Hi, I'm new to this forum but not to BMW. I'm an original owner of a 99 E46 328i, special ordered it from the dealer and it still handles as tight as when I first took ownership. It's always fun to drive and handles like no other car, I guess I love it so much that it's hard to replace it with anything else.

However, with 7 years approaching I'm getting new vehicle fever again. I really don't care for the new 3 series look so I wouldn't replace it with that. The new X3 just doesn't light my fire. However lately in the past year I've really been watching the new X5 on the roads and thought this may be a great change for me. I've always loved the style since it first appeared in 2000. I even have an old VHS tape from BMW of the official X5 launch real indept view of the vehicle about 9 minutes long from 2000 I received in the mail from BMW. However, I've never drive one till today so I was pretty excited about test driving this vehicle.

First off going from a 3 series sedan to an SAV is something I'm still debating so any input from you fellow BMW owners that went from a sedan to an X5 I would really appreciate your input. Here is my review:

Today I drove a 06' X5 4.4 with Sport Pkg. I basically knew all about the vehicle from reading forums and the internet but I let the saleman tell me about the vehicle anyway. I had a great salesman no pressure at all and very informative, he had all his facts straight.

Inside the dealership they had an X5 with the Comfort Seats so before a saleman approched me I was able to play around with these seats and all I can say is I didn't want to get out of them they were really amazing and they had "endless" setting to make anyone comfortable. I was impressed.

But it wasn't long and we were off in the 4.4 w/ Sport Pkg. I knew the moment my butt hit the seat that these were the sport seats, very firm & supportive, nice in the turns. Overall the X5 was not as large (this is a good thing for me-not looking for a huge truck) as I had imagined seeing pics for so long but seeing this with my own eyes inside the cabin, it still had that intimate driving feel of my 3 series. In fact this SAV handles just like my 3 series sedan, tight, German feeling vehicle that BMW is known for. The 4.4 is just an amazing engine, smooth yet punch it and it delivers as promised. Took it in alot of tight turns at 40-45 with ease and confidence (when the speed limit should have been 30 ) the saleman really wanted me to see what it could do, which was great. Then off to the busy highway, all I can say is this 4.4 is excellent, it got me into the flow of traffic with confidence and pick up was no problem. I thought with a vehicle weight of close to 6000lbs that it was gonna hestisate but the 4.4 really delivers nice power. I was even able to test the parking assist front and rear which is a really nice feature and worked great, one tone for front sensor and a different tone for rear. The steering and handling was just amazing in this X5, of course my E46 has this same great feel on the road but I didn't think I was gonna feel this in the X5 since it was a SAV. It put a smile on my face in the twisties as there was no body roll and this thing felt confident.

Arriving back at the dealer we brought the X5 up to the front where there is a high incline which reached the top of the dealer, it was there that the salesman said we would try out the hill decent feature. At the top, I brought the X5 to a stop and then pushed the hill-decent button above the shifter and without touching the brakes, it was cool to see this vehicle "take over" decending on it's own applying brake pressure on it's own to reach the bottom. That was something I have read about but never witnessed. Of course this was a small decent but at least I got the picture.

Overall, I really liked this vehicle, I liked how the rear hatch opened by remote and gently pushing it down will lock automatically in place. I didn't get a chance to hear either sound system because I wanted to concentrate more of how this vehicle drove and whether I could see myself in one. The increased ride height from my 3 is just what I am looking for too.

The only 3 concerns I really have about it was stepping up to the 4.4 is pretty pricey, at close to $58K it's a major purchase, I probably will try to find a used 2005 4.4. The 3.0 is out of the picture cause with a vehicle with this weight you need the 4.4 or higher and with all the options I want that are standard on the 4.4, adding these into the 3.0 brings the price closer to the 4.4 anyway.

#2 concern is of course the gas mileage, this is not a major concern for me but just something I wish BMW had improved a little more on, sticker says 16 city, that mean in real life you will get more like 14, this is alot lower than my current 3 but still this would not prevent me from buying the 4.4, since this thing is a blast to drive and had just the power I'm looking for.

#3 concern is the rear seating, like I mentioned before the Comfort Seats will be my choice as they felt the most supportive and were just amazing to sit in, they just fit like a glove. The rear seating however is really too firm and no cushion at all. My friend road in back and said it was ok not the greatest, plently of room just too firm and flat. Why didn't BMW have a little more cushion for the rear passengers? I asked the saleman if getting the Comfort Seats did the rear seats change or were they the same rear seats that came in the Sports Pkg?, He told me the rear seating is the same bench seats in either pkg, Sport or Comfort. I sat in the back after I drove it and my friend was right, the rear seats are too firm and flat, my friend said he "wasn't" jumping or bobbling around while driving but just that they were not comfortable and soft. Going from driving aroung in the Sports Seats and then sitting in the rear was a big difference in seat quality. If I got the comfort seats I could see my guests fighting to sit in the front passenger comfort seat rather than in the back. I just think BMW should have made the rear seats a little more comfortable and plush rather than flat and firm.

All in all I was impressed with the 4.4. I will need to test drive it again to be sure and will have to test the audio prem sound on the 2nd round. I'm an audiophile so my music is really important with the driving experience so I must have the prem w DSP. But this I can try out on my next test drive.

I may even try to pic up a used 2005 4.4 to save some money but it will be hard to find everything I want with color and options, My ideal X5 would be the 4.4 Sterling Gray/Black Interior/Comfort Seats/Prem Sound w DSP.

Sorry for the long post but I got a little exicited at my first drive today of the X5. Look forward to contributing to this forum again.