[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

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.

6yr and 4yr old here.

For long trips, I agree with you. You cannot possibly fit everything you need even with a roof luggage box. However, I find those to be the exception and wouldn’t base a multi year large purchase on. 99% of the trips it can handle just fine. Including weekend getaways trips. Maybe not if you got babies but that time period is short.

I find the x5 trunk can take 2 strollers, 2 carry ons, plus a few back packs. Plus you can put an extra bag at in the middle seat or at the kids feet as they can’t reach them anyways.

[FLYZ]

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.

I couldn't agree more. Everyone do what works for them, and with two kids I can see wanting a third row, but with a family of three like mine I would feel positively exorbitant buying a full size, three row hauler. Price not being the concern, I don't want that in my garage, I don't wanna park it and I don't wanna wallow around town driving in it.

I think the expedition is a great vehicle, but there was a day when families used to all travel in sedans, and now we all think the day we have our first kid, it's time to order a bus. Growing up, my mom drove suburbans starting in the late 80s (before SUVs were cool) and I remember her friends thinking she was nuts. Crossover three-rows (X7, GLS, Rivian R1S) at the max will suit me just fine. If I need more than that, I am not traveling light enough.

[BlkGS]

We are like 2 feet from putting the expedition in our garage, lol. Maybe if I didn't have my garage fridge and workbench I could cram it in, but it's not worth it. It sits on the driveway.

I can understand people not wa.ting an expedition or Tahoe or whatever. People who live in big crowded cities, small people, or just minimalist people it would be overall pointless to. But being able to have that kind of space, with no dow.sides where I live, is really really nice.

[Cityman]

We need a large (Yukon Denali) and medium (x5m60i) vehicle to cover our needs. The x5 is much more fun to drive!

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

We are like 2 feet from putting the expedition in our garage, lol. Maybe if I didn't have my garage fridge and workbench I could cram it in, but it's not worth it. It sits on the driveway.

I can understand people not wa.ting an expedition or Tahoe or whatever. People who live in big crowded cities, small people, or just minimalist people it would be overall pointless to. But being able to have that kind of space, with no dow.sides where I live, is really really nice.

I do see the value. The extra space and roominess calms the long drive quite a bit.

The times when I feel cramped in the car does cause some extra anxiety for me, but again not enough to live with one full time. Renting one for long trips sounds like the best solution.

[blau808]

Originally Posted by FLYZ

I think the expedition is a great vehicle, but there was a day when families used to all travel in sedans, and now we all think the day we have our first kid, it's time to order a bus.

Don't forget about station wagons with black vinyl seats that would cause 3rd degree burns in the summertime.

Honestly wish bmw would bring the touring model to the usa again.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by Mattl0806

I do see the value. The extra space and roominess calms the long drive quite a bit.

The times when I feel cramped in the car does cause some extra anxiety for me, but again not enough to live with one full time. Renting one for long trips sounds like the best solution.

That's fair. Where we live, there's no drawbacks. We have nice wide roads, nice big parking spots, and most people have large SUVs or trucks. And when some cracked out girl in a Corolla slid into the side of our Expedition, it hit the wheel, scuffed that up, and scuffed up the power running board but took basically no damage. The Corolla that hit her on the other hand lost its front end for its trouble.

Quite frankly, I'd put my wife and kids in a literal tank if I could, lol.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

That's fair. Where we live, there's no drawbacks. We have nice wide roads, nice big parking spots, and most people have large SUVs or trucks. And when some cracked out girl in a Corolla slid into the side of our Expedition, it hit the wheel, scuffed that up, and scuffed up the power running board but took basically no damage. The Corolla that hit her on the other hand lost its front end for its trouble.

Quite frankly, I'd put my wife and kids in a literal tank if I could, lol.

Haha that’s amazing and I definitely agree safety needs to be a priority as well. That would be a value add of one these big guys.

[AGONXF30]

Originally Posted by Crusje

No it doesn't. It's big and fat. I wonder what people compare it to when they say it handles great.

I think it handles pretty decently for what it is. And I drive a pretty well optioned 3er with sport suspension and adaptive dampers as my Daily.

[chicagofan00]

Originally Posted by blau808

Honestly wish bmw would bring the touring model to the usa again.

They are…but only in the M5 Touring format.

[sygazelle]

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!

I've got a 2019 X5 40i. It's my wife's car but I find myself borrowing it all the time! It handles very well for an SUV. When we picked it up at the factory in Spartanburg, we got to drive a like-model on the test track and it was pretty remarkable how well it handled.

I recently swapped the original 20" Bridgestone run flats with Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3. The Bridgestones were good. The Pirelli go flats are amazing on the X5. What an upgrade.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Crusje

I rented an X5 on vacation last year and liked it enough to get one. Was also looked at Grand Cherokees but found that it felt bigger in the back. The X5 is like 1.5" wider than the Jeep so maybe that's why. We're not tall though so leg room is always fine for these mid size SUVs. Jeep is a little crazy with pricing though - the JGC we looked at was more expensive than the X5. Rented a GLE350 for a week a month ago on vacation. Didn't really like it. It felt slow and idrive is way superior to whatever mb has. It looks amazing though.

No it doesn't. It's big and fat. I wonder what people compare it to when they say it handles great.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

I have three kids in the back of my X3 right now… all in car seats (forward, rear, forward). I’m 6’5” and there’s plenty of room for everybody. I looked at the X5 when we originally purchased but still prioritized handling over the extra space the X5 provides.

In the same line of thought, anyone spend time in both cars? I’m curious about just how much of a difference in handling there is. I’m thinking of stepping up to the X5.

Bocabimmer- still in the X3 or have you changed? Thoughts if so?

[bocabimmer]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Bocabimmer- still in the X3 or have you changed? Thoughts if so?

Still in the X3.

It’s complicated. I’m now up to 4 kids and driving a massive Expedition Max.

Pros for the X3: I like the size of the X3 from a driving perspective. I have a custom ordered, exact to my spec X3 picked up during the height of pandemic prices. I intended to keep it 10 years so it wouldn’t matter. I’ll get hosed in depreciation if I sell now.

Neutrals: The X5 has larger seats, but I just sat in them the other day and they’re not significantly large enough alone to warrant changing vehicles.

Pros for X5: If I want to take the whole family I cannot in my x3. That becomes problematic if our other car is in the shop. I may still be looking at the X5 with the 3rd row. The Expedition has pushed my preferences a little more toward space and comfort, so the X5 is an obvious choice. That B58 engine.

I’m not actively looking to make a change, but not opposed to it if I find the right car at the right price.

[BlkGS]

Haha, once you get used to that space it's hard to go back.

I couldn't get a rear facing car seat behind myself in an X3M. Perhaps if I had bought a specific one it would have worked, but not with the big ass Graco we have. I also wouldn't be able to go 3 wide in the back of the X5 with the Gracos. Luckily we decided 2 kids is our limit.

I wish we had gone for the Max, for the larger gas tank and the extra space behind the 3rd row. Whenever it's more than the 4 of us it becomes a game of Tetris to fit everything in (we have captains chairs in ours.

[Dochere2]

It's funny how different everyone is on perceived space. I find our x5 feels much bigger than our x3. So does the wife. I find no difference between the x7 and the x5, even though the 7 is pre lci and the 5 is lci. It's just the 2 of us and 2 small dogs. We travel and camp a lot. There is more usable room in the x5 than both the x3 and x7 (we have captains in the x7). Compared to the x3, the depth of the x5 cargo makes a world of difference and the split tailgate is much nicer than that on the x3. We are able to fit the dog kennel on one side of the cargo area in the x5, with the seats up, and still have room on the other side for some cargo. With the seats down I can load all the gear we need, suitcase, etc and keep the kennel in place. This isn't possible in the x3 and is barely possible in the x7, at least for our typical compliment of gear. The fact that the x7's rear seats armrests stay in position, coupled with the fact that the captains don't fold flat, there just isn't enough usable room. If we had to do the x7 again, we'd go with the bench version. It gets old trying to protect the armrest / cupholder area every time we load gear.

For us the x3 is out of here soon. It's OK but not great, fun but rough ride, seems to wander more than I like. Never an issue though, other than 12k of tires during our 73k of ownership. As much as we both like the x7, and we both love the x7, that's probably out soon too. It just doesn't offer that much of an advantage over the x5, other than looks, which is obviously subjective (we both prefer the look of the pre lci x7 to the lci x5 and x7). We will likely be an x5 household in the future as I'm going back to a 2 door soon enough. The x5 is so well rounded, holds what we need, pulls what we need, looks pretty good, it's basically a perfect middle ground. If the next iteration is a styling improvement over the lci, I'd guess that's the route we'd likely go in a couple years. The only other car we're both excited about is the new GX but I want to see some real life use cases before actually considering ownership.

[aussieintexas]

Originally Posted by Cityman

We need a large (Yukon Denali) and medium (x5m60i) vehicle to cover our needs. The x5 is much more fun to drive!

Need or want 😉

[FLYZ]

Originally Posted by blau808

Don't forget about station wagons with black vinyl seats that would cause 3rd degree burns in the summertime.

Honestly wish bmw would bring the touring model to the usa again.

I would buy a wagon in a heartbeat. When I was a kid I hated them, and now I think they are the coolest thing on the road. I guess I am attracted to the uniqueness of them. Car handling and SUV space is even better.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by FLYZ

I would buy a wagon in a heartbeat. When I was a kid I hated them, and now I think they are the coolest thing on the road. I guess I am attracted to the uniqueness of them. Car handling and SUV space is even better.

They don't REALLY have SUV space. At least not fullsize SUV space. An RS6 wagon has 30 cuft of cargo area. That splits the difference of x3 and x5, or GLC and GLE. It MASSIVELY trails something like a Ford Edge, Jeep Grand Cherokee, or any of the other larger 2 row SUVs, which are close to 40cuft.

The other things is that with a wagon, you have to drop everything down into it, and lift it all up and out, and duck under the rear hatch to access the cargo area.

I get it, wagons are different and we all have these memories of being kids riding in the back of them in the jump seats and nostalgia is a hell of a drug. But there's a reason they don't sell many of them, and it's not JUST the fact that silly EPA regulators effectively killed them.

[tooloud10]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

They don't REALLY have SUV space. At least not fullsize SUV space. An RS6 wagon has 30 cuft of cargo area. That splits the difference of x3 and x5, or GLC and GLE. It MASSIVELY trails something like a Ford Edge, Jeep Grand Cherokee, or any of the other larger 2 row SUVs, which are close to 40cuft.

This was a good prompt for me to look up the dimensions of my G05 compared to my '21 Edge. It's crazy how every outside dimension is 3-6" smaller on the Edge than the X5, but almost every single interior dimension is bigger in the Edge, including seating and cargo space.

I guess I always expected as much, but it feels weird how BMW has always 'pretended' that the X5's size is a class larger than it really is.

[jad03060]

Renting a larger vehicle for trips can work, but the cost can start to go up. If you have a rear hitch, you might consider a swing-away rear storage box. Lots of companies make them in various sizes and price points. https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Cargo...ima/Y74ZR.html Is one that can hold quite a bit of stuff and is one of the larger ones out there.

A roof-top one likely wouldn’t hold as much, will be a fuel efficiency hit whenever attached, and can add a level of wind noise. I’ve carried stuff behind before, and it does not seem to be a noticeable hit on efficiency. You have to be careful when backing up and it may obstruct the rear camera, so there are some downsides to it.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by tooloud10

This was a good prompt for me to look up the dimensions of my G05 compared to my '21 Edge. It's crazy how every outside dimension is 3-6" smaller on the Edge than the X5, but almost every single interior dimension is bigger in the Edge, including seating and cargo space.

I guess I always expected as much, but it feels weird how BMW has always 'pretended' that the X5's size is a class larger than it really is.

I was really blown away by X5 vs Grand Cherokee. I felt like they were basically the same size, and they are, except the Jeep has more space in most cases.

The Edge is just a wonderfully packaged vehicle. Comfortable, spacious, efficient, fun to drive, high quality... Real miss for Ford to get rid of it.