[13 NF]

Hi All
So I pressed the button on a new ( stock)50e, but really sad to let go of the best car I driven, the G05 50d is amazing, but it’s going to start costing big time, warranty, brakes etc.
So got hold of a 50e spec not huge
Pro pack, tech pack and comfort pack and some bigger alloys and sun protection glass.
Worried about Sensafin but going to give it a go, hybrid thing here in the Uk not great as electric isn’t cheap. But tomorrow is the day.
Read all the negatives and hope mine isn’t one if those cars!
I let everyone know my experience.
In the mean time I will moarn my 50d🙁

[six]

Congratulations on the 50e, hope the pick up goes smoothly!

Be really interested to hear your thoughts on the 50e performance coming from a 50d. You’ve been used to crazy torque, will the 50e be able to hold its own. Apparently the instant torque of the electric motor does really help compared to the 40i…

[13 NF]

Just picked it up yesterday will report in a few days , but early impression are good, really good!!
Performance /Great
Idrive 8.5 /Really good
New styling/ Nice touches
Will give in depth review soon!

[SuperYes]

Exactly the same as mine but I don't have the tech pack! No issues yet, apart from two nails in the tyres two weeks apart. I'm in the UK also.

[six]

Originally Posted by 13 NF

Just picked it up yesterday will report in a few days , but early impression are good, really good!!
Performance /Great
Idrive 8.5 /Really good
New styling/ Nice touches
Will give in depth review soon!

Great to hear! I’m also worried about Sensafin, how do you find it on initial reaction?

Will look forward to your thoughts on drive and performance after you’ve put a few miles on it. I would say if you are happy coming from a 50d that’s got to be a good sign!

[BMPHIL]

Enjoy

[13 NF]

So 500 miles in and my initial impression coming from G05 M50d and going into LCI 50e.

Firstly I have to say I loved my 50d and would have had another in a heart beat, the car and its set up WAS TRUELY SPECIAL , not the fastest, but not the slowest but that huge lump of torque! and 28 mpg when driven hard.

So due to emission it was RIP rapid diesel, and the 50e seemed the right choice, 60i in the UK seemed a real indulgence given my annual mileage of 20k!

My car was a stock car built in August, so had the 8.5 etc etc.

I want to leave the drive train until last, so!

LCI is a really great update, the new displays and layouts in my opinion are fresh and just as intuitive as the superb 7, the only issue is the touch screen finger tip marks, also when driving you have to rest your hand on the trim below the screen to steady your hand, but no big issue.

The menus have been replaced with app style icons all seems easy to use, 'favourite buttons' on screen drop down all really good, even climate seems intuitive, its new but not difficult. I would say as good as 7! Which is excellent.

The New EXTERIOR styling is beautiful, the lights work just as well as the laser's, and updates on light style and operation are excellent, externally a real hit! Just get Tech Pro pack it just looks good IMHO.

Interior the lighting is great and fully adjustable, some will like the >>>>>>>X5 >>>>> thing others won't, but you just turn it down or up,

Sensafin. I know a real discussion point, I was concerned too, and to be honest if I had speced the car, I would have chosen leather, I would have felt I needed too, as its natural so better?. But initial experience is really positive, nobody has noticed and most comment on its comfort and feel, IMHO its great alternative to the basic leather which I would have normally.

The Key is a bit cheap, but I have ordered a cover to stop the scratching, although a good feature is it now isn't possible to gets its signal from a reader, as the key stops this after 2 mins! So one less worry on security.

So lets go to the main event the engine and drive train.

So the hybrid thing didn't appeal as it seems illogical to add weight to reduce short term C02, and it does feel its weight, there isn't any getting away with it, braking and cornering is just like my last 50d but with two big over nourished blokes in the back seats, but its really well sorted and does not spoil this cars appeal.

Smoothness is the main standout feature, the creamy i6 with the boost of the electric motor is good, not sure that (in hybrid) the response is great between gearchange and electric input but more miles will tell, but in Sport its rapid really rapid, and to be honest I am trying the run in thing ! So after 1200 miles, its hammer down time!!
But I suspect it will be 60i mpg!

Charging is currently on a 120a plug level 1, but next week I am getting A 7.4 KWH charger at home, 13 hours down to 4 hours, so thats the future!

So my daily work journey is 100 mile round trip, 85 miles being motorway, so if leaving in pure hybrid the return journey is on a much depleted battery, so I have been holding the battery which seems to work.

Mpg over the 500 miles 45! But my last night my drive home was 29.2 mpg! So I suspect this isn't the most efficient over my journey profile. And I haven't factored the electric bill at home.

So in summary, LCI is a worthy upgrade, 50e brilliant but understand its not the most fuel efficient over my journey profile. My summer commute of over 600 miles a week will be interesting.

Thanks i will update later in the year, when our temps will decrease!

Thanks again

[six]

Thanks for the write up, so good so far then! Glad to read you are pleased with it and not feeling too disadvantaged with the 50e over the 50d. They are different cars for sure but the performance and economy figures for the 50e are impressive!

Running in will be more tricky with the hybrid, how do you know when he petrol engine has enough miles under its belt to be called run-in since some of the miles will be EV only…

[13 NF]

The run in period never goes strictly to plan, but reading the manual built speed up after 1200 miles, avoid revs higher than 4500 ( which is Nyeon impossible!) and use battery and engine See pic
The lack of a real temperature gauge is an issue although there is a symbol of a car with temperature gauge, if it’s blue, the battery isn’t up to temp/speed, white it’s over heating, if it’s not there all ok?
Not great

[FIOSCH]

Interested to see you went for the 50e after all - looks a very nice car and the hybrid drive giving you pretty good mpg so far, all things considered. Look forward to hearing how that develops as we head into winter, though should imagine once the car’s run in it’ll be difficult to refrain from exploiting all that smooth power, which of course won’t be good for economy! On a test drive I did in a 50e, had the car to myself for a few hours, and found it very hard to resist letting it have its head - quite intoxicating - only fear of losing my licence held me back! But reckon that even driven very briskly, provided that you always plug in at home overnight, and where you can away from home, you’re likely to get overall economy / energy cost per mile at least as good as the 30d or 40d, with similar performance in terms of the torque, yet considerably more high end power and the benefit of that glorious B58 engine!

For myself, now managed to get an excellent deal on a 2024 (facelift) VW Touareg R-line Black Edition 3.0 TDI - V6 diesel - 286 hp / 600 Nm, list price of which, just about fully loaded, is at least £10k less than an X5 30d (M Sport) would be with spec level matched as close as possible to that of the fully loaded Touareg. And what is more I’ve been able to able to specify the Touareg with All Wheel Steering, as that is an option on any ICE model, whereas IAS continues to be unavailable as an option on any X5 (only as standard on the M60i), and also with night vision, heated windscreen and spare wheel, which again can’t be optioned on an X5, at least not here in the UK.

And then the discount off list I’ve obtained on the Touareg (including sizeable manufacturer PCP deposit contribution) amounts to almost 15% when it appears from the negotiating I’ve done, even half such a discount on an X5 would be a result!

So whilst in the performance/efficiency stakes the Touareg, having also test driven that (pre-facelift model) admittedly isn’t quite up there with the X5 (although compared to the 30d not far behind) and maybe doesn’t feel quite as premium/ luxury, I think it’s better value for money, as well as being a super tow car, which is what I need, and has a rather understated, purposeful style that I rather like.

But with respect to delivery, I’m in some doubt as to the 16 weeks I’ve been quoted by the supplying VW dealership, as others say different - 8 to 12 months according to some, which is far too long, and I’m mindful that the higher you spec the car, the more chance there is of delay. So I’m not holding my breath, and if by the end of January I don’t have a confirmed delivery date, for March at the latest, intend to cancel the Touareg order, in which case I’ll be back onto the X5 (40d or 50e probably) and hope by that time the IAS has become available to option again.

The Cayenne however for me would remain a contender, having test driven two of them at a Porsche Drive Out event recently, one of which was a facelift base (V6) Cayenne with rear axle steering, dynamic chassis control and lightweight package and that was great to drive. The other was a pre-facelift E-Hybrid which unsurprisingly was not as impressive, and I would say also not as good as the 50e that I had test driven not long before, the Cayenne feeling heavier to drive, with spongier brakes, and not as responsive. Whether the facelift E-Hybrid is an improvement on that I hope to find out soon as waiting for my local Porsche Centre to get their E-Hybrid demonstrator, currently held up along with many other new Cayennes for software update to rectify some fault with the lighting system I understand.

[13 NF]

Hi FIOSCH
It’s sound like you really done you research, I like the Touareg and I think the infotainment system is good on Apple car play, so hope it lands soon, VW feels a younger brand and I am tempted my self.
The x5 there’s plenty of them about,but speced out of their brains, 30d &40d who’s going to pay £90k-100k + for one, having said that they great cars, BMW just need to realise it’s not 2021, huge inflation and interest rates, they will have to assist once demand and supply level out.
As I said in my reply my choice was reduced by my own pride! 40d should have been my choice.
My advice to UK private buyers that considering the 50e (who like driving enthusiastically ) is take one on a 24 hr test drive. Do the short journeys but also do the long ones too.
I will reserve judgment until many thousands of miles down the road, but I don’t think this is going to in the mpg league of my 50d when pedal mashed.
You live in the Uk, any motorway journey you can’t help seeing these EV’s and Hybrids all doing 70mph, taking it carefully, it’s clearly because any fun dramatically reduces the mpg. So then what’s the point of a quick hybrid if the consequences are poor mpg.
Then there’s the handling, just think X7 but X5 size, I had an incident the other day when at about 80mph I had to make a quick Manoeuvre out of the way of something, the car didn’t like this at all.
And finally the hybrid drive, it’s smooth but you do feel the electric and ICE integration, it can give a bit of lag if mashing the accelerator and catching it out , I always thought that was the point of this marriage effortless instant acceleration.
So I been driving road in Sport!

[FIOSCH]

That’s all useful to know thanks 13 NF, and you make some good points! Didn’t notice any lag or hesitation when I drove the 50e but as you say an extended test drive, more than for an hour or two, may well be required to properly assess the vehicle. Indeed, with regard to the Touareg, I know from a number of reviews that the gearbox on that car can be slow to respond if demanded to accelerate very suddenly from low speed, but didn’t have the opportunity to put that to the test on the relatively short test drive that I did, in quite congested traffic, accompanied by sales person who kept making comments and asking questions that were distracting! But anyway, if the gearbox is like that, I can live with it, as when I want to drive in that fashion would have the car in sport to sharpen up the responsiveness. And even the Cayenne is by no means perfect in this respect as both the cars, the pure ICE and the hybrid, I drove (unaccompanied) on the Drive Out event displayed a little hesitation on sudden hard acceleration - actually I wouldn’t be surprised if gearbox on those is the same as on the Touareg, which of course has quite a lot in common with the Cayenne, built in the same factory in Bratislava, along with Audi Q7 and Q8.

Couple of questions about your 50e if I may:

1. Understand it’s the Tech pack you’ve got on that, not the Tech Plus pack, and therefore doesn’t have Driving Assistant Professional included in the Tech Plus pack, meaning that it lacks adaptive/active cruise control? If that’s the case, do you know whether it’s capable of being upgraded via BMW Connected Drive (for subscription or one-off payment) to have ‘Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go’ function or other of the functions/bundles shown on there such as ‘Driving Assistant Plus’ and ‘Parking Assistant Professional’?

2. How do you find the interior of the car without the panoramic roof? Personally it’s one optional extra I feel that I could do without but concerned about it being too dark inside with no glass roof and the anthracite headlining?

[Flying Ace]

Btw you're thinking too hard about your daily 100 mile commute. Just put the car in hybrid/adaptive with navigation on (your work should be the midpoint destination if you don't have charging), and it'll run the most efficient process. I've tried all manners of manually toggling between electric, battery hold, etc, and the most efficient has been just letting the car figure it out. You'll see that upon your final destination, the car would have used all of it's charge. Trust me you're not smarter than the car, bc the navigation system is computing average speed of traffic, city roads, etc when it tries to optimize consumption. Yeah

[13 NF]

Hi FIOSC

1) so it doesn’t have adaptive cruise, and it doesn’t look as if it upgradeable, (my wife’s none LCI 30d has the buttons on the steering wheel and you can for £700 upgrade)
Parking Assistant Plus& Surround isn’t in my car, it was on the last, but the camera on the new one is really good and I never used fully the surround as I didn’t like way it would zoom in at times, I actually backed into my gate with the last car as I was not concentrating 🫣.
Only used auto park once in the 3 years of ownership, I never really found it helpful.
But if you like this I would spec it, again mine is not perfect as it a stock car, but I am happy with the spec ish.

2) Panroof, good question I never really used it last time and tended to drive around with the cover over, it was handy when I had the bikes on the roof thought ! As I could see if they were still on!! I not the best to ask, my bro in law has a 45e and really loves his roof always has it open! I have to say the new interior is really good and I do not miss it, but suspect I am not the best to ask.

[13 NF]

Hi Flying Ace

I will take your advice and try this, in fairness I never thought I could out smart the car😀

Shamefully I didn’t find how too set the nav with a Interim destination🫤

I will give it a go!

Thank you

[rundeyvoo]

Originally Posted by 13 NF

Hi All
So I pressed the button on a new ( stock)50e, but really sad to let go of the best car I driven, the G05 50d is amazing, but it’s going to start costing big time, warranty, brakes etc.
So got hold of a 50e spec not huge
Pro pack, tech pack and comfort pack and some bigger alloys and sun protection glass.
Worried about Sensafin but going to give it a go, hybrid thing here in the Uk not great as electric isn’t cheap. But tomorrow is the day.
Read all the negatives and hope mine isn’t one if those cars!
I let everyone know my experience.
In the mean time I will moarn my 50d🙁

Congrats on the new 50e! Love the color combo and the //M badging on the fenders that you guys in EU get (it's not included for US buyers)

[FIOSCH]

Originally Posted by 13 NF

Hi FIOSC

1) so it doesn’t have adaptive cruise, and it doesn’t look as if it upgradeable, (my wife’s none LCI 30d has the buttons on the steering wheel and you can for £700 upgrade)

As I understand it, the steering wheel buttons on the LCI are the same whether you’ve got adaptive/active cruise on the car from factory or not - you have to go on the iDrive screen to change the cruise distance setting I believe. So you may be able to go on BMW Connected Drive to get the car updated to have that function if you wanted it, for subscription or one-off payment - might be worth inputting your car’s details on the Connected Drive site to see what it offers you?

[13 NF]

So I taken a few pics

I think the LCI doesn’t have pay later option
Unless they moved the steering wheel button to the screen😀

[SwissBeemer]

Congrats on the 50e! In my opinion the best car I ever had, by a mile.

Originally Posted by 13 NF

So after 1200 miles, its hammer down time!!
But I suspect it will be 60i mpg!

Is it only 1.200mi? In Germany it's 3.000km/1.800mi. I'm also struggling with it a bit as I'm driving the car electric mostly and after those 3.000km the engine will not even have 1.000km but I can't hammer the same B58 that needs 3.000km in an 40i after not even 1.000km just because it's in an 50e. I'll probably wait for the first long distance trips where the ICE sees some use until it has 3.000km (visible in the app) before pushing it. Will be a while.

My girlfriend has the same 70km to work so I have a sort of "standardized" distance to measure mpg compared to my 750Ld and so far it's been roughly 1L more than the 7-series needed with an empty battery. (6.3L/100km to 7.2L/100km or ~45mpg to ~39mpg) But that's highway and the 50e shines especially around town where it uses considerably less fuel than the 7-series due to recuperation. If there's mountains in-between it is really extreme because of the recuperation. Even after "hills" of maybe 300m vertical I would go 4km purely electric from recuperation where the 7-series needs to keep using the ICE. All this while the X5 has 300kg more and considerably more wind resistance plus a petrol engine. (With all the perks of being silky-smooth and drawbacks of using more fuel.)

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by 13 NF

So I taken a few pics

I think the LCI doesn’t have pay later option
Unless they moved the steering wheel button to the screen😀

If you are referring to the distance buttons, they did. The steering wheel is the same whether the vehicle has DAP or not.

[13 NF]

Thanks SwissBeener

Firstly 750d that’s a car!

I am going to take it easy for a while, as I don’t know if that ICE engine is warm, I would never mash the accelerator in an ICE car unless it was at operating temp.

Just a thought but maybe they could do an OTA update to include a temp gauge?

[FIOSCH]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

If you are referring to the distance buttons, they did. The steering wheel is the same whether the vehicle has DAP or not.

As I thought, one reason presumably being to enable software upgrade post purchase to active cruise control - no additional steering wheel hardware needed. But question is whether such upgrade can actually be done currently on LCI G05, as I seem to recall from reading other threads is reckoned not to be the case in the US at present. Position may be different in UK and elsewhere in Europe but there appears to be no way of confirming availability of that or any other function upgrade for a particular model except by someone already with such car lacking the function in question logging in with the details of it on BMW Connected Drive to see if the upgrade is offered, which I was rather hoping 13 NF might like to try?