Self leveling suspension and active drive (questions)

[mtech8]

jayjay04x5. Get the 35d. I would have if it was available in 2008 when I had to buy a car.

I want a smooth accelerating BMW
I test drove both at the BMW Breast Cancer Drive event. (I'm not sure if that was the 35d or a European diesel variant). I loved how smooth the diesel with the twin turbo drove. I kept telling myself that I could "learn" to drive the 4.8i smoothly too. But up till now (even after the software update), it's still not the case. Half the time I feel like I'm lagging or I'm jumping off the line uncomfortably. It's hardly ever a smooth start. (I just wish the car would drive in DS mode from 0-40, then switch to regular D mode from 40 on. The problem with driving in DS mode all the time is that it eats a lot of gas + doesn't allow the car to cruise enough as driving in a higher gear permits). Plus at event, I drove the 4.8 pretty hard. The 4.8 is great if your always racing off at a stop light. I'm moody. I like driving fast (in general), but not always pushing the car at it's limit (sometimes). Plus when I have passengers, I'm typically a lot more mellow. I want enough power so I don't feel bogged down, but don't want any comments like "slow it down". I found that most of the time if I drive fast (smoothly) no one complains, it's the jerks and leaping off the line that makes my passengers unhappy. The diesel actually is noticeably slower accelerating at high speeds on the highway. From 60+, accelerating with the 4.8 is a rocket, but the diesel was adequate (not slow, just not as fast as the 4.8). In retrospect, the diesel's acceleration is perfect for everyday and weekend driving.

A Rear Backup Camera that is readily available
This essentially boils down to having the new iDrive (and assuming the new I drive fixes the problem with the boot up time. From the new 7 series with the new iDrive, the boot up time for the backup camera is fine). I can live with the current iDrive if the backup camera booted up faster. So with the new iDrive, I wouldn't mind having the Google Maps integration too. Entering nav addresses is a pain. Love to be able to e-mail/message it to the car. The slow backup camera takes 1/2 the utility away from Comfort Access. I have to unlock the car before I get to it from afar to have the camera available. I want to forget about my key period if I pay for comfort access.

Gas Consumption
Now I know diesel prices flucuate (more expensive in winter and less expensive in summer compared to premium gasoline). But at the end, the 35d will still get better mileage than the 4.8. In the beginning, I did some highway driving (in traffic) and averaged around 14mpg. Low, but expected. Lately my commute has changed where I do more local driving. Needless to say I'm only getting about 11-12 mpg. All this without a heavy foot. Not very fond of having a range of about 230 miles and needing to get gas again. Just feels like I'm wasting money. It's not that I can't afford it. I'm just not at a place where I can take something like paying for gas for granted either (to those that can. I'm sure you'll be upgrading to the awesome X5M).

Have you driven both cars? Why do you want a 4.8 anyways?