Test drove a X5 Diesel xDrive35 12/26

[plapoint]

I went to my local St. Louis dealer today (12/26) for a test drive of the new X5 Diesel. I've owned some old diesels in the past (a Mercedes 240D and then a 300 Turbo Diesel).

Compared to those old generation diesels, this is a leapfrog in technology!

My first concern was going to be the noise factor. When the salesman pulled up in the demo car, I could hear that it was a diesel, but it certainly wasn't obnoxious. Inside the car, with air and stereo off, I really couldn't hear it. Even with accelerations, it just sounds like a throaty gas engine. Very good thus far!

Acceleration: Excellent. Much better than the gas version 3.0L. Feels like the engine has power to spare. With regards to the turbo, there is only a slight lag/spool time out of a red light. At highway speeds, I really didn't notice a lag at all. This car can push you back in your seat. That is impressive given the weight of this SUV!

Smoke: I didn't notice any. Even with brisk acceleration. My old 300D use to put out a plume of black smoke whenever the turbo kicked in!

I must say I am very impressed with this engine. Diesel costs about 35 cents more than premium currently here in Missouri. So if I have a roughly 20 gallon tank, it would cost me about $7 extra per fill up. I am not a heavy driver. I go through about 500 gallons per year (10,000 miles/20 miles per gallon) -- so my extra cost for fuel would be about $175 per year. Even if the premium to diesel spread doubles to 70 cents per gallon, then my extra cost would be $350 annually. I think I can justify that cost (plus the extra up front cost) for this engine.

Hmmm....
My two remaining questions are 1). will this car qualify for 0.9 or 3.9% financing at some point? The current financing deals expire 1/2/09 and then I expect new deals to be announced. 2). when will the i-Drive be updated? MY2010 or March '09?

--Paul
St Louis, MO