F15 delivered - first thoughts

[Rokkster]

Last week I picked up my F15 (X5 30D M Sport, Black Sapphire and just about every option I could squeeze in).

Having some issues over enhanced BT at the moment which the dealer is resolving but putting that to one side here are my initial thoughts:

Cons:

Rear entertainment system (pro). It comes with just a single remote - but nowhere to put it! There are only cup holders in the rear armrest which it won't fit in. Putting it in the central armrest means it is out of reach as only the driver is close enough to the release buttons to open it up. It therefore ends up bouncing around on the seats or being put in the bottle holder of the rear seats.

Without headphones plugged in, whatever either the left or right hand passenger selects on their screen is reflected across the whole car. As the front passengers can't see TV (without hacking the code of course), this means a blank screen with TV audio. With headphones in the two screens can choose an option independently of each other and the front. However, it is not possible to have two independent TV channels on either screen even with headphones. Same goes for radio. As additional tuners (which these days are a small an dvery inexpensive chip) wouldn't have cost BMW anymore than a couple pounds this seems a ludicrous omission. In the case of radio there is a work-around for two people in that one can choose FM and the other DAB and these are seen as separate options.

I have tried pairing a fairly run-of-the-mill bluetooth headphone set with the rear system but haven't succeeded as yet. I'm hoping BMW haven't set this up in an exotic fashion to only work with their £90 a pair headphones. I'll try again at some point with another set.

BMW Apps. My company develops apps and I weep every time I have to fire this up. Not only does it render access to any other apps impossible without severing the connection (not necessary since background app functionality was introduced for the iPhone a few generations of iOS ago), but many of the apps are simplistic with very little real world advantage. The Twitter app does not show private messages or direct messages - simply the entire user stream, favourites (!!!) and US trends (!!!!). Awful. The general quality of other apps available is also sparse and largely limited to US based companies with a UK coverage (e.g. Stitcher for podcasts).

iDrive. Regarding Touch, as previously mentioned, we drivers in the UK have to use this with a left hand (or a right hand uncomfortably) because of its position. I found the process slow and inaccurate on that basis. Voice control in navigation is great (although elsewhere it required signing up with DragonDictate with a £20 a year subscription after 60 days!!! No thanks, 'Apple Siri' or 'Google Now' does that for free.

PDC. Parking Assist. When this worked it is excellent - but too many times it seemed to miss obvious spaces. On one occasion it attempted to park me on the opposite side of the road careering onto a pavement (near a glass bus stop). I've tried to find a fail-safe way of using this but haven't quite figured out what the criteria are that it uses. For example if the space between two cars appears to be longer than a further two cars it doesn't seem to register - even though this seems a perfectly legitimate use.

Panoramic camera is quite useful but I often found myself reverting to rear camera in order to check obstacles further away than the view shows. The distance above the car also makes it harder to judge very tight spaces. I would have liked an option to view various cameras independently for this.

Engine. I went for the 3ltr but it feels slightly less responsive than my 530GT did. On that basis I'm thinking the 540D may have been worth the extra cost, although overall it's not a deal breaker.

Boot. No matter what they tell you about volume, the sloping rear door (as opposed to say a Range Rover or even a Citroen Xsara Picasa which are much less of an angle) means you won't get as much luggage in there as you'd hoped as the door won't shut!

Also, the pull-over privacy screen is clumsy and the base for it further causes height restriction for suitcases. You can remove it - but there is nowhere to put it (other than resting on top of luggage which makes it an immediate safety hazard in the event of a sudden stop). You could leave it at home but that defeats the object of having it in the first place. The void where the tyre once lived (if you have run flast) does provide very handy additional storage however - although don't expect to access it until you have removed all the items above.

USB The standard F15 only comes with one USB port (the five series had a further one in the glove compartment). If you have the rear entertainment system you do get a further port. The main one however is in the central arm-rest which means if you want to mount your phone outside of the optional dock (most people) you will have a lead dragging right across the gear stick, idrive and buttons. You also run the risk of catching the lead in the two panel doors when closed (BMW do seem to have improved this since my 530GT which closed tight though). A much more obvious solution would have been an additional port next to the cigarette lighter by the cup holders for example. Furthermore the air vents are a lot shorter vertically than in my old 530GT which means my original air vent mount no longer works properly, and I suspect that would be universal.

At some point it would be nice if the designers undertook some usability tests as I suspect they are either focusing on a narrow demographic or not doing any at all!!

Wheels I have a friend who runs a body repair shop. He had my 530GT in for alloy repairs several times over the two years I had the car. In less than five days I have managed to scrape my alloys yet again on the X5. With the lo-pro tyres on the 530 I took this as an occupational hazard, but with something that is designed to off-road (ahem) I'd expect them to have designed alloys that are more inset on the tyre rim (as per even the lowly Freelander) to avoid this happening. I can see my friend is going to be kept in beer money for at least the next few years on this basis!

Pros.

It looks gorgeous!

Active Cruise Control. The car automatically slowed down perfectly behind other cars, even on smaller roads with bends. I have been able to set this for almost all journey types and it handles perfectly. I love the fact that if I need to overtake, turning on the indicator forces the car to begin to speed up in anticipation of the overtake too.

HUD. I like the steering wheel to be quite low on longer journeys so that my arms can rest on the arm-rests while driving. This means that the instruments can be obscured (same on my previous 530GT). However, with the HUD I can all but ignore the display as everything I need is right there floating over the bonnet! Definitely worth having. Navigation on the HUD is very detailed including road names etc. Can also change radio stations easily from the steering wheel.

EcoPro mode. Love the 'gamification' of this (also on BMW Apps where you score points for good driving!). Seeing the mileage saved from my diligent driving is really encouraging and overall makes quite a difference to fuel economy.

Overall these minor gripes have taken the sheen off my £75k purchase a little, and in particular when even the cheapest of cars are now sporting many of these expensive extras (not to mention the all conquering Tesla which boasts more tech than your average Apple store). I'd have hoped that BMW would have been keeping ahead of the curve and offering a lot of these things are standard with optional extras being features that other cars are still yet to boast. The implementation of BMW apps (and integration with phones in general) is via an out of date app which has little in the way of useable functionality. iDrive menu options are confusing and in some ways cross over (how many times have you gone through various menu items to find the one function that you know is in there somewhere?), which further points to a lack of usability testing (in my industry we call this UX - user experience). I don't see this changing for a few more years either (although their recent discussions with Tesla after said company released their patents for free is encouraging).

When all is said and done this is still a BMW however and despite a glut of product aimed at enticing all would-be purchasing levels, a premium car. Now, if only they went that little bit extra - they'd be untouchable!

[Shorty Shorty]

Nice review.. The HUD is great, chuffed I added it to my 40d.

That's one hell of a price tag for a 30d!!!

[JSteinMD]

I also tried the IR headphones from my E70 X5, as well as bluetooth but no luck. As far as I can tell (at least in US), you need to purchase BMW digital radio headphones, which set me back $200/pair!

My X5 has a little spot in the center stack just above the DVD slot where the remote fits perfectly. However, I did not opt for the 4-zone climate control and I know that my E70 had it and that is exactly where the climate controls were!

[Baunton]

Thanks for the review...nice car

Your wheels; I feel for you I dinged my front passenger side after <200 miles.
In the first week I had Gator Strips fitted to my 469s and having my winter set of 467s done this week along with nano sealed to keep 'em sweet!

Enjoy your ride.

[CatFlap]

@Rokkster thanks for the comprehensive write-up, very informative. Great looking car!

I'm about a week away from taking delivery of my X5 (if my dealers order status info can be believed!) and have been trying to track its progress across the 'pond'. Can I ask, what was your build date of your X5 and what was the actual date it arrived at your dealer? I'm trying to establish the total transit time.

[Baunton]

Originally Posted by CatFlap

@Rokkster thanks for the comprehensive write-up, very informative. Great looking car!

I'm about a week away from taking delivery of my X5 (if my dealers order status info can be believed!) and have been trying to track its progress across the 'pond'. Can I ask, what was your build date of your X5 and what was the actual date it arrived at your dealer? I'm trying to establish the total transit time.

CF! Good to hear from you, was beginning to worry about status of your new baby. Heard reports of Somali Pirates in the Straights of Dover

[CatFlap]

Originally Posted by Baunton

CF! Good to hear from you, was beginning to worry about status of your new baby. Heard reports of Somali Pirates in the Straights of Dover

Aaaarrrrrrrr!!!!!!

[Flatironcopse]

Originally Posted by Baunton

CF! Good to hear from you, was beginning to worry about status of your new baby. Heard reports of Somali Pirates in the Straights of Dover

Brilliant!! Them Somalis do like the F15 I heard!

[Rokkster]

Originally Posted by CatFlap

@Rokkster thanks for the comprehensive write-up, very informative. Great looking car!

I'm about a week away from taking delivery of my X5 (if my dealers order status info can be believed!) and have been trying to track its progress across the 'pond'. Can I ask, what was your build date of your X5 and what was the actual date it arrived at your dealer? I'm trying to establish the total transit time.

From memory between build and delivery was about four weeks, but my dealer had been telling me it was still some weeks off though when he finally called to say in fact it was in the country and would be in the dealership the following week! The little tinker was playing the old under-promise, over-deliver card - lol. As it happened it was a fantastic unexpected surprise and he got a bottle of decent port off me for his cheek, so all's well that ends well.

[Flatironcopse]

Maybe I'm just not so picky or maybe my last car was so bad but.....

I love the car... to the point where the only fault is a slight squeak when I rest my left elbow on the centre console.... damn that annoys me so much....but I can cope

The lights LED Adaptive are amazing, fuel consumption about 35mpg (3.0D) so that's not too bad. Switching from comfort to sport is great! Turns me from the old git I am into the boy racer I want to be in no time. Sports seats are fine (wife falls asleep very quickly in them )

Switched off the writing capability. Right handed in UK is not best for that.

Well worth the wait... well now that it's arrived.

[CatFlap]

Originally Posted by Flatironcopse

Maybe I'm just not so picky or maybe my last car was so bad but.....

I love the car... to the point where the only fault is a slight squeak when I rest my left elbow on the centre console.... damn that annoys me so much....but I can cope

Are you sure it's not your elbow squeaking?

Originally Posted by Flatironcopse

The lights LED Adaptive are amazing, fuel consumption about 35mpg (3.0D) so that's not too bad. Switching from comfort to sport is great! Turns me from the old git I am into the boy racer I want to be in no time. Sports seats are fine (wife falls asleep very quickly in them )

Switched off the writing capability. Right handed in UK is not best for that.

I knew being a 'lefty' would come in handy one day for me!

Glad you're enjoying your X5! It's going to be a long week's wait for me...no fingernails left already

[Flatironcopse]

Originally Posted by CatFlap

I knew being a 'lefty' would come in handy one day for me!

A "lefty" with a BMW. What ever would Milliband say!?

[CatFlap]

Originally Posted by Flatironcopse

A "lefty" with a BMW. What ever would Milliband say!?

[Shorty Shorty]

Originally Posted by Flatironcopse

Maybe I'm just not so picky or maybe my last car was so bad but.....

I love the car... to the point where the only fault is a slight squeak when I rest my left elbow on the centre console.... damn that annoys me so much....but I can cope

I actually can't cope with the squeak, mine is going in for it... Only one side squeaks, sooooo annoying..

[1230vani]

Originally Posted by Flatironcopse

Maybe I'm just not so picky or maybe my last car was so bad but.....

I love the car... to the point where the only fault is a slight squeak when I rest my left elbow on the centre console.... damn that annoys me so much....but I can cope

The lights LED Adaptive are amazing, fuel consumption about 35mpg (3.0D) so that's not too bad. Switching from comfort to sport is great! Turns me from the old git I am into the boy racer I want to be in no time. Sports seats are fine (wife falls asleep very quickly in them )

Switched off the writing capability. Right handed in UK is not best for that.

Well worth the wait... well now that it's arrived.

I hate that squeek sound on the armrest!!!!

[BXdriver]

Thanks guys for sharing your first thoughts on your cars.
Always good to read about others experiences.

So..our car has arrived too. Seller called last week, suddenly. Kind of many weeks earlier that I expected. "Can you pick up your car next Friday?" was the question.

Yeeah..so guess what.
I have absolutely NO TIME to pick up the car. Cant believe it

Its work, work - and in one day we're leaving for holiday (good )

Back from holiday - and straight off for two weeks away for more work.
So, maybe no time to pick up the car before end of July.
The seller was not too happy about that, so I MUST to be able to squeeze in a few hours in middle of July to pick it up.
Uh...luxury problem...

Cheers,
Bent

[gorun]

I have the squeak as well. I plan to fix it myself. The bump stop rubber dimple on the inside of the armrest is too small and does not make contact with the central console unless there is pressure on it. Will try a bigger silicone stick on type and see if that helps...

[Shorty Shorty]

Originally Posted by gorun

I have the squeak as well. I plan to fix it myself. The bump stop rubber dimple on the inside of the armrest is too small and does not make contact with the central console unless there is pressure on it. Will try a bigger silicone stick on type and see if that helps...

May give that a shot also.

[PunjabiM3]

Originally Posted by Rokkster

Rear entertainment system (pro). It comes with just a single remote - but nowhere to put it! There are only cup holders in the rear armrest which it won't fit in. Putting it in the central armrest means it is out of reach as only the driver is close enough to the release buttons to open it up. It therefore ends up bouncing around on the seats or being put in the bottle holder of the rear seats.

Without headphones plugged in, whatever either the left or right hand passenger selects on their screen is reflected across the whole car. As the front passengers can't see TV (without hacking the code of course), this means a blank screen with TV audio. With headphones in the two screens can choose an option independently of each other and the front. However, it is not possible to have two independent TV channels on either screen even with headphones. Same goes for radio. As additional tuners (which these days are a small an dvery inexpensive chip) wouldn't have cost BMW anymore than a couple pounds this seems a ludicrous omission. In the case of radio there is a work-around for two people in that one can choose FM and the other DAB and these are seen as separate options.

I have tried pairing a fairly run-of-the-mill bluetooth headphone set with the rear system but haven't succeeded as yet. I'm hoping BMW haven't set this up in an exotic fashion to only work with their £90 a pair headphones. I'll try again at some point with another set.

So are you saying that if the rear passengers are watching something on the rear entertainment screen(s), the front navigation screen is just blacked out? So one cannot use navigation, listen to music, etc from the front input when the rear passenger(s) are watching something from the rear DVD? Please elaborate. Thanks!

[monkray]

Dear Rokkster and Flatironcopse! Many thanks for all the interesting feedback on your new X5s (lucky sods!). I have got long wait ahead for a 2015 sapphire black 30d but on the plus side still have time to tweak the order. I take it that you are happy with the 467M wheels which look good from your photos, presumably due to the staggered set-up which our US friends don't get. Apart from that would you have changed your original order based on your experience. Any suggestions?

F15 X5 xDrive30d M Sport
475 Black Sapphire
LCSW Black Dakota Leather
4DD Fineline Pure textured wood interior trim
2PV 19" M Double-spoke style 467M alloy wheels
2VF Adaptive M suspension
552 Adaptive LED Headlights
5AT Driving Assistant Plus
5AR Traffic Jam Assist
610 HUD
8TH Speed limit display
5AG Lane change warning system
5AL Dynamic Safety
402 Panoramic Glass Sunroof
420 Sun protection glass
456 Comfort seats, front
4UB Third-row seating
3AC Towbar, fully electric
430 Ext. mirrors - folding, auto dimming
3AG Reversing Assist camera
5DL Surround-view
5DP Park Assist
ZNS ConnectedDrive Services
320 Model designation deletion
688 HK Loudspeaker system
6NS Enhanced Bluetooth Telephone
6WB Multi-functional instrument panel

I was thinking about upgrading to the 40d but would have to eat into the options. This could include taking out park assist (which seems to get variable reviews), downgrading from HK to Advanced loudspeakers, staying with the standard sport seats instead of comfort, etc.

Originally Posted by Rokkster

Last week I picked up my F15 (X5 30D M Sport, Black Sapphire and just about every option I could squeeze in).

Having some issues over enhanced BT at the moment which the dealer is resolving but putting that to one side here are my initial thoughts:

Cons:

Rear entertainment system (pro). It comes with just a single remote - but nowhere to put it! There are only cup holders in the rear armrest which it won't fit in. Putting it in the central armrest means it is out of reach as only the driver is close enough to the release buttons to open it up. It therefore ends up bouncing around on the seats or being put in the bottle holder of the rear seats.

Without headphones plugged in, whatever either the left or right hand passenger selects on their screen is reflected across the whole car. As the front passengers can't see TV (without hacking the code of course), this means a blank screen with TV audio. With headphones in the two screens can choose an option independently of each other and the front. However, it is not possible to have two independent TV channels on either screen even with headphones. Same goes for radio. As additional tuners (which these days are a small an dvery inexpensive chip) wouldn't have cost BMW anymore than a couple pounds this seems a ludicrous omission. In the case of radio there is a work-around for two people in that one can choose FM and the other DAB and these are seen as separate options.

I have tried pairing a fairly run-of-the-mill bluetooth headphone set with the rear system but haven't succeeded as yet. I'm hoping BMW haven't set this up in an exotic fashion to only work with their £90 a pair headphones. I'll try again at some point with another set.

BMW Apps. My company develops apps and I weep every time I have to fire this up. Not only does it render access to any other apps impossible without severing the connection (not necessary since background app functionality was introduced for the iPhone a few generations of iOS ago), but many of the apps are simplistic with very little real world advantage. The Twitter app does not show private messages or direct messages - simply the entire user stream, favourites (!!!) and US trends (!!!!). Awful. The general quality of other apps available is also sparse and largely limited to US based companies with a UK coverage (e.g. Stitcher for podcasts).

iDrive. Regarding Touch, as previously mentioned, we drivers in the UK have to use this with a left hand (or a right hand uncomfortably) because of its position. I found the process slow and inaccurate on that basis. Voice control in navigation is great (although elsewhere it required signing up with DragonDictate with a £20 a year subscription after 60 days!!! No thanks, 'Apple Siri' or 'Google Now' does that for free.

PDC. Parking Assist. When this worked it is excellent - but too many times it seemed to miss obvious spaces. On one occasion it attempted to park me on the opposite side of the road careering onto a pavement (near a glass bus stop). I've tried to find a fail-safe way of using this but haven't quite figured out what the criteria are that it uses. For example if the space between two cars appears to be longer than a further two cars it doesn't seem to register - even though this seems a perfectly legitimate use.

Panoramic camera is quite useful but I often found myself reverting to rear camera in order to check obstacles further away than the view shows. The distance above the car also makes it harder to judge very tight spaces. I would have liked an option to view various cameras independently for this.

Engine. I went for the 3ltr but it feels slightly less responsive than my 530GT did. On that basis I'm thinking the 540D may have been worth the extra cost, although overall it's not a deal breaker.

Boot. No matter what they tell you about volume, the sloping rear door (as opposed to say a Range Rover or even a Citroen Xsara Picasa which are much less of an angle) means you won't get as much luggage in there as you'd hoped as the door won't shut!

Also, the pull-over privacy screen is clumsy and the base for it further causes height restriction for suitcases. You can remove it - but there is nowhere to put it (other than resting on top of luggage which makes it an immediate safety hazard in the event of a sudden stop). You could leave it at home but that defeats the object of having it in the first place. The void where the tyre once lived (if you have run flast) does provide very handy additional storage however - although don't expect to access it until you have removed all the items above.

USB The standard F15 only comes with one USB port (the five series had a further one in the glove compartment). If you have the rear entertainment system you do get a further port. The main one however is in the central arm-rest which means if you want to mount your phone outside of the optional dock (most people) you will have a lead dragging right across the gear stick, idrive and buttons. You also run the risk of catching the lead in the two panel doors when closed (BMW do seem to have improved this since my 530GT which closed tight though). A much more obvious solution would have been an additional port next to the cigarette lighter by the cup holders for example. Furthermore the air vents are a lot shorter vertically than in my old 530GT which means my original air vent mount no longer works properly, and I suspect that would be universal.

At some point it would be nice if the designers undertook some usability tests as I suspect they are either focusing on a narrow demographic or not doing any at all!!

Wheels I have a friend who runs a body repair shop. He had my 530GT in for alloy repairs several times over the two years I had the car. In less than five days I have managed to scrape my alloys yet again on the X5. With the lo-pro tyres on the 530 I took this as an occupational hazard, but with something that is designed to off-road (ahem) I'd expect them to have designed alloys that are more inset on the tyre rim (as per even the lowly Freelander) to avoid this happening. I can see my friend is going to be kept in beer money for at least the next few years on this basis!

Pros.

It looks gorgeous!

Active Cruise Control. The car automatically slowed down perfectly behind other cars, even on smaller roads with bends. I have been able to set this for almost all journey types and it handles perfectly. I love the fact that if I need to overtake, turning on the indicator forces the car to begin to speed up in anticipation of the overtake too.

HUD. I like the steering wheel to be quite low on longer journeys so that my arms can rest on the arm-rests while driving. This means that the instruments can be obscured (same on my previous 530GT). However, with the HUD I can all but ignore the display as everything I need is right there floating over the bonnet! Definitely worth having. Navigation on the HUD is very detailed including road names etc. Can also change radio stations easily from the steering wheel.

EcoPro mode. Love the 'gamification' of this (also on BMW Apps where you score points for good driving!). Seeing the mileage saved from my diligent driving is really encouraging and overall makes quite a difference to fuel economy.

Overall these minor gripes have taken the sheen off my £75k purchase a little, and in particular when even the cheapest of cars are now sporting many of these expensive extras (not to mention the all conquering Tesla which boasts more tech than your average Apple store). I'd have hoped that BMW would have been keeping ahead of the curve and offering a lot of these things are standard with optional extras being features that other cars are still yet to boast. The implementation of BMW apps (and integration with phones in general) is via an out of date app which has little in the way of useable functionality. iDrive menu options are confusing and in some ways cross over (how many times have you gone through various menu items to find the one function that you know is in there somewhere?), which further points to a lack of usability testing (in my industry we call this UX - user experience). I don't see this changing for a few more years either (although their recent discussions with Tesla after said company released their patents for free is encouraging).

When all is said and done this is still a BMW however and despite a glut of product aimed at enticing all would-be purchasing levels, a premium car. Now, if only they went that little bit extra - they'd be untouchable!

Originally Posted by Flatironcopse

Maybe I'm just not so picky or maybe my last car was so bad but.....

I love the car... to the point where the only fault is a slight squeak when I rest my left elbow on the centre console.... damn that annoys me so much....but I can cope

The lights LED Adaptive are amazing, fuel consumption about 35mpg (3.0D) so that's not too bad. Switching from comfort to sport is great! Turns me from the old git I am into the boy racer I want to be in no time. Sports seats are fine (wife falls asleep very quickly in them )

Switched off the writing capability. Right handed in UK is not best for that.

Well worth the wait... well now that it's arrived.

[1230vani]

Originally Posted by monkray

Dear Rokkster and Flatironcopse! Many thanks for all the interesting feedback on your new X5s (lucky sods!). I have got long wait ahead for a 2015 sapphire black 30d but on the plus side still have time to tweak the order. I take it that you are happy with the 467M wheels which look good from your photos, presumably due to the staggered set-up which our US friends don't get. Apart from that would you have changed your original order based on your experience. Any suggestions?

F15 X5 xDrive30d M Sport
475 Black Sapphire
LCSW Black Dakota Leather
4DD Fineline Pure textured wood interior trim
2PV 19" M Double-spoke style 467M alloy wheels
2VF Adaptive M suspension
552 Adaptive LED Headlights
5AT Driving Assistant Plus
5AR Traffic Jam Assist
610 HUD
8TH Speed limit display
5AG Lane change warning system
5AL Dynamic Safety
402 Panoramic Glass Sunroof
420 Sun protection glass
456 Comfort seats, front
4UB Third-row seating
3AC Towbar, fully electric
430 Ext. mirrors - folding, auto dimming
3AG Reversing Assist camera
5DL Surround-view
5DP Park Assist
ZNS ConnectedDrive Services
320 Model designation deletion
688 HK Loudspeaker system
6NS Enhanced Bluetooth Telephone
6WB Multi-functional instrument panel

I was thinking about upgrading to the 40d but would have to eat into the options. This could include taking out park assist (which seems to get variable reviews), downgrading from HK to Advanced loudspeakers, staying with the standard sport seats instead of comfort, etc.

I would take out park assist and take bigger wheels. Have staggered 19" m wheels, they are ok, but you will want bigger after couple of months, they looks so much better. 40d is a real performer but would not deduct HK nor comfort. Park assist is not as fast as you would want it, often u have to do everything again, etc. surround view is more than enough (i hope you have that bcs it is eay better than just rear view). You took great options. With dakota black leather you can also take ventilated seats (for looks as well as additional comfort).

[Sean_250]

Originally Posted by PunjabiM3

So are you saying that if the rear passengers are watching something on the rear entertainment screen(s), the front navigation screen is just blacked out? So one cannot use navigation, listen to music, etc from the front input when the rear passenger(s) are watching something from the rear DVD? Please elaborate. Thanks!

No. Rear screens have their own iDrive menu and dvd drive which can be accessed independently. If you want each rear screen to play a different movie one of them will need to use the dvd drive up front. If you have selected DVD for the front screen input too this will cut out if you're moving. However, all other inputs, navigation, music etc play ok - assuming that rear screens are using headphones and not playing through speakers.

While I agree with Rockster it would be nice if the remote had it's own cubby hole I find that door bins along with the headphones works just fine. Storage space isn't an X5's strong point!

For me I find it more frustrating that there is no split view option for front passenger as offered by MB and Range Rover and the fact I can't play movies from my iPod/iPhone.