a strut compressor, and they were too big to fit in the small gap between the spring and the body. But I did have an old smaller spring compressor in my toolbox that worked fine. I jacked the wheel up and used the compressor to mostly hold it in place.

After inspecting things, I noticed that the occasional squeaking noise I was hearing was coming from the rubber pads at both ends of the spring. After doing a bad job of greasing these in situ, I ended up just removing the spring and cleaning and greasing things carefully before re-assembly.

So, yes it is possible to remove the springs, but:
1. you'll need a thin compressor
2. even then, I could only remove it because I had most of the suspension disassembled
3. the Bentley manual does not cover springs. It assumes we all have air bags.

Good luck.

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2001 X5 3.0i, 203k miles, AT, owned since 2014