My 2011 X5 driving experiences...

[335xray]

Hey all, I have been lurking and posting here occasionally and have found a bunch of good info so I wanted to try and pay the group back by giving my 2 cents on the 2011s I have had a chance to drive.

So...I currently have a 335xi manual which I love, but with living in Seattle for a year and sitting in a ton of traffic, now having another stop and go commute to work and having recently had a child...time to move to a SUV/SAV. My lease is up in November so obviously I started looking a few months ago , much to my wife's dismay.

I have pretty much narrowed it down to an X5, just had to decide on which engine. I already drove the MB ML, the Audi Q7 and we have a 2007 MDX.

I first drove a 2011 X5 50i with Sport Activity Package and 19" wheels. First of all, great exhaust note, the best of everything I have driven (even the X5M) but to be fair, the 50i had 2K miles on it and I was able to flog it pretty well. Handled great for a big SAV as compared to my 335. Great accelerating from a dig and at highway speeds. Very happy.

Immediately after I was able to drive the new 550i with sport package and adaptive drive. Loved the car, just not enough room for the family and I want something sitting up a bit higher for easier access/egress for some family members. The exhaust note was surprisingly subdued, almost absent! But again, it only had ~100 miles on it, maybe it will open up a bit. Rider was great, loved the different suspension options. The first adjustable suspension I have driven where I could tell a real difference and the difference was worth the $$. The comfort mode was like a Lincoln,(sort of) a cloud-like almost wallowy ride. Soaked up the bumps well, even on grooved highway construction pavement. It would be great on a long drive. Switch to Sport or Sport+ mode and the car tightens up and becomes a true sports sedan. Firm, but not too harsh. I would love to get that setup on an X5.

So, a couple of weeks pass and I am thinking...X5 50i is the one...

Then, the BMW driving experience comes to one of my local dealers. I hear about the possible $1000 coupon for participating and I say, What the hey?! I call and schedule the X5 for the event.

I arrive yesterday, park and register. The young men and women who run the event are employed by BMW NA I think so it is separate folks from the dealership people and they drive in many of the cars used that day. Unfortunately they don't have X5s so they use on of the dealers SAVs. I ask what my choices are and the guy kind of looks at me and says, "just an X5..." Oh boy...so it is a 35i in bronze without sport package...fine by me, I haven't driven it yet. So I go on their little course by myself in traffic...Truck was nice. Decent pickup, better than the old 3.0, but not the same as the 4.8 just from a torque, off the line start. There IS turbo lag, its going to happen with a 5000# truck and a 3 liter engine...As I said, a nice truck, but didn't stir my soul or get me hot and bothered... So I pull back in and ask if I can drive the diesel, the 50i or an M ().

They say, sorry, all we have is this one. If you want to drive anything else, you have to talk to a dealership CA...So I walk inside and hit it off with a CA. Talk about the X5 a bit...blah, blah, blah...
Me: Do you have a 50i?...
Him: No, one is coming soon though...
Me: Ok... I would like to drive the M sitting in the back of the lot then.
Him: The M gets driven when its sold.
Me: I don't buy cars that way, any way I can get a teat drive?
Him: Let me check...
Back a few minutes later, kind of nervous but he says lets go!


So..I get about a 2 mile, 6 minute test drive in a 2011 X5 M with 49 miles on it. I don't hammer it too hard but it definitely has a ton of low end torque (captain obvious! ) The steering wheel is awesome (very similar to the M3 wheel I put on my 335xi). The paddle shifters are nice and the truck feels very sporty without being to stiff, which was one thing I was worried about. The one thing I was sort of disappointed with was the exhaust note. Less edge and aggressiveness than the 50i which surprised me, but again, it had 49 miles on it and I didn't hammer it. The guy seemed pretty nervous the whole test drive which was kind of sad. I won't break it, you won't get fired and you aren't going to sell me one without a test drive.

So there is my ramble...I like the X5 35i, really like the 50i and loved the M with the exception of the exhaust note (which can be fixed ).

Now the decision is a new, ordered X5 50i as I want it, hopefully at a great price, probably leased, or look for a used X5 M under $80K with as few miles as I can find and buy it...its only money right?

X

[LeMansX5]

Great input. X5 M exhaust note is an issue. Few threads in X///M forum here. Couple of members have done Eisenmann.

[LeMansX5]

Here's one

[E53is]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

Great input. X5 M exhaust note is an issue. Few threads in X///M forum here. Couple of members have done Eisenmann.

it sounds awesome with the M mode on in sports
people always look

[CarsRmyVICE]

good write up! I also enjoy going to my dealer and mentally dominating the salesmen into letting me do as I please. (as any consumer should who is in the market to spend 60-90k on anything) Cant say I have driven the x5m, which is probably a good thing as I would surely be out 1700 a month or so if I had Also drove a stripped 35i with a salesman just to see the progress of the v6 and thought it was cool but did not put a grin on me the way my 4.8 did back in 07. (the day I picked it up I will never forget, along with the day my ma picked up her 330ci in 2003...our first bimmer! funny side note I took off of school that day like it was some kind of holiday lol My mom even told the CA it was better than christmas in my eyes lol I was 16) Anyways I am leaning towards a 50i. Thought I wanted change but....if I could swing the 85k for a new cayenne s...I would..well prolly buy the x5m lol So looks like I am destined to get another v8 white x5 with brown interior lol

[335xray]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

Here's one

Thanks LeMans! Already found that one Not too bad. If it were CPO'd for that price it would be perfect. Keep that keen eye of yours out for me.