elisiX's Carbon Black/Mugello Red F85 X5M

[elisiX]

Got it.

Love it.

Holy shit.

Thanks for all of the support guys - it's been a wild time getting here.

So happy to finally have my first M car. Ever since the first time I saw an Estoril Blue M3 (E36), i've wanted an M car.

I never would have guessed it would be an SUV but hey, priorities right?

Very keen to do an M50d vs X5M write up at some point. 2 very different beasts which hold their own IMO.

[elisiX]

At home this evening before I went out for a drive.



Absolutely loving this colour combination. It feels really special.

[slowie]

Gorgeous mate 😀

[elisiX]

Thanks slowie

Still need to get used to the car. Not only the power, but how it uses that power.

The drive last night was fantastic. Open road and minimal traffic. A lot of fun that's for sure.

However jumping in this morning in stop/start traffic - I really miss the radar cruise from the M50d.

That and also, even when in the most comfortable settings, you can feel the car just wants to go.

[slowie]

Welcome to M world 😉

[PatrickC23]

Gorgeous combo - I am hoping my wife goes with this as well. Any thoughts on satin roof rails with the black shadowline window trim?

[elisiX]

Loving the combo more and more each day.

I can't imagine pairing satin or silver rails with the shadowline trim.

When I see a picture of an X5M without shadowline at all, it looks out of place.

[elisiX]

A couple new pictures taken in the past 24/h.

First fill up. Only got 320KM out of this tank, though there was still 30 remaining + reserve.

I put that at approx. 350-370km out of this tank overall had I run it empty.

Coming from the M50d where i'd easily do 650 before filling up (leaving reserve of 30+), it's a little different.




Absolutely loving the Mugello Red. Tried to capture it a few times.

iPhone doesn't do too badly, though it's pretty terrible in low light.

[Alberta]

Beautiful car !

Enjoy your ride

[remmib]

I'd love to see that interior in real life, never seen a X5/X6 M yet.

[Luca42]

Originally Posted by elisiX

At home this evening before I went out for a drive.



Absolutely loving this colour combination. It feels really special.

That is stunning! Enjoy!

[elisiX]

Thanks guys.

I've got some mods on the way which should be fitted within the next week. Mostly M Performance CF gear.

Aside from that, i'm looking into Exhaust/DP options and may pickup a set of 22" ADV.1 5.0 Track Spec wheels from a local.

I'm not entirely sold on them suiting the F85, nor if I even want to move from the stock 612M wheels.

Honeymoon phase = so lots of pics coming through

[Alberta]

This looks pretty cheap on a such nice car LOL

[elisiX]

Well of course it does when you zoom in like that.

Realistically in person, you can't notice it at all as the plate is quite high on that grill so only from dead on and further back could you see the top. I'd been toying with the idea of running no front plate for the first time. Though I may have missed my opportunity.supposedly until recently, you could pretty much get away with it and if caught, received a cash fine only. However now it incurs demerit points from your license. These plates are also temporary as I am ordering custom plates. Just haven't decided what to go with. I may just mount the new plates correctly.

[Ninjaoz]

oh wow! congrats mate, your X5///M looks absolutely stunning, love the colour combo. have you decided what paint protection are you gonna apply yet?

would love to hear the exhaust note!

[elisiX]

I'm going with Gyeon again (http://www.gyeonquartz.com.au/) and am booked in this Wednesday. I had this applied inside and out to my M50d, and the results were fantastic. From what I gather, it has the most wet looking finish of all the nano sealants. Aside from that, I was mostly impressed by just how clean the car remained between washes. I'm expecting the same thing for the Carbon Black as I saw with the Black Sapphire.

I've been going back and forth for weeks trying to decide about whether or not to invest in XPEL Ultimate. I'm keeping the car for 5 years but handing it back at the end of the lease. I would really like to do an exhaust upgrade and a few other bits and pieces, so spending another $3k on XPEL for 2/3 coverage of the car just doesn't gel with that plan. The Gyeon treatment along is over 1k also, so it's not cheap when you combine the two.

[twelve535i]

Leases are 5 years long in Australia?

[elisiX]

2-5 years. You can choose.

[robbys3m3]

Love the pics!

[cmyx6go]

I'm loving the red interior. It looks great. I considered the coral red when I ordered the 50 but chickened out. The Mugello red looks nicer, a deeper red.

[elisiX]

A few people have asked me about the M50d vs X5M and I made some comments in the below thread which I thought i'd repost here for anyone following.

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...1&postcount=21

Originally Posted by tastelid
I'd be curious to know if there's any way in which people think the non-M is better. Perhaps the loss of the third row of seats is a negative for people who need to carry half a soccer team? Inability to do much off-road driving? Minimum wheel size is pretty large?

Maybe the non-M has stop-and-go cruise control?

Having owned an M50d, which is considered the top of the line F15, and now an F85 X5M, I don't think it's as simple as it seems.

I'm in awe of my X5M. It absolutely blows the M50d out of the water in so many ways. It's a true M car, even if it is in SUV format. The power, precision and performance are truly remarkable, especially in such a large vehicle. You know the X5M means business the moment you get jump into it.

However, the lack of adaptive cruise, nappa leather, truly comfortable ride and relaxed quiet interior give the M50d the tick over the X5M in many respects. Even in it's most comfortable settings, the X5M doesn't touch the M50d for relaxed, comfortable driving. It fails to balance true comfort and sport as well. The X5M is a sports SUV (that feels like a sedan in many respects).

Don't get me wrong, in stop start traffic the X5M in efficiency and comfort settings is a nice place to be. You can cruise along without noticing to a great extend the harsh road surface beneath you. However the M50d does a much better job of the balance, particularly as mine had DHP. Had I not owned both, I would think the X5M was perfectly fine from a comfort perspective (and it is).

A lot of what I touch on above relates to comfort. That's a big thing for me and my family as I have a young child and spend a lot of time in traffic. So while the X5M in it's tamest settings won't lunge forward with the slightest touch of the accelerator, you still feel it wants to crack a whip all the time. The power delivery in the M50d was very different. All of that torque down low was just effortless to drive - and still seriously quick. The X5M however is just a beast.

Which car do I prefer? Easily the X5M. The M50d lacked a lot of atmosphere which is where the 50i may have made up for it. Had I gone with the 50i in the first place, I may not have thought about the X5M as much - at least not thought about it as a way to improve the M50d's tame nature which is why I ultimately made the change. I'm still getting used to the X5M's power, even during break in. But I absolutely love it and I doubt anyone would be disappointed.

Also, here's a few recent pictures including a new mod, a washed car and the X5M with the M5.

[elisiX]

A few photo's from the past week. I'm loving the M more and more each day.

First up, my M Performance parts for the interior arrived.

• M Performance Carbon Fiber Center Console Trim
• M Performance Carbon Fiber Shifter
• M Performance Alcantara Key Case

Absolutely love the CF as it ties the interior together nicely.

I'm now seriously contemplating adding the Alcantara dash and steering wheel.

As far as mods go, aside from the above I also finally managed to get the windows tinted.




Next was a quick car wash ahead of my first M Club cruise.

Carbon Black is such a stunning colour in person. Very different from the BSM M50d I had.




And a few pictures of the M from Sunday.

I've been on a quite a few of these cruises over the years with VW and Audi clubs - Let's just say that the M guys know how to party.