We drove a 2001 X5 4.4i V8 since it was new. It was our city car out on the town, all washed up and looking sharp. And it was our down and dirty country truck, hauling a couple of tons of road base in our HD utility trailer without breaking a sweat. We loved that X5; but it was totaled (hit from the rear). We've had our 35d now for a couple of weeks. It does everything the 4.4i did, but with much better mileage

FWIW I was at the local quarry today and hauled back 4,320lbs (2+ tons) of sharp sand. The 35d and loaded trailer tipped the scales at 10,860 lbs. The 35d got 21 mpg hauling the empty trailer to the quarry and 18 mpg on the way home. We've seen 27 mpg on 50 mile runs fairly often; but a more 'normal' average mpg on these hilly roads has been roughly 25mpg. By comparison, the 4.4i on a very good day with no head wind, could get 22mpg on long runs of flat interstate. But when towing the trailer, the mileage dropped into the mid to lower teens, even when empty.

Funf Dreisig