X5 35d Mileage
 

I took delivery in Georgia of my X5 35d on December 11, 2008. Since delivery I have put 2000 miles on the car and averaged 24 mpg split as 60% highway and 40% city usage. This is calculated mileage versus the car trip computer which on my car seems to read about 1.5-2.0 mpg higher than the calculated number.

hi, congrats on your new car. i always heard that actual mileage are a few mpg above EPA estimated numbers. and since it's a new car mpg is normally a bit higher until it's fully broken in...? still, 24 mpg is great for a car with that amount of torque :D

My diesel said 21.9 for highway use. When I filled it up after some city driving on that same tank, I got 18.2 MPG, but I don't think the dealer filled my tank all the way full.

I went through another 1/4 tank and filled up with just city driving and got 16.1 MPG. It's been really cold here, so that has something to do with my mileage. We also use a winter blend of diesel here as well.

I use a calculator to figure my mileage. My trip computer in the car is also higher than my actual fuel mileage.

Keep us posted on your mileage and I will do the same. The shop foreman told me, it would take 5-6,000 miles before the engine is broken in. My engine is really tight right now.

Craig

A lot depends too on your length of journey, especially in cold weather. It'll probably take in excess of 11 miles to get to full operating temperature when it's cold. During this time, the fuel economy is dire. I noticed too from one of your earlier posts you commented on the fuel consumption at 80 MPH. Keep an eye on the real-time fuel consumption gauge, you'll spot a significant difference between 70 and 80 MPH.

Thanks, what's strange, there is no temperature gauge in my car. Does the European version have a temperature gauge? I have noticed that the further I travel, the mileage on my computer goes up. I will look at consumption the next time I travel on the highway...

Craig

The european version doesn't have a temperature gauge either.

Thanks, I find it strange there is no temperature gauge. First car I've owned without one...

Craig

yeah it's a bit annoying

You guys should really avoid highway miles during break-in. It's bad for ring seating. And your ring seal will affect mileage and oil consumption.

I didn't have a choice, the dealer I purchased from was 110 miles from my house... This is my 4th BMW and I haven't been able to purchase any of them locally...

Craig

Navigation options-> Avoid Highways. :)

On my latest cycle of 90% city and 10% highway I have averaged a calculated 20.6 mpg versus 22.8 shown by the onboard car data in my 35d. Current mileage is 2250.

That's good to hear. You're in a warmer climate than I am. I'm sure my mileage will improve.

Thanks for the info...

Craig

USA Today did a road test on the X5 35d. It was in today's paper...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/200...x5-xdrive-35d/


Craig

Craig,
From my experience you won't see your best consumption before 3000 miles, perhaps a little more. When your X5 is fully run in you should get close to 30mpg for steady highway driving and close to 20mpg in the city, although city consumption depends heavily on your driving style. Enjoy your diesel! (I'm sure you will.)

Craig's 16.1 mpg (US gallons) is equal to 19.3 mpg (Imperial). He is getting that mileage you reference, if your figures are based on the imperial gallons you use in Australia. Add another one mpg (5%) when he isn't running winter fuel in a few months, and he will be just over that 20 mpg (Imperial) target. Should get even better than that with some miles on it.

Thanks, I do enjoy driving my diesel. I filled up yesterday and city driving that I figured with a calculator was 16.8 mpg. I'm going to take it for a trip on the highway next week and will put another 200 miles highway on it. I will let you know what my mileage is like on the highway.

Craig

We don't use imperial MPG in Australia anymore. The mpg figures I have quoted are US mpg. We use litres/100km. Have been metric here for years.

Is the lack of a temperature gauge only a Diesel thing? I have one as clear as day on mine.

When the car is running, what do you see in the upper portion of the information display in the gauge cluster?

All E70s do not come with a coolant temperature gauge, but rather the energy control gauge (instantaneous consumption).

The upper part of the instrument cluster display will show the time (top line) and outside temperature (bottom line). The only way to see coolant temp is to go into the unlocked diagnostic Board Computer.

Thanks. I know Australia is metric, but if you were going to use gallons, I figured you would at least use real gallons :rofl:

what does this mean? "unlocked"?

As the forum is for an US audience, I figured that using US gallons was more appropriate, and more readily understood by the majority of forum visitors. As for "real gallons", and more specifically the MPG measure, I'm happy that Down Under has gone away from 'economy' and moved to 'usage'.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index...uter_Functions One addition to this step, is you need to know the lock code, which is sum of the last 5 VIN numbers. KTEMP-MOM is menu item 7.0 and is the coolant temperature.

Fraser, you can use metric. I like average consumption better than "economy". There are some other folks from Canada and Europe too.

X5WORLD. With the greatest of respect for our American friends, there are a fair number of us not from the US. I use litres/100 km as well, and I appreciate the specificity of that measure, but I don't mind much whether we measure usage or economy. Usage does make more intuitive sense, but I just haven't used it for long enough.

My last cycle of 75% city/25% highway gave an indicated MPG of 23.2 versus a calculated amount of 22.8 MPG.