So long, and thanks for all the fish

[X5Kiwi]

Well the time finally came to put the X5 out to pasture. Maintenance and fuel costs finally got the better of me, and the decision was made to upgrade to something newer and cheaper to run.

The X5 was up to 240,000km and 13 years old. It did me well, and was a very capable and enjoyable car.

I have traded it on a 2006 E83 X3 3.0sd.



Only the twin turbo diesel seemed an appropriate replacement for the V8 :-)

The specs tell the story:
2000 X5 4.4i = 210kw, 440nm
2006 X3 3.0sd = 210kw, 580nm

X3 is not as nice to look at as the X5, and doesn't have as many gadgets, but it handles well, has massive power and uses 8.5L/100km rather than 13L/100km. And with diesel being 35% cheaper than petrol here in NZ, that equates to a massive saving at the pump.

Thanks for all the help over the years, I'll still be hanging around XOutpost, albeit now on the E83 forums :-)