Hello,
Welcome and great to see ANOTHER soon to be 25d owner here.
I think you have started in one of the best threads with info about the 25d engine :-)
Speaking for myself - I can always say "I want more" and so on. I wouldn't say "no" to the 30d or 40d if if the price difference was minimal...but it's not.
The 25d will give you a a good experience. Personally, I think the 25d is very OK, you will also feel you get a lot of "X5 for the monies",
and finally - the engine is very friendly on the wallet (fuel usage/environment).
Sure, it's not super-fast - but it pulls good, especially from standstill and up, like i.e. from an intersection.
If I could wish for more, it would be when driving in, lets say 90km/h, and I would like to quickly bypass the car in front.
Then the engine could have been a little more "long lasting" - possible to push it a bit longer on the RPMs - before it won't give you any more.
BTW, did you test-drive only the 25d and not the 30d?
Like it or not...I also believe that 4 cylinder engines really is the future considering the environmental issues hitting harder and harder. At least in some countries, like my place, Norway.
(Look at Volvo's new XC90, not even to mention MB's 2 liter 360!! horsepower, 450NM (gasoline) engine). Its unheard of just 3-4 years ago I think.
Smaller cars may soon have 3 cylinder engines as a norm.
Here, it's quite amazing at which rate the politicians making a new rule or law to limit even more the usage of cars
- particularly the bigger engine ones (read more NOx/Co2). Locally, I feel the future of owning and driving a car is in fact quite uncertain.
So, in this regard - I feel being able to drive a car like the X5 - and still can "brag" about minimal pollution - is a great compromise.
Will follow your X5 arrival and experience with excitement
All best
Bent