2013 X5 35i surprisingly good fuel economy
 

I replaced my 2011 35d with a 2013 35i in June. I wanted to try something different and I was tired of the noise and vibration of the diesel. I was willing to give up some mpg for these benefits. With the 35d I would get around 27-28 mpg on hi way trips. 21-22 to the office and doing errands. To my surprise on the last 3 highway trips that were over 300 miles I averaged jus under 28 mpg! I have been getting 21 for my runs to office and errands. I am really impressed with the efficiency of the gas direct injection engine with 8 speed automatic. This bridges the economy gap and it is so much more pleasurable to drive. I also was worried about warranty problems that could arise from using bio diesel.

A negative is that premium gas was $4.20 today in ILL. Which is a lot more than diesel. I will also miss freaking out the truckers at my local diesel depot. They would always think I was some idiot putting diesel into my gas engine car (my old 35d). But my hands smell a lot better these days.

That's good to know I get 14.1 mpg city with the V8 and I'd love to stay in an E70 something to consider down the road. How does the car feel having less torque. I always though diesel was more expensive than gas...

Agreed! I'm quite surprised at how good this thing can be on gas. Driven moderately, it is possible to extract 400-450 miles per full tank. That's extremely impressive for a vehicle of this size and weight. I can't even imagine how many miles I could get if I drove primarily on the freeway (..most of my driving is mixed, but heavily swayed toward city driving). I use "manual" shift mode 99.9% of the time, and that is aiding me in extracting the most mpgs.

The computer say's avg 19.7 for just in town driving on the 35d. Think my 2010
335 was around the same. Our 2010 328 beats the diesel easily and not having to light
foot it either. But not apple to apples since 35d is a much larger and heavy unit.

So far the diesel is not quite up to my expectations on mileage. Reading all the
problems people are reporting. Can see it traded at end of warranty. The prices
to fix just make people worry too much.

I just finished another 300+ mile trip and got 29.3 mpg averaging just under 70 mph. I think this is a tad better than my old 2011 35d. Regarding torque, yes the diesel had more torque but that was really only felt when towing my 3500 pound boat&trailer. The 35i is SWIFT! There is plenty of torque and it is just SO MUCH more pleasurable to drive, quieter, better sound, and feels much quicker. I think the X5 diesel is not worth the trouble. I have been a diesel enthusiast for many years. But with the recent advancements of gasoline engines I would say that the advantage is in favor of gasoline (petrol) engines at this time for the E70.

My '12 X5 35i gets only between 16.6-17.1 with mostly city driving.

Oh no, another one :).

Be honest, is this the exact same road and style of driving you did back when you had 35d? Is that a one-way trip?
What are your mpg numbers for the full tank?

We had people claim 28mpg on 35i, but for short distances such as 200 miles trip, what turned out to be in very favorable conditions (downhill with tail wind).

I will give you an example: I took a camping trip this weeked, vehicle loaded to the roof, family in the vehicle, and 6 hour drive from Seattle to mid-Oregon (ocean coast). Used exactly half a tank for 315 miles. Trip odometer said I did 29mpg. But on the way back, I was not getting the same mpgs, and overall rate for the 850mile trip was down to 26.1.