Originally Posted by Loki

If I understand what you are saying I get this "downshifting effect" too, but not at speeds as high as 40 mph as you indicated. I experience it more in city driving. It feels like the brake is being applied as soon as I let off of the accelerator (i.e. it doesn't coast easily to a stop like any other car I have driven before but rather wants to slow down right away). If I am up to highway speeds (or probably even less) it coasts to a stop in a more natural manner.

I noticed this effect on test drives with a wide variety of 3.0si and 4.8i X5s, so I think they are all supposed to behave this way at low speeds. I have never driven a BMW before getting my X5 and just chalked it up to the way BMWs transmission is designed to work, since all of the other E70 X5s I drove (at least 5) did this. Perhaps other people here are just use to this so that they hardly notice. Now that I am used to driving it I rarely find myself completely taking my foot off of the accelerator at low speeds, so I have kinda forgotten about it myself.

I have to say that this effect, along with the "jerky transmission" issues posted elsewhere on this board, seems to go away completely when I drive even moderately aggressive. When I drive in a very reserved manner (accelerate and come to stops more slowly) these things are much more prononounced. It seems like the X5 just wants to be driven hard all of the time. In a sense I love this because the SAV is extremely fun to drive like this, but I wish it was a little smoother when "taking it easy"!