Welcome and congratulations on getting a 3 pedal driving machine!
IIRC the low first gear is so you can still tow a decent load with the modest 6cyl torque.
I think the 04 - up 6 speeds are better.
The resident X5 manual owners should be chiming in with their experience, or go chat them up in the manual transmision registry thread.
__________________
04 X5 3.0i auto
03 X5 4.6is
|