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      02-29-2016, 11:29 AM   #84
UnhappySwede
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Drives: BMW X5 F15 -2016
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Sweden

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Stay away from the stock suspension! Or stay away from this car completely.

I test drove the X5, and I dont know what kind of chassi I tried but it was ok on the highways along the dealer. At least it felt decent after trying the XC90 which was a compelete disaster and a struggle to keep on a straight line on all roads.

Anyway, so I proceeded and ordered a X5. The car of my dreams, the colors, trims etc turned out perfect - but that was about it.

This vehicle turned out to be a complete disaster. It vobbles, vibrates, bangs and jumps on pretty much any surface. The road must pretty much be perfect for the car to actually just roll down it, and sometimes you enter a strip that calms it down, but thats always temporary until I start feeling beaten again.

I started researching what was wrong with this car and yeup, there are plenty of complains on the standard suspension. You guys have been way too mild on the critics however, describing it as "less than impressive" and "harsh on bad roads". It's worse than that, it's a complete disaster that shouldn't be on a car in this segment.

I do however love everything else about it so for a while I figured ordering a new one with DHP or so. But since I rarely sell my cars but rather give them away to some family member, I don't want to end up repairing it for huge amouts in a few years.

So then people tell me that a car this size has to be über-harsh or actually have adaptive springs combined with air suspension in order to drive normally. Oh really? I just drove a twice as big Mercedes Sprinter for a full 1800 miles and came up nothing but sleepy on the other side, while a shorter sunday countryside trip in my X5 makes me feel banged up and sick. The Sprinter has a traditional suspension set up for heavy loads, and yet handle smoother, softer and more stable than today's luxury SUVs.

I try to stay mature and sensible about this but I would so feel so much better if I lit this whole car on fire. After just a few months with the car, I can't take it any more and I'm trying to sell it. It's a thing of beauty but it's undriveable.

And oh, I run on 18 inch non-runflats. Overinflating them actually does reduce some vobbling but instead increases the banging where any other car just floats throught.
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