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      10-26-2020, 07:02 PM   #1
DeFabien
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Finally ordered my X5 45e - feedback appreciated

After 1.5 years of searching and doutbing I finally made the call and ordered the X5 45e!

Volvo XC60/90 and Tesla X were in contention for a while, but the ride is so much better then a Volvo and the build quality is so much better then a Tesla.

It's basically as good as a full option.

Things I still have minor second thoughts on and would like your input;

- I took Bowers above Harman Kardon, but is it really worth the extra 4,5k?
- I took the full leather, it kind of looks good, but it's quite a lot of money for a little bit more leather underneath the dashboard. Does the extra leather make a big difference?
- I took Shadow line (black grille) with Black sapphire, I think I really like it, especially with the subtle blue touches in the wheels and the lights, but might it be a bit of a controversial pick, how about resell value?
- I didn't take Dravit gray, a very special unique color, which is now available for the X5 in Belgium, should I have considered it? I felt it was too risky.
- I took the aluminium dark mesh inlay above piano lack because of fears that piano lack might scratch too easily, but I have never seen the aluminium dark mesh, not even in a video and on paper I like the piano lack more. Does anyone have a video of the aluminium?

Thank you for your input. I can't wait to drive it!
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      10-26-2020, 07:20 PM   #2
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Rather than answering your questions, I will just say congratulations! Hopefully the wait isn't too bad. Good luck, enjoy and be safe.
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      10-26-2020, 07:24 PM   #3
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The poplar matte trim looks really good with the Tartufo. I am not a huge fan of the dark mesh, but I dislike aluminum trims in general (this is all personal preference though, and you may dislike the wood trims). Looks like an awesome build.
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      10-26-2020, 07:36 PM   #4
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Congrats on the purchase.

My brother was in mine yesterday and he thought HK audio was unimpressive versus the Mark Levinson HiFi in his Lexus LS 600H

I do appreciate good audio and I would always go top end but my vehicle was a demo. So, if you value great audio, stick with B&W.

Leather is also nice but not essential. A very personal choice. Certainly makes the cabin more luxurious. Perhaps consider extended leather to dashboard and alcantara headlining to finish it off?

Sapphire with black grille is lovely. I have that with shadow line individual. It looks great with the blue calipers and blue of the laser lights.

Consider the M Suspension Professional - a lot of people seem to think it's better than all than the other options.

I would prefer warmer inserts than aluminium with that leather. It's subjective though. I have piano individual and it's nice and not marking easily.
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      10-26-2020, 08:07 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeFabien View Post
Thank you for your input. I can't wait to drive it!
- I took Bowers above Harman Kardon, but is it really worth the extra 4,5k?
To most people it'll likely sound "better" but it depends on what that's worth to you. I have a nice home audio set up and no in-car system is going to match that so the HK is my pick as, for me, the BW is a lot for not a lot
- I took the full leather, it kind of looks good, but it's quite a lot of money for a little bit more leather underneath the dashboard. Does the extra leather make a big difference?
Again, personal preference. For me, again, no due to a lot for not a lot
- I took Shadow line (black grille) with Black sapphire, I think I really like it, especially with the subtle blue touches in the wheels and the lights, but might it be a bit of a controversial pick, how about resell value?
It's all more/less black which will be fine to anyone without a giant love of chrome
- I didn't take Dravit gray, a very special unique color, which is now available for the X5 in Belgium, should I have considered it? I felt it was too risky.
Grey is risky?? How so? First time I've ever heard anyone call grey risky.
- I took the aluminium dark mesh inlay above piano lack because of fears that piano lack might scratch too easily, but I have never seen the aluminium dark mesh, not even in a video and on paper I like the piano lack more. Does anyone have a video of the aluminium
There are some aluminum mesh thoughts from people in this thread. Personally not my jam, but it's preference. I don't like anything glossy including CF so it's the popular for me
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      10-26-2020, 08:34 PM   #6
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It's basically what makes you happy. If you worry about resale value, consider even a hybrid may be harder to sell once people are looking at more pure EVs depending on your time horizon. If you lease it, your 'trade in' is fixed, anyway. It could be more of an issue if you buy, and want to keep it longer.

Unfortunately, my hearing is nowhere near as good as it used to be, so there's no big reason for me to look at a higher end stereo. Admittedly, when running in EV mode in the 45e, it's pretty quiet, and you can hear more than you might on other vehicles, or when the engine does turn on, but that's pretty quiet. For the US market so far on 2021 MY, they do not offer the acoustic glass that I would have purchased, but it's not worth it to me to retrofit.
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      10-26-2020, 08:49 PM   #7
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Congrats. I had the 45e for about 1 month now. Did 1300km on it. Had to sent the car to dealer twice to a/c failure. But all is good now..hope it stays good. The rest i can say the car is great. Range rover league to my eyes.
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      10-27-2020, 05:16 PM   #8
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This is thoroughly disappointing .... X5 in Belgium is available in Dravit Grey w/ B&W audio? Wish I could have gotten both here in USA on my 45e order!

Nice build ... enjoy!
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      10-27-2020, 06:05 PM   #9
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Congrats on the purchase! I think you won’t be disappointed. I was looking at the same kinds of cars and the X5 was the only obvious choice in the end.

Everything is really down to personal preference... If you’re not sure about a trim (or leather), it’s a good idea to check it out in real life on a car and not just look at a sample.
For example, I initially went with the dark mesh (even though I found it boring) just because I thought it was the safest option and was afraid I wouldn’t like any of the wood trims. Well my dealer arranged for an x5 with the fineline stripe trim for me to take a drive in and I ended up liking it so much I changed my order to include it :-)
1 month into ownership now and still happy!

As for the B&W, I thought about it myself, but it’s a LOT of money for a car sound system. My car sound system shouldn’t be more expensive than the one in my house, so I left that box unchecked. Still glad I did, the HK is just fine.

(By the way Dravit Gray on an x5 with the extended shadowline would look great I think!)
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      10-27-2020, 06:38 PM   #10
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If you can afford a X5, whether something is "worth" it really isn't about money, but whether you want that feature bad enough. Deeply personal. No one knows how much you want something. Whether something is of "value" gets really out of whack of reality once you get into these luxury vehicles.

I haven't heard the BW stereo, but the HK is "below average" in my opinion, even when compared to your bog standard range of vehicles like a Toyota or Volkswagen. The BW system comes with lights in the grills I believe. The lights, plus the fancy speaker grill covers, add more flash tothe car beyond any improved sound quality.

Sapphire Black with Shadowline is quite common around here so I can't imagine how it would hurt resale value. It's a standard common color.
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      10-27-2020, 08:34 PM   #11
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I was debating on the B&W. Questions you can ask yourself:

Q: How many hours I spend in the vehicle every day?

If 3+ hours, then you should probably consider.

Q: Would I have lossless audio saved as a source?

If you mainly stream or listen to MP3 then not worth it.

Q: Resale value?

You won't get your money back especially with Hybrid.

Q: What is the opportunity cost? Can I get something else with this budget?

This is where I ordered DHP. Moved from middle trim to top trim. And bought a massage chair for home.
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      10-27-2020, 09:02 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by SmartSaves View Post
Q: Would I have lossless audio saved as a source?

If you mainly stream or listen to MP3 then not worth it.
Not sure I agree on the lossless vs mp3 - i've heard some great MP3s and some shitty lossless; plus I'm a doubter that any car audio system has a DAC capable of resolving the extra detail, nor drivers that can present it, nor the audio space so you can actually hear it. My 2 cents is car audio systems come down to general "tone"; either you can adjust them to get a tone you prefer of the other system or you can't, and then it comes down to your well said points on resale and opportunity cost.

Another great point is what you said about how much time do you spend in the car (and I'd add listening to what). e.g., I'm more of a podcast guy on long drives, but I love blasting tunes on shorter rides.

And the massage chair point? That's pretty much what I did: got a massage chair + some great headphones + dac & amp and man does that make for a relaxing night. I used to have some bad lower back problems and a mildly herniated disk: the massage chair (and some exercises) pretty much cured it!
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      10-28-2020, 12:50 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeFabien View Post
After 1.5 years of searching and doutbing I finally made the call and ordered the X5 45e!

Volvo XC60/90 and Tesla X were in contention for a while, but the ride is so much better then a Volvo and the build quality is so much better then a Tesla.

It's basically as good as a full option.

Things I still have minor second thoughts on and would like your input;

- I took Bowers above Harman Kardon, but is it really worth the extra 4,5k?
- I took the full leather, it kind of looks good, but it's quite a lot of money for a little bit more leather underneath the dashboard. Does the extra leather make a big difference?
- I took Shadow line (black grille) with Black sapphire, I think I really like it, especially with the subtle blue touches in the wheels and the lights, but might it be a bit of a controversial pick, how about resell value?
- I didn't take Dravit gray, a very special unique color, which is now available for the X5 in Belgium, should I have considered it? I felt it was too risky.
- I took the aluminium dark mesh inlay above piano lack because of fears that piano lack might scratch too easily, but I have never seen the aluminium dark mesh, not even in a video and on paper I like the piano lack more. Does anyone have a video of the aluminium?

Thank you for your input. I can't wait to drive it!
Nice build congrats.

I have HK. I am happy with my choice. B&W wasn't worth it for me. Most long drives are with the family anyway and listening mostly to the radio. But that doesn't mean it can't be worth it for you.

Aluminium mesh might even be worse for showing scratches. I have fineline stripe with black merino. I had piano black before with Ivory . Liked it too.

I saw a donington grey X5M that looked great I am not sure about dravits grey. It looks good on the 8, the x5 might just be to big for the color.

I see lots of extended shadow line with black. I don't think that this would be a problem for resale. Ps A lot of other Belgian owners lease their 45e not to be stuck with it after 4-5 year if the car market would have changed by then.

Out of curiosity, why did you stick with the 20
Inch 740M wheels. Wouldn't 742M look better with your configuration ? I have Arctic grey with satin silver and 740m wheels. Happy with my choice but my car looks completely different than yours.
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      10-29-2020, 04:02 PM   #14
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Thank you all for your very insightfull and kind responses!

- After your feedback I now decided against the aluminium dark mesh and told my dealer to change it to piano black.
- I now feel shadowline + sapphire black is very common and so I'll stick to my choice and opt out of dravit grey since I also feel the X5 is a bit too big for the color.
- I opted for the B&W more for the superb looks then for the sound, even though I truly like that the sound will have a higher quality and it seems the H&K sound is not liked by all.
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      10-29-2020, 04:06 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by X5 45e View Post
Nice build congrats.

I have HK. I am happy with my choice. B&W wasn't worth it for me. Most long drives are with the family anyway and listening mostly to the radio. But that doesn't mean it can't be worth it for you.

Aluminium mesh might even be worse for showing scratches. I have fineline stripe with black merino. I had piano black before with Ivory . Liked it too.

I saw a donington grey X5M that looked great I am not sure about dravits grey. It looks good on the 8, the x5 might just be to big for the color.

I see lots of extended shadow line with black. I don't think that this would be a problem for resale. Ps A lot of other Belgian owners lease their 45e not to be stuck with it after 4-5 year if the car market would have changed by then.

Out of curiosity, why did you stick with the 20
Inch 740M wheels. Wouldn't 742M look better with your configuration ? I have Arctic grey with satin silver and 740m wheels. Happy with my choice but my car looks completely different than yours.
You mean an operational leasing? I do get your point, but if they introduce the new "electric only" legislation by 2026, it might be worth it to sell it in 2026 (before the legislation takes effect) to someone else so they can register it under the old legislation and still benefit fiscally? Or is my thinking incorrect?

I stuck with the 20 inch because the PHEV does not seem to have a spare tire, and the 22 inches are not runflats, might I value this a bit too much? I did like the 22 inch tires, but never considered it an option.
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      10-29-2020, 04:13 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXSchnee View Post
The poplar matte trim looks really good with the Tartufo. I am not a huge fan of the dark mesh, but I dislike aluminum trims in general (this is all personal preference though, and you may dislike the wood trims). Looks like an awesome build.
I tend to like matte wood trims and dislike high gloss wood trims.

The poplar matte trim seems nice .. but .. I don't know, I would have to see it in real life to really be confident enough to make that call. And none of the dealers in my region had any car with it!
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      10-29-2020, 04:15 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaboM4 View Post
This is thoroughly disappointing .... X5 in Belgium is available in Dravit Grey w/ B&W audio? Wish I could have gotten both here in USA on my 45e order!

Nice build ... enjoy!
Well yeah! That's quite odd, since my car will be built in the American factory. Why would they deny their closest customers options that far away ones get?

It's a bit of a mystery to me.

Would you really recommend the dravit grey? I feel it might be a bit too risky, since it has a slight "matte/unilak" feel to it. What do you think?
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      10-29-2020, 04:17 PM   #18
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I have a Black Sapphire M Sport and personally I like the silver grille a bit better on a black car. The black grille is too much black IMO. I do like the black exhaust surrounds though. The grille is easy to change out if later you change your mind about it.

I'd like to see a real photo of Dravit grey on a X5. It should look good.

Carbon Black is my favorite color on the X5. I'd consider that color too. It is black in most lighting but on a sunny day shows a nice blue.

The matte wood trim is my favorite trim. Not a huge fan of the other choices.
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      10-29-2020, 04:18 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pho View Post
Congrats on the purchase! I think you won’t be disappointed. I was looking at the same kinds of cars and the X5 was the only obvious choice in the end.

Everything is really down to personal preference... If you’re not sure about a trim (or leather), it’s a good idea to check it out in real life on a car and not just look at a sample.
For example, I initially went with the dark mesh (even though I found it boring) just because I thought it was the safest option and was afraid I wouldn’t like any of the wood trims. Well my dealer arranged for an x5 with the fineline stripe trim for me to take a drive in and I ended up liking it so much I changed my order to include it :-)
1 month into ownership now and still happy!

As for the B&W, I thought about it myself, but it’s a LOT of money for a car sound system. My car sound system shouldn’t be more expensive than the one in my house, so I left that box unchecked. Still glad I did, the HK is just fine.

(By the way Dravit Gray on an x5 with the extended shadowline would look great I think!)
I agree, seeing the trims in real life makes the choice a lot easyer, but all the bmw dealers around Antwerp are just all out of X5's! They seem to be too popular.

Ahh, did you choose Dravit? Or was it not yet an option? Would you choose it now?
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      10-29-2020, 04:31 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeFabien View Post
I agree, seeing the trims in real life makes the choice a lot easyer, but all the bmw dealers around Antwerp are just all out of X5's! They seem to be too popular.

Ahh, did you choose Dravit? Or was it not yet an option? Would you choose it now?
I think piano black is a great choice that will complement your seat color much better than the alu mesh!

Dravit Grey wasn’t an option at my order date, but I would’ve seriously considered it if it were. I have arctic grey with extended shadowline.
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      10-29-2020, 04:49 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeFabien View Post
Well yeah! That's quite odd, since my car will be built in the American factory. Why would they deny their closest customers options that far away ones get?

It's a bit of a mystery to me.

Would you really recommend the dravit grey? I feel it might be a bit too risky, since it has a slight "matte/unilak" feel to it. What do you think?
This is my favorite current BMW production color. I've been in love since seeing it on the M8 Competition Convertible that I've had my eye on for some time now. (Settled for an B48 powered Z4 since I can't afford a $165k USD toy right now)
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      10-29-2020, 05:23 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaboM4 View Post
This is my favorite current BMW production color. I've been in love since seeing it on the M8 Competition Convertible that I've had my eye on for some time now. (Settled for an B48 powered Z4 since I can't afford a $165k USD toy right now)
I looked up some pictures of that M8, daimn nice indeed.

The Dravit color looks awesome, I'm starting to doubt ... I think Dravit would go very well with the Tartufo aswell.

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