Which mode do you use?
 

Which transmission mode you usually use - D, DS, or M (semi-manual)?
What's you opinion?
Just want to know.:D

99.9% of the time I use "D". "DS" makes the already horrific gas mileage even worse, and the "M" mode feels odd shifting with the video game like, joy-stick (and kinda lame, since it's an automatic). It was lame shifting with the old Steptronic transmission, but at least the gear shift lever felt good in the hand. This "joy stick" thing is really just good for D, R and Park.

It is a case of different modes for different situations. On the highway or in town I use D pretty much all of the time. Where I use DS and M is on the really twisty back roads. Using D on this type of road makes the X sluggish and slow out of corners - you often are around the corner before the box downshifts. DS is quite good at holding the lower gears longer meaning that you can often have the right gear for the corner. However I normally find myself wanting to play and so I end up using manual mode - sometimes to ensure the downshift, but also to short-shift on the way up to preserve some economy where needed.

As for using the joystick - it feels almost (but not quite) like using a sequential race box.

just use "d" nothing else in a X5 really compares to a manual transmission.

I almost always use the M mode. It's just being in control of the gear you want and avoids downshifts when you don't want them. Also I gear down when coming to an intersection when slowing. I am sure this helps with the brakes as I have driven now three x's with a total of over 200K miles and never replaced brake pads. The reason they have 3 modes is that everyone can be happy.:rofl:

Me: DS 99% of the time
My wife: D 99% of the time

Combined gas mileage for our 4.8 is about 15 mpg, which is weighted more towards city driving...

Me: M or DS.
Mrs: D (90% of the time) and DS.

D 90% of the time.

I only drive local roads 99% of the time with a lot of stop and go so it's just D for me. I play with DS sometimes but it's really not beneficial if I'm just gonna get slowed down sooner than later, plus letting off the gas in DS I feel the pull too much and obviously too often. I will give the manual mode more of a try once I'm out of break-in.

I play around with DS. I usually have it in D and throw it into DS when I want a quick acceleration....merging, changing lanes, stop lights, ramps....:rofl:

Maybe that's why I'm getting 12.5 mpg :whistle: