About a month ago we got a flat in my mothers E39 on the highway... Sidewalls let fully go all at once and in a split second as we went to pull over the tread, still in one complete piece, passed us up! She timed me, barely took 4 minutes to swap to the spare with only OEM supplied toolkit and jack. That was the first time I changed a flat on the side the road in about a decade...

Run flats suck. They came on both X's they're gone ready from the M and soon the M Sport.

What I'd like to FINISH THIS OFF WITH IS, at least give me (us) the OPTION of having a spare tire...leave the space for a full size tire under the rear...that's it
I do not like the attitude YOU WILL NOT HAVE A SPARE TIRE....perhaps the cars are OK with runflats, but not the SA(U)V's and especially not the M cars (performance)
As far as replacement...I had a CHEV SUBURBAN a few years ago, ran it 125,000 miles, cheap replacement parts, fixed by me or any monkey at a gas station but having owned so many BMW's I had the "jones" for the X5, don't get me wrong I love my X5
Here in south Florida a BMW Mercedes, Audi etc is what I call a Ft Lauderdale Chevie.. if's about the FLASH...
Back in the early years of BMW we had meetings where 30 guys would show up on a friday night for a meeting, hoods up...we had all kinds of "tech" sessions at someones house, who did what to their car, what works, what doesn't,
A BMW was an enthusiast car....
BMW has it right now however, you can't sell that many cars these days without a MASS MARKET...you'll take what we give you.
"WE" (us guys on this m/b) are not BMW's main customers, we actually BUY THE DAMN CARS, what percentage of their market are we?...
Most are leasers...new car every 3 years...and thank those people for that, it's how we get an affordable BMW.
BMWNA dictates the colors and options...they market...ride by any big car dealer and what do you see...a "sea" OF WHITE, BLACK and some form of GREY...
You guys haven't got a clue about what used to happen in the late 60's and 70's with overheating Bavaria's cam shaft problems etc....and we bought those too...
Well guys that's it my rant is over, I'm done...keep up the good work....
Daniel...35 year member of BMWCCA ex editor of the NY chapter magazine 'Zugspitze' (a long time ago)

A spare fits under the rear floor, I don't understand why you're saying you can't carry one. :dunno:

IF YOU LOOK UNER THE REAR TRAY OF A NEW (2010/11) x5, what you see is a well that is about 5 inches deep....Maybe enough space for a doughnut, but no way can you put the wheel you are taking off in there....
Oh enough of this, carry on

If your purpose is to have a spare in case you get stuck, then yes, a donut fits in there. The wheel/tire you take off can fit in the back on top of the load floor.

This sounds like a rant about nothing. I just don't get it.

Honestly, I'd get a spare and immediately get rid of the runflats. They wreak havoc on your suspension and ride/handle like garbage.

Perhaps it's nothing to you but it's a big issue for many. Personally I would prefer the option of having a spare over RFT's. My 2006 330xi has RFT's and I would dump them in a heartbeat if I could carry a spare (without having to place it in the trunk where it consumes trunk space). It's a legitimate concern.

This could be rant, could be venting, could be whatever...
I still doubt BMW would change their stance on spare deletion but I still hope they at least make spare-well in the trunk.

Reminds me of M3 tall owners complaining about why sunroof is standard option in their cars; they hate it cause sunroof rob head room by almost 2 inches and with Snell-95 helmet they have to lower the seats all the way down (not only short people track their cars so do tall people). That started as rant like this one in internet forums; look what happens, now M3 can be had w/o sunroof, BMW recognized the logistic inconvineince in assembly line to support it but at the end when the number of sales affected they'll listen.

Scenario:

BMW installs RFT, promotes safety benefits in case of blow out.
Some drivers that prefer non-RFT start campaign to get BMW to change back.
BMW removes RFT in response to pressure
BMW car with non-RFT crashes, injures driver and passengers.
Driver sues BMW for deleting safety equipment.

Ain't never gonna happen.

PS: I special ordered a 3 series (not an M3) with no sunroof to gain 2" of headroom. All it took was a factory order with a delete code. BMW was happy to make it that way, they just weren't prepared to stock it on dealer lots that way. Not the same as if I had asked them to sell me one without seatbelts so that I could install a racing harness.