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      07-20-2016, 11:22 AM   #1
coolidge
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1200 Mile Review - 2016 X5 35i xDrive

This is my first BMW so my review is from that perspective. I considered the X5 vs Audi, MB, Acura, Ford Explorer Sport, and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Likes...

1. Quality of construction is excellent. I went over the vehicle with a fine tooth comb and couldn't find a single flaw in its construction. Cut and sewn leather, body panel alignment, paint, trim, interior top notch vs the competition. It didn't take me but a few minutes to find flaws in the vaunted Audi.

2. The i35 inline 6 is very smooth running loving it. Plenty of power and that's in comfort mode. Sport mode has plenty of torque, the tune is like a manual transmission it how it holds the gear on/off throttle it feels like the engine and transmission are glued together as if by a clutch plate. I don't have much time in sport mode yet as the owners manual recommended a 1200 mile break in and I have kept it under 4,500 rpm thus far.

3. LED Lighting Package - Quite expensive at $1900 but a must have for me as I'm getting older and need all the light I can get at night. Very pleased so far. I don't really notice the lights 'adapting' on corners so I'll have to look into that.

4. Multi Contour Seats - Holy crap the most comfortable seats I ever sat in, I hope they hold up over time but so far super comfortable and I have a bad hip and spine so this is saying something. I love the 20 way adjustable seats you can really dial them in to your own preference.

5. Comfort - Designed really well for the driver, plenty of room especially for your left leg and everything is within easy reach. I'm a big stocky guy with broad shoulders. All the other vehicles I tested seemed small and cramped to me especially leg room for your left leg like they were designed for 120 lb wimpy people.

6. Space Grey Paint - I have yet to wash it and it still looks clean even though it has a fair amount of road grime on it. So happy I won't feel like I have to wash the thing twice a week.

7. Handling - The standard suspension suits me fine comfortable and agile enough for driving on public roads. I occasionally engage in sporty driving but mostly obey the speed limit and laws on public roads. For a 4,800 lb SUV it works pretty well.

8. The iDrive system and user interface is brilliant. I hate touch screens having owned several so I'm really happy with this.

9. Controls, steering wheel, dash, etc. I have the ceramic controls all very nice feel. The dash buttons for the radio and climate control perhaps a bit plastic feeling but I have owned worse. I'm really liking the steering wheel controls and lights, blinkers, wiper, washer controls. The auto rain sensing wipers are working very well indeed.

10. I love the cruise control and layout of controls. I have just the basic CC and make heavy use of it due to my bad hip and back. It just works and works well.

11. I'm loving the electronic parking brake 5 stars!

12. The AC is freaking cold heck yeah! First vehicle ever where the AC was tool cold for me and I had to increase the temp. I like it cold I keep my house at 66 in the winter and the X5 is ice cold when adjusted to 60. I'm keeping it at 65 so far.

Needs Improvement...

1. Okay its the ultimate driving machine but there's no place to put my sun glasses that's just wrong! (face palm) I found I could reach the cubby hole in the 2nd row console and have been putting my sun glasses there.

2. The sewn seam on the center console arm wrest is right where my arm lays, its a bit annoying in a short sleeve shirt.

3. The instrument cluster (USA model) is dated and pretty minimal. Still its an improvement on the Audi SQ5 which that entire interior and tech is very dated. The Q7 virtual cockpit I admit made me drool.

4. No illumination of the center console cup area its pitch black at night.

5. The standard carpet floor mat for the driver doesn't like to stay in put.

6. I hate that the right side mirror always points down in reverse. I get how that would be useful when parallel parking along a curb but in 1,200 miles I have yet to parallel park. I wish I could turn that off or only activate it with a button when needed which in my case is rare.

7. The side view mirrors are too small. Fortunately the X5 has great visibility for changing lanes windows wise but I wish the mirrors were 1-2 inches wider. I can't imagine towing with the X5.

8. I live in fear of accidentally opening the rear hatch in my garage and damaging it. I wish there was a lock out for that.

9. Braking seems only adequate. I have not had to emergency brake yet but I wish the pedal was a bit stiffer and the brakes had more bite. Maybe it does if you stomp on it.

10. The cabin is noisy, really noisy on concrete and rougher pavement. Now I opted for the space saver spare and if you opt for that there's no sound proofing or carpet in that recess area, its just bare metal. I'm half wondering if that's why. As one owner did I may order up that carpet and cut holes in it for the spare and jack and see if that improves things. On smooth new blacktop its much quieter so this is tire noise I'm talking about.

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      07-20-2016, 11:37 AM   #2
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Re N/I 6 - it only does that with the mirror adjust button in the driver's side position. Move it over and your passenger mirror will stay put!
Re N/I 8 - you can adjust the opening height in iDrive
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      07-20-2016, 11:49 AM   #3
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Great write up on your initial impressions, thanks for sharing.

N/I #1: this was a frustration for me as well, found out later that its part of the optional storage package. From what I understand though, its a very small cubby and will not hold all types of sunglasses, seems somewhat useless.

N/I #5: do you not have the Velcro circles that hold the carpets in place? I've got the winter mats and they have them, I assumed the carpet ones do as well? I know our E82 does.

N/I #8: how high are your garage ceilings? I can open mine fully and not have an issue. As Gilly1964 mentioned, you can definitely change the opening height in iDrive if you're concerned.

N/I #9: I had the same feeling on the brake pedal feel, definitely seems soft. I've recently upgraded to the M Performance brakes, which are a huge improvement out of the gate, although the pedal is still softer than I would like. I've still yet to code the vehicle to them, which I'm told offers another big improvement. Its going into the dealer later today.
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      07-20-2016, 11:59 AM   #4
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1. There should be sun glass holder at the top near the sunroof switches.. look for it in that area.

2. Agreed.

3. Do you have DAP+? This provides a better looking dash than the standard one.

6. As someone else mentioned, slide the switch to the left and the mirrors will stay put.

7. Some people have the euro mirrors installed for wider view angle.
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      07-20-2016, 12:23 PM   #5
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#4: agree 100% and are a must. I recently tilted them up just slightly in the front and the comfort shot to the next level. I keep being impressed.
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      07-20-2016, 12:36 PM   #6
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Great write up Coolidge and glad you are enjoying your X5. What do you think about the audio system? I admit I was concerned opting for stock system after reading some comments but, for what I am looking to get out of it, it's been wonderful. Curious what you think.
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      07-20-2016, 12:42 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilly1964 View Post
Re N/I 6 - it only does that with the mirror adjust button in the driver's side position. Move it over and your passenger mirror will stay put!
Re N/I 8 - you can adjust the opening height in iDrive
Thanks for the tip on 6 I'll give that a try. Regarding 8 with my garage door closed I have about 1 foot clearance in back and 2 feet in front so the hatch would open into the closed garage door.
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      07-20-2016, 12:50 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stewy604 View Post
N/I #1: this was a frustration for me as well, found out later that its part of the optional storage package. From what I understand though, its a very small cubby and will not hold all types of sunglasses, seems somewhat useless.
Mine has a space for glasses near the overhead lights, but its a joke its so small you might fit a pair of reading glasses in there but that's it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stewy604 View Post
N/I #8: how high are your garage ceilings? I can open mine fully and not have an issue. As Gilly1964 mentioned, you can definitely change the opening height in iDrive if you're concerned.
The problem is twofold. First where I park I have the overhead garage door chain mechanism directly over the X5 which limits ceiling height otherwise my ceiling height is 9 feet. Second front to back I only have about 2 feet of clearance in front of the X5 and 1 foot in the rear, if the hatch opens it will open into the closed garage door I think. I have a 3 car garage but I have a Kubota tractor with a front end loader and back hoe taking up the longest space and a John Deere in the other ugh. That garage looked so huge when I had the house built. lol
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      07-20-2016, 12:56 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarineOh3 View Post
Great write up Coolidge and glad you are enjoying your X5. What do you think about the audio system? I admit I was concerned opting for stock system after reading some comments but, for what I am looking to get out of it, it's been wonderful. Curious what you think.
Yes I neglected to comment on that, the standard audio speakers are nothing short of pathetic CRAP! And I don't even care about the quality of the audio really hence I didn't upgrade. But come on, BMW should be embarrassed they put those speakers in an X5. My expectation was the standard audio on a BMW of this price would be of at least a minimum quality fitting the price and class of vehicle but damn the speakers are lame. My mistake for not checking this before ordering. The HK speaker upgrade should be considered must have imo the standard audio is that bad.
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      07-20-2016, 12:57 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by P1et View Post
#4: agree 100% and are a must. I recently tilted them up just slightly in the front and the comfort shot to the next level. I keep being impressed.
Agreed, I should note I avoided the ventilated on purpose in favor of more padding and comfort.
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      07-20-2016, 02:46 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coolidge
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarineOh3 View Post
Great write up Coolidge and glad you are enjoying your X5. What do you think about the audio system? I admit I was concerned opting for stock system after reading some comments but, for what I am looking to get out of it, it's been wonderful. Curious what you think.
Yes I neglected to comment on that, the standard audio speakers are nothing short of pathetic CRAP! And I don't even care about the quality of the audio really hence I didn't upgrade. But come on, BMW should be embarrassed they put those speakers in an X5. My expectation was the standard audio on a BMW of this price would be of at least a minimum quality fitting the price and class of vehicle but damn the speakers are lame. My mistake for not checking this before ordering. The HK speaker upgrade should be considered must have imo the standard audio is that bad.
What exactly don't you like about them? I think they sound pretty good actually.
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      07-20-2016, 04:00 PM   #12
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HK audio should be the standard IMO. Am I far off in thinking that?
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      07-20-2016, 05:18 PM   #13
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For #10, which tires did you get? The run flats tend to be noisier than most non runflats and even the type of runflats makes a difference, especially on older concrete
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      07-21-2016, 01:09 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarineOh3 View Post
What exactly don't you like about them? I think they sound pretty good actually.
My budget Ram 1500 4x4 at near half the price had far better speakers. My standard BMW speakers sound very thin and hollow. Consider this, my previous couple of trucks RAM, Ford, my home tv, home computer, all have about the same 'good' quality sound. That's the quality I'm used to. The BMW standard audio sticks out like a sore thumb its that bad in comparison.
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      07-21-2016, 01:11 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mnx5er View Post
For #10, which tires did you get? The run flats tend to be noisier than most non runflats and even the type of runflats makes a difference, especially on older concrete
Mine came with the Pirelli Scorpions.
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      07-24-2016, 10:37 AM   #16
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In reference to #10 I think you have a good point about no insulation on the floor where the space saver tire sits. On X5's that don't have a space saver tire there is a grey pad or mat installed in this area. We need to get the part number for this pad and add it to the area. Anybody know the part number for this mat? If so please post it and thank you.
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      07-24-2016, 11:49 AM   #17
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Glad you are enjoying it. Otherwise, the flaws are exact as stated. The one good aspect I like about the X5 is the interphase screen: good size, sharp and clear. Although, the sound is "decent" , the recent purchase of VW Golf sportswagon for my wife came with a better sound system (Fender).

I went to test drive several cars too. Q5 was to small. Otherwise, love the power of the supercharger-very smooth and robust. Quality is refined. Small interphase screen, which I didn't like that. Subaru Forester: decent amount of space, power is good, but braking sucks ass. I was really disappointed coming from a car company that produces the finest rally car. Handling was good, and good turning radius. I like the fact you can recline the rear seats a bit.

But ended up with an X5.

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      07-24-2016, 12:27 PM   #18
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N/I #4. Center console should be illuminated with orange or white light assuming you have the fiber optics on.
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      07-24-2016, 01:01 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flexfusion View Post
In reference to #10 I think you have a good point about no insulation on the floor where the space saver tire sits. On X5's that don't have a space saver tire there is a grey pad or mat installed in this area. We need to get the part number for this pad and add it to the area. Anybody know the part number for this mat? If so please post it and thank you.
This guy did all the work for us http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1238073
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