Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Smithee
The OP is in Chicago, so it is safe to say he/she is referring to US market vehicles. When an X5 here has the "sport suspension delete" option, it is referring to a vehicle with Sport Activity Package, but without Adaptive Drive. There was a time that this is how it had to be ordered. It does seem that BMW has made an effort to make this more simple by makng Adaptive Drive as a stand-alone option on all models, however this was not always the case.
Is the "sport suspension" on the M Sport Package without Adaptive Drive truly different than other current X5s? I doubt it, but if you have an indication otherwise, would like to know for sure.
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Because the sport suspension is a new 2012 introduction to the X5 in the US, I haven't sampled it. However, it has been in other markets since 2007. It probably behaves like other BMW sport suspensions in the 3er- firmer ride with more aggressive spring rates (but no ride height lowering on the X-series). It is not an electronic-heavy, fancy sway bar item like Adaptive Drive.
I explained the reasons for the nomenclature in the US in
this post awhile back. Basically, the Sport Activity Package is a sport package without sport suspension. The 35i Sport Activity model is essentially a 35i with the Sport package but with the firmer suspension deleted. It's all tied to factory logistics and marketing decisions.
It's worth noting that if one orders the Adaptive Drive in conjunction with M sportpaket, the cost of AD is lower.
For those who want to "learn by doing", go to
BMW UK | Homepage and build an X5. Select "Dynamic Package" for the SE model: the default is Sport Suspension, but there is a deletion option as well. The M sport model is identical: Sport suspension is included as default, the deletion option is N/C.