Thoughts on the X5 45e

[Josh (PA)]

Originally Posted by robg

Nice - yes I think you’re right about them no longer offering b&o and cooled cupholders. Atleast on the 45e, msport doesn’t include the adaptive m suspension either.

How do you like the tartufo merino and fine line wood interior? That’s the combo I’d likely try to get. And are the ventilated/massage seats worth getting?

Here's a quick shot of tartufo and fine wood. In most lights it looks more orange than this. I personally prefer the darker color of coffee, but we like tartufo 2nd best.
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[robg]

Originally Posted by Josh (PA)

Agreed. We love it. It has a ton of things we wouldn't have paid for new, but really enjoy since it had them already. The only thing it is missing is surround view cameras. It only has the rear cam and it's a pretty tight fit in our garage

We like tartufo, but if I was ordering new, I'd probably go coffee if it was still available. The merino leather is very, very nice. Much softer than the base vernasca. The massage seats are pleasant but no where near as strong as the ones in our old merc e wagon. I don't know if id spend the money on them. I use the ventilated seats, but again not sure if they are worth the cost new. The comfort seats are great, I would definitely get them. One of the nice things about the BMW U/I is you can set temps for heated and cooled seats to come on automatically based on driver profile and key. I almost never have to change settings on anything when I get in because the car just knows what I like

Yeah I like coffee too. Had that color in my old f10 so thinking of trying something else. Am concerned it might be too orangey as you mentioned. The comfort seats are $750, and adding the package which includes ventilation/massage is another 700 on top. I’d probably just get it since I do like having cooled seats in our current car (though I realize bmws aren’t actually cooled).

They no longer offer Vernasca leather ; you either get synthetic or you get merino. On my test drive the synthetic stuff seemed ok but it’s the type of thing that could make me hate the car at some point so I’d probably suck it up and get merino.

I always go into car buying with the mindset that I don’t care too much about various options. And then I end up wanting about 10k-15k worth. I’ve bought cars in the past that were missing an option that I wanted; over time it would start to bug me and take away from my enjoyment of the car. So I figure it’s better just to bite the bullet in some cases. It really annoys me that they force you to get the executive package when speccing driver assistance plus. I don’t really want any of those features and in fact I dislike the mandatory glass gearshift that it comes with. But not having adaptive cruise would really bug me on this type of vehicle. Also would want surround view for the same reason you mentioned ; we have a pretty tight garage.


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[Josh (PA)]

For the extra 700, I'd get the massage seats. I turn them on about 70% I'd the time I drive it.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by robg

Yeah I like coffee too. Had that color in my old f10 so thinking of trying something else. Am concerned it might be too orangey as you mentioned. The comfort seats are $750, and adding the package which includes ventilation/massage is another 700 on top. I’d probably just get it since I do like having cooled seats in our current car (though I realize bmws aren’t actually cooled).

They no longer offer Vernasca leather ; you either get synthetic or you get merino. On my test drive the synthetic stuff seemed ok but it’s the type of thing that could make me hate the car at some point so I’d probably suck it up and get merino.

I always go into car buying with the mindset that I don’t care too much about various options. And then I end up wanting about 10k-15k worth. I’ve bought cars in the past that were missing an option that I wanted; over time it would start to bug me and take away from my enjoyment of the car. So I figure it’s better just to bite the bullet in some cases. It really annoys me that they force you to get the executive package when speccing driver assistance plus. I don’t really want any of those features and in fact I dislike the mandatory glass gearshift that it comes with. But not having adaptive cruise would really bug me on this type of vehicle. Also would want surround view for the same reason you mentioned ; we have a pretty tight garage.


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And why would you spend this much money for a vehicle and then NOT have the options that you want?

I think the X5 is a vehicle that BMW does superbly. The interior looks really nice.

If 30mi range works for you, then why the heck not? That range works for more than 50% of people, I suspect. Just extrapolating.

[robg]

Originally Posted by lemming

And why would you spend this much money for a vehicle and then NOT have the options that you want?

I think the X5 is a vehicle that BMW does superbly. The interior looks really nice.

If 30mi range works for you, then why the heck not? That range works for more than 50% of people, I suspect. Just extrapolating.

No good reason...when car shopping I sometimes get excited by the thrill of a great deal. In the X5's case, if I were to take the somewhat "stripper" version that one of the dealers has on the lot, I could effectively drive the car for about 3 years and only lose maybe a few k relative to what I paid to buyout the lease on our current suv. Of course, within a few months I'd start to regret it since it would be missing so many things that I want. So..it's a dumb idea.

Another dealer is claiming that if I do a custom order it would actually arrive before the end of the year. They dont really have a reason to lie about that since they have a few already specced cars coming in sooner. So, I'll likely go that route and get exactly what I want. And if it doesn't arrive in time, so be it...I still like our current car. Alternatively, they have a black/black one with all the options I want that is coming available soon...but I'm over black/ black cars.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by robg

The comfort seats are $750, and adding the package which includes ventilation/massage is another 700 on top.

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My old 540 had the comfort multi contour seats with the heated, cooled and massage feature and I think the massage feature is nice in the winter with the heated seat on but my cooled seats were horrible, I did not feel anything. I am certain they never worked but the dealer told me they were working as should

When I ordered the M550 I purposely did not order the massage feature because I had sat in an M550 without this feature right before I placed my order and the seats were considerably softer then my 540 seats. I had read on the forums the the bladders make the seat harder and once I experienced it I decided to give up that feature.

Don’t get me wrong both seats are great I just felt the 540 seats with the massage bladders were a little hard.

[robg]

Originally Posted by Alan

My old 540 had the comfort multi contour seats with the heated, cooled and massage feature and I think the massage feature is nice in the winter with the heated seat on but my cooled seats were horrible, I did not feel anything. I am certain they never worked but the dealer told me they were working as should



When I ordered the M550 I purposely did not order the massage feature because I had sat in an M550 without this feature right before I placed my order and the seats were considerably softer then my 540 seats. I had read on the forums the the bladders make the seat harder and once I experienced it I decided to give up that feature.



Don’t get me wrong both seats are great I just felt the 540 seats with the massage bladders were a little hard.

Good point. With the x5 you can’t option the cooled and massage features separately ; they come in the same package.


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[Alan]

Originally Posted by robg

Good point. With the x5 you can’t option the cooled and massage features separately ; they come in the same package.


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I think the 5 er is the same, I went with neither cooled or massage on the M550 …still heated though …

[SARAFIL]

Our X5 has the comfort seats in Merino leather (Coffee) but does not have luxury seating package so they are not cooled or massaging. I’m ok with that - they are super comfortable as-is. I don’t think the BMW ventilated seats work all that well (never have in my experience going way back to early 2000s) and agree the massaging seats feel a bit firmer. Even if only an extra $750, I personally would not option that package on a new order.

[robg]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

Our X5 has the comfort seats in Merino leather (Coffee) but does not have luxury seating package so they are not cooled or massaging. I’m ok with that - they are super comfortable as-is. I don’t think the BMW ventilated seats work all that well (never have in my experience going way back to early 2000s) and agree the massaging seats feel a bit firmer. Even if only an extra $750, I personally would not option that package on a new order.

Thanks- think I will remove it from the order then. Sounds like something that could potentially make the seats less comfortable while not really adding much useful functionality. Now that I think about it I’m not sure I even want the comfort seats- had them I my f10 and found that the mid backrest adjustment actually made it less comfortable (iirc that’s the main difference vs the standard sport seats)


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