X5 Opinion

[ozam]

My wife and I both drive BMW's. Her vehicle is a 2007 X5 4.8 sport model and mine is an 2002 330i. Before that we had an 2001 750iL. I feel like I have a pretty good feel of how a BMW should drive.

So here is my question....our X5 drives like a frigging truck....it is very jerky and anything but smooth ride. I hate driving the thing around town. I have complained on at least 4 different occasions but I never get very far (we have had the "truck" for two years) and it still under warranty. Am I out of luck and this is just the way the vehicle drives given it weighs 5,000 pounds?

Any opinions are greatly appreciated.....!

[deutsch100]

My 2008 X5 4.8 was jerky, rough and not pleasant in terms of comfort. It handled amazingly, but was the most uncomortable suv I have ever owned. For me, a lot of the jerkiness was the awful transmission. Seems like 2010/2011 has new trannies!

[Richard in NC]

A significant portion of the ride/handling is the tires. What size and brand do you have? Are they run flats? Have you check tire pressures?
Also what packages might you have? Sport Activity? Active Suspension?

I can't answer from experience with an '07 X5 but my '11 X5 50i MSport is the smoothest riding BMW I've had in quite a while, noticeably better than my '08 550i with 19s.

[ozam]

I thought about the tire issue ( I have just installed the vehicles 3rd set of Lattitude runflats), but the problem isn't the bumpiness of the ride, rather the jerkiness of the transmission......on the highway it is fine...

[AtlX]

Test drive an '11 with the 8-speed transmission before giving up on the X5. Very smooth shifting in non-d/s mode.

Otherwise, has the '07 always had that issue? Could be a fixable problem.

[Richard in NC]

Originally Posted by ozam

I thought about the tire issue ( I have just installed the vehicles 3rd set of Lattitude runflats), but the problem isn't the bumpiness of the ride, rather the jerkiness of the transmission......on the highway it is fine...

My '08 550i had a 6 speed sport auto. It was smooth until put in sport mode. The 2-1 downshift was quite jerky. In "D" it would start in 2nd, and would never do a 2-1.

The 8 speed in the '11 X5 is super smooth at all times.

[ozam]

In sport mode, my 330 shifts perfectly whereas my X5 is almost undrivable.

[deutsch100]

Originally Posted by ozam

In sport mode, my 330 shifts perfectly whereas my X5 is almost undrivable.

If you read old posts about 2007/2008 X5s, you will see a lot of complaints about rough transmissions, jerky shifting and the transmission holding gears and really letting the rpm go up, without a needed shift.

MANY software updates were provided by BMW, but none seemed to work. It seems the new transmission in the late 2010 and 2011 models solved the problem!

My 2008 4.8i had the worst transmission I have ever owned. Seriously, my M3 with SMG II was smoother (and that thing was a beast)!

[ozam]

Yep......i remember alot of those posts and had hoped something had changed. Fortunately, i do not drive the car much. I guess it is time to think about something different. Any recommendations for something similar in size?

[deutsch100]

Originally Posted by ozam

Yep......i remember alot of those posts and had hoped something had changed. Fortunately, i do not drive the car much. I guess it is time to think about something different. Any recommendations for something similar in size?

While not perfect, and has it's own share of issues...the Mercedes ML is smooth, poised and super comfortable. I had an '08 and '09 ML63. The best and smoothest transmission. Also, it had Airmatic suspension, so you could select Comfort, Normal or Sport!

The Q7 is a great car, that several of my friends have. It is large, and does not handle quite as well as the X5 or ML63...but it is comfortable, smooth and great for long & even short hauls. The inside ergonomics, are of course Audi perfect.

The Cayenne (all new) is somewhat smaller than the X5, but the new interior design is great. We've had 2 Porsches, and they were surprisingly comfortable, super reliable and a lot of fun to drive. Depending on where you live though, there are not a lot of Porsche dealers, so service or maintenance could be an issue!