[doronin]

How would you compare 325xi wagon driving experience against sedan? Not talking about specs, but actual impressions. How much am I gonna lose if go with wagon?

[davinet78]

i would say that the feeling should be more or less the same cos technically its the same car.

[doronin]

Is it? I'd assume different aerodynamics and weight ratio at least.
For some reason most folks get sedan, not a wagon - there must be something in it?

[ward]

I'd heard in older 5 series the wagon actually had better weight distribution

it's going to be pretty darn close between the 2

[LEDZEP]

I drove the wagon to work today (58 miles one way). This is the first long drive I've had with it. It had less than 200 miles on it when I left this morning, so the engine is not even beginning to break in yet.

Basically, it feels identical to me. So much so, that I forgot that I wasn't in my E90. The E91 is still built 50/50 and doesn't feel any different in that respect. As far as aerodynamics, I think it might even be better. The only thing I'm noticing so far is less fuel efficiency. A lot of that is due to the brand new engine, but some to the added weight of the x drive system, etc.

In short, she drives like a dream. Actually BETTER than my E90 because it has no shimmy and no accelerator hesitation. That's my $.02 right now.

[doronin]

Well said. Thanks LEDZEP, now I have nothing to worry about. As for the look, they did something magical to the car's proportions to make it looking that nice. E46 wagon looked pretty terrifying to me.

What are your feeling about E91 cargo capacity - is it something to write home about? Can replace SUV?

[LEDZEP]

We traded our 2003 Subaru Outback on the E91, and it has less cargo space. The rear cargo area is probably about 6" shorter. If you're a family with kids and lots of stuff to haul around you might want to look at one in person before you decide. For us, it just has to accomodate the trips to Sam's Club and the annual vacation with luggage, etc. The 5 series wagon is probably more the same size as the Subaru.

After my full round trip commute yesterday, the E91 yeilded about 27 MPG (almost all highway) compared to the usual 32 MPG in the E90. That should improve some after break in though. She handles just like the sedan though.

[doronin]

I've never had Subaru to compare (I had e46 325xi sedan and was very happy with it), but at that time I didn't have kids either. Now I have one, but talking about car size, I have no idea yet how much is enough.
'5' is too big for me to enjoy driving, 'X' - I just don't like heavy cars. Seem I have no choice...

[spitfire6000]

the x5 is actually REALLY good. It might not handle as well as my E90, but its great in the snow, has very good ground clearance, still handles better than any suv (or sav), good 0-60 for a suv, and loads of trunk room.

I would never get the e91 just because wagons i think in general all look terribly ugly. Get a X5 instead. (i dont really like the x3).

[doronin]

spitfire6000, I absolutely agree that X5 is a great car! Couple of years ago I actually dreamed of upgrade from my 325xi to X5. Getting older though , I realized few things why I won't do that.
...

Well, I don't know why would X5 be better then e90/91 xi on snow (on road of course), given X5 weights significantly more so its breaking distance with possibility of some sliding would be much longer.
Gas is a second reason - it'll get more and more expensive now, and I also just don't like the idea of extra polluting my environment for virtually no reason, just 'cause my car is that heavy.
Ground clearance - I used to think about it as of negative factor considering I don't go off road very often.
Trunk room - the main subject here, was confirmed to be less then X3 and e46 wagon.

What's true, X5 looks damn good. However, looking into efficiency or value of X5 for me, and keeping in mind performance difference, I clearly see why Europeans prefer wagons.

[LEDZEP]

Also, the E91 is larger than the E46. I think the final point here is that there are several good BMW's from which to choose. They wouldn't make each of them unless there was a market for each.