[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by biterror

When I was a kid, me and my parents were travelling in Scandinavia in a VW Beetle 1300. We had all we needed (tent, clothes, food, toys etc.) for a long trip in several countries in that tiny car. But I guess in the early 1970's life was different. :-)

It is called the first world problem 😆😂

We are in a trip, rented a Chrysler Pacifica. From room, comfort, ease of get in and out, ease of accessing car seat, …. Really everything in practicality aspects, unbeatable. Whole family is in love with the car, including my wife who opposed buying a minivan. Now we think we are in for one.

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by swainbmw

You might’ve seen that in the 2000s early but the new current version is amazing fit and finishes really good and the body design is absolutely gorgeous Feels less like a truck

You are absolutely correct. They have these very refined with a high degree of quality control and less orange peel than a MB and some of the Porsche SUVs we have/had.

[Condorll]

Originally Posted by Giggler

I agree, not sure what everyone is talking about with bad handling… the 275 wide tires grab the road, and I find this car to be very stable in the corners and at highway speeds. It’s obviously a very heavy car so wouldn’t want to toss it around, but it’s not a bad handling car by any measure. It actually feels more stable than my M340i on the freeway because of the wider tires and extra weight make it more planted.

I have a 2023 X5 xDrive 40i with 19" run flats. I downloaded the adaptive M suspension software from connected drive (one time $500 charge) and I can assure people here the car now corners fabulously with no body roll, solid! All G05 X5's have the adaptive M chassis, all you have to do is order an M sport package if your building the car or in my case I ordered an xLine model and just download the software. You will have a great handling sports car SUV!

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by Condorll

I have a 2023 X5 xDrive 40i with 19" run flats. I downloaded the adaptive M suspension software from connected drive (one time $500 charge) and I can assure people here the car now corners fabulously with no body roll, solid! All G05 X5's have the adaptive M chassis, all you have to do is order an M sport package if your building the car or in my case I ordered an xLine model and just download the software. You will have a great handling sports car SUV!

What driving mode are you driving in and how do you have your software (suspension) set up in iDrive for you to say you have "no body roll"?

[Condorll]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

What driving mode are you driving in and how do you have your software (suspension) set up in iDrive for you to say you have "no body roll"?

The Adaptive M Suspension adds "Dynamic" mode to the comfort, sport and sport plus modes. It is electronic dynamic damping. You will see new options in iDrive drive mode. In Comfort mode it drives normal like before, perhaps a bit stiffer. In sport and sport plus the suspension is noticebly stiffer, go on curvy country roads at high speed and the car hugs the road with no lean. Download it, it's no risk, they will charge you immediately but you have 30 days to try it out. The BMW rep told me to call them in 25 days if I don't like it and they will refund my money.

Just a note, after you buy it and you take a drive then park iDrive should notify you of the download and will tell you to turn off the car and don't drive it for 10 minutes while the software installs. You can leave the car for that time. When you restart it go into your drive modes in settings and you will find the new options.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by Condorll

The Adaptive M Suspension adds "Dynamic" mode to the comfort, sport and sport plus modes. It is electronic dynamic damping. You will see new options in iDrive drive mode. In Comfort mode it drives normal like before, perhaps a bit stiffer. In sport and sport plus the suspension is noticebly stiffer, go on curvy country roads at high speed and the car hugs the road with no lean. Download it, it's no risk, they will charge you immediately but you have 30 days to try it out. The BMW rep told me to call them in 25 days if I don't like it and they will refund my money.

So the driving mode you are referring to when you say "no roll" is only in one of the Sport modes, correct?

[Condorll]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

So the driving mode you are referring to when you say "no roll" is only in one of the Sport modes, correct?

Both sport modes have improved cornering and body roll, even more so in Sport plus. Depends how aggressive you drive and the traffic. Sometimes I am in sport, when there's no one around Sport Plus!
Most enjoyable car to drive in my 50 years of driving and I flip my cars every 3-4 years so I have gone through a lot.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by Condorll

Both sport modes have improved cornering and body roll, even more so in Sport plus. Depends how aggressive you drive and the traffic. Sometimes I am in sport, when there's no one around Sport Plus!
Most enjoyable car to drive in my 50 years of driving and I flip my cars every 3-4 years so I have gone through a lot.

Ok, now I gotcha, I was wondering there for a while. Well, I do have the MSport model and even in Sport or Sport + there's too much body roll for me, that's why I was wondering what mode you were referring to. Thanks.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by Condorll

The Adaptive M Suspension adds "Dynamic" mode to the comfort, sport and sport plus modes. It is electronic dynamic damping. You will see new options in iDrive drive mode. In Comfort mode it drives normal like before, perhaps a bit stiffer. In sport and sport plus the suspension is noticebly stiffer, go on curvy country roads at high speed and the car hugs the road with no lean..

For clarity, all G05's, no matter the model or suspension, have dynamic damping. The difference with Adaptive M versus xLine/Sport is that it is tuned a little more sportier and adds the ability to alter the damping.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by Condorll

Both sport modes have improved cornering and body roll, even more so in Sport plus. Depends how aggressive you drive and the traffic. Sometimes I am in sport, when there's no one around Sport Plus!
Most enjoyable car to drive in my 50 years of driving and I flip my cars every 3-4 years so I have gone through a lot.

No body roll in an x5 without DHP? This might be the most unbelievable observation I’ve read on an x5 ever.

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by Mattl0806

No body roll in an x5 without DHP? This might be the most unbelievable observation I’ve read on an x5 ever.

As unbelievable as it is, body roll is a very subjective thing. Many feel 45e with air suspension 19” wheels cornering flat. Others think factory setup in M5 sedan roll too much and need after market coil over. It is all about preference and past experience.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

As unbelievable as it is, body roll is a very subjective thing. Many feel 45e with air suspension 19” wheels cornering flat. Others think factory setup in M5 sedan roll too much and need after market coil over. It is all about preference and past experience.

Excellent point. Haven’t given it that much thought. This is subjective and largely determined by individual experience.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

It is called the first world problem 😆😂

We are in a trip, rented a Chrysler Pacifica. From room, comfort, ease of get in and out, ease of accessing car seat, …. Really everything in practicality aspects, unbeatable. Whole family is in love with the car, including my wife who opposed buying a minivan. Now we think we are in for one.

Horses for courses. The Chrysler Pacifica is so underrated. In AWD Paltinum trim it is an amazing family vacation vehicle. FWIW, I also know someone who rented a Pacifica for a family vacation and then ended up getting one! They have a Cayenne S and a Pacifica…good friends of ours 😊

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by FCX5

Horses for courses. The Chrysler Pacifica is so underrated. In AWD Paltinum trip it is an amazing family vacation vehicle. FWIW, I also know someone who rented a Pacifica for a family vacation and then ended up getting one! They have a Cayenne S and a Pacifica…good friends of ours 😊

Great garage there.

[tooloud10]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

As unbelievable as it is, body roll is a very subjective thing. Many feel 45e with air suspension 19” wheels cornering flat. Others think factory setup in M5 sedan roll too much and need after market coil over. It is all about preference and past experience.

Sure seems that way. My 45e with air and 20" wheels feels like a roller coaster ride on the corners compared to my old E70 with DHP--that thing cornered flatter than my 911.

[FLYZ]

Originally Posted by swainbmw

Looks awfully cramped to me. I’m not so sure I could take screaming kids on my neck. If I had kids, the BMWs would be out the question .I would rather have something that’s much bigger . Not to mention how much safer a bigger vehicle is specially with kids I would feel much safer, knowing that if we got T-boned , they would not be so low to the ground.

I can appreciate that. I am fortunate in that I have a pretty good little dude - very rarely cries in the car. However, as I said in my initial post, both cars definitely have small back seats. Fortunately, I think we will only have the one kiddo, so this will probably get us by for now, even if only barely.

As for the safety concerns, I have very little concern for safety in either vehicle. BMWs in general are well engineered and on their "family cars" particularly seem to be designed with that in mind. As we all know, size doesn't necessarily bely greater safety. We can look at the boats cruising around the roads in the 70s to know that larger vehicles don't always keep you safer. Ultimately, there is so much subjective about picking a car, as we have seen in the suspension discussion above. People pick what is best for them, and I hope by providing a side by side above, I have helped others. I know the X3/X5 cross shop is a common one.

I stated this in previous threads, and I will reiterate it owning both an X5 and an X3. The size difference between the two is noticeable, but not as big as you would think for two distinct models. I still contend the main difference between and X3 vs X5 is the "premium" factor. The X5 has a standard six, while the X3 starts with a four pot. The X5 is more luxurious, sits a little higher, more leather, more decorative trim, softer injection molded plastic everywhere (even the lowest door panels). You are not paying as much for size as for the quality.

The reason for having two five seaters in your portfolio is to have one lower and one more premium, otherwise BMW could do what Audi did and turn 4 vehicles into 3. Audi has the Q3, 5 and 7. BMW could just have X1, X3 and X7, but they have the X5 specifically to be the more premium model so people can have X7 luxury without having to buy a big (too big for me) vehicle like the X7. The X5 essentially created the luxury SUV segment for the Germans and they have filled out the rest of the SAV line around it. MB has a similar philosophy with the GLC/E combo. Their GLA/B seem to fill the same roll as BMW's X1.

I will confirm the X7 is noticeably larger inside. My sister replaced her GLS with an X7 (we have quite the X3/5/7 lineup when she visits), and the backseat feels much larger. It's just too big for me, having only one child.

[maybe_bimmer]

FLYZ is this the Clek Foonf seat? In it's inclined and rear facing position does the top of it fit between the front seats? From your photos it seems that it's peeking in between thus allowing for greater recline/adjustment to front seats?

Originally Posted by FLYZ

I was finally able to upload pics by creating a personal album. Now all of my feedback is based on my personal experience, but I hope these photos help you decide. On all of these pics, remember that correct child and adult car seat placement dictates that when the car seat is in the vehicle, you should be able to pass a hand between the car seat and your seat in front of it, so all of my advice and pics are based on having that margin. Also, studies have shown that securing a car seat with LATCH or a seat belt are equally safe, so don't let that deter you from optimal packaging. We did use professional car seat installers to put both in, so I feel comfortable about how and where all of the seats (ours and our son's) are a placed.

I promised to snap a few pics for illustrative purposes. I know it isn't perfect, because you will be having two kids, and would need two seats, so this isn't exactly apples-to-apples. However, I can offer this much at least! When we bought our seats, we tried them in both cars in case we ever had a second kid to know how we would arrange them. In the X5, the seats could pretty much stay where they are. Either the bigger kid would move forward facing to the side or the Liing (infant seat) could fit on the passenger side rear without moving the seat much from where it is (since my husband is shorter). I wish I had pics of the same seat in both cars, but these are a pain to install, and I am just not up for that much work just for this (sorry) haha.

In the X5, we can both sit pretty much where we like, and I took pics of both cars, both sides front and rear. In the X5, you can see that the front seats and rear would fit the car seats with us in relatively normal positions. One advantage of the Clek Foonf is it is narrow and designed to fit three across in most cars. It is long when reclined. Please don't judge the interior; the camera makes my leather seem dingy, when it really isn't. Here is the passenger side front and rear. Note the burp rags in both seat pockets . Additionally, the weird fabric is the cargo area protector I have from CargoLiner. I have big dogs, so I chose it to protect my whole back cargo area and wrap around the seats to hold it in place. It's great because you can wipe it down and it doesn't retain smells since it's vinyl. It does offer the option to affix the side pieces that you see flapping here, but I didn't want the adhesive on the passenger area, so ignore it, please.:


and Driver Front and Rear:


Essentially, you can see that all four seats have decent space. It isn't huge, but you would definitely want to make sure you had the larger seat in the middle. In your case, I assume that would be the infant car seat or rearward convertible, and put your convertible forward on the side. As I say, Our infant car seat fit on the side with the seat pretty much where it is now.

r car seats to a dealer and try them in both. Any dealer worth their salt will let you place them in both cars to make the sale. Hope this helps and happy shopping!

[FLYZ]

Originally Posted by maybe_bimmer

FLYZ is this the Clek Foonf seat? In it's inclined and rear facing position does the top of it fit between the front seats? From your photos it seems that it's peeking in between thus allowing for greater recline/adjustment to front seats?

Correct. This is a Foonf. In my prior posts I explain that it does slide between the front seats, with enough room to fully pass a hand around it, while we can both sit where we would normally choose to.

[BlkGS]

I know that this thread is nearly a year old, but figured I'd chime in as the dad of 2 toddlers. X5 is, at best, passable in size as a secondary vehicle for a family of 4. It's far too small to be a primary family vehicle. Even an X7 is debatable as being too small for that task.

A minivan or full size SUV make a huge difference. My X5 is the companion vehicle to our Expedition, if we didn't have that, the X5 would be off the table, as it's frankly far too small.

[andyrp]

I went from an X3 to an X5 last year and there is much more room all round in the rear. One big improvement is the almost non-existent transmission tunnel on the X5 in comparison to the X3.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

....X5 is, at best, passable in size as a secondary vehicle for a family of 4. It's far too small to be my primary family vehicle. Even an X7 is debatable as being too small for my family for that task.
.....

FTFY


Clearly, you need lots of space and the Expedition is a great choice for you and your family. Not every family needs or wants that huge a vehicle. That's why car companies build so many different cars. Our X5 is a perfect size for us.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

FTFY


Clearly, you need lots of space and the Expedition is a great choice for you and your family. Not every family needs or wants that huge a vehicle. That's why car companies build so many different cars. Our X5 is a perfect size for us.

Yeah I suppose, some people just have to make smaller vehicles work, or are just smaller people. I'm only 6'2, my wife is only 5'5 so we aren't like giants or anything. We have Graco car seats, so we didn't go out and buy the most compact ones we could find, we bought ones that were nice and could convert as the kids grew.

I could see a point in like 5 years where maybe we wouldn't need as much space. No stroller, no diaper bags, no emergency clothes and towels... At most we would have some backpacks lunchboxes and maybe some sports equipment. But with little kids, X5 is too small.