35d vs 50i
 

All

Please post any drive impresssions between these two when you get a chance. No theory please ..just want to hear from people that have driven both and can provide a reasonable comparative view on things like sound (inside cabin and outside), general performance (from both standing start and rolling in-gear), smoothness, etc ...

I currently have 35d and am seriously thinking of switching to 50i when it lands in Aus in June.....

Thanks in advance for any input ....:thumbup:

The 5.0 is faster than the 3.5. Game over.

Wow, thanks for the news flash captain obvious :confused:. He knew that looking at BMW's press release numbers...
0-60
35i: 6.4
50i: 5.3

If anyone can answer his question appropriately, I think many people would be interested. :thumbup:

X

I own the 2010 35d and drove the 50i. Important disclaimer, I'm not thrilled with the 35d sound at times (slow strolls through the neighborhood).

From a stop, the 50i felt stronger and more responsive than my 35d. I also found the 50i to be much quieter during those slower drives.

At freeway speeds I hardly noticed a difference. The 35d is very quiet as is the 50i. Both feel strong in normal driving. If I push the 50i, it offers more general excitement than the 35d.

I'm amazed at how smooth the 50i is, great engine. Then again, once rolling, the 35d is also smooth once it finds its sweet spot.

The only thing that scared me with the 50i was the trip computer. Yes the 50i I drove was obviously new, but the trip computer showed 8 MPG (I'm sure it will do better, but not sure how much better in the city).

If the 35d didn't clatter as much in some situations, I would prefer it over the 50i since the 35d performs pretty well overall and will be much cheaper to operate. If money was no object, I would drive the 50i.

I read your post after I drove the 50i, so not sure I can answer all your questions.

I drove a 2010 3.5d and a 2011 50 back to back last week. The 3.5d has plenty of power but not like the 50. Both are smooth and quiet. I have a V10 Diesel Touareg now with 559 lbft of torque, so the 3.5d felt weak to me. The M Sport package was the deciding factor on Ordering the new 50, plus we may be seeing the last Gas V8 engines of our lifetime.

:yikes: 8mpg? That's worse than my supercharged range rover! I didn't think it was possible. Please tell me you were on the gas hard the whole time.

I have driven the 50i in the X6 and the 35d in the X5, both in Aussie spec. Does that count? I've had a really good drive of both, a week on both occasions, not just a spin around the block.

Fraser
 

from memory it sounds like you had fun in the X6 but consumption was pretty horrible ?

putting that aside - how did you find the X6 in general compared to X5? e.g. drive dynamics (I think the X6 is a bit more tricked up in diff etc) ? how about vision out the back and boot space?

and how did the 50i sounds from inside and out compared to 35d?

you may be the only person who has done back to back :) so any feedback welcomed ..thanks

Fuel consumption aside it's hard to fault the 50i and remember the 2011 X5 50i will come with the eight-speed gearbox, not the six-speeder in the current X6. Compared to the Aussie-spec 35d (which is up in power and torque from the US-spec 35d) it's stronger everywhere especially so at high revs. It also has the quiet and refined feel of a petrol engine that even the best diesels have trouble matching. At the same time it makes great music when you boot it along. For its part the 35d is semi-competitive against the 50i in the 2000-3000rpm range and doesn't feel under powered in comparison for general give and take driving, it's just doesn't have the same urgency and ultimate performance of the 50i.

For fuel, I found constant-speed highway (110km/h) it was using 13 litres/100km, while my overall average (city and country, measured not OBC) was 18 litres/100km. All that's not too bad. The problem is stop-start urban driving, or giving it a boot ... that's when it started to knock on the door of 30s. The other negative is that it likes 98RON or 95RON. It's not really designed to run on 91RON. And, as I'm sure you know, we really get stung here for premium.

Under the same conditions, the 35d did 9s for easy highway, averaged 11 (measured, not OBC) and had an absolute worst of 16-17 for hard use.

In answer to you more general question of E70 X5 vs X6, they are really quite different packages. The X6 is a like a monster 2+2 coupe whereas the X5 is more a conventional 5 or 7 seat wagon with more space. I wouldn't see the X6 as a family vehicle, more a well-heeled couples car. Not that you couldn't use it as a family car but a E70 would be more practical

Sum up: If fuel cost is not a problem, a X5 50i would be like heaven on wheels but the $150K sticker price isn't too welcoming. If you wait for a year or so, you might be able to pick up a low km second-hand one. Have at look at how much the X6 50i has dropped in a year. A new 2010 on the road is over $170K whereas '09s with low kms can be had for $140K. If the X5 50i follows that trend that's a big saving.

2011 35d still has a 6 speed?