Trade Up ?
 

I don't know whether to put this in the E53 or E70 forum ...

The thought of coming forward from my current E53 to an E70 has crept into my mind and I've had a glance online at what's available. I'm not convinced. I'm thinking what would I be gaining for the money and I'm struggling to justify it. I guess the E70 has iDrive .... the car is a different shape but not radically. And these are the only significant differences I can see.

So what do you think ? Personally I'm not seeing a difference big enough to bother.

Old cars rule! I'm not a fan of iDrive at all and prefer a regular radio and a separate GPS. The new electronics are very complicated even though there are some trick cameras and features to help in parking aid.

The new motors are very nice too but I don't think the new 8-speed transmission takes full advantage of the motor's powerband. There are so many gears that cruising at 80 MPH is a mere 1500 RPM. Passing requires you to downshift atleast 2 gears and that takes enough time for the car in the other lane to catch you.

I also prefer the seats in the E53. On the X6, they lowered seat memory to 2 drivers so the third driver (me) is out of luck and have to readjust every time. I also like having "ohshit" handles on the roof which BMW took away on the X6; I'm not sure if it is the same on the 2012 X5 as our 2011 X5 had them.

I would only upgrade to a E70 for the diesel and the older 6-speed transmission. The gas models are good but not good enough to switch over from a gasoline E53. Plus, since you're in Ireland, I expect you have a diesel E53. I wouldn't switch over to a E70 in that case.

No, mine's a 4.4 petrol. Rare enough this side of the pond, you're right in that out of 200+ X5's on the second hand market here at the moment, only 4 of them are petrol. It's €1.52 per litre of petrol here at the moment .... thats about US$8 per gallon. :wow:

Uh, thats expensive. 5.30$ Here. To tell you the truth, I Love the iDrive and I do like all the features and buttons, makes me smile :) However, I consider a Good looking E53 to be better then alot of E70s. I love Pre-facelift E70s with Some package that got extra bumpers like 4.6/4.8IS do. I think, If your getting an E70, then it has to have bunch of options in it, to make it more worth the money. And I do love the E53 aggresive look, for my taste, I like 4.8IS better then all, except for X5M.
Also, If your car isn't getting picky on you, then you can leave the swap alone.

I usually replace my cars at 85k and almost did this last time around. In 2010 I headed to the dealer to test drive an '10 X5 4.8.

However the appearance of the E70 didn't give me that excitement about a new car as it did when I first saw my first E53.

When I sat in the driver seat of the E70 the first thing that came to mind was an AMC Pacer. I felt like I was sitting in a bubble. I immediately knew I was not getting a new car.

I kept my '04 3.0 to 125k and ran perfect but still had the itch for something different. I found something different in an '06 4.8iS that was fully optioned and had only 40k miles and a CPO. So I bought it to tide me over to the model update.

I still have the 4.8iS and hope the new style X5 will be more appealing and aggressive looking in 2013.

With all that said I do see some good looking X5M's but still do care to own one.

my .02

I hate the E70... It looks like a regular soccor moms car...the E53 is soo much classier and the interior setup is much better

+1 :thumbup:

Drove my '04 3.0 to almost 100k until I found my '04 4.8is with 12K (not a typo) on the ticker this year. I still miss my lil 3.0 until I curl my toes on the go fast pedal. :D

I also drove my share of E70's while waiting for my once-in-a-lifetime-exactly-what-I-wanted-E53. I drove diesels, 4.8's, 3.0's, 3.5's. The E70 diesel and the 4.8 were the most compelling, but I simply love the ergonomics, the size, and the look of the E53.

I drove my 3.0 for almost 7 years. Here's to at least 7 more years of E53!:beerchug:

I was recently contemplating the same move. I like the electronics in the new X5 and it was one of the reasons I would want to move forward with the E70. I took a few for a test drive and wasn't enamored with how it drove like I was when I first drove the E53. Perhaps if I spent more time driving it (the dealer offered to let me take it home for the weekend) I might like it. But given the cost I felt it wasn't a good value proposition.

So what does this mean to you? Absolutely nothing :D This is a decision only you can make based on your preferences. The E70 is a nice vehicle but only you can determine if it's the right vehicle for you.

I'm not keen on the looks of the E70. They softened it too much while making it bigger at the same time. It's a bit of a blob. The E53 looks tighter to me.

How much is an E70 in Ireland ? Cheapest here on the mainland is ~£20k and that's a big chunk of cash over your '01. If I had £20k to spend on this kind of car, I think I'd be looking at Range Rovers.

For me, a jump to the E70 becomes more attractive if I get the N55 turbo I-6, the N63 turbo V8, or of course the S63 twin turbo V8. Any of these would be a nice bump in performance, and can readily be tuned.

Otherwise, the 4.8i and 3.0 normally-aspirated E70s seem like relatively boring upgrades.