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      07-11-2014, 01:48 PM   #1
helat
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new order: BMW X5 xdrive or sdrive?

planning a purchase of all new X5. i will be driving in city. but the roads are bumpy and potholed. i am stuck in: xdrive or sdrive?
and which suspension type gives the softest ride?
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      07-11-2014, 09:08 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by helat View Post
planning a purchase of all new X5. i will be driving in city. but the roads are bumpy and potholed. i am stuck in: xdrive or sdrive?
and which suspension type gives the softest ride?
I am assuming you are asking if you should buy the x- or the sdrive. For me, the only option is the xdrive - for safety (traction in rain and snow), handling and resale.

As for the suspension, I have the standard suspension system which is pretty stout. Its pretty stiff especially with the 20in wheels with short side wall tires. I would imagine the active suspension is a bit more compliant on bumpy roads, but I have not driven the BMW active suspension.
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      07-11-2014, 09:19 PM   #3
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I agree. I live in FL and got only considered X drives. It's not that much of an uplift in price, and, if you drive in any unfavorable conditions, having 4WD is just so helpful. Rain, snow, off road at all, you'll be much happier with all 4 wheels pulling. An SUV without 4WD really only makes sense to me if you live in an area where it never snows, rarely rains, and you never plan to touch anything other than pavement with the vehicle.

In 10 years, the vast majority of cars sold in the US will be 4WD in my humble opinion. The systems really are just that good now, they really have almost no downside (other than complexity, but, they very rarely break anymore, so it's not all that much of an issue), they drive just as nice and stick to the road dramatically better than 2WD. 2WD will live on for pure straight line performance (think Corvette/Camaro), but, for anything that's "practical" I think they will all have 4WD setups in the future. Even cars you wouldn't expect (like the new Jaguar) are coming in 4WD.

What's the swing in price between S and X drive (comparably equipped)? I have a diesel, which only comes in 4WD, so I never even built one without it.
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      07-12-2014, 12:14 AM   #4
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I would suggest xDrive for various purposes as stated by other friends.
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      07-12-2014, 12:23 AM   #5
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This answer entirely depends on where you live.

I was initially planning on going with the xDrive, but after my salesman mentioned that the majority of the X5s they're selling locally were sDrives, I seriously sat down and thought about it, and realized that in 3 years of owning our X3 with xDrive, I only used the AWD 1 time, and even then I think I could have handled it just fine with RWD+traction control.

The fact of the matter is here in TX at least if it ices or snows, they shut everything down and everyone stays inside at home anyway. There's no point in going anywhere because everything is closed when it ices over.

And we've never had an issue driving through rain, and even got caught in a bad hailstorm once in our RWD Infiniti that did about $4K worth of damage to the car, but we made it home safe.

Once I thought about all that, I switched to the sDrive 35i, which is ~2K less than the xDrive in the US. We then used that to add the MPPK and other goodies on our order.

Certainly if I lived up north though, I'd get the xDrive no question.
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      07-12-2014, 12:30 AM   #6
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I decided to go with sDrive, but I was considering xDrive also.
But, the major but, I got sucked in by the car when it was available on the lot on the 2nd week of the release of the new X5 and I have money ready in hand which are similar setup as what I wanted.
Anyway, even if I order it, I would just get sDrive also, since I live in So Cal where no one drives when it is sprinkling.
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      07-12-2014, 10:58 AM   #7
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The Xdrive is not only for rain and snow, it's also for handling.
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      07-12-2014, 11:06 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skalberti View Post
The Xdrive is not only for rain and snow, it's also for handling.
+ 1

Can't imagine an X5 rear wheel drive Then might as well go with 5 series wagon
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      07-12-2014, 11:18 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by patrob View Post
+ 1

Can't imagine an X5 rear wheel drive Then might as well go with 5 series wagon
Yeah and even then my old 5 Series had a severe aversion to going up even small inclines in the snow, so much so in fact had reverse up the hill...GREAT fun!
Go with the XDrive.....gotta be better resale value too.
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      07-12-2014, 11:33 AM   #10
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xDrive is more for the traction, less for the handling. Handling is mainly handled by suspension setup and geometry.
I personally prefer RWD since with my ability of driving is more controllable.
I am currently on xDrive X3 loaner car, and there is love and hate about it. Especially when making a turn or U-turn, the car tend to use bigger radius. Also, I can't feel the pull of the car, felt like floating on a board.
Loved it when I was going out of a driveway but then someone hogging the whole driveway. I can always goes off the curb knowing that the front wheel will pull me if the rear wheel are off the ground.
As far as resale value. For that amount of difference brand new, you won't see the difference of it by the time it is 5 years old. The same as the X5 equipped with Driver Assistance Package, by the time the car is 5 years old, there are no added resale value to it.
For my end, nothing to loose, it is a lease as I don't buy new car anymore due to its quality and reliability.
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      07-12-2014, 11:37 AM   #11
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Oh, regardless what we are arguing between xDrive or sDrive. The OP wanted soft ride.
I think he is in a wrong side of German car. BMW known to have sporty suspension, even with the softest setup, it will still be too stiff for Benz lover. So, if OP wanted a german car with soft ride, I would suggest the Benz.
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      07-12-2014, 11:44 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r33 View Post
Oh, regardless what we are arguing between xDrive or sDrive. The OP wanted soft ride.
I think he is in a wrong side of German car. BMW known to have sporty suspension, even with the softest setup, it will still be too stiff for Benz lover. So, if OP wanted a german car with soft ride, I would suggest the Benz.
True, I have the M Sport 3D, which in England this comes with 2VF Adaptive Suspension as standard and its surprisingly comfortable even on the rough country roads where I live....much better than previous version of X5.
Benz= Old Man's car...don't go there!
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      07-12-2014, 11:56 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skalberti View Post
The Xdrive is not only for rain and snow, it's also for handling.
Yeah, if you plan on also ordering DHP (a $4,500 option), it will improve the handling, but the base xDrive doesn't include torque vectoring (which BMW calls dynamic performance control).

Again, I thought RWD on an X was weird at first too, until I thought about how I actually used my xDrive on our previous X3. In 3 years of ownership, I can only think of one time. Here in TX, every other vehicle on the road is either a truck or SUV. Very few of them are 4WD though. So I think it was a smart move for BMW to offer RWD on the X1/X3/X5 lineup. AWD just isn't needed for every market.

LOL@R33, I used to live in CA and that's so true!

This vid sums it up perfectly:


Last edited by sand99; 07-12-2014 at 12:07 PM..
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      07-12-2014, 12:50 PM   #14
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@sand99, haha. Tell me about it. The country I was from, when it rain, it pours. You can't just run it without getting wet like here in LA. And yet, we all drive with 2WD like we don't care about the water and lightning. We still drove on the puddle and hydroplaning while enjoying the view of the water spraying out from the fender.
Unlike here in LA, "Awww, it is raining, we should drive slow, verrrryyyy sllllooooowwwww. We don't want to hydroplane on a drop of water."
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      07-12-2014, 02:01 PM   #15
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Why would people "not" get AWD on an SUV is beyond me. Ski trip is basically out of question!
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      07-12-2014, 02:23 PM   #16
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The new F15 Msport with the adaptive m suspension is a very soft and compliant ride. Compared to my 2012 Msport with the passive Msport suspension. It handles great but rides like a covered wagon.
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      07-12-2014, 07:15 PM   #17
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As someone already mentioned - it depends on where you live.
For us, living in Norway - the xDrive was a no-brainer.
A few SUV's are sold with sDrive, but due to the (surely) slippery winter coming here - xDrive is the winner.
And also much harder to sell a sDrive again.

For me personally - its also the fact that I "feel" that a car like the X5 (or any SUV) should, by purpose, really have a 4WD system.

Just choose the right system for you :-)

For they suspension - I cant really comment. Just have the std. one for a few days, and am very happy :-)

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      07-13-2014, 01:26 AM   #18
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Would this debate be different if we were talking not about SUV/SAV's but about regular sedans or station wagons ? After all, with the exception of Audi Quattro, majority of those is either RWD or FWD. Yet, they also drive in all sort of weather and road conditions. Why would 4WD be the only option for an SAV, as most of them never do off road driving ?

I used to own various BMW RWD and Audi FWD, currently Audi Q5 Quattro. Honestly, don't think I've come across a situation where the quattro was making the difference. Then again, I'm a relaxed driver, don't go on skiing trips and in Belgium we do get winter conditions but with appropriate rubber, it's not that bad.

That, plus the fact that lease conditions and emissions (taxation) are worse for the xdrive made me pick the sdrive.

Cheers, Alain
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      08-25-2014, 12:29 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cy07 View Post
Why would people "not" get AWD on an SUV is beyond me. Ski trip is basically out of question!
I live in SoCal and drive to Mammoth and local mountains for snow. I made the drive in a slippery RWD Infiniti with summer tires many times without any problems. I even drove the car in a Chicago winter without probs.

People are so are sure of their AWD when the educated driver knows tires are the most important factor in driving in snow. And it is not even close. Give me RWD w/snow tires over an AWD without any day in snow. Also remember that AWD does not help you stop in snow. Can't cheat physics.
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      08-25-2014, 12:31 PM   #20
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In certain cars, the AWD is known to give a harsher ride. Not sure it that applies to all AWD variants in all brands.
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      08-25-2014, 12:55 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snow-Kidney View Post
I live in SoCal and drive to Mammoth and local mountains for snow. I made the drive in a slippery RWD Infiniti with summer tires many times without any problems. I even drove the car in a Chicago winter without probs.

People are so are sure of their AWD when the educated driver knows tires are the most important factor in driving in snow. And it is not even close. Give me RWD w/snow tires over an AWD without any day in snow. Also remember that AWD does not help you stop in snow. Can't cheat physics.
I have made the drive to Tahoe in snow storm with FWD Lexus RX350 without problem, your point is null really. I have also driven AWD X5 in snow tires so I know how well they perform through snow or tougher condition compared to RWD/FWD. As for braking in snow, it's a matter of how to do it correctly.

People are so sure of their driving experience that they assume others don't know what they are talking about. lol.

Last edited by cy07; 08-25-2014 at 01:00 PM..
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      08-25-2014, 01:15 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sand99 View Post
This answer entirely depends on where you live.

I was initially planning on going with the xDrive, but after my salesman mentioned that the majority of the X5s they're selling locally were sDrives, I seriously sat down and thought about it, and realized that in 3 years of owning our X3 with xDrive, I only used the AWD 1 time, and even then I think I could have handled it just fine with RWD+traction control.
Is there some new feature that I'm not aware of where you can 'tell' your car to use AWD or not? AFAIK, you may have been using the AWD features 100s or 1000s of times and you didn't even know it. Whereas, you purposefully only took it out once because you knew it was AWD.

AWD isn't there just to let you drive in the snow. It can greatly affect the handling of a car in general, especially in high speed cornering. If it didn't affect the handling of the car in general, they wouldn't make AWD track cars or super cars. I don't think anyone is driving either one of those around in snow or ice unless they work for Top Gear.
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