Hot! Betty's New BMW X5 (G05)

[Betty Swollocks]

I thought it was about time I created a new thread for my BMW X5 (G05), as the photos I've posted of it are dotted about in various threads.

This car has replaced my BMW M4 Coupe Competition (F82). I found the M4 was just not being driven due to a change in my family situation and with the impending arrival of a new baby boy (7 weeks old now). Had I bought an M3 instead of the coupe two years ago, maybe I would have kept it. I still have my R8 V10 "for fun". Anyway, in June I thought I would sell the M4 and get a new X5 as I hadn't yet scratched the SUV itch and now would be a good time to do that. I imagined it would be the perfect car for journeys to and from the Netherlands back to the UK. I collected it in July but immediately put it into storage for a month before I got it machine polished and ceramic coated at the beginning of August. I've now done around 3,400km in it.

The specs...

X5 xDrive30d M Sport
Carbon Black metallic paint
Black Vernasca leather
22" 742M alloy wheels

The standard kit:

Adaptive 2-axle air suspension
Ambient lighting
Gesture control
BMW Live Cockpit Professional
Connected Package Professional (RTTI, remote services etc)
DAB Tuner
Eight-speed Sports Steptronic auto
Enhanced Bluetooth with wireless charging
LED headlights and foglights
Parking Assistant
Rain sensor with automatic headlight activation and windscreen wipers
Seat adjustment (electric with driver memory)
Seat heating front
Tailgate operation automatic
Leather Vernasca seats
M Sport braking system (Standard with the M Sport package)

Options I specced:

Technology Package, comprising of...
Harmon/Kardon sound system
Head-up display
Parking Assistant Plus (Surround view, remote 3D view)
Display Key

M Sport Plus package, consisting of...
21" 741M alloys (which I upgraded to the 22" 742M alloys)
M Sport exhaust system
Sun protection glass

 

[M.N.D]

Nice looking car @Betty Swollocks

First of all congratulations on little Betty (I believe I didn't have the chance to say it earlier)

I have a couple of questions for you:

1- How do you find the ride with these 22 rims?
2- Being a RHD car, is it a bit difficult to drive on the opposite side of the road in the Netherlands, or there isn't much of a difference?

Thanks, and enjoy the car with the family in a good health

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Nice looking car @Betty Swollocks

First of all congratulations on little Betty (I believe I didn't have the chance to say it earlier)

Thanks!

I have a couple of questions for you:

1- How do you find the ride with these 22 rims?
2- Being a RHD car, is it a bit difficult to drive on the opposite side of the road in the Netherlands, or there isn't much of a difference?

Thanks, and enjoy the car with the family in a good health

1. On the face of it, the ride is super comfortable, I suspect because of the standard air suspension. The rims I have don't come with run-flat tyres either, which at least compensates for the low-profile. All the smaller rims (21" and below) would have come with run-flat tyres which definitely don't help the ride.

The two caveats I have to mention, however, is that this replaced an M4 Coupe on 20" rims, and my other cars are an M Sport equipped F30 3 Series with 19" alloys with run-flat tyres, and an R8, so I'm maybe not the best judge of what a comfortable ride is! It's been a few months since I've driven anything other than my own cars, so maybe I need to rent something soon to compare with.

2. I've been swapping between RHD and LHD cars for 20 years now; RHD in the UK and continental Europe, and LHD in Continental Europe and the UK, every other week. I own two LHD cars and one RHD car. It's not really an issue. The only time it can cause my brain to melt is when I'm in a supermarket car park with no road signs, and then I suddenly forget which side of the road I should be on, and find myself in a Mexican stand-off with a pensioner.

 

[LaArtist]

Sweet rims, thats about all i can give you on the car.

Congrats on the kid though

 

[M.N.D]

On the face of it, the ride is super comfortable, I suspect because of the standard air suspension. The rims I have don't come with run-flat tyres either, which at least compensates for the low-profile. All the smaller rims (21" and below) would have come with run-flat tyres which definitely don't help the ride.

That's interesting. While I can't comment on the comfort of run flat tyres as I didn't have the chance to live with them on a long term, I was assuming that over almost 20 years of existence, I assumed that tyre companies would have found a better compromise for the lack of comfort level compared to normal tyres, based on reading and hearing from people who used these run flats.

The two caveats I have to mention, however, is that this replaced an M4 Coupe on 20" rims, and my other cars are an M Sport equipped F30 3 Series with 19" alloys with run-flat tyres, and an R8, so I'm maybe not the best judge of what a comfortable ride is! It's been a few months since I've driven anything other than my own cars, so maybe I need to rent something soon to compare with.

I am on a similar wavelength although on the other end of the spectrum, as the cars that I used to drive were basic economy ones so I cannot comment on how truly comfortable modern cars are. A friend of mine had an F10 520i and I found it very comfortable despite having run flats...

Not to steer the topic off track, but are you going to turn the 318i into a second car while using the X5 as the daily driver, or do you intend to keep the X5 for the family use and for ling travels?

I've been swapping between RHD and LHD cars for 20 years now; RHD in the UK and continental Europe, and LHD in Continental Europe and the UK, every other week. I own two LHD cars and one RHD car. It's not really an issue. The only time it can cause my brain to melt is when I'm in a supermarket car park with no road signs, and then I suddenly forget which side of the road I should be on, and find myself in a Mexican stand-off with a pensioner.

LOL! That's a good one!

Back when I was a university student, one of our professors used to have a RHD Rover 75 with a yellow British license plate in the back. It seemed that it was his car when he used to live in the UK. He was kinda proud about how his car was somehow different from the rest by being a UK spec car.

 

[Rolf]

Congrats on the little guy and hope you not having too many sleepless nights waking up and changing diapers.

Your X5 looks fantastic, really like the rims and full chromed grill.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Sweet rims, thats about all i can give you on the car.

Congrats on the kid though

Yeah, the rims were the only part of the spec I wasn't going to compromise on. I had to have those rims.

That's interesting. While I can't comment on the comfort of run flat tyres as I didn't have the chance to live with them on a long term, I was assuming that over almost 20 years of existence, I assumed that tyre companies would have found a better compromise for the lack of comfort level compared to normal tyres, based on reading and hearing from people who used these run flats.


I am on a similar wavelength although on the other end of the spectrum, as the cars that I used to drive were basic economy ones so I cannot comment on how truly comfortable modern cars are. A friend of mine had an F10 520i and I found it very comfortable despite having run flats...

My first experience of run-flats was on my BMW 330d (E90) in 2004. 18" rims, M Sport suspension, and early-development run-flat technology. Boy the ride was harsh. Things have certainly moved on since then though, so I wouldn't be put off today having run-flats.

One other thing I forgot to say is that I did have a test drive of an X5 before I took delivery of mine, but it was the same spec chassis-wise; these 22" rims and M Sport, so I can't really compare it with another X5.

Not to steer the topic off track, but are you going to turn the 318i into a second car while using the X5 as the daily driver, or do you intend to keep the X5 for the family use and for ling travels?

The 318i is very much the daily driver now (was bought initially as the long-distance car). The X5 is just too big to drive into the centre of town frequently, trying to park it in small spaces, and worrying about other people banging their doors into my paintwork. It works that way as I don't need the space of the X5 day-to-day, and with it being RHD, getting into car parks with ticket barriers would be a pain if you're on your own. When we travel long distance (as I will be doing next Friday when we drive back to the UK), the size isn't an issue, and it's THEN when we need the boot space (although I did mention in a different thread, the boot space is not proportional with the exterior of the car).

Congrats on the little guy and hope you not having too many sleepless nights waking up and changing diapers.

Your X5 looks fantastic, really like the rims and full chromed grill.

Thanks! My wife is surprisingly happy to do most of the night feeds and changing the baby. I really should do more.

I thought about switching the grill for an all black one, but we'll see. I think it would look great.

 

[Centurion]

Congrats on the arrival of the newborn! I haven't seen an X5 with those alloys. Regarding alloy size and comfort, the G-Series cars more comfortable on runflat and big alloys than the F-Series car.


It doesn't surprise me that you find the X5 large around town. Last year I had an F15 40d as a loaner for a long weekend while the EGR valve on our X3 was being fixed.

Although we found the X5 to be a good step up in quality, the sheer bulk of it when parking and the 2 times higher fuel consumption on short runs made it a worse car to live with than the X3. I have A 1 year old and a 3 year old. On 90% of trips we don't even use 50% of the boot capacity - even less so when my daughter mastered walking at 15 months and rarely wanted to sit in the buggy.

For a long trip, we rented a roof box once which gave us an additional 450l of storage.

The cabin of the G01 X5 is sensational and I would love to own one but would probably need to live in a town/city where parking spaces and roads are more generous.