Thinking of trading 2004 X5 4.4 for 2006 530X Touring

[Stukes]

I welcome your comments and thoughts

[X5Jay]

What are your thoughts? What might compel you to make this transition?

[ChristopherM3]

My thoughts are that I would rather have the 4.4, but you are going from one great BMW to another so whatever fits your lifestyle, driving habits, etc. would be your choice...........I would be happy with either I think........

Good luck in your decision making & don't forget to post some pics if you trade.......

[vinuneuro]

Originally Posted by Stukes

I welcome your comments and thoughts

I personally don't see the point. It's not like you're going from the X to an M3 where you'd get a significant performance advantage. You're going to lose the superior seating position as well as whatever utility the X5 has. I'd imagine that you'd be paying at least 5-10k extra to get into the 5 as well. IMO, the bottom line is that I don't see what you're going to gain by going to the 5. Goodluck with the decision .

[JCL]

I have been thinking of making the same trade, but coming from a 2003 3.0 X5. I decided to wait until next year, when the 530xiT is one year old.

On the upside, the performance is better than your 4.4, the handling is much better, the fuel consumption is better, and there is more luggage capacity, so more utility. They have done a lot to lighten the new 5, and it should make the car more tossable (need to check that one out). The X drive is a wash for you, it is an improvement over my 2003 model. The manual transmission is a plus for me personally.

On the downside, there is less headroom, and less towing capacity. There may be others but those are the two I have listed. The headroom is important for me (6'4"). I like the looks of the 530T, so that isn't a factor to me.

Yes, it will cost more, but it is in the same price range as most of the other vehicles I am looking at.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

[Stukes]

Thanks for all your insightful thoughts! It is really great to get different points of view when considering a change.

I really do enjoy driving my X 5 and as you say Vendetta, the seating position is awesome, however, my X5 has been fairly troublesome and frankly I am not enjoying the amount of time my X has spent in the shop - the good news is that she seems to be running great now, but it has caused me to consider moving into the 5 series touring - after all BMW has decades of experience tuning cars and only a few years experience with a vehicle like the X5 - no wonder we often have issues!

I have considered the 530T for the reasons mentioned above, in my opinion it is a very attractive wagon that has all wheel drive; it has the latest in BMW technology, seating room is essentially the same as the X5 and it has more storage room than the X5 - my lovely mate can touch a button to move the back door up and down and it is much easier to load and unload, etc

I drove the Touring last night - it is a very nice ride. it drives like a BMW as it felt solid and nimble and certainly handles very well - yes, you do not get the seating position of the X5 and it does feel like there is less space, but the space is relatively the same, just packaged differently. The powertrain was flawless and smooth whereas i find the X5 often struggling with the power and weight of the X5 - in terms of transmission.

The Touring is an awesome practical and sporty car, especially for our Alberta climate - by the way, they do not sell well in North America, but sell like crazy in europe!

Again, thanks for your thoughts.