Diesel test drive
 

Drove the diesel yesterday. It is fierce, the 420 ft lb of torque unleash like a pitbull going after the jugular. I was extremely impressed, congrats to all the folks who got one. The only thing I can say is that I was lucky it was not released when I bought mine, else I would have be 10Gs poorer :dunno: I couldn't smell any oil, it did make a distinctive rumble with the windows down, but with them up it is no different than the gas ones. Wish that diesel was priced same as premium gas, then there would be no contest between a 3.0 gas and the 35d.

you mean $5g poorer... $10k is the 4.8i which I've said before isn't really worth the difference for just an engine and a couple other very minor aesthetic parts (not to mention you get to spend more on gas through the life of the vehicle too)... not for my uses anyway. $5g I would definitely go for... even the twin turbo gas. At times I wish I had leased this time just because I could get my hands on the latter soon, as well as the new idrive.

I think now it's only 3700.00 difference. BMW raised prices, but kept the diesel the same. There is also a 1550.00 alternative fuel tax credit on the diesel.

Craig

The reason for the price diff. is I got mine 3K below invoice whereas the diesels I would be happy to get 1K over invoice, then the interest rates are like 2.9% whereas I got .9% + ofcourse the prices have gone up since I bought and the price diff. of 5K between the two models, probably works out to more than 10K ;)

rh71,
Usually I agree with you, but to say the 4.8i is just an engine is insane. :loco: Moreover the gas mileage between the inline 6 and the V8 is not material like you said in your comment. It sounds like you are trying to convince yourself that you got the right car. BMW admits that the gas mileage difference between the 2 engines is less than 1mpg in real world conditions since the X5 is such a heavy vehicle. Saying the 4.8 is not worth the price differential depends on each person, but the moment I drove the V8, I knew it was the right engine for the car. If it is worth $10K more, well depends on your financial situation and the way you drive your car. I personally have been racing for years now and I could not pass on the opportunity to own th 4.8. It is such a blast to drive and did I mention the sound? :thumbup:

^ I did mention "not for my uses anyway". I did test drive the 4.8i as well. Not trying to convince myself by saying this here, I already did that as I made the purchase (and because it's long term I thought long and hard about it)... it's just an opinion I want to share here - I'm not knocking the people who did spend the extra money - I don't know anything about other people's uses (racing, towing, etc.). Loved the exhaust note, didn't like the price difference for what I needed. Would rather spend $10k elsewhere... like worthwhile addons and... my newborns (what timing eh?). ;)

It's not really $10K difference. There are a lot of things standard on the V8 compared to the 3.0 and diesel. I waited two years for the diesel. I thought the 3.0 gas engine didn't have enough power for me and the 4.8 used too much fuel. I'm not knocking anyone, I just wanted to point out the 4.8 isn't $10K more than the 3.0 when you figure the options.

Craig

This week and last week I noticed diesel is the same price as Premium gas.
At lease in Ottawa, Canada. (Loblaw gas at Baseline/Merivale).
I drive by every day and it posted Regular 74.6 and Diesel 84.9.
Since Premium is 10 cent more ~ 84.6 cent/liter

Anyways, BMW diesel is ~30% more efficient. Even if Diesel is at $1.10/liter, you'll still equal out.


When I did calculated the 3.0i and 35d with same options, it was about $12K cheaper for 3.0i.
$4100 diff between 3.0 and 35d
$4000 BMW Finance alternative cash back for the 3.0i
+ taxed on lower amount of the 3.0 (in Canada we pay 13%taxes)

I think it was only $4300 diff between the 35d and 4.8i because the 4.8i was offering a $5000 cash back.

What's the source of this? I don't have either a 3.0 or a 4.8 but find that hard to believe.

Wonder why they don't offer the twin turbo six?