Write up after one year
 

It's been a year since I bought my X5...

I covered 8000miles, and went through different conditions and had many adventures...

so far, I give the X5 the following grade:

1- looks and prestige: 10/10. it's an X5, simply a symbol of excellence and success. I identify with this car, and feel that it gives me my right in expressing my stature and thirst for excellence... it's a 2001, but in lebanon, it's still considered a respectable car with an unmistakable "halo" and respect. and honestly, i love its look more than the face lifted and even the E70

2- Reliability: 8/10 of course it's not a Japanese car that goes to the garage just for oil change... it's a performing BMW that requires constant attention. however, so far, the maintenance is just acceptable. I was expecting more troubles, honestly. All what i had to do besides the initial total check up and service (450USD) was the following: a leak in the radiator, a broken window regulator, a torn CV boot, and some oil joint. and since labor is so cheap in Lebanon, all repairs barely costed 200USD (besides 2 oil replacements, one at 5000miles and one to be done next week at 3000miles)

3- performance: 10/10. I give it a perfect grade because i don't need faster and stronger. the 3.0 engine has just the perfect power for me. I am usually a single driver, and don't tow anything. the handling is perfect, and the engine response and the behavior of the car as a whole is just so agile, intelligent, and firm that i can barely remove the grin off my face when i drive in a spirited way... and the maintenance of the 3.0 is easier and less costly... just perfect!!! With the Vredestein tires, the handling became even better, and the ride quieter... unbelievable for an SUV. the only bothering thing is the bump when going from 2nd to 3rd gear while rolling downhill...

4- comfort: 9/10. What a build quality!! fantastic design and material. the lost 1 point is just because of the lumbar support... where the hell is the lumbar support??? it's giving me back pain on long journey.

5- trust:10/10... i mean by trust the feeling it gives you that you're driving a solid car that you can trust... few journeys made me give him 10/10: the 3 hours off road were so demanding, and the X drove like a champ. A trip on a rainy day in distant forests made me feel that my fate in the hands of my X, and he behaved brilliantly... few long trip of 300 miles (very long for Lebanon) with 4 passengers and going uphills till 2500m altitude, the X was so robust and powerful... such trips made me trust this machine... i feel like driving a tank...

6- gas millage: 7/10... 120km/20liters averaged over a year is typical for an SUV... remembering that it weights 2.1 tonnes, i think he deserves more...

In general, my X5 deserves a 9/10... a great car in all aspects... I'm a proud and happy owner of a BMW X5 E53... and of course, a big thank you to all of you guys for being a fantastic group of friends that i am so happy to be part of!!

God bless our X5s

Good writeup and glad you love your X5 as much as I love mine!

I'm wth weasel on this one.
I sort of regretted not getting a V8 but when I think of it and especially after reading your comments/impressions you are quite right. The owners of E53 V8's will probably disagree but I'm quite happy with the amount of grunt that is afforded our 3.0 litre engines.
Plus knowing me I would've gotten the attention of the boys in blue if I'd gone with a V8 as well.

I pretty much agree with all that you said however I must vent yet again on the very dissappointing tailgate and that never ending, god for saken, annoy the shit out of me big time.................rattle. This is not a 1974 model vehicle. IMO it just shouldn't be there. I mean c'mon, who out there does not have a tailgate rattle either now or previously ??

One last thing bgsquad,
it would've been nice to see an updated pic of your nice clean X to finish your report.

My report on your report - 9.5/10 :thumbup:

there is a post on here that recently covered fixing the rattle.

the only thing I see missing from your reports is the excellent support of xoutpost! the help on here is incredible...

sprocket, i did thank all the guys on this fantastic site indeed :)

Foomph, I suffer from a rattle when i don't shut the gate really hard... when i open it again and shut it violently, the rattle stops :s weird, but it works for me!!

Yes, and knowing myself, I would have ended up in some ER lol

and here are few pics to complete the report, but those are old, with the Falkens on... The Vredestein I have on now would have looked much better... it's a stock 3.0 but I just love the sober monochromatic color combo and the decent amount of options that came from the factory...

Nice write up, bgsquad!
Looks just like my '01, coming up on its 8th.
Classic look, imo.
GL,mD

Somehow, some way, I have never had the tailgate rattle (I am at 75,000 miles). However: now that I have proudly pointed this out, I am quite certain it will start rattilng later today.

Me too, though both my upper & lower tailgates are starting to close
with a rattle/bang as opposed to the "snick" they had years ago.
And, the 4 orig window regs, though that is like spitting at the debbil...

:iagree: I luv my girls.:thumbup:

I must say that I have been very positively impressed by my X5 (3.0i) as well. I kinda wish I had bought the 4.4 version, mostly due to the constant positive feedback on its performance here on this forum. But every time I drive mine I realize it has enough power for me and my use. (Plus, I get my speeding fix from riding my Ninja ZX14 motorcycle, so don't really 'need' a fast car to satisfy that urge.) Also, it seems to me that the 3.0 might be less problematic than the 4.4 ... although I have not been able to confirm that for sure. Anyone has any feedback on that??

Overall, I am very impressed with the build quality/ride of my X5. The spacious interior and higher up seating also adds to the positive experience. It has been a kinda sorta trouble free 13k miles of driving for me since I bought it last year, so unless things start to change dramatically, I think I will continue to always have an X5 in the stable.