In terms of preference I would definitely get the manual. I just purchased a manual, and my friends all have automatic and its so much faster. If you are purchasing new I would go with auto because of the resale values, it much harder to sell a manual x5 to a soccer mom, or to any women in general. So if you buy preowned and let someone else take the hit then its worth it, but otherwise consir the resale value. Just to get an idea, I just bought a 2003 3.0 5speed manual with 24k miles, certified until 09/2009 100k miles from BMW Certified Preqoned at BMW dealer, in mint condition, the car looks like its new, its even hard to convince someone that its preowned and its got leather, and no sunroof and I got in for $28,500 after negotiating. The cheapest X5 I could find in automatic with the same miles, but an 02 and it had sunroof and premium package, BMW CErtified was $31,000 after negotiating it down from their 39500 sticker. But they did not want to go under 31k because it was easier for them to sell an automatic transmission.

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01 Carrera 4 with Gemballa wing, gt3 body kit, and alcantara interior
04 Cayenne
03 X5 5-spd
01 Ducati 750SS

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