Great comments everyone - thanks! Your views are much appreciated and it's the very reason why I come here for info and why I supported this forum by paying to be a Premium member.

If I could have ordered the following configuration, I would have: Carbon Blk 5.0i with Cinnamon Interior, Adaptive Drive, M Sport, M Performance, Premium Sound, Cold Weather, Premium 2, 3rd Row Seats, BMW Apps and Rear Entertainment (no spare tire and no Tech Package). I drove the X5M and didn't have long to try out the suspension system in the area where we drove. In hindsight, I didn't notice any difference with the suspension but what I did notice is that the acceleration off a stop was much quicker with the stock 5.0i (400hp stock tune) than with the X5M. I imagine a tune on the X5M would easily solve the 'fun to drive' feeling that was missing for such a monster of a vehicle, but I wasn't impressed for the money. No offense to X5M owners - the car is amazing. I just couldn't justify the cost to performance ratio since most of my driving speed averages around 47mph and big hp only really benefits when you let the big ponies breathe. The torque of the 5.0i off-the-line tune was impressive. So I added M Performance Package to get the extra 40hp hoping the tune was equally as aggressive off the stop and it was. It's just right imho. Stop and go traffic is manageable without dumping coffee onto myself in the morning but if I want immediate power, there's barely any noticeable turbo lag and in fact, I'd say it's negligible compared to a standard 4 cylinder turbo. The 5.0i is incredible in its own right.

But the only thing for me that's missing honestly, is knowing I didn't get the AD feature I wanted. I appreciate what ride and handling dynamics can offer in a vehicle and even though it's only noticeable if you know what you're looking for, I know it's not there in my car so that's why I'm considering a possible retrofit. It just might turn out to be too much of a pita to try given the codes that would have to be modded and getting access to the proper settings might be darn near impossible. I'm hoping someone who sees this post, has already done the mod so that info can be openly shared with us who have interest. Then the whole project can be evaluated as to whether or not any of us want to buy the parts and take the time to do the mod. So it's not only about having the feature itself. It's about the learning experience and the sharing of that experience if you know what I mean.

Due to my prior ownership circumstances, I was limited to finding a vehicle previously built, nationally available, at a dealer that my dealer would be able to do a trade with, etc. so I thought I was fortunate to have been offered the vehicle I ended up purchasing.

The Tech Package isn't worth the money imho based on my user preferences so I wouldn't have ordered it but I have it and now I want to mod the code settings so I can enable the X5M head-up display features. I found a youtube video with the mod which explains this is possible. I can't wait to do that mod. The display is completely boring on its own with just a digital readout on the windshield. I did find something cool the other day when I emailed my car the Google map for my local DMV. The turn by turn arrows show up on the display so at least it does something other than show the speedo as a digital readout but it's still boring. Colors are available on the display which you can see on the X5M head-up display feature. Now that would make the display more interesting to use. It's ho-hum otherwise imho.

By the way, for those who don't know this, the 3rd row seat option isn't an option if you get the M Performance Package because the spare tire is a required purchase with M Performance and you can't get the 3rd row seat when you have a spare tire. The features aren't compatible. Hmmm. Maybe there's another mod to investigate in my future?!

Rear Seat Entertainment - that was a 'want' not a 'need' so if it had to go, oh well. Another future mod if I can find the actual flip-up display type unit I'd like to have installed toward the back side of the center console. We'll see.

So I ended up very happy with the X5 that I have now. I'm just curious if anyone has retrofit one of these beasts with Adaptive Drive. Selling mine to get into another X5 and taking the financial hit isn't likely to be less expensive because of depreciation. Depreciation for first year ownership as many already know, is anywhere between 8-12% depending on the vehicle. I did this research when I considered waiting until the 2014 models became available but I prefer the looks of the E70 over the next gen. The moment you drive off the dealer lot, (at the end of a model year too), the car has depreciated.

Part of the ownership experience some people like to have is modding a car that they bought and if that means retrofitting an option that could have been found on another vehicle, well then that's someone's choice. In my case, I've got resources at my disposal with the lift, the tools, and my handyman husband (who has amazing fabrication skills when it comes to metalwork and anything with an engine), plus I find it both interesting and fun to do the research, have the virtual conversations about the options, and be able to contemplate whether or not to do a project so that's why I came to this forum and one of the reasons I asked the question whether or not anyone has retrofit AD on the X5.

There are a lot of crazy cool projects going on out there which many of you have done yourselves. I'm always fascinated by things I see people do to a brand spanking new vehicle. I saw a guy on the E9x forum completely gut his brand new car so he could customize it to his hearts content. It wouldn't have been the same experience for him to locate a project car someone else did and just buy it because it was a less expensive way to go. That's not really the idea behind modding.

So if I don't end up taking the plunge head first, at least I had fun investigating the possibility and I learned something in the process. Learning is part of the fun for me.

With what I've found in my research on this topic so far about the programming side of BMWs in general is that it can be a pita, especially since code parameters have names in German which isn't a surprise, but adds another dimension of complexity that needs to be worked through. I've been collecting a list of code changes I might consider doing and a friend of mine offered me the use of his cable yesterday since he was able to pick one up from a fellow E9x owner who was selling his car and didn't need the cable any more.

At the moment, I have no idea what parameters need to be programmed if AD is retrofit and if I dig hard I still might not be able to find out what needs to be done but I wanted to see if someone else already went through that pain. It might not be something I can find out there judging by the info I've found so far but I've only begun my investigation so let's see where it goes.

Whatever I learn, I plan to share here. I'm still in the early stages so keep the comments coming and share your views - for and against the project. I want to hear it all as I appreciate when people play Devil's Advocate. It's the best way to identify pitfalls without spending so much time learning the hard way. Stay 'tuned'!