I have a 2005 3.0D auto and it comes with the same torque as the 4.8 but much better fuel economy. I get around 30mpg out of mine (Imperial Gallon) and would not even consider driving a petrol version (about 20mpg). The pre-facelift 3.0D only had around 185bhp, but the post facelift saw that raised to 218bhp and makes a big difference, especially when mated to the 6sp auto. I believe that few UK owners have the manual version as it can be trickier to sell on - and some dealers want bigger deposits in case you cancel and they can't sell the car.

The engine is not noisy, and from inside you don't even know you're driving a diesel. I have owned a number of diesel cars with 4-cyl engines and yes they are noisier than their petrol cousins, but only when cold. Modern diesels are a huge improvement over previous generations in terms of noise and refinement. I also test drove cars and 4x4's for use by a UK Gov't Agency, with engines varying up to 4.4Litres and can say that none of them came up to the X5 standard which was always more refined, more powerful, more reliable and much nicer to drive. When I was looking for an SUV for me we tried VW, Merc, Nissan, Toyota, Honda and LandRover. The X5 was just so much better against the competition at that time - Spring 2004 so the choice was a no brainer. We did try both petrol and diesel and found like you that the 3.0 petrol lacked a certain get up and go which the torque from the diesel more than made up.

It's a very smooth straight 6 and pulls like a train. 0-62mph time is better than any other diesel I have driven at around 9 secs - not exactly a slug then!! The engine has one of the current 'Engine of the Year' awards so it can't be that bad. My wife has the same engine an her E46 Convertible and it goes extremely well, and again is not noisy - it has a luvvly roar at full throttle, similar to an older generation V8. Friends of ours have often commented that they though the X5 was petrol and were surprised to find it was a diesel.

As has been said before you really do need to drive one - it might change any pre-conceptions you may (or may not) have. And yes I would and hopefully will have another one, but next year's allocation is already sold out here in the UK. There are only 5 new E53 type diesels left unsold in the UK but 55 petrols unsold.

Hope this helps.

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