Ownership Diary - G05 X5 30dXdrive M Sport (MHEV)

That’ll either be the 3 litre twin turbo 40d or the same 3l but triple turbo’d M50d.

 

Yeah sorry, didn't mean to be quite so curt. Was a late night reply after a few glasses of wine. I wouldn't want to spoil his illusion either.....it was just the OCD for correctness which kicked in!

Spent the weekend in Lincolnshire - a 2hr drive from where we are. Took my Uncle out in it and he loved it - not going to change his 3yr old 530d Touring for one, but he really likes the software updates and MHEV powertrain. He cited the responsiveness of the throttle and absence of turbo lag as real changes from his 530d. Have to agree - the fact there's no lag in spool-up because the 48v motor has primed it rather than waiting for exhaust gasses to hit a critical mass is noticeable.

Another 300mile+ weekend with 41.4mpg overall.

Local travel is a little lower than I thought - generally between 30-33mpg when picking up my daughter or heading into Saffron Walden. But that's between 10-15mpg better than the Cayenne over similar journeys. Overall, since collecting I'm hitting around 35.5mpg - a tad under (0.3mpg) Mrs Spuff's X1.

 

Quick update - now 2k miles since I bought the X5 and my first thoughts on ownership.

Still very much enjoying it. It’s a very easy car to live with and a pleasure to be out and about in. As I already mentioned, for family duties it ticks pretty much all the boxes and for a comfortable car for me to peddle around in, it’s also perfect.

I loved the media/iDrive interface from the outset but the more time I spend with it, the more I have respect for how intuitive it is.

Over the time since I’ve had it, I’m averaging 34.9mpg, which interestingly is exactly the same as the longterm mpg from factory. I love the fact there are 4 trip computers in the menus. Start of Journey, Since last Refuel, Ex Works (from factory) and then an Individual which is the user resettable trip. Given I always like to run one to cover the entire ownership and one from every single refuel, it’s great having all of them there.

I also love the illuminated M in the door kick guards. I can’t bring myself to remove the cellophane covering from the factory but you can still see the M illuminated and the
exterior lighting in both door handles and puddle lamps is super.

Only niggles so far:

- steering wheel is making a real racket when it extends out of the dash when ignition is first turned on. I’ll have to take it back to the dealer to be looking at as it’s getting worse.
- prefer VAG’s approach to folding mirrors which only unfold when ignition is turned on. The fact the mirrors go in and out just when I need to unlock to grab something from the car is annoying and extra wear on the motors IMO.
- sometimes (not often) you can feel the hybrid system kick in and out with a bit of kick. That actually sounds too harsh. But the point is, you can feel the transition. It’s not bad, but it is noticeable.....sometimes.

Otherwise it’s difficult to fault. I gave it a spruce up today, a clean inside and added some BMW all weather mats to the boot liner I had already bought. Never having had a brand new car before, I’m really keen to keep it looking new. Very pleased with the results.

 

Thanks everyone.

@Wynne71 - thanks. It is indeed a lovely place to sit. I’m not sure what’s more incredible - your 440i doing 35mpg average or my heavy X5! Either way, it’s an incredible number for both of them.

@aldo - that’s my daughters. She’s just shy of 9yrs old but already 130cm and 22kg. She’s been on the cusp of growing out of the Stage 2-3 seat I had her in for a while based on her height but I kept her in there as long as possible. Then she had a spurt width-ways (shoulders) and she got so uncomfortable that I ditched it for the booster seat you see in the picture. I wasn’t keen on doing so given the extra protection of the Kiddy GuardianFix she was in, but I could see she was too big for it and it wasn’t just her moaning.

@Mieke - yes, you’re right, my mirrors also function as you describe. I suppose I need to get into the habit of folding them in before I get out of the car.

 

The X5 continues to wow with its super balance of comfort, refinement, performance and economy. It’s chalked up just shy of 6k miles now - that’s 3k miles since I bought it just 3months ago. If nothing else changes and I exercise the PCP in 45months I’ll be well under water with the mileage since I signed up for 8k pa. But I don’t care when the car is so wonderful to drive and let’s face it, I won’t let it run its course!

Average fuel economy is 34.5mpg from factory and now evening out at around 32-33mpg for me in every day conditions. Some of that is caused by shorter trips, some by hooning but also influenced by the fact I’ve left the roof rack with bike carriers fitted which does affect the mpg quite considerably at speed. Until I get my head around fitting the towbar, the roof rack will stay on as it’s too difficult given the size of the car to keep taking it on and off.

Only other update is the fitment of winter tyres. This weekend saw both the X1 and X5 get their winter boots on. Temps around my part of the world are slumping this week with morning frosts and lots of standing water. Being pretty rural, winter tyres are a must for me. I managed to source a set of virtually brand new winter wheels from eBay. A guy fairly local to me had them fitted to his G05 M50d for 3k miles last year and in the interim stored with and fitted by BMW Sytner Chigwell. They’re mint and the DOT stacks up with them being just 18months old. They’re 20’s, same as my summer set. A little skinner though and a square setup rather than staggered. Think they look pretty good on my car. Just a shame I didn’t get to clean the car first. New the chap paid £3.8k for them. I picked them up for £2k which was a result IMO.



And for comparison sake....here she is on the summers....