Why (Not) the BMW X5? Owner Reviews

Why the BMW X5?

Handling: quick acceleration, excellent cornering for an SUV

Fuel economy: Diesel engine, 24 MPG highway, 600 miles per tank

Brand reputation & image: Like BMW approach to service

Why Not the Land Rover LR3?

Fuel economy: typical 11 MPG city

Past personal experience: Reliability

Reliability & durability: Lots of suspension and fuel system problems.

Why the BMW X5?

Available features: comfort access, auto hold, auto tail gate, head up display, heated steering wheel

Handling: weight balance of car, less body roll, pin point steering, sure foot feeling while cornering, car is very responsive to driver's input.

Exterior styling: modern, aggressive, bull dog stands, dynamic body lines, long appeal.

Past personal experience: product in line with "The Ultimate Driving Machine", well & solid build, good dealership experience, reliable though expensive to repair/maintenance after warranty.

Interior styling: simple and functional, easy to clean, control are easy to locate and operate, layout of the interior is good balance between function vs design and material vs luxuries, long lasting appeal.

Why Not the BMW X5?

Fuel economy: like many other SUV it consume more fuel, but I know the EPA before buying the X5.

Quietness: the run-flat tire is very noisy

Audio & nav systems: compare to other car brand, BMW's premium sound system is not up to par.

Price or payments: BMW cost higher than other brand in the same class, except Porsche and Land Rover.

Insurance & depreciation: All BMW have high depreciation.

Why the BMW X5?

Discounts & incentives: It was an unusual offer of $6000 less on the end of year models.

Powertrain performance: The pep, the tightness of the suspension, the thrill of the drive!

Safety & braking: The fact that it is a safe car, the braking is effective. The safety was an important issue.

Handling: The response, the cornering..

Why Not the Acura MDX?

Handling: The MDX was great until I test drove the X5. I found it to be less tighter and found the front of the car seemed to pitch forth when braking hard.

Past personal experience: Not MDX - HONDA service was terrible. After owning the Odyssey, having horrible experiences with service, I vowed to stay away from HONDA products.

Price or payments: Comparatively speaking, the incentive from BMW (less $6000) was what did it for me. Acura could not match it.

Why the BMW X5?

Handling: weight balance of car, less body roll, pin point steering, sure foot feeling while cornering, car is very responsive to driver's input.

Exterior styling: modern, aggressive, bull dog stands, dynamic body lines, long appeal.

Past personal experience: product in line with "The Ultimate Driving Machine", well & solid build, good dealership experience, reliable though expensive to repair/maintenance after warranty.

Interior styling: simple and functional, easy to clean, control are easy to locate and operate, layout of the interior is good balance between function vs design and material vs luxuries, long lasting appeal.

Available features: comfort access, auto hold, auto tail gate, head up display, heated steering wheel

Why Not the BMW X5?

Fuel economy: like many other SUV it consume more fuel, but I know the EPA before buying the X5.

Quietness: the run-flat tire is very noisy

Audio & nav systems: compare to other car brand, BMW's premium sound system is not up to par.

Price or payments: BMW cost higher than other brand in the same class, except Porsche and Land Rover.

Insurance & depreciation: All BMW have high depreciation.

Why the Acura MDX?

Exterior styling: Has an agressive wide stance

Quietness: Very quiet cabin

Why Not the BMW X5?

Powertrain performance: No diesel available, poorer mileage and performance without

Reliability & durability: BMW is getting a BAD rep for reliability (wiring, etc) NOT 'high end' quality.

Fuel economy: poor compared to diesel

Why the Ford Crown Victoria?

Cargo capacity & towing: Huge cargo~~~

Fuel economy: Very economical according to it's engine litre and car size~~

Insurance & depreciation: Super cheap insurance rate!

Safety & braking: Extremely safe ride!

Reliability & durability: Very reliable!

Why Not the BMW X5?

Fuel economy: A gas drinker~~~ even considered its engine litre~~~

Cargo capacity & towing: Cargo's way too small according to his car size~~

Reliability & durability: Got in mechanical trouble all the time~~~

Why the Mercedes-Benz M-Class?

Reliability & durability: Owned two ML's and one G in the past and just purchased a GL, all solid cars, zero issues.

Why the BMW X5?

Powertrain performance: Decent fuel economy for the class with good acceleration.

Handling: This car felt more composed and \"smaller\" on the road than any other full sized SUV I drove.

Interior styling: Third row is adequate for occasional use, especially for the dog. Anything with a bigger third row was too big overall.

Why Not the BMW X5?

Cargo capacity & towing: The trailer hitch is a $2000 plus option.

Interior styling: BMW styling is a step behind Audi. It is very functional, but unattractive.

Control design: BMW turn signal stalks are the worst in any car I\'ve driven. They switch off too quickly and always return to home, even when they are on. The dashboard turn signal lights are hidden by the steering wheel, so it can be difficult to know when on.

Why the BMW X5?

Exterior styling: very agressive and modern look

Rear seat room & comfort: due to the third row seat, the second row has a tilt function

Safety & braking: best brakes ever

Handling: best handling in its class

Reliability & durability: german engineer

Ride smoothness: feels like a luxury vehicle

Discounts & incentives: with the 4 year free maintenence plan the is no better deal

Why the BMW X5?

Exterior styling: Nothing

Why Not the BMW X5?

Materials & workmanship: Poor fit & finish, orange peel in paint

Color choices: Bland color choices

Audio & nav systems: Antique nav system, Hate I-Drive

Exterior styling: Flame surfacing

Powertrain performance: Not enough torque, no Diesel offered

Why the BMW X5?

Handling: This vehicle is extremely responsive in the city and feels great while crusing on the HWY. I will add (I do not have a heavy foot) that my gas milliage is excellent for a vehicle of this caliber (20 City / 25 Hwy).

Materials & workmanship: The overall quality is great. Everything is in place, is well finished, and fits. Also, everything works as advertised. I read a few complaints concerning the iDrive but after an hour or so of instruction, it is easily mastered.

Safety & braking: This vehice has excellent (but not overbearing) braking power. Also, the harder one brakes the brighter the tailights become. As for safety, there lots of air bags and the vehicle rated very high in its class.

Exterior styling: I chose this vehicle over the Lexus, Mercedes, and Audi as it has a more agressive stance and looks very masculine as well as refined(the Audi and Mercedes run a close second).

Powertrain performance: The powertrain feels very competent as well as responsive. The engine is competent and transitions very well when challenged on hills and any incline. Acceleration for the 6 is about normal in response time as it is truly pushing a lot of weight.

Why Not the BMW X5?

Price or payments: It was very hard to find one close to or under invoice. But the vehicle does retain a lot of residual value. I had to do a lot of research to find one at a decent price...but I did!

Ride smoothness: If you do not like to "feel" the road at low speeds as this vehicle comes with run flats, this may not be a good choice for you. That being stated, this is a great crusing vehicle. I completed a 7 hour hwy jaunt with no issues!

Audio & nav systems: The base audio is simply to vanilla. There are no major controls such as a mid range or eq unless you upgrade. The ipod connector is a must and it works great (the cable is $70..ooch). The nav may be too hard for non tech types but I find it a great tool.

Why the BMW X5?

Brand reputation & image: Its a BMW