Newbie question

[davwanUK]

Hi all -
been dropping in and out of the forum and must admit terrific wealth of useful knowledge.
New to the world of X5's - (my 3.0SD SE is on order from Sytner Canary Wharf and is due to land in 2wks time), but not to the world of Beemers (3 coupe and 3 saloon previous and okay but don't laugh so hard but currently doing a stint in a Honda CRV - I loved it sooooo much I'm getting rid after only 6mths!

I have some questions - all relating to a test drive I had in a 3.0Si petrol
1) The headrests - for some bizarre reason I thought headrests were the anti-whiplash ones, for some reason the headrests in the demo car were not those. Did these change?
2) The auto hold handbrake thingie. This was not present in the demo car (it was an 08 vehicle (March 2008 onwards I'd guess)) is it on some but not others?
3) 20" alloys the dynamic pack selection - I get the sneakey feeling these love being kerbed, how are everyone else finding these?
4) Fuel ecomomy - eeeeeek no where near the recommended 34mpg........wife is going to kill me.

On order - X5 E70 SD SE, Black Sapphire, Dynamic pack (20" wheels), Media pack, uprated speakers, sunroof, third row seating, heated seats, USB, folding mirrors, Xenons (why are they not standard in the UK!), Heads Up Display, rear blinds. Oh yeah insurance company wanted a Tracker fitted, plus as its black had to get that paint protection thing (both I have been told are must have's!)

Tah

[StumpyPete]

1) Anti-whiplash head restraints should be standard on all new X5s to the uk
2) Don't know to be honest
3) I live in the country, we don't have kerbs here
4) yep, but you can always tell her how BMW are leaders in Hydrogen development and so the profit from your X5 is going to help fund that....

Xenons I don't have and I drive a lot on country roads at night - frankly don't see the need for them, I can see perfectly well with the Halogens. Would be nice if the car came with them, but I ain't paying extra for them.

And not all UK insurance companies demand a Tracker on an X5, but given you are in London then it might not be a bad idea!

[davwanUK]

Cheers for that Pete!!!
The thing with that demo car I had out on Tues - pretty damn sure the headrests were exactly like my old E90 saloon and not like my mate's current 08 5 series (which also has the anti whiplash head restraints) - was confused to say the least!!
The anti hold thingie, no biggy - but will probably find out in 2 wks!

As for the kerbs - your lucky............I hate kerbed alloys, and I just get the feeling that along with kerbed alloys, punctures will also be common place in London (I experienced 3 in my E90 - on 18" run flat low profiles - £200 a pop).

You can tell her about the Hydrogen thing, yeah will love that one

Xenons - unnecessary agreed, but I do think they look bloody cool though.

Also noticed - BMW UK have kindly upped the prices for July

[DELANO]

Hello, congratulations on your new purchase. Make sure you post some pictures when it arrives. I have a very similarly specified SD purchased from Sytner Sunningdale and here are my 2 cents:

1. Your vehicle should come with active headrests
2. Again your vehicle should come with autohold; however, it is a waste of time. I could see it being useful if the truck was a manual, but in the automatic it is just plain annoying. It causes the vehicle stop suddenly when rolling to a stop and jump off when driving away.
3. I have the 21" wheels fitted and you are correct that curbing is a worry of mine as well. Due to the width of the vehicle driving in and out of covered parking lots along with other situations can get the heart racing. The one saving grace is that when reversing the passenger mirror swivels down to give you a view of the curb.
4. I now have 550 miles on my SD and have achieved an average of 27.3 mpg with minimal freeway driving. This says to me that with a bit more time on the freeway I should achieve a far better average.

I have also ordered xenon’s (love them!), thought about the heads up display, but I did not like the way it looked or justify the expense. I am with Admiral and they did not require that I place a tracker on the car; however, I decided to do it anyway although it did not make any difference to my insurance rate. I also ordered paint protection along with clear protective covering to reduce the chance of stone chips (highly recommended for approximately £80).

Cheers and I look forward to seeing your pictures!

Delano

[Naish]

Delano,

How is the ride in youtr X5 with the 21inch 239 rims? I've ordered the same but didn't have a testrun with them. Mine I had for 2 weekends was equiped with the 19 inch 213 rims that are default with the sport package?

Does the mirror dip when reversing (I would love that!!!)

Also, you state that the auto-hold is standard on the vehicle. But my demo car wasn't equiped with it!

[DELANO]

Originally Posted by Naish

Delano,

How is the ride in youtr X5 with the 21inch 239 rims? I've ordered the same but didn't have a testrun with them. Mine I had for 2 weekends was equiped with the 19 inch 213 rims that are default with the sport package?

Does the mirror dip when reversing (I would love that!!!)

Also, you state that the auto-hold is standard on the vehicle. But my demo car wasn't equiped with it!

Naish. The ride in my estimation is great; however, I have been used to driving sports cars for the past 10 years. This is my first SAV/SUV and I have no complaints. We will shortly be doing a 2500 km drive through France which should give me a good idea as to the over all comfort. I will report and provide pictures once I return.

The mirror does dip when reversing as long as you have the control switch positioned to the drivers side. I do believe that this is a standard feature. As for auto-hold, not sure if it is standard, but I would not worry about it... it is crap!

[Naish]

Originally Posted by DELANO

Naish. The ride in my estimation is great; however, I have been used to driving sports cars for the past 10 years. This is my first SAV/SUV and I have no complaints. We will shortly be doing a 2500 km drive through France which should give me a good idea as to the over all comfort. I will report and provide pictures once I return.

The mirror does dip when reversing as long as you have the control switch positioned to the drivers side. I do believe that this is a standard feature. As for auto-hold, not sure if it is standard, but I would not worry about it... it is crap!

Delano,

Thanks for the feedback!!!

I'm also used to driving cars with sport suspension and big rims, so I assume the difference will be small!

Perfect for the mirror and the auto-hold, we will see.

[davwanUK]

Thanks Delano!!!
Yeah I kind thought the active head restaints were standard and yes I did hear "mixed" things about the auto. Personally, all this electronic fiddling, can be more invasive then helpful, especially things like the hand brake.

Must admit first try of the car with the handbrake - couldn't tell if it was on/off till I stamped on the gas - must have burned a litre of fuel, but it was probably worth it watching the sales rep look at me in horror, constantly asking am I going to be alright

Must admit black paint does need that Supaguard, not sure on the clear bra though, will have a think.

Fuel economy is a concern - but hey if I can get 27/28mpg I will be happy, would never say I was ever light footed, but hopefully its better then the 3.0Si I took out, a stint around central London in rush hour, then a blast up the A13 and back, was averaging 19mpg, and the tank fell from 1/2 tank to a 1/4......round trip 30miles if that?

Oh yeah - one dubious thing, flicked the wipers, and the front ones decided to stick in the up right position, has anyone had any experience of this, or was it just a fluke. First car in 20yrs where the wipers packed in, good job it wasn't raining, just didn't expect it on a £50k car thats all

Yes will post piccies as soon as I get it