[smovva]

I've owned a 2011 X3 F25 35i for 8 years before picking up a 2019 X5 40i in June. These are my thoughts with the caveat that your mileage may vary:

Ordered Feb 18th, received via Perf Center Delivery on June 6th - last VIN with 3 rows in Model Year 2019. MSports, Phytonic Blue, Cognac Vernasca, MBrakes, 3rd row, acoustic glass, premium package, Harmon Kardon sound, driving assistance pro package, luggage compartment package and Trailer Hitch.

Perf center delivery was amazing - especially as one-way flight to Greenville/Spartanburg was < $100 from FL. Skid pad was most fun followed by the off-road experience. The hot lap in a M3 as a passenger was out of this world. The factory tour was pretty cool - we saw X3 and X4s being built.

The product specialist was very knowledgeable but since I had lurked on these forums since mid-last year, I probably knew more than he did and he quickly adjusted to my level of knowledge and filled me in where needed. Super professional and helpful.

Went to drive out of bay and car threw an "Adaptive Headlight Malfunction Error". Specialist was bewildered especially as whomever drove it into the bay should have noticed it. Once the car leaves the factory, it can’t reenter it, even for re-work (who knew??); so he took it to the onsite employee car BMW service center which diagnosed a right headlamp replacement but can only be performed by a dealer under warranty. Headlamp worked but adaptive function (swiveling) was broken.

Everything else was flawless and car had 2019.35 software version (had caring car and experience apps) and after being showered by many free gifts from the gift shop by a mortified performance center delivery manager, took delivery of the car.

Decided to drive back down to Florida spending a day/night each in Charleston, SC; Savanah, GA and Fort Augustine FL. It was an awesome road trip and I highly recommend spending time in those cities with their rich history of our country's beginnings!

Found along the way none of the BMW connected stuff (horn, flash lights, lock/unlock, 3d remote view) worked from my Android (Google Pixel 3 running Android 9) or iOS devices (iPhone 8 Plus running 12.3) so added that to list of things to be fixed.

Got back to FL and checked in w/ dealer who already had an email from the Perf center asking for expediting handling of any issues with the car. In the meantime I started getting a Sirius XM expiring message.

My black grill had come in from Taiwan by now so swapped that in and it really looks great as I felt the chrome grill didn't match the rest of the car's shadow line trim! A literal 5 minute swap.

Took car to dealer who kept it for 3 days and gave me a brand new X3 loaner to drive. They replaced the headlamp (took front bumper off to do that) and also had to replace the TCU (dropped the headliner) to fix the BMW connected app issue and had BMW dial in to fix something with communications between modules. Now everything works flawlessly, including caring car and experience apps which are actually quite fun! They updated maps to 2019-02 and car is running 2019.60 software.

Former X3 impressions:
This car is big and tall! You will be sitting up much higher!

Room inside seems about the same as the X3 for first and second rows, though its wider. Middle seat feels less cramped in X5 and drive shaft hump is also lower profile than X3.

Turning radius is quite large (like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan we also own) and takes some getting used to. I didn't order the integrated active steering for rear wheels.

X3 feels more connected to the road and steering is quick and precise w/ literally no body roll. On the X5 steering seems more distant though still precise and there is body roll and nose dive on braking even in sport damping mode.

The X5 with air suspension feels a bit floaty if you are coming from an X3 but feels taut compared to our minivan! I think I would have liked the mSport Suspension better instead of the air suspension but since we needed 3 rows it was not an option.

X3 suspension is hard/jarring and in the X5 you don’t feel a thing! That could be good or bad, depending on your point of view.

X5 gets better mileage than my X3. That was unexpected!

The X5 is a ticket magnet; I constantly find myself doing 20-30 mph over the limit as it is so darn silent inside and my internal speed sense is still calibrated to the X3!

My X3 has body hugging sports seats and the X5 has more plush comfortable seats but I can’t quite seem to get the same support, contours and upper back angle dialed in as I was able to in the X3. Will experiment more.

Glad I got the M Sport Brakes; compared to the X3 w/o M Sport Brakes the X5 needs a lot more room to stop and it needs all the help it can get!

The third Row is perfect for two little kids, especially when we are hauling grandparents at the same time. I would not subject anyone over the age of 10 back there though! Room is tight.

The engine and transmission are beautiful! But in sports mode the X3 is faster and grin inducing – makes sense as it’s a lighter car and a go cart compared to the X5. Granted I have not yet floored the X5 waiting for break in period to end (this week!)

The driving assistance pro stuff works. Lane keeping assistance needs to be dialed down as it counteracts steering inputs very strongly if you try and change lane w/o signaling. I see no ping-ponging within lane.

The driving assistance plus works very well in maintaining speed and following lanes automatically but requires keeping a hand on the wheel; I could not get into the other mode people refer to where you can take hands off the wheel for extended periods of time.

The lane change assistant I could not get to work at all; need to see what mode I need to be in to make that work. I see many hours of reading through the manual in my future!

Disappointing that there is no brake intervention for cross traffic rear. My Chrysler Pacifica minivan from 3 years ago has it along with front collision mitigation, adaptive active cruise control, lane keeping, better blind spot indication etc and they all work with zero drama for a car that costs 60% less than the BMW.

The backup assistant works really well every morning to back out of my driveway!

The X5 interior is gorgeous as are the large displays and heads-up display. Just love all the different input methods (gesture, touchscreen, heads-up, iDrive controller & touchpad).

Love the HK sound system - It sounds terrific; I have two B&W sound systems at home so know what they could sound like and I am perfectly happy with the HK in the X5; it has a brilliant and enveloping sound stage and a very nice flat response curve. I didn't change EQ settings at all.

Had zero problems with phones connecting or keeping connections. Both Apple Car Play and normal Android connections work great with SMS showing up correctly. No problem with loss of internet etc. Have not figured out how to do screen mirroring from Android though.

I love the “Hey BMW” feature; I can give it almost as complex a query as Google Assistant and it executes it fine (in the limited contextual sense of things you ask for when you are in a car).

Kids love the gesture thing and I ended up turning off the laser detection on my Valentine 1 as it kept being triggered by the gesture sensors.

Overall, we love the X5 and it’s a big upgrade from the X3 - which I still love as a single driver car - for our growing family!

[Bimar]

Legroom is why am gunning for the X7, disappointed same legroom as my X4.

[solstice]

I really hope we stop hearing stories like these with problems right after delivery when the 2020s are rolling out. I assume PDC delivery is similar to euro delivery which I’ve done several times where the car is delivered tested and cleared for end customer delivery? At the end of an MY things like faulty headlights simply should not happen.

By curiousity how would you rate the X5’s trunk space vs. the X3 from a practical point ( not stated cu. inches ). Does it feel like near twice the size, a bit bigger like one extra suitcase etc.

[smovva]

Originally Posted by solstice

I really hope we stop hearing stories like these with problems right after delivery when the 2020s are rolling out. I assume PDC delivery is similar to euro delivery which I’ve done several times where the car is delivered tested and cleared for end customer delivery? At the end of an MY things like faulty headlights simply should not happen.

By curiousity how would you rate the X5’s trunk space vs. the X3 from a practical point ( not stated cu. inches ). Does it feel like near twice the size, a bit bigger like one extra suitcase etc.

Trunk does feel bigger than the X3 (with third row down); load floor is much higher though so the split tailgate helps to stage the loading of heavy objects into the trunk - air suspension helps but takes time to lower and doesn't seem to make an appreciable difference.

Because of the 3rd row there is literally no usable space under the cover - I miss the space from the X3 under the cover - I used to put my fire extinguisher, bungee cords, first aid kit there and had room to spare.

I would also add that the third row option bringing in power sliding and reclining 2nd row is nice!

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by solstice

I really hope we stop hearing stories like these with problems right after delivery when the 2020s are rolling out. I assume PDC delivery is similar to euro delivery which I’ve done several times where the car is delivered tested and cleared for end customer delivery? At the end of an MY things like faulty headlights simply should not happen.

By curiousity how would you rate the X5’s trunk space vs. the X3 from a practical point ( not stated cu. inches ). Does it feel like near twice the size, a bit bigger like one extra suitcase etc.

Here's a comparison between my 2011 X3 35i and a 2019 X5 40i without third row seating for cargo space under the cargo cover.

edit: well for some reason the pic isn't showing. I know the site was down for maintenance today so maybe that's why, maybe it will appear later. Here are the dimensions

Cargo floor to cargo cover: X3 - 18.5" X5 - 15.25"
Side wall to side wall: X3 - 43" X5 - 44"
Depth: bottom of seat backs to end of cargo floor: X3 - 35.5: X5 - 40.5"

[radelow]

FYI as I have a 2019 with third row seats on the truck on its way from the factory to me you don’t have the last 2019 with a third row.

[smovva]

Originally Posted by radelow

FYI as I have a 2019 with third row seats on the truck on its way from the factory to me you don’t have the last 2019 with a third row.

Hah! Dealer lied to me! I am shocked! They do that? :-)

[Cavman]

“I would also add that the third row option bringing in power sliding and reclining 2nd row is nice!”

Power slide and adjust is an uptick from the F15 and e70 that had a manual slide/recline. Must be the same 2nd row bench that is in the X7. It’s very nice. May add 3rd row just for the power slide / recline functionality of the 2nd row even though we don’t really need the 3rd row.

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful review.

[Marty in NY]

When ordering the third row, do we give anything up? Like rear cargo space when the third row is down flat? Or cannot have the spare tire option or the electric cargo cover, etc.

[Cavman]

Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm

When ordering the third row, do we give anything up? Like rear cargo space when the third row is down flat? Or cannot have the spare tire option or the electric cargo cover, etc.

Can’t have the spare tire. Think the rest of storage area is the same when the third row seats are stowed away.

[Kripster]

Originally Posted by smovva

I've owned a 2011 X3 F25 35i for 8 years before picking up a 2019 X5 40i in June. These are my thoughts with the caveat that your mileage may vary:

Ordered Feb 18th, received via Perf Center Delivery on June 6th - last VIN with 3 rows in Model Year 2019. MSports, Phytonic Blue, Cognac Vernasca, MBrakes, 3rd row, acoustic glass, premium package, Harmon Kardon sound, driving assistance pro package, luggage compartment package and Trailer Hitch.

Perf center delivery was amazing - especially as one-way flight to Greenville/Spartanburg was < $100 from FL. Skid pad was most fun followed by the off-road experience. The hot lap in a M3 as a passenger was out of this world. The factory tour was pretty cool - we saw X3 and X4s being built.

The product specialist was very knowledgeable but since I had lurked on these forums since mid-last year, I probably knew more than he did and he quickly adjusted to my level of knowledge and filled me in where needed. Super professional and helpful.

Went to drive out of bay and car threw an "Adaptive Headlight Malfunction Error". Specialist was bewildered especially as whomever drove it into the bay should have noticed it. Once the car leaves the factory, it can’t reenter it, even for re-work (who knew??); so he took it to the onsite employee car BMW service center which diagnosed a right headlamp replacement but can only be performed by a dealer under warranty. Headlamp worked but adaptive function (swiveling) was broken.

Everything else was flawless and car had 2019.35 software version (had caring car and experience apps) and after being showered by many free gifts from the gift shop by a mortified performance center delivery manager, took delivery of the car.

Decided to drive back down to Florida spending a day/night each in Charleston, SC; Savanah, GA and Fort Augustine FL. It was an awesome road trip and I highly recommend spending time in those cities with their rich history of our country's beginnings!

Found along the way none of the BMW connected stuff (horn, flash lights, lock/unlock, 3d remote view) worked from my Android (Google Pixel 3 running Android 9) or iOS devices (iPhone 8 Plus running 12.3) so added that to list of things to be fixed.

Got back to FL and checked in w/ dealer who already had an email from the Perf center asking for expediting handling of any issues with the car. In the meantime I started getting a Sirius XM expiring message.

My black grill had come in from Taiwan by now so swapped that in and it really looks great as I felt the chrome grill didn't match the rest of the car's shadow line trim! A literal 5 minute swap.

Took car to dealer who kept it for 3 days and gave me a brand new X3 loaner to drive. They replaced the headlamp (took front bumper off to do that) and also had to replace the TCU (dropped the headliner) to fix the BMW connected app issue and had BMW dial in to fix something with communications between modules. Now everything works flawlessly, including caring car and experience apps which are actually quite fun! They updated maps to 2019-02 and car is running 2019.60 software.

Former X3 impressions:
This car is big and tall! You will be sitting up much higher!

Room inside seems about the same as the X3 for first and second rows, though its wider. Middle seat feels less cramped in X5 and drive shaft hump is also lower profile than X3.

Turning radius is quite large (like the Chrysler Pacifica minivan we also own) and takes some getting used to. I didn't order the integrated active steering for rear wheels.

X3 feels more connected to the road and steering is quick and precise w/ literally no body roll. On the X5 steering seems more distant though still precise and there is body roll and nose dive on braking even in sport damping mode.

The X5 with air suspension feels a bit floaty if you are coming from an X3 but feels taut compared to our minivan! I think I would have liked the mSport Suspension better instead of the air suspension but since we needed 3 rows it was not an option.

X3 suspension is hard/jarring and in the X5 you don’t feel a thing! That could be good or bad, depending on your point of view.

X5 gets better mileage than my X3. That was unexpected!

The X5 is a ticket magnet; I constantly find myself doing 20-30 mph over the limit as it is so darn silent inside and my internal speed sense is still calibrated to the X3!

My X3 has body hugging sports seats and the X5 has more plush comfortable seats but I can’t quite seem to get the same support, contours and upper back angle dialed in as I was able to in the X3. Will experiment more.

Glad I got the M Sport Brakes; compared to the X3 w/o M Sport Brakes the X5 needs a lot more room to stop and it needs all the help it can get!

The third Row is perfect for two little kids, especially when we are hauling grandparents at the same time. I would not subject anyone over the age of 10 back there though! Room is tight.

The engine and transmission are beautiful! But in sports mode the X3 is faster and grin inducing – makes sense as it’s a lighter car and a go cart compared to the X5. Granted I have not yet floored the X5 waiting for break in period to end (this week!)

The driving assistance pro stuff works. Lane keeping assistance needs to be dialed down as it counteracts steering inputs very strongly if you try and change lane w/o signaling. I see no ping-ponging within lane.

The driving assistance plus works very well in maintaining speed and following lanes automatically but requires keeping a hand on the wheel; I could not get into the other mode people refer to where you can take hands off the wheel for extended periods of time.

The lane change assistant I could not get to work at all; need to see what mode I need to be in to make that work. I see many hours of reading through the manual in my future!

Disappointing that there is no brake intervention for cross traffic rear. My Chrysler Pacifica minivan from 3 years ago has it along with front collision mitigation, adaptive active cruise control, lane keeping, better blind spot indication etc and they all work with zero drama for a car that costs 60% less than the BMW.

The backup assistant works really well every morning to back out of my driveway!

The X5 interior is gorgeous as are the large displays and heads-up display. Just love all the different input methods (gesture, touchscreen, heads-up, iDrive controller & touchpad).

Love the HK sound system - It sounds terrific; I have two B&W sound systems at home so know what they could sound like and I am perfectly happy with the HK in the X5; it has a brilliant and enveloping sound stage and a very nice flat response curve. I didn't change EQ settings at all.

Had zero problems with phones connecting or keeping connections. Both Apple Car Play and normal Android connections work great with SMS showing up correctly. No problem with loss of internet etc. Have not figured out how to do screen mirroring from Android though.

I love the “Hey BMW” feature; I can give it almost as complex a query as Google Assistant and it executes it fine (in the limited contextual sense of things you ask for when you are in a car).

Kids love the gesture thing and I ended up turning off the laser detection on my Valentine 1 as it kept being triggered by the gesture sensors.

Overall, we love the X5 and it’s a big upgrade from the X3 - which I still love as a single driver car - for our growing family!

What seat package did you get? Wondering if the contour and uber configurable ones are better.

[The Libertine]

Nice review and informed perspective - thanks for sharing.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by smovva

I've owned a 2011 X3 F25 35i for 8 years before picking up a 2019 X5 40i in June. These are my thoughts with the caveat that your mileage may vary: . .. .. .. .. . ..

Overall, we love the X5 and it’s a big upgrade from the X3 - which I still love as a single driver car - for our growing family!

Thanks smovva,
Your post was especially helpful to me as I too have a 2011 X3 35i and am planning on going for the G05. This forum has been very helpful in an educational way.

[JamRWS6]

Based upon test reviews you might be surprised your X5 is every bit as fast (or faster) than your X3 35i! Sports Plus really wakes the responsiveness up. Enjoy!

[solstice]

Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm

Here's a comparison between my 2011 X3 35i and a 2019 X5 40i without third row seating for cargo space under the cargo cover.

edit: well for some reason the pic isn't showing. I know the site was down for maintenance today so maybe that's why, maybe it will appear later. Here are the dimensions

Cargo floor to cargo cover: X3 - 18.5" X5 - 15.25"
Side wall to side wall: X3 - 43" X5 - 44"
Depth: bottom of seat backs to end of cargo floor: X3 - 35.5: X5 - 40.5"

Hmm...when I build an X3M I end up with an MSRP very close to my builds for the X5 40i and my build for a base Cayenne and the space in the X3 might just be enough...tempting, very tempting...

[radelow]

How can the build on a base Cayenne get anywhere close to a X5? When I priced a similar Cayenne is was $10-15k more!

[solstice]

Originally Posted by radelow

How can the build on a base Cayenne get anywhere close to a X5? When I priced a similar Cayenne is was $10-15k more!

It can't if you match options for options. The bad thing with Porsche is that everything is overpriced, the good thing with Porsche is that with a few exceptions you can pick exactly what you want and nothing more.


This is how my personal Cayenne build is within a few thousands of my personal 40i build. I.e. my Cayenne build has far less options but it has what I want. With BMW I need to add pricey packages with stuff I can do without to get what I want, starting with the very pricey M-Sport package...Then there are things I want that the Porsche comes standard with as powerful brakes. Porsche also comes with better seat material as standard so no need to add Merino as is needed with BMW, cause Vernasca = nasty. I pretty much don't want any tech for drivers assistance, Apple/Android play, soft close doors, comfort access, camera packages etc. I don't use those things.

The result is that my X5 40i, Cayenne and X3M builds all end up in the mid $70ks.

[radelow]

Originally Posted by solstice

It can't if you match options for options. The bad thing with Porsche is that everything is overpriced, the good thing with Porsche is that with a few exceptions you can pick exactly what you want and nothing more.


This is how my personal Cayenne build is within a few thousands of my personal 40i build. I.e. my Cayenne build has far less options but it has what I want. With BMW I need to add pricey packages with stuff I can do without to get what I want, starting with the very pricey M-Sport package...Then there are things I want that the Porsche comes standard with as powerful brakes. Porsche also comes with better seat material as standard so no need to add Merino as is needed with BMW, cause Vernasca = nasty. I pretty much don't want any tech for drivers assistance, Apple/Android play, soft close doors, comfort access, camera packages etc. I don't use those things.

The result is that my X5 40i, Cayenne and X3M builds all end up in the mid $70ks.

Ok so not apples to apples...I get it.

[Paladin1]

Good rundown - thanks! "Disappointing that there is no brake intervention for cross traffic rear." I was under the impression that braking worked fore and aft for cross traffic?

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by JamRWS6

Based upon test reviews you might be surprised your X5 is every bit as fast (or faster) than your X3 35i! Sports Plus really wakes the responsiveness up. Enjoy!

Yeah, this was my first impression as well when I drove the X5 but I believe its like buying a new set of tires. The old set were worn out, noisy and rough. Then you put a new set on and you believe you have a brand new car! Quiet and smooth.
The X5 is quiet and smooth, all engine components are new, gears are new and the car is refined, giving the illusion that its slower but in reality its not. Just like in reality your old car with new tires isn't any different than it was with the old worn out tires, its all in the tires, not the car.

[smovva]

Originally Posted by Cavman

“I would also add that the third row option bringing in power sliding and reclining 2nd row is nice!”

Power slide and adjust is an uptick from the F15 and e70 that had a manual slide/recline. Must be the same 2nd row bench that is in the X7. It’s very nice. May add 3rd row just for the power slide / recline functionality of the 2nd row even though we don’t really need the 3rd row.

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful review.

Thank you! Keep in mind though the 3rd row comes with the mandatory air suspension which maybe "floaty" to some, especially if you are coming from another BMW.

[smovva]

Originally Posted by Marty in Bgm

When ordering the third row, do we give anything up? Like rear cargo space when the third row is down flat? Or cannot have the spare tire option or the electric cargo cover, etc.

Yep, you give up the under floor storage space in the trunk. Other than room to put the cargo cover, you have zero space.

You also "give up" the normal suspension and get the air suspension which maybe floaty to some coming from other BMWs.

You do get the power sliding and reclining 2nd row though.