I drove my 2004 3.0 for nearly 100k miles over 7 years. I knew that car well enough to know what it would do and what it would not do. Besides the 'always wanted a 4.8is' syndrome, the thing that really got me looking was an interstate encounter with a semi. I will say only that we got into a place where my beloved 3.0 offered me only one choice to avoid a collision- full brakes. I knew then that a V8 would have allowed me at the very least a second choice- to accelerate.

That experience with my family on board was enough to make the late night searching more persistent. We have all heard the story from 2 years back of finding the 2004 4.8 of my dreams with only 11,600 miles on the clock. I bought it even before I sold my 3.0.

In addition to this single instance cited above, I will say that the 4.8 makes me grin every time I ask it to. I find myself with my foot in the gas because I know I can make the move I want, safely, easily, and more quickly than anyone expects such a big thing to do it in. I removed the badges on the side and rear a long time ago. My car is my car for me. I don't care for anyone else to know. They're also removed on my 540 (supercharged) and my E46 330.

The 3.0 always made me proud. Sport, Premium, Cold weather, no nav. The absolute best thing ab it? Small sunroof. Not the top-heavy beast that is in my 4.8is and later E53's. Non-adaptive HID headlights. The thing was basically a 2003 in a 2004 shell with XDrive. In the 3.0, I always felt like a father whose child had participated and won an award for 'best all around player' in sports. The 4.8 is the kid with a loud mouth, tons of ability, and the need to watch it closely so no one gets in trouble.

I just turned 34k miles on the 4.8 this week. Most of the maintenance besides the front air suspension has been time-based/preventative or me just being an OCD nutcase. 9 years and the thing still has the factory brakes. I soooo want StopTechs like are on my E39. I've always loved big brakes.

I would still happily drive a 3.0 around town and even on the highway. The E53 chassis is strong. It looks good. The key to any of the engines is to take great care of it. It's an old German car. It's going to break and it's going to be expensive. There are no deals to be had for the experience it gives you. Pay it forward and get ready to pay it backwards, too. My experience with 3 X5's since 2000 is that you will never be stranded if you are smart enough to listen to what's going on and have saved enough to get it taken care of before it's a problem.

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