1k mi Impressions - Regrets and Appreciations

[Blackhawks]

As the title states, I'm approaching the 1k mark on the odometer after three short weeks and I'd like to share some initial impressions with those who may be looking, or those who value other's opinions on our X5.

Build:
2015 X5 x35i
Space Gray
M Sport
Dakota Black Leather
Brushed Aluminum Trim

Packages
Cold Weather Package
Driver Assistance Package
Premium Package

Options
3rd Row Seating
Rear Window Shades
Harmon Kardon
20" 469M Wheels
Adaptive Suspension (2VF not DHP)
MPPK installed at delivery

Impressions:
Coming from a brand new car in 2012, 2013 and 2014 I needed something to fall in love with and I found it with the 2015 X5. In a perfect financial world, I'd be driving an X5M or x50i, but I could not justify the prices considering I'm 90% city driving in bumper to bumper traffic living in downtown Chicago (literally downtown - not the suburbs or outlying areas). That being said, the MPPK was a must as the stock hp and torque numbers do not begin to fulfill my needs for this HEAVY SUV. I still haven't run my course of 1,200mi to break it in, so I can't really give a good impression of how the MPPK is by itself, but there are plenty of opinions regarding the topic on this site.
I absolutely love the sporty feel this build has. The brushed aluminum trim, black dakota and anthracite headliner definitely have a sportier feel than if I chose a mocha/fineline option. It works really well with the Space Gray, 20" wheels and MSport package and brings the sporty feel together.

Build Regrets:
When cutting corners during the build process, I decided to take the ceramic controls out of the equation, mainly because I thought that $650 was too steep to justify. However, I really do like the look/feel of the ceramic and wish I had it. Hell, it would have been an extra ~$4/mo.

Another cost cutting casualty was the soft close automatic doors. My 4 and 6 year old boys have been trained to not slam car doors... however the X5 needs a bit of extra oomph to get them closed and the 4 y/o does not get a solid closure 50% of the time. In this instance, I would have appreciated the soft close automatic feature.

Awesomeness:
I really love the HUD. I was talked into it by a few forum members and I thought it was a total gimmick, but it honestly is nice... especially when I can tell the kids that I have magic powers by predicting the next song from the iPod to play as only the driver can see the HUD info.

Adaptive suspension - Big difference between this vehicle and the test drive version. I haven't gone crazy by any means, but I can definitely feel a drastic difference. It was a gamble... and blind purchase... but definitely worth it and I have this forum to thank for leading me in that direction.

There really is a ton to talk about when mentioning the awesomeness of this car... but I don't want to bore you. Although I have more items listed that suck... the awesomeness outweighs the suck factor.

What sucks about this vehicle:
The CPU on the iDrive is WAY too slow. Rear view camera motion is WAY too choppy for what I'd expect out of a 70k+ car. My two previous Acuras and Lexus were flawless... granted those cars had their issues, as well. I assume the iDrive CPU speed is also the culprit as to why my fully loaded 80gb iPod is slow to display track titles when in an album. It can be 10 minutes into a trip and when I change albums, it's still loading the information. Not a dealbreaker... just not what I would expect from BMW.

I think it's BS that the 469M wheels only come with summer tires. Shelling out another $1500 for All Seasons after spending 70k+ sucks. But, I liked them enough to endure the pain.

No spare with 3rd row. They need to hire a genius engineer to figure out a way to place a spare when you have a 3rd row. It can't be that complicated.

No Black Nappa option

Planned Mods:
MPPK - complete
Tint front windows - 18% - complete
Audio (too much to mention)
Double Slat black gloss kidney grill
Grill Trim inserts
Gloss black BMW trunk roundel
6WB cluster - have it... just need it installed/coded
Powdercoat (gunmetal) 469M wheels
Exhaust (need to talk to Ben)
Tune - when I finally decide which one
Modesta paint protection
* I'm sure there's more to come

I could have honestly made this a 5 page thread, but thought I'd stop here. I'm going to add some more impressions and pics after some mods get done and pics get taken.

[salukutinaveen]

Cool Review ! How do the kids like the 3rd row ? May i know the MPG numbers of your car ?

[Blackhawks]

I'm currently getting about 16-17mpg (almost all city driving).

[BMW_RL]

Originally Posted by Blackhawks

As the title states, I'm approaching the 1k mark on the odometer after three short weeks and I'd like to share some initial impressions with those who may be looking, or those who value other's opinions on our X5.

Build:
2015 X5 x35i
Space Gray
M Sport
Dakota Black Leather
Brushed Aluminum Trim
.

Nice review

Any issues or regrets with Space Gray and Dakota Black Leather?

It's one color combo, considering for my next X5. Imperial Blue is other option.

[Kzang]

I've said this before and I will say it again.. BMW and Germans in general fall behind in technology versus the Japanese car mfg. Not in features, but in quality and in this case display quality being of low resolution.

Good review BH, but you should discuss more about the 2VF suspension because I did hype it up a lot and I still believe it is one of the best options for a Msport line to have.

[Blackhawks]

Originally Posted by BMW_RL

Nice review

Any issues or regrets with Space Gray and Dakota Black Leather?

It's one color combo, considering for my next X5. Imperial Blue is other option.

No, I made the absolute right move on Space Gray. It was between Mineral White and Space Gray and I definitely made the right choice. It's such a great looking color and I would have regretted the X5 in mineral white.

Hides dirt as well as a car can, as well. I'm not big into blue for cars... unless it's a '70 Chevelle

[Blackhawks]

Originally Posted by Kzang

I've said this before and I will say it again.. BMW and Germans in general fall behind in technology versus the Japanese car mfg. Not in features, but in quality and in this case display quality being of low resolution.

Good review BH, but you should discuss more about the 2VF suspension because I did hype it up a lot and I still believe it is one of the best options for a Msport line to have.

You're right... but I don't have enough miles on the odo to really give it a good push and get a feel for it's true maneuverability. I can definitely tell a difference... and assuming I'll feel it even more when the BMW gods allow me to rev it a bit.

[OlafandSwen]

Originally Posted by Blackhawks

I'm currently getting about 16-17mpg (almost all city driving).

Lucky you, I am getting 14mpg in NYC, 90% city driving, 15k miles on the ODO.

[Blackhawks]

Originally Posted by OlafandSwen

Lucky you, I am getting 14mpg in NYC, 90% city driving, 15k miles on the ODO.

Remember... I'm still in my break in period. I'll be joining you shortly.

[Terp335]

Thanks for sharing your impressions. I have only 300 miles so not enough experience with adaptive M or many of the other options to comment on much yet. However; I know it's been beaten to death on here which might be why you left it off, but I still think the biggest disappointment is the steering. Moving between the f15 and e90 on the same day is pretty dramatic.

[Blackhawks]

Originally Posted by Terp335

Thanks for sharing your impressions. I have only 300 miles so not enough experience with adaptive M or many of the other options to comment on much yet. However; I know it's been beaten to death on here which might be why you left it off, but I still think the biggest disappointment is the steering. Moving between the f15 and e90 on the same day is pretty dramatic.

Yes... old school hydraulic steering would make this car an absolute gem.

[r33_RGSport]

Blackhawks , great review.

[Kzang]

Hi Terp335 and Blackhawks I am fully confident that after about 2,000 miles or so of driving both highway and city that you will not notice the loose steering feel of the F15. I drove a friends E70 not too long ago and I thought wow.. this steering is much heavier than I remembered and couldn't wait to get back into my F15 steering feel.

[twelve535i]

Originally Posted by Blackhawks

Yes... old school hydraulic steering would make this car an absolute gem.

When I first test drove the X5, I was very disappointed with the electric steering. My past few cars have had hydraulic steering so I hated how loose the F15 wheel was. As I started to drive my car more, I've realized the steering isn't too bad at all. It's tight enough to keep the wheel straight with a little effort and loose enough to make parallel parking and right turns a bit easier.

[Babs]

Great review Blackhawks and thanks for sharing. Will like to get your thoughts at the 2500 mile mark.

[42pilot]

Originally Posted by Blackhawks

Remember... I'm still in my break in period. I'll be joining you shortly.

You need to be driving this car normally now. You need to get heat cycling into the rings. You actually may have missed this with 1000 miles on the clock already. Go have fun. By my calculations based on 1,000 miles and an average 35 mph (you said city driving), each piston has cycled at least/more than 45,000 times since day one. It's ready...

[jugdish]

Damn... I need to pull back a bit. I've had my X5 for 2 1/2 weeks and already passed 1400 miles on the odometer!

One question on the ipod issues you are having.... Based on the fact you have 80 gigs on your ipod, it seems you are using an old school ipod with the touch wheel. One major downside to that is the hard drive on the ipod spins terribly slow compared to a flash HD on newer generations. I purchased a beat up ipod touch on ebay and use that for my music library and haven't had any issues with delayed artwork, song title, or anything of that nature. As a matter of fact, it is slightly faster then my previous Infiniti JX where I would hit the advance song button and it would take 2 seconds to actually advance the song.

I haven't noticed choppy video on my iDrive screen, but then again, I'm not backing up too quickly. One thing that I love about the rear view camera is the resolution. My past Infinti, Lexus' and wife's current Toyota Sienna have terrible camera resolution.

As far as MPG... I went with the 35d because of all the miles I put on. Break in period, I was averaging 27 mpg with an average speed of 48. Post break in period, I'm closer to 28.5 with average speed of 42.

[Blackhawks]

Originally Posted by 42pilot

You need to be driving this car normally now. You need to get heat cycling into the rings. You actually may have missed this with 1000 miles on the clock already. Go have fun. By my calculations based on 1,000 miles and an average 35 mph (you said city driving), each piston has cycled at least/more than 45,000 times since day one. It's ready...

I was going based on 1,200mi that I've done with every car I've owned. There's so many thoughts based on whether a break in is even needed... i chose to be conservative but im getting the itch... especially after giving the engine a good push this morning to prevent a Matrix from cutting me off.

[Doanster]

What?!? No ceramic controls? I thought we already went over that?

[Blackhawks]

Originally Posted by Doanster

What?!? No ceramic controls? I thought we already went over that?

I know I know I know!!!!! And I actually went back and saw the PM you sent me of the retrofit pieces. lol.

[kanvas]

Good review. I'm at nearly 15k miles and it's still refreshing to read such review.

[Samurai of 2day]

Originally Posted by Blackhawks

No, I made the absolute right move on Space Gray. It was between Mineral White and Space Gray and I definitely made the right choice. It's such a great looking color and I would have regretted the X5 in mineral white.

Hides dirt as well as a car can, as well. I'm not big into blue for cars... unless it's a '70 Chevelle

Have you posted pics of the space gray anywhere on this forum?

My next car will be space gray, but when I see it in person, there are times when I don't like it... but it is the only standard color close to what I want on the F16 I plan on building in a few months.

Mineral gray would be ideal for me, but space gray is the only standard color that comes close available on my future X6