Newbie Here - Which X5?

[sarends]

I am new to this forum, however I am not new to BMWs. I have owned:
86 325IS, 87 325IS, 97 M3 Coupe, 02 M5 (I miss her), 92 325IS DINAN

Currently own:

1. 95 540 6 speed
2. 97 M3 Sedan
3. 07 Acura MDX
4. 12 Ford F250 Lariat Super Duty (Scorpion 6.7 Turbo Diesel)

Although the MDX is officially my wife's car, I am growing tired of it - we have owned 2, they are good cars overall, but we don't really have to have the 3rd seat anymore (initially when we bought 1st MDX BMW did not have a 3rd seat option). Main reason that I want to trade MDX for X5 is that I am wanting something more exciting to drive on the weekends when we are out and about as a family (four of us mostly) and in the wintertime, when we spend a fair amount of time in the mountains skiing, and I am the driver.

Step 1 - I began reading and researching about XDRIVE35D, XDRIVE35I, XDRIVE50I and X5 M.

Being a BMW enthusiast I was attracted almost immediately to reviews and conversations in forums (this one and others) regarding ADAPTIVE DRIVE and the M Sport package. So, I wanted to sample that as well as the difference i motors and packages.

Step 2 - I decided to drive a few to see what I thought:

2012 XDRIVE35D - Very very nice car - impressed with how solid the chassis was and how well it handled and shifted. Diesel torque from stoplight to stoplight was pretty nice. I did not think it was loud as some have mentioned. All around I thought - I would greatly prefer this car over the 07 MDX.

2011 XDRIVE35I with adaptive drive and M Sport package. All I can say is WOW! What a car!!! I preferred the N55 motor to the diesel as it was more sporty in more of the speed ranges where I like to drive. The motor and 8 speed gearbox threaded perfectly and did everything exactly like I would have liked it to! I drove it in D and in DS and I manually shifted it - all were sublime
Now lets talk handling! The adaptive drive is svelt and gorgeous. As big an improvement in handling as the 35D was over our MDX, the 35I with adaptive drive was an even bigger improvement over the 35D. Now mind everyone reading this that the salesman I was with sold me my M3 so he knows I expect to push vehicles in my test drives so we went to some areas where I pushed the snot out of these X5s. We found a snaky road where I was going though it at almost open throttle where it ended with some hard braking and then a very very tight 70 degree corner taken at about 60 MPH. The 35D did "OK" in this maneuver. The 35I with adaptive drive was, well, amazing. I WILL HAVE AN X5 WITH ADAPTIVE DRIVE!

2012 XDRIVE50I with M Sport package (no adaptive drive)

Compared to 35I this X5 had more balls - I loved the motor. However it was a letdown after driving the 35I with adaptive drive simply because I missed the handling. This M Sport X5 was harsher over bumpy roads and did not negotiate the snaky road that ended with the tight 70 degree turn nearly as well as the 35I adaptive drive.

In fact, after driving the XDRIVE50I with M Sport package, I drove the XDRIVE35I with adaptive drive and M Sport package again just to be sure I wasn't remembering things wrong. Nope, I remembered right, this is one gorgeous handling and driving SUV (sorry, SAV).

I would consider these three car options as wonderful replacements to our current 07 Acura MDX:

1) 2011 or 2012 X5 XDRIVE35I with adaptive drive and M Sport package

2) 2011 or 2012 X5 XDRIVE50I with adaptive drive and M Sport package

3) 2010 or 2011 X5 M

I am leaning towards option #1 at the moment. The X5 M would be great but in order to afford it I would need to probably get a 2010 and then I would have to worry about maintenance and the wife would complain about poor fuel economy.

And frankly I found the 35I with the 8 speed gearbox pretty darn nice!

Thanks for listening and I welcome everyone's comments and feedback!

Steve

[jeremym]

Buy my 07 4.8i. It has the sport package and adaptive drive was included in the sport package in 07....

['10-X5-35d]

Nice dilemma !

I thought about it and finally went with an X5 35d.
Mainly because of the low end torque, and the fuel economy.

Daily driver to go to work, and I do fill it up once every 2 weeks.

What I do prefer about the diesel, is that I can floor it once in a while, but see little difference in fuel economy.

As I had an 335i before, I do love the 3.0 TT gas engine too !

This all comes down to your preferences...

[xoutpostking]

"I am leaning towards option #1 at the moment.
1) 2011 or 2012 X5 XDRIVE35I with adaptive drive and M Sport package"

Can't go wrong with this, I will get the same AGAIN when my current lease is up in a few months.

['10-X5-35d]

Originally Posted by xoutpostking

" with adaptive drive and M Sport package"

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it seems like in Canada, Adaptive Drive's only available with the X5 50i.

Isn't it available in Europe with the diesel also ?

[Marwan1]

Don't know about Europe, but it IS available with the diesel in the US, despite the fact that BMW's configurator does not show it as an option for the X5d.

[zx45]

i'm currently driving a 3.0si , but the next one will be a 35d.

['10-X5-35d]

Originally Posted by zx45

i'm currently driving a 3.0si , but the next one will be a 35d.

Welcome to the club

[sarends]

In the US, I have seen Adaptive drive configured in the N55 (TT 6), the Diesel TT 6 and the N63 (TT 8). The M Sport package seems to be available independently of adaptive drive on the TT 6 and the TT 8. And, I don't believe the Diesel TT 6 can be had with the M Sport package.

[Diesel X5]

X5 35d here, power AND fuel savings!