Mrs SteVTEC's new ride - 2012 BMW X5 xDrive35d
08-09-12 | 05:43 AM
#16
Thread Starter
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,243
Likes: 0
From: Maryland
Thanks everybody! 
Yeah I think it still looks great. I haven't been all that crazy about how any of the new era BMWs drive with the numb electric steering and the 8 speed transmissions, so nudged my wife towards getting an E70. One last model year to go. A friend of mine pointed out that they really spruced up the rear end on the refresh E70 which is what this is, vs. the pre-refresh E70.
This is the older style.
http://photo.netcarshow.com/BMW-X5_x...9_photo_08.jpg
http://photo.netcarshow.com/BMW-X5_x...9_photo_09.jpg
Big improvement here on the refresh aka "LCI" version.
Yeah the third row is "small adults" or kids only. I tried just for laughs to see if I could squeeze my 6'3" carcass back there. Hell to the no, not a chance!
Believe it or not they're not too bad. Generally no eating allowed in the car except on longer trips. And if they really need to eat (can't avoid a meal time during the drive) we'll stop someplace. I do have child seat mats that I can put down underneath their boosters which catches just about everything from them.
Passport is great, and considered to be the best BMW dealership in the area by those on the BMW forums. Bought both my E93 and now this E70 through the same salesperson at Passport. Very friendly and responsive, knowledgeable, and a great sales experience from start to finish. They do take their sales satisfaction surveys very seriously. A friend of mine bought her E93 335i through Rockville (VOB) and said it was a good experience there also.
Will have to see if all the electronics and tech stuff grows on me or not. You can't do as much in my non-iDrive E93, but what you can do in that car you can still do a lot faster with simple button pushes than dorking around through iDrive menus. The latest generation iDrive lets you use the preset buttons on the center stack as presets for iDrive functions and not just radio stations, so that should be a big help once I get them all setup. One I have set for toggling random play on the CD player. Another I have setup to switch the screen OFF, handy for driving at night. There's also hard buttons right in front of and behind the iDrive controller too.
I know it's been improved over the years, but given that I still find it to be a bit clunky I can only imagine how bad the first generation systems must have been. And I don't really care for the electronic shifter either. I like to drive my E93 in manual mode a lot, and it's nice to have a solid feeling shifter that actually feels like a shifter, and not a computer joystick. I think it's fine on the X5 though. Don't think too many people are going to be driving one of those in manual mode all that much. It does free up some space for other things, like solid center console cup holders, as opposed to the flimsy pop out of the dashboard ones my E93 has. I do like the electronic parking brake switch. You hit it and the car will not budge at all. You really have to pull back on the manual parking brake hard in my E93 to get it to set solidly.
My wife says she can only see herself in a Lexus or a BMW. So of course we looked at the Lexus RX. Biggest reason she couldn't even bring herself to test drive it? She didn't like any of the colors! She really likes blues, as you can tell. The light blue just didn't do it for her. I see they now have a darker blue that seems similar to the BMW Deep Sea Blue on the '13 RX, so it would have been in the running. I still think she'd have ended up with the X5 though.
Thanks! Can you tell we like blue? LOL 
Yeah the X5d loaner pretty much sealed the deal. Great opportunity to take a vehicle that you're considering for an extended test drive. Loved how it drove, and she also wasn't averse to the diesel sound. She said she actually liked the low RPM chug-chug noise it made.
People either like it or they don't. We both like it. Drove the 35i also, but preferred the diesel. Better MPG and more incentives too, and I've always wanted a diesel anyways!
Tough to see from this angle, but there's two storage racks along the left side of the garage with a gap between them so that you can get the driver's side door open. It's definitely tight. I have 1" clearance in front, and about 2" clearance to the rear, but it fits! I have to park the 3er as far to the right as possible, and she has to park the SUV as far to the left as possible. That way I have enough room to open the longer doors on the coupe and not ding her car, and we can still get in and out of the door to the garage without the hood of her SUV blocking. That garage is my personal tetris project. I think we're the only ones on our block that actually park two cars in our garage. Most everybody else has given up and street parks at least one of their cars. Neighbors have been impressed and amazed, heh.
This is the older style.
http://photo.netcarshow.com/BMW-X5_x...9_photo_08.jpg
http://photo.netcarshow.com/BMW-X5_x...9_photo_09.jpg
Big improvement here on the refresh aka "LCI" version.
Yeah the third row is "small adults" or kids only. I tried just for laughs to see if I could squeeze my 6'3" carcass back there. Hell to the no, not a chance!
Congratulations. A nice and versatile all-around vehicle....and pleasant to drive. Gives you the best of both worlds......BMW steering/chassis engineering and the ability to both go through winter weather and carry stuff. I agree with you, though, that the I-Drive, electronic-shifter, and some of the dash-controls can be frustrating.
I notice you got it at Passport BMW in P.G. County. That's one of the few local D.C.-area BMW shops I haven't been to in recent years, either to do a BMW review or to help others do their car-shopping. How did you like the place? Did they treat you fairly? At one time, most BMW reps and dealer-personnel, like those at Mercedes and Porsche, were snooty, aristocratic, and unfriendly, but that seems to have gotten much better in recent years.
A nice and versatile all-around vehicle....and pleasant to drive. Gives you the best of both worlds......BMW steering/chassis engineering and the ability to both go through winter weather and carry stuff. I agree with you, though, that the I-Drive, electronic-shifter, and some of the dash-controls can be frustrating.I notice you got it at Passport BMW in P.G. County. That's one of the few local D.C.-area BMW shops I haven't been to in recent years, either to do a BMW review or to help others do their car-shopping. How did you like the place? Did they treat you fairly? At one time, most BMW reps and dealer-personnel, like those at Mercedes and Porsche, were snooty, aristocratic, and unfriendly, but that seems to have gotten much better in recent years.
Will have to see if all the electronics and tech stuff grows on me or not. You can't do as much in my non-iDrive E93, but what you can do in that car you can still do a lot faster with simple button pushes than dorking around through iDrive menus. The latest generation iDrive lets you use the preset buttons on the center stack as presets for iDrive functions and not just radio stations, so that should be a big help once I get them all setup. One I have set for toggling random play on the CD player. Another I have setup to switch the screen OFF, handy for driving at night. There's also hard buttons right in front of and behind the iDrive controller too.
I know it's been improved over the years, but given that I still find it to be a bit clunky I can only imagine how bad the first generation systems must have been. And I don't really care for the electronic shifter either. I like to drive my E93 in manual mode a lot, and it's nice to have a solid feeling shifter that actually feels like a shifter, and not a computer joystick. I think it's fine on the X5 though. Don't think too many people are going to be driving one of those in manual mode all that much. It does free up some space for other things, like solid center console cup holders, as opposed to the flimsy pop out of the dashboard ones my E93 has. I do like the electronic parking brake switch. You hit it and the car will not budge at all. You really have to pull back on the manual parking brake hard in my E93 to get it to set solidly.
Congrats! Did you cross-shop this with anything else? My wife and I are starting to look at SUVs (won't purchase for another year or so) and the X5 is currently atop her list. The other one she likes, at the moment, is the Cayenne. She doesn't want another Lexus so we'll be going German for her next vehicle.
The light blue just didn't do it for her. I see they now have a darker blue that seems similar to the BMW Deep Sea Blue on the '13 RX, so it would have been in the running. I still think she'd have ended up with the X5 though. Yeah the X5d loaner pretty much sealed the deal. Great opportunity to take a vehicle that you're considering for an extended test drive. Loved how it drove, and she also wasn't averse to the diesel sound. She said she actually liked the low RPM chug-chug noise it made.
People either like it or they don't. We both like it. Drove the 35i also, but preferred the diesel. Better MPG and more incentives too, and I've always wanted a diesel anyways!Tough to see from this angle, but there's two storage racks along the left side of the garage with a gap between them so that you can get the driver's side door open. It's definitely tight. I have 1" clearance in front, and about 2" clearance to the rear, but it fits! I have to park the 3er as far to the right as possible, and she has to park the SUV as far to the left as possible. That way I have enough room to open the longer doors on the coupe and not ding her car, and we can still get in and out of the door to the garage without the hood of her SUV blocking. That garage is my personal tetris project. I think we're the only ones on our block that actually park two cars in our garage. Most everybody else has given up and street parks at least one of their cars. Neighbors have been impressed and amazed, heh.
Last edited by SteVTEC; 08-09-12 at 06:03 AM.
08-09-12 | 07:48 AM
#19
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 678
Likes: 3
From: Los Angeles, CA
Congratulations!! Great choice. I just got an X5d for my wife as well a month ago. Funny, I also drive an E90 335i, and my wife also had a 2003 Lexus RX (same as Highlander), it's still sitting on the driveway. I could sign under every word of your post, have excatly the same impressions of the car, love to drive it, but like you - also get to drive it on weekends with kids only
Enjoy it.
Enjoy it.
08-09-12 | 12:21 PM
#21
My house now has only 2 car garages so only my 7 fits in there and I have park another car outside. 
Really miss the 4 car garage I had before.
BTW, Are you on Bimmerfest? There are 3 sets of nice X5 E70 wheels for sale for dirty cheap right now. One is 21' 5 spokes!! ( Too bad the 21' incher won't fit my car or I would jump on it already.)
Really miss the 4 car garage I had before.BTW, Are you on Bimmerfest? There are 3 sets of nice X5 E70 wheels for sale for dirty cheap right now. One is 21' 5 spokes!! ( Too bad the 21' incher won't fit my car or I would jump on it already.)
08-09-12 | 02:33 PM
#22
No Substitute
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,715
Likes: 11
From: RI
Congratulations. Great choice!
I have a friend that's had a couple of X5d's and loves them!! Torque and good MPG.. FTW!
PS As for the garage Have you considered switching sides and backing the 3 in? Just a thought.
I have a friend that's had a couple of X5d's and loves them!! Torque and good MPG.. FTW!
PS As for the garage
Have you considered switching sides and backing the 3 in? Just a thought.
08-09-12 | 06:00 PM
#24
Thread Starter
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,243
Likes: 0
From: Maryland
Congratulations!! Great choice. I just got an X5d for my wife as well a month ago. Funny, I also drive an E90 335i, and my wife also had a 2003 Lexus RX (same as Highlander), it's still sitting on the driveway. I could sign under every word of your post, have excatly the same impressions of the car, love to drive it, but like you - also get to drive it on weekends with kids only
Enjoy it.
Enjoy it.
And we were almost going to go for the RX back then too, but decided to get a fully loaded Limited Highlander since it was a little bigger and cheaper. Does the JBD diesel chip really make that big of a difference? They claim 60hp/100tq? 
My house now has only 2 car garages so only my 7 fits in there and I have park another car outside. Really miss the 4 car garage I had before.
BTW, Are you on Bimmerfest? There are 3 sets of nice X5 E70 wheels for sale for dirty cheap right now. One is 21' 5 spokes!! ( Too bad the 21' incher won't fit my car or I would jump on it already.)
Really miss the 4 car garage I had before.BTW, Are you on Bimmerfest? There are 3 sets of nice X5 E70 wheels for sale for dirty cheap right now. One is 21' 5 spokes!! ( Too bad the 21' incher won't fit my car or I would jump on it already.)
08-09-12 | 07:06 PM
#25
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 678
Likes: 3
From: Los Angeles, CA
Yeah, the chip really makes a difference. I didn't dyno the car to measure exactly the gain, but driving the car you can really feel it. The JBD difference on SUV feels almost the same as JB4 felt on my 335i back when I had it.
08-09-12 | 08:16 PM
#26
Thread Starter
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,243
Likes: 0
From: Maryland
3yr/36k mile lease (12k/yr)
MSRP $64,095 as equipped
Invoice $59,175
Deal was $1000 over invoice so $60,175
Eco Credit was $4500 so down to $55,675
Rate: 0.00146 / 3.5%
Rate w/MSDs: 0.00097 / 2.3% (see below)
Residual: 58% / $36k
Also had $3500 worth of other incentives on top of that. Owner Loyalty Credit, BMW Team USA Drive Credit, BMW Ultimate Drive App credit, and USAA membership credit, which were built into the back of the lease. Did the max number of 7 Multiple Security Deposits (MSDs) which lowers the lease rate and saves you about $1500 over the lease term in this case. Great use for about $5k if you have it sitting around, and you get the $5k back at lease end. Overall a pretty darned good deal especially with all of the other incentives added in. I was sick as a dog and had a fever of like 102F the day of my Team USA drive, but I wanted that $1000 dammit!
Edit: Oh, since I'm a BMWCCA member in good standing, I'll be filing my paperwork this weekend to get the $1000 BMWCCA rebate check in the mail too, so another grand off.
Last edited by SteVTEC; 08-09-12 at 08:20 PM.
08-09-12 | 11:02 PM
#27
Pole Position
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,304
Likes: 127
From: Silicon Valley
Ok here are the stats...
3yr/36k mile lease (12k/yr)
MSRP $64,095 as equipped
Invoice $59,175
Deal was $1000 over invoice so $60,175
Eco Credit was $4500 so down to $55,675
Rate: 0.00146 / 3.5%
Rate w/MSDs: 0.00097 / 2.3% (see below)
Residual: 58% / $36k
Also had $3500 worth of other incentives on top of that. Owner Loyalty Credit, BMW Team USA Drive Credit, BMW Ultimate Drive App credit, and USAA membership credit, which were built into the back of the lease. Did the max number of 7 Multiple Security Deposits (MSDs) which lowers the lease rate and saves you about $1500 over the lease term in this case. Great use for about $5k if you have it sitting around, and you get the $5k back at lease end. Overall a pretty darned good deal especially with all of the other incentives added in. I was sick as a dog and had a fever of like 102F the day of my Team USA drive, but I wanted that $1000 dammit!
Edit: Oh, since I'm a BMWCCA member in good standing, I'll be filing my paperwork this weekend to get the $1000 BMWCCA rebate check in the mail too, so another grand off.
3yr/36k mile lease (12k/yr)
MSRP $64,095 as equipped
Invoice $59,175
Deal was $1000 over invoice so $60,175
Eco Credit was $4500 so down to $55,675
Rate: 0.00146 / 3.5%
Rate w/MSDs: 0.00097 / 2.3% (see below)
Residual: 58% / $36k
Also had $3500 worth of other incentives on top of that. Owner Loyalty Credit, BMW Team USA Drive Credit, BMW Ultimate Drive App credit, and USAA membership credit, which were built into the back of the lease. Did the max number of 7 Multiple Security Deposits (MSDs) which lowers the lease rate and saves you about $1500 over the lease term in this case. Great use for about $5k if you have it sitting around, and you get the $5k back at lease end. Overall a pretty darned good deal especially with all of the other incentives added in. I was sick as a dog and had a fever of like 102F the day of my Team USA drive, but I wanted that $1000 dammit!
Edit: Oh, since I'm a BMWCCA member in good standing, I'll be filing my paperwork this weekend to get the $1000 BMWCCA rebate check in the mail too, so another grand off.