Goodbye E70 :(

[330i2X5]

Gentlemen, and Michelle and others of female variety

I am sad to announce that I am trading in my 2007 Space Grey/Camel E70 3.0si .......
I have been deliberating over this decision over that last few weeks which is why I have not been active in the forums.
Why you ask?....well here goes:

1. Build quality of this E70 is way better than the original E53 which I also had....tight fit and finish BUT........its made in USA and it shows....I have had rattles everywhere, gaps between door panels have been horribly off ( despite there being so called Quality Assurance after production ) and electronics which have a mind of their own...I refer to IDRIVE of course...e.g Nav freezes and whole system restarts itself on the move, backup camera works intermittently.......yes I could take it back to dealer , but after paying almost $81k ...should I really have to??
When BMW spends millions on R&D, how can they miss such things??? Do the vehicles they test MAGICALLY have no issues till a NON BMW employee drives one??? Im disappointed at the lack of advance in the electronics field......yes i know its a DRIVERS car and electronics are secondary, and they have come up with lots of newer tech that other manufacturers dont have and copy, but come on BMW...even the CD player looks like its never been touched in R&D.
This all sounds negative but there has to be constructive criticism to improve any product.

2. I bought the vehicle right after I traded in my 2006 E90 330i.....what a car that was....and I bought the X5 because I commute a lot in the winter and needed a safe, and luxurious SUV.....X5...perfect....but I miss the power...I realise that is what I was missing despite all the luxury and styke of the E70......I could have gone with the 4.8i but transmission issues, all the above point 1 and knowing it was a US built car in the back of my head drove me away....not to mention that gas guzzling 4.8.
Also I find myself even as a family man, driving this thing alone....waste of space...guests we have very few of, family in UK and my wife and son and I are the only ones who sit in X5.....to use it as a daily run around is I think not a common occurrence and we dont do it either and use our '06 accord, so I also found it not being used as much esp due to gas consumption too.

3. I also felt the 3.0si engine underpowered for such a big SUV....the same engine in the X3 felt just right and was a rocket !

Overall the X5 excited me to start but reliability down the line, US built, eletronic issues, fuel economy and build quality were the reasons I let go of "Big Bertha" ( our name for our E70 ).

Whats more...the vehicle I am trading it in for is reason enough to change....

E92 335i COUPE + winter tire package.......! What a car that is.....I have an accord as mentioned ( family car ) so I can afford to have a 2 door ( 4 seater ) coupe......so today I signed the papers and get my GERMAN MADE baby at end of July !

I honestly hope you guys get chance to drive an X5 that is rumoured to have the 335i engine in it for MY 2008....its a rocket and beast !

Plus the 335i engine has just won "Engine of the Year" award.....cant remember where but nice going Germany !

It will be sad to see her go, but the car to arrive will clean those tears right up !

I wish all you current and future E70 owners success and prosperity in your SUV's and hope that my little rant does not in anyway spoil the enjoyment of your vehicles.

I would be interested to know however how many on this forum have also honestly thought about changing to something else....many will say not at all, but I have a feeling that some of the perfectionists out here who are particular having spent $60k + will have at some time thought about the quality of the vehicle.