Xoutpost.com - View Single Post - Took the plunge today.. Bye E53, Hello E70

bimmerfan · #10 01-07-2008, 02:21 PM

Thanks all for the comments! I'm looking forward to taking delivery of the new X5.

No problem ordering Saddle Brown. It was in the dealer's (Crevier) ordering system, as was brushed alum. I didn't see a selection for graphite but it may have been there. Interestingly enough though, Saddle Brown and Brush Alum are not available options on the BMW NA consumer web site when using the "Build Your Own" app.

The E70 is definitely considerably more expensive than the E53. When I picked mine up in March 2005, a well equipped 4.4 was ~$63k. Seems to be a trend with BMW though. The E39 M5 was about $73k, and the new one is like $98k. Pretty steep. I briefly considered getting the Audi Q7 V8 Premium as it is $60k with every avail option, but it kind of looks like a minivan.

Anyway. To answer the power question on the 3.0. My personal experience with the E53 is that it has been more than adequate in daily suburban driving. Off the line it is pretty quick actually. The only area where I have noticed the car being underpowered is when passing at highway speed or when you climb long sweep grades at highway speed. In both of those cases you will need to manually shift and really get on the gas. But outside of that it has been fine for me.

When deciding on the E70 purchase I had the dealer configure a 3.0 and a 4.8 with identical options. The 3.0 was about $63,500, 4.8 $70,975. After a little back and forth I basically got the 4.8 within $50 p/month of what the 3.0 payment would have been with the only a $200 difference in drive offs (min drive offs).

When I picked up my 3.0 in 2005 I also had an E39 M5. I no longer have the M5 and the X5 will be my daily driver so I would prefer to have the V8. Additionally, several times a year I go on road trips from So Cal to places like Moab Utah, Fruita Colorado etc. to Mountain Bike, and on those trips I have found my current X5 to be underpowered and somewhat laborious to drive. I think the V8 will fair better for those treks.

I didn't get the 20s. While I love the way the 20s look, my current X5 is the first BMW I have had where I didn't need to hassle with buying a new set of tires every 12-14k miles. It's pretty refreshing! So I stayed with the standard 19s (with all season tires) that come with the 4.8 sport pack.

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