BMW X5 and MB GL series

[blassy]

Anyone here have any experience with either? I drive a 335i coupe and love it, but we need a second bigger vehicle. Think I have it down to these but want to know first hand experience.

[HL65]

Had an optioned out X5 4 years back and loved it!! Great driver and very comfortable.

[Mike 75]

I have had an X5 going on 3 years, and will lease another one when my lease is up this summer. It's the best car I've ever owned.

[azguy]

I had an X5 from 2005 to 2010, one of my favorite cars

[moby33]

Originally Posted by Mike 75

I have had an X5 going on 3 years, and will lease another one when my lease is up this summer. It's the best car I've ever owned.

Originally Posted by azguy

I had an X5 from 2005 to 2010, one of my favorite cars

Lol...just goes to show how different personal tastes are. I've owned 23 vehicles in the last 10 years (don't get me started on explaining that...let’s just say I enjoy buying/selling cars in my free time)...at any rate...owned a 2007 X5 and without a doubt my LEAST favorite of them all and would NEVER buy again...flipped that one for a Volvo XC70 and couldn't be happier w/ the Volvo.

Love BMW for cars...not the best choice IMO if you want an SUV. About the only truly positive thing I could say about the X5 was its range...huge gas tank means the pit stops were slight (which I personally love 'cause I can't stand pulling into the station).

Cheers!

[DARK_KNIGHT]

TO: MOBY33
FROM: DARK_KNIGHT

REF: BMW X5


I'm curious as to why you don't like the X5? I'm seriously considering one.

Any info you can provide will help. Thanks !

[moby33]

Originally Posted by DARK_KNIGHT

TO: MOBY33
FROM: DARK_KNIGHT

REF: BMW X5


I'm curious as to why you don't like the X5? I'm seriously considering one.

Any info you can provide will help. Thanks !

Steering was extremely heavy...felt like a tank both in response and refinement.

Chassis wasn't tuned very well IMO. Too much body roll and under steer was obvious under any type of 'sporty' driving conditions. Not what I expected out of any BMW product (even if it were an SUV).

Brakes would never really exude confidence. While never feeling unsafe or soft, they just didn't seem as sharp as you would expect. The brakes on my Toyota FJ Cruiser felt a million times better. Again...probably had a lot to do with that heavy, tank-like driving experience. The X5 is by no means a light SUV...and I could feel this unfortunate fact under all types of driving conditions.

The electric pedal response was also lagging IMO. While not a huge deal, I always felt like the nano-delay was too long...almost like I was driving a vehicle with bad turbo lag.

Doors felt way too heavy...I couldn't believe how unrefined it felt opening & closing them. Don't get me wrong, they had a very solid feel...but I've had many vehicles that felt just as solid when you closed the doors but it didn't feel like you were moving mountains to get them to close.

Seats were not the most comfortable and for whatever reason the leather didn't seem that great to me. Funny because the leather in a couple 3-series I owned seemed a ton better quality than what was in my X5.

I wasn't a big fan of the climate control buttons/knobs. Seemed very primitive and not in-line with what I would expect of a vehicle in this class. Also the red/dark yellow color was not to my liking...seemed like an Audi from the 80's.

Rear trunk area not very big. From the outside the vehicle looks like it can pack some serious cargo...but even with the rear seats dropped, I was surprised at how cramped it still felt. Plus, when you dropped the rear seats they didn't fold very flat at all...therefore hindering the types of larger objects that could fit in the back. The sweeping rear window adds to the style of the vehicle, but it comes at a price wrt cargo area.

There were other things that I can't recall now...but I do know I always seemed to be b!tching about something with my X5. Not from a breakdown/lemon aspect, but merely from a bunch of little issues that added up.

I've owned/operated too many vehicles in my time to think there's a perfect vehicle...I can find faults in all. But the reason I ranked my X5 so low was the fact I found so many issues (usually I find 1 or 2 in each car I own...with the X5 it was like 10-15)...they all added up to one nagging headache & I just got tired of always being disappointed.

Maybe the newer models have addressed a lot of these issues, but I'm not interested in finding out as one trip to the BWM SUV rodeo is enough for this kid.

[kilyung]

I'd get a G55!

[jwalther]

Unless you off-road, the MB R Class is a much more practical vehicle than the GL.

[Ristretto]

GL drives better, I'd pick the GL over the X5.

Not a fan of the second gen X5.

[jhilly8982]

Well the GL is mercedes full size SUV and BMW doesn't really have a class to compete with that. The GL and Audi Q7 are in the same class. The Mercedes ML class of cars is the comparable one to the BMW X5. Unless you were talking about the Merceded GLK suv, which is similar in size as the BMW X3.

I just got an X5 6 months ago and love it. I do like the Mercede's ML class though, very sharp looking car.

[gwalker]

My fiancé has a SL550 now. She had a 6 series before. We'll take MB over BMW everytime. Can't speak for the SUVs. Just like anything boils down to what you want. Personally when it comes to SUVs I'd buy another Tahoe like my 08.

[jhilly8982]

Originally Posted by gwalker

My fiancé has a SL550 now. She had a 6 series before. We'll take MB over BMW everytime. Can't speak for the SUVs. Just like anything boils down to what you want. Personally when it comes to SUVs I'd buy another Tahoe like my 08.

I agree, as the X5 isn't really an SUV, they call it an SAV and it is more akin to a crossover than a normal SUV like a Tahoe.

[moby33]

Originally Posted by gwalker

Personally when it comes to SUVs I'd buy another Tahoe like my 08.

Classic...100% agree. Owned a 2000, 2004 & now have a 2009 Tahoe. While I liked all the Tahoe's, the '09 is by far my favorite and I would buy again in a heartbeat (no pun intended...remember the 'ol Heartbeat of America Chevy campaign of the 80's/90's) over the X5.

I almost pulled the trigger on an '08 Tahoe, but had to wait for the '09 so I could get Chevy's new 6-spd tranny. If you like your '08, you'll really like the 6-spd.

[gwalker]

Originally Posted by moby33

Classic...100% agree. Owned a 2000, 2004 & now have a 2009 Tahoe. While I liked all the Tahoe's, the '09 is by far my favorite and I would buy again in a heartbeat (no pun intended...remember the 'ol Heartbeat of America Chevy campaign of the 80's/90's) over the X5.

I almost pulled the trigger on an '08 Tahoe, but had to wait for the '09 so I could get Chevy's new 6-spd tranny. If you like your '08, you'll really like the 6-spd.

First congrats to the OP. I just purchased a 97 2 door Tahoe for the hell of it last year. I LOVE it. 8" suspension lift running 38.5 super Swamper ThoRnbirds for doing work around the farm. I'm want to get a 454 crate motor soon. It's a money pit. Lol

[moby33]

Originally Posted by gwalker

First congrats to the OP. I just purchased a 97 2 door Tahoe for the hell of it last year. I LOVE it. 8" suspension lift running 38.5 super Swamper ThoRnbirds for doing work around the farm. I'm want to get a 454 crate motor soon. It's a money pit. Lol

LOL...I read this post and realized I misspoke...I guess I've owned 4 Tahoe's (I really must stop). After reading about your '97, I instantly remembered a '96 2-dr Sport I purchased on the east coast for the sole purpose of driving cross country to pull my '63 Vette (I didn't trust anyone shipping my Split-Window, so I figured why not buy a cheap SUV and enjoy the road trip).

It was dark green, had the push-button 4X4, and two sunroofs (little portholes over the driver & passenger seats...I don't think they were factory as I've never seen them before or after, but the pop up glass looked perfect and they never leaked...very strange, but really cool) and the rest of the truck was rock solid.

I bought it for next to nothing from a guy outside of Philly and it was filthy (but looking it over I could tell most of the eye sore was all from lack of basic upkeep). I changed all the fluids & detailed it one Sat afternoon and the truck looked almost new (this was in Dec '05 so it was essentially a 10 yr old Tahoe) & ran perfectly (I think it had about 160K miles on it).

I hauled butt pulling my Vette from Annapolis, MD to SoCal in a little under 4 days and the Tahoe Sport was a blast the whole way. I drove it in SoCal for another few months and then sold it out here (for a very slight profit ). I remember now as I was selling thinking, "Man...I really like this truck...maybe I shouldn't sell." If it would have had the rear barn-doors I just might have held onto it. At any rate, as always, my stable was too full and I had to downsize.

Enjoy that 2-door...they really are cool IMO (kind of wish they would offer a modern day version of them...but I realize there probably isn't a huge buying market for 2-door full-size SUVs).

[FNFZ4]

they are not in the same class ....

[NiceRide]

Nice! Is that the 50drive with the 4.4L tt I-8? 8-sp trans is silky smooth. I have those exact rims in an alpine white. Congrats!!

[watchiwant]

Nice X5 indeed

[akiruno]

Originally Posted by gwalker

I'm want to get a 454 crate motor soon. It's a money pit. Lol

Take a look at swapping in a Duramax diesel instead...1000 ft lbs of torque is easily achieved


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