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.

If you take a look at the Consumer Reports auto ratings for previous year X5s (look at their auto "digest" on any magazine rack), the 3.0 inline-6 E53 does indeed lead the V8 E53 in several reliability categories. Neither the 3.0 nor the 4.4 come close to toppling most Hondas or Toyotas, but thankfully both are way ahead of the atrocious basement finish of the Range Rover.

Thanks for the info.

I have never really looked at the consumers reports myself, so thank you for the info.

great write up! i love my x5 as you seem to as well

Exactly MD, I just love everything classical :)

Sure Faz, there will always be an X5 in the stable... But you know what? with the X5 getting like a big bubble and transforming into a mini van (specially with the one-piece tailgate that will replace the 2-pieces one...) I think we are losing the personality of the X5 that made it stand out of the crowd as a luxurious sporty SAV has-it-all... BMW thinks that the X6 can compensate, but it's not an X5: it's a 4 seater coupe SAV copied from Infinity as concept... I just don't seem to find what can replace the E53... they should have made the X7 for the large 7 seater, and kept the X5 with the Character it was launched with...

bgsquad,
not to digress too much but I include the following for the members who may not have seen some concept drawings of an X7 I came across.
Please keep in mind these are just concepts as they need some tweeking IMO.
Hijack over.

My God...! What a horrible artist concept... Absolutely nothing in that crayon concept drawing is feasible to be anything near reality.

But then again, these were the original concept drawings of the E53 which we all know look much better than these artist depictions.

Ditto, with the accolades previous - I LOVE MY X5! - it turns 9 in Dec (12/00 build), 105k mile so far - still rock solid and rust free - and still gets amazed looks when I tell people, "It's an eight year old car." - true, I've had more maintenance than previous vehicles, but the driving experience is fantastic (and the closest I'll ever get to a true sports car made for lilliputians) - this website has been (and still is) great at helping me through the unknowns and worries (THANK YOU) - as far as I'm concerned, this is my LAST car - whatever it takes, I plan to keep this car (and myself) running for as long as I can keep driving.

Nice write-up my friend ... I LOVE MY X TOO!

oh come on foomph, even the tire wells are not symmetrical or perfect half circle... those sketches can't be serious...

Hey, aren't the kidney grills of the left picture of Weasel similar to the 6 series??

Flyboy, hope you keep running with your X for many years and years to come :)

Essam! Buddy, you mean you loveD your X? or you got the E70??

No Foud, I did not sell :D
Keeping her for sometime

Good write up BGSquad. Ill be coming up to a year in January with my X5 3.0. I think I do wish I got the V8 but at the same time, it's my daily commuter and my city gas mileage would probably suck. And given the fact that i'm a cheapskate, I'd probably hate myself.

I too am very satisfied with the oomph that the 3.0 delivers. I did a large maintenance service (which I'll describe as growing pains) when I purchased it at 85K miles and now at 98K 9 months later, I'm still loving it. I do plan to always keep the X in the lineup. Best balanced vehicle I've ever driven.

Re: Write up after one year
 

Real nice write up 'squad.

I have had mine for just over a year too. Also an 01 it is a 4.4 which I am thankful for. Can't help but love to mash it more than once in a while.

I've put 20,000 on it in the past year and have enjoyed every mile.

I have had a few repairs, but with a good extended warranty and a brother that is GM of the dealer group, not a lot of expenses.

I get complimented about the car all the time. Hmmm a BMW, must be nice, when I say, "it's an 01", most people can't believe it.

As many of you said, people seem shocked to know that it's a 2001!!

Even the guy who was washing/detailing it once asked me what make it was, when i told him 2001 the silly look on his face was amusing :)

My girl friend, not a cars guru, thought it was a 2008 (the date I bought it)... no wonder she loves me, she thinks i paid 120,000USD for my car... she was like "oh" when i told her it's a 2001 that costs me barely 30,000USD lol

Amazing car indeed :)

When first shopping for our X5 we were hoping to get a 3.0 with that same thought in mind. When we discovered that the fuel economy for both powerplants were nearly the same, it was a no-brainer and quickly decided that we wanted a 4.4

After 2 years... http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...tml#post768084