Quick Review of X5 35d
 

New 35d owner here. Thought I'd share my experience thus far. Currently at around 750 miles.

Old car: 03 Infiniti FX35 fully loaded with Tech/Tour/Sport packages. H&R springs, 285/35/22 tires all around, various other mods. New car: '10 X5 35d Alpine White, Saddle, Bamboo - Premium/Tech/Comfort Access/Heated Front seats/Ipod Integration/Smartphone Integration. Mods coming.

So far, I like the X5. It's quite different from my FX so I am still in the adjustment period.

Pros:
-Diesel torque. I want to tow my enclosed trailer with the X5 and the torque will come in handy. Love the sound of the diesel, effortless power, and mpg! It's a win-win. Can't wait to get out from the break-in period!
-Ipod Integration. Seamless integration. It's awesome.
-BMW Assist/Bluetooth. I use the bluetooth every day and love it. Phone book downloads from my phone automatically and I select names and go. The quality of sound is quite good. BMW assist is actually pretty cool too. The google maps feature seems pretty cool, although I haven't had a chance to try it yet. The concierge service would be pretty cool too. For 200 a year, you get your own personal b*tch to answer stupid questions or make reservations or do whatever you want. Unlimited access. I'm not going to buy it, but that's a reasonable price for a mobile secretary.
-Panoramic sunroof. Feels so spacious and open. Love it.
-Backup Camera. Better than the FX's. The obstacle detection and trajectory lines are really cool.
-HD Radio. Nice!
-Luxury/style. More luxurious than my FX, the color combo is fantastic.

Neutral:
-Handling is a mixed bag. It's not bad, but it's not as good as my FX. Maybe I should have gotten the adaptive suspension, but with the almost doubling of price, I couldn't justify getting it.
-Navigation. It's nice looking, but hard to read street names.
-Electronics. The electronics are both a pro and a con. I don't like the high pitched buzz near the engine after I turn the car off. I also can't figure out why sometimes it takes the Nav a long time to boot up, and other times it's ready with the disclaimer right away. There are a lot of electronic features and that means a lot to go wrong. From reading this forum, it seems a lot does go wrong. Especially worried about the battery and comfort access system.

Cons:
-Turn signal stalk. Takes too much effort to click it all the way down. Also would like to be able to adjust the three blink feature.
-Running boards. They look fantastic. They don't work at all. Very awkward to use.
-Transmission. Accelerating from a stop or slow speed is a crap shoot. Sometimes it lags, sometimes its okay. I don't dare pull out in front of traffic like I used to. After break-in, I will experiment with sport mode. Maybe that will be my answer.

That's about it. Just need to install the tow hitch and pick out some new wheels. Maybe get the aero kit too, still undecided.

you can't disable the 3 blink feature? I seriously can't stand it and wonder why they even invent that option.

You can disable the three blink if you want to

There is an option in iDrive to disable 3 blink. I found the turn signals to be frustrating at first but after a little driving, I love them. The 3 blink is great for changing lanes. No more holding it with my finger. Flick and go. I think the stalk loosens up the "on" click after you use it for a while.

A quick note on the running boards - they are indeed in the way to say the least, however the really negative point is that they collect snow and ice, which builds up to the point that the door has to scrape and plow through the build up...just so you can get out of the vehicle! Very poor design in my opinion.

On the 3 - blinks, I love it.

On the handling - fantastic and sure footed.

+1 on 3 blink feature. love it. very handy while changing the lines,
though my wife disables it onher key as she says that hurries her while changing the lines.

I actually wish it could be set to 4 blinks!

Good review. Congrats on your purchase. The handling difference you're noticing is almost certainly due to your SAV's lack of adaptive drive. With adaptive drive the X5 beats out the fx35. It's in expensive option and unfortunately most salesman haven't a clue what it actually does, by claiming it's barly noticable or it is a gimmick, but to those of us who have driven the fx, and non-adaptive drive equipped X5, the difference is night and day.

Personally, I see you point on Nissan/infiniti's gps, and Nissan might be slighlty ahead. It's normal for slow boot up times in cold weather. Sometimes there can be condensation on the laser of the navigation DVD drive that takes a moment to burn off or a few seconds for the LCD display to warm up.

Anyway have fun with it! And congrats!

thank you for the review. I pick up a 35d in a couple of days.

You should be able to change the 3-blink setting. This option is available on my 2006 330i, I can't image it not being there on the X5.