True but not everyone wants or needs an X5M. Also by the time you option up the X5M to the same spec your looking at well over 200K. Don't hate just because some can afford to spec theirs the way they want.

hate's pretty harsh ..your words not mine ;) In my opinion I doubt many people would spend $180k on a 35d (or 40d for that matter) ... but each to their own .. that's the thing about car purchase ..its often not a purely rational decision for many.

Yeah hate was a strong word! ;) I just meant that we shouldn't discount the fact that people will, can, and have spent that much on theirs. Jeez some people spend 250K on a Q7! :)

Settle down boys.

Some of us are happy with standard spec. In fact that's all we want. No fancy wheel and tyre packages, no sports suspension, no nothing. It''s all the more stuff that can go wrong. I just want a car to drive, not a car that I'm always driving to the dealer.

just had a brief chat with my local dealer today, the driveaway price for the new LCI for the 35i petrol variant starts from $120k...

apparently they still have a few pre-LCIs in stock and are heavily discounted - e.g. a brand new 2010 xdrive30i with innovation package and fully optioned could be yours for under $100k driveaway!

Did you check out the 3.0d or the 35d prices?

Discounting not surprising ... Especially with 30i models. The 35i is going to be chalk and cheese compared to 30i. 35d will fare better as the gap to 40d is not as big. I'm planning to take all for a spin when they arrive in next few weeks. Might even try the 5 series also just to see how it goes

Just helped do a deal for my daughter & son-in-law (there dd cars are 3 series BMW) on this for up at the beach house!

we weren't too keen on the pre-LCI X5, didn't get a quote for the 3.0d/35d...i'd have thought it'd close to $110k. still pretty good value if you aint too fussed about the facelift, 8 speed gearbox, colour-coded bumpers etc.

I would look at 3.0d before a 3.0i, when resale time comes not to many will want to buy a petrol when the 3.0d out-performs it! Just a thought!