Tycoon

Just test drove one... Not sd, single turbo...

My dealer came to my office to visit me after my surgery (nice of him, isn't it?) and he told me he came with X5 3.0d with M package and asked me if i'd like to try it...

Of course i wanted so he gave me keys and i drove it for half hour... Since i'm in my office, i didn't have my camera with me, but it's raining anyways so the pics wouldn't come up nice...

The car was equipped with M package, carbon black, 19" wheels, brown Nevada leather, dark bamboo wood, sports suspension, Adaptive Drive, Active Steering and 6-spd AT with Steptronic. The steering is very light and active steering helps it a lot. Imo, it's a must for such big and heavy car. The tires are 255 wide and very soft i must admit. The car doesn't feel almost any hole on the road and i didn't put it in Sport mode. For city driving this is absolutely the best set-up. The acceleration is amazing for 3.0d, kick-down and it pulls your head in the back, gives you a feeling it's much stronger engine so i can imagine what happens when you have 2 turbos under the hood. Midrange acceleration is also great, but i didn't try it that much since it was only city driving in pretty heavy traffic, plus the weather definitely ruins everything. I've did some fast turns as well and i got the feeling that the car is very agile, despite that big body... No body roll at all! The tranny is very smooth and in "normal" driving you cannot feel that it changes gear... But when you floor it... That's a different story... The breaks left me speechless! The car stops from cca 90 km/h in a very short distance! Again i point out it's very big and heavy car, and those awesome brakes make you feel safe in every moment.

The interior, despite not being my cup of tea, is a top notch quality! Bloody amazing! The bamboo wood combined with thin alu stripes and that leather looks nice, but as i've said, not my type/style, as you wish... (I think Mr. Sikorski has the same interior combo). The seats are very comfortable and have massage function, heating and cooling. Since it's 4.5 degrees outside here, i've warmed up my @$$ a little. iDrive? I know how to use it so no problems at all with it. The screen is in better position than in my car, it doesn't distract you from the road so i can definitely say it's better. Plus it's Professional version with wider screen, just like the one i have. And the nicest part - the driver orientated dash! I'm loving it! I've completely forgot about it, since last time i drove a BMW with it, was 4 years ago in my old E39...

Anyhow, that's all in short from me and i just wanted to share it with you guys. Tomorrow, my order with options will be finished and i'll post details for you.

Sorry again for not posting any pics, this was unexpected test-drive so i hope you'll understand.

bmer

Thanks, bro! Sounds like the X5 drives at least as good as it looks. This proves you made the right choice ordering the 3.0sd!

Tycoon

Thanks, Mikael.

Yep, 3.0sd is definitely the better choice and and base price difference is "only" 7.000,- €...

Who can afford it - it's the way to go!

cawimmer430

Tycoon

Thanks, Chris, but this ain't a real review, but rather a short drive.

Bartek Sikorski