Anyone else in the U.S. order the X5 diesel?

[Craig]

I was just curious if anyone else has ordered the diesel? I have a week 49 build. First week in December. I don't want to take delivery until Jan 2nd, so I don't have to pay property taxes next year. I would rather pay them on my current SUV.


Craig

[lakai]

I guess you're the only one.

[Craig]

Looks like it. I guess people are waiting to test drive one before they decide to buy. I've waited two years for the diesel option.

Craig

[Fraser]

When the diesel (single turbo) first appeared in the X5 in Australia in 2003, two years after the two petrol X5s (4.4 V8 and three-litre six), the take up was slow. But now 75 percent of all X5s sold in Australia are diesels (mix of single turbo and twin turbo) while the other 25 percent is made up by the two petrol engines. This is despite diesel fuel being more expensive than petrol (up to 30 percent at times, but usually more like 10 to 15 percent) and the fact that Australia, unlike Europe, is primarily a 'petrol' market when it comes to passenger vehicles. It will be interesting to see how the 35d sells in the USA...

[Craig]

All my friends think I'm crazy ordering a diesel. They think they smell and are noisey. They also think the fuel is more expensive. I tell them, I'm comparing premium unleaded to diesel prices, not regular unleaded to diesel prices. It's about 55 cents a gallon difference between premium unleaded and diesel. It will be interesting to see how well the diesel takes off. I also think people are waiting to take a test drive before ordering. BMW should have had some test models going around to let the public test drive. All dealers are going to have a demo around the 15th of December.

Regards,

Craig

[filippos]

Craig, You made the right choice! Believe me.. Ok. Your friends are not wrong about the engine sound.. and a little about how deisel smells but wait to see how the cars accelerates and then we will talk! Also the consumption is pretty good...Its all about torque with this car and especially if make a little engine tuning you will be surprise how easy you can beat a Cayenne S, a Range Rover supercharged... an ML 250... and all the rest.. except Cayenne Turbo..of course...

[Aspenisland]

Hi Craig and all others.

After months of reading I finally get in the forum. I (We) are going to order diesel X5 as soon as our house in Europe is sold. We are just now looking the dealer to deal with our diplomatic order. Because we are staying in USA three, four years and then go back, diesel version is the only choice for us. I tested it in Europe and it is FANTASTIC. I am very lucky that it is diesel that is cheaper in my country. So I am praying our house will be sold soon and I can order our Monaco blue car with beige ventilated seats.

Just for fun I put some info, how much fuel costs in my country. You will understand why I don't know should I smile or laugh when I fill my tank here.

regular/95 1 liter= 0.26 gallons 1.5 USD, while ago 1.8 USD
diesel 1 gallon= 3.8 liter 3.8 USD, while ago 4.6 USD

So 1 gallon is like 6 USD , if using regular!!

Have fun with your cars!

[rh71]

^ Too bad you can't get the european-spec'd 3.0sd with the 286hp to use here just for the interim. But perhaps buying the US one with american dollars accounts for the performance difference.

Anyway, how is the urea injection being handled? Is it a once-per-year fill-up at service time? How much would that cost out-of-warranty?

[E61Silver]

I would suggest leasing the diesel, that way if it is a great car you buy it at the end of the lease and if not BMW takes it back.

[Aspenisland]

There is more than enough power to me. With AdBlue and lower emissions my vehicle taxes will also be lower than normal european version.

Adblue has been used in Trucks for a long time and you can buy it almost in every gas station. Smallest canister is 10 liter and it costs around 0.5 Euro/liter. I think refilling youself is not so hard?