[mscot]

BMW asked if I would recommend the 50e to a friend. I gave them a 5 out of 10. Here are the reasons I gave them in the follow up question. Some are my opinion and others are from this board in case not everyone gets a chance to give them their feedback.


The car drives great and the interior is quite luxe, however there are some issues that should not be found in a car that will take $90k to drive off the lot.

• The Harmon Kardon soundsystem is garbage. The amplifier is not powerful enough and the underseat subs are not efficient enough. Once you turn the bass up enough to hear it the entire system gets muddy. This should be the base level soundsystem, not the performance upgrade (as B&W was not available for the 50e)
• The comfort access sucks - plain and simple. It works on first approach less than 50% of the time. Often you have to pull at the door multiple times to get it to work. Occasionally the rear passenger door doesn't unlock at all. Also, not having comfort access on all 4 doors is a ridiculous cost saving measure on a luxury car.
• The lack of acoustic glass on all windows is very noticeable. Again, this should not be an issue on a luxury car when its a standard feature on many cars priced for considerably less.
• In iDrive 8.5 there should be more options for how the folding mirrors are automated - or the mirrors should only unfold when you start the car, not when the car unlocks. Its unnecessary and irritating. This is the reason I don't use unlock on approach, which makes the comfort access issues all the more aggravating.
• The car shouldn't turn off when you leave the door open to run back inside to get something out of the house. I'm sure the engineers think this is a safety issue but what could it possibly be?
• The wireless phone charger doesn't actually charge the phone it just keeps the battery about where its at and it overheats the phone - this is well discussed with phones of all types on the message boards so its not just the iPhone 15.
• The back up assist is available inconsistently even when I'm backing out of my own garage.
• Dirt gets in the door sill with the M fascia.
• The rear seats do not recline and are uncomfortable for an adult on longer trips b/c of this. My 4Runner has rear seats that recline. It makes no sense that this was left out.
• Adaptive Cruise Control should be standard.
• The control arm dampeners should be included no matter the size of the wheel.
• There's a bit too much dependency on the touch screen where a few more buttons would have been a nice compromise.
• Widgets on the home screen should be customizable.
• The general design of the car and where the batteries are placed restricts the ability to have a spare tire. I was aware of this going in but I do hope the next version of the X5 PHEV is designed with battery placement in mind so that it can have a spare tire. America is a big place with a lot of very uninhabited areas that we drive through.
  
• Finally, so far I have not experienced any issues but there have been a lot of problems with the 50e so far. It makes me worried when planning road trips.

All that said, the driving experience is top notch. The engine can accelerate up mountain passes as easily as it can on a flat road. The suspension is tuned very nicely.

[mscot]

I would give it a 8/10 but I wanted them to pay attention.

[HappyDance]

Pretty accurate, I agree on all points. Perhaps they will take this advice and improve future iterations. My only issue from your list that I am tempted to act on is the acoustic glass. Compared to an X3, the X5 is much more quiet and insulated, BUT at highway speeds you can hear the wind and road noise of passing cars through those front windows and it annoys me.

It would be cool to retrofit the wireless charger into a MagSafe, but I am afraid of breaking something. I wonder if anyone else has thought about this.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by HappyDance

...
It would be cool to retrofit the wireless charger into a MagSafe, but I am afraid of breaking something. I wonder if anyone else has thought about this.

someone posted his DIY on the forum, but it was pretty involved

why don't you simply secure a slim MagSafe charger on the tray? though you could face clearance issues depending on phone +/- case

[BlkGS]

For the record, no issues with wireless charging my Samsung. It's an apple issue.

[eelnoraa]

I also agree with everything that is also applies to 45e. The good part about 45e is it costed substantially less, contributed by lower msrp and fed incentive. I would say $15k difference easily.

[AGONXF30]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

For the record, no issues with wireless charging my Samsung. It's an apple issue.

I have no issues charging my Apple.

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

For the record, no issues with wireless charging my Samsung. It's an apple issue.

Works great with my S23+ phone.

[mscot]

There's an entire thread dedicated to that topic if you want to contribute.
https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2077614

[Mixitt]

Originally Posted by HappyDance

..... My only issue from your list that I am tempted to act on is the acoustic glass. Compared to an X3, the X5 is much more quiet and insulated, BUT at highway speeds you can hear the wind and road noise of passing cars through those front windows and it annoys me.

I find this so weird. My 2019 is whisper quiet regarding wind noise even driving at 70 mph into a 15 MPH blowing head wind. You don't hear passing cars either.

I do not have acoustic glass other than the windshield. Even the road noise is decent and that's on the original non flat tires I'm still running.

[Guy Fleegman]

I really pissed off my dealer. I got that BMW new owner survey about 15 minutes after I drove off the lot. How likely would I recommend BMW to a friend? Not at all likely since I just got the freaking car. I liked it well enough to buy the thing but I need more time to form an opinion whether I made a good decision or not. So - a 5 out of 10. Ask me again in a year.

The dealer got in touch with me the next day. What did we do wrong? How can we make it a 10? I said it wasn't a survey about the dealer experience, which was great. It was about the product. He said "they don't care, they want 10s."

So I'm not overthinking these things any more. Give 'em a 10. Make 'em happy. Costs you nothing but your integrity.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by Mixitt

I find this so weird. My 2019 is whisper quiet regarding wind noise even driving at 70 mph into a 15 MPH blowing head wind. You don't hear passing cars either.

I do not have acoustic glass other than the windshield. Even the road noise is decent and that's on the original non flat tires I'm still running.

Agreed...my M50i is silent other than tire noise at 80 on the highway. Original non runflat 22s here.

[mscot]

Originally Posted by Guy Fleegman

I really pissed off my dealer. I got that BMW new owner survey about 15 minutes after I drove off the lot. How likely would I recommend BMW to a friend? Not at all likely since I just got the freaking car. I liked it well enough to buy the thing but I need more time to form an opinion whether I made a good decision or not. So - a 5 out of 10. Ask me again in a year.

The dealer got in touch with me the next day. What did we do wrong? How can we make it a 10? I said it wasn't a survey about the dealer experience, which was great. It was about the product. He said "they don't care, they want 10s."

So I'm not overthinking these things any more. Give 'em a 10. Make 'em happy. Costs you nothing but your integrity.

This is a completely different survey. The one you responded to is about the buying experience. 3 or 4 months later you'll get one about the actual vehicle.

[TREKER]

Only 2 of these items apply specifically to the 50e it seems. Most apply to the 40i just as well.

[M40i4me]

Originally Posted by mscot

BMW asked if I would recommend the 50e to a friend. I gave them a 5 out of 10. Here are the reasons I gave them in the follow up question. Some are my opinion and others are from this board in case not everyone gets a chance to give them their feedback.


The car drives great and the interior is quite luxe, however there are some issues that should not be found in a car that will take $90k to drive off the lot.

• The Harmon Kardon soundsystem is garbage. The amplifier is not powerful enough and the underseat subs are not efficient enough. Once you turn the bass up enough to hear it the entire system gets muddy. This should be the base level soundsystem, not the performance upgrade (as B&W was not available for the 50e)
• The comfort access sucks - plain and simple. It works on first approach less than 50% of the time. Often you have to pull at the door multiple times to get it to work. Occasionally the rear passenger door doesn't unlock at all. Also, not having comfort access on all 4 doors is a ridiculous cost saving measure on a luxury car.
• The lack of acoustic glass on all windows is very noticeable. Again, this should not be an issue on a luxury car when its a standard feature on many cars priced for considerably less.
• In iDrive 8.5 there should be more options for how the folding mirrors are automated - or the mirrors should only unfold when you start the car, not when the car unlocks. Its unnecessary and irritating. This is the reason I don't use unlock on approach, which makes the comfort access issues all the more aggravating.
• The car shouldn't turn off when you leave the door open to run back inside to get something out of the house. I'm sure the engineers think this is a safety issue but what could it possibly be?
• The wireless phone charger doesn't actually charge the phone it just keeps the battery about where its at and it overheats the phone - this is well discussed with phones of all types on the message boards so its not just the iPhone 15.
• The back up assist is available inconsistently even when I'm backing out of my own garage.
• Dirt gets in the door sill with the M fascia.
• The rear seats do not recline and are uncomfortable for an adult on longer trips b/c of this. My 4Runner has rear seats that recline. It makes no sense that this was left out.
• Adaptive Cruise Control should be standard.
• The control arm dampeners should be included no matter the size of the wheel.
• There's a bit too much dependency on the touch screen where a few more buttons would have been a nice compromise.
• Widgets on the home screen should be customizable.
• The general design of the car and where the batteries are placed restricts the ability to have a spare tire. I was aware of this going in but I do hope the next version of the X5 PHEV is designed with battery placement in mind so that it can have a spare tire. America is a big place with a lot of very uninhabited areas that we drive through.
  
• Finally, so far I have not experienced any issues but there have been a lot of problems with the 50e so far. It makes me worried when planning road trips.

All that said, the driving experience is top notch. The engine can accelerate up mountain passes as easily as it can on a flat road. The suspension is tuned very nicely.

My 2020 has a setting in iDrive so it does not shut down when opening the door or even running into the house with the key if I forgot something. Did this get removed in newer model years?

Comfort access also works 100% of the time. X5 40i is 4 years old. I wonder if yours has a battery run down issue preventing communication with the fob as you approach.

Iphone charging no issues currently using a 14pro. Holds fill charge even when playing music off the phone.

Mine has a 3 row so the second row seats have power recline so I agree without it they are too upright.

I have acoustic glass so extremely quiet and smooth riding with the air suspension still using RF tires.

I can turn the auto stop start off so huge plus and have the separate adaptive suspension button.

This one is a keeper as it was purchased fully loaded with things you can no longer get because of the chip shortage.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by M40i4me

My 2020 has a setting in iDrive so it does not shut down when opening the door or even running into the house with the key if I forgot something. Did this get removed in newer model years?

That setting has no effect on whether or not the engine shuts down. That is for turning off the electronics and automatically going into the idle state.

[swainbmw]

Originally Posted by Guy Fleegman

I really pissed off my dealer. I got that BMW new owner survey about 15 minutes after I drove off the lot. How likely would I recommend BMW to a friend? Not at all likely since I just got the freaking car. I liked it well enough to buy the thing but I need more time to form an opinion whether I made a good decision or not. So - a 5 out of 10. Ask me again in a year.

The dealer got in touch with me the next day. What did we do wrong? How can we make it a 10? I said it wasn't a survey about the dealer experience, which was great. It was about the product. He said "they don't care, they want 10s."

So I'm not overthinking these things any more. Give 'em a 10. Make 'em happy. Costs you nothing but your integrity.

Feel honored I never even got one ever for buying a new one

[JK479]

Originally Posted by HappyDance

Pretty accurate, I agree on all points. Perhaps they will take this advice and improve future iterations. My only issue from your list that I am tempted to act on is the acoustic glass. Compared to an X3, the X5 is much more quiet and insulated, BUT at highway speeds you can hear the wind and road noise of passing cars through those front windows and it annoys me.

It would be cool to retrofit the wireless charger into a MagSafe, but I am afraid of breaking something. I wonder if anyone else has thought about this.

The HK has lost its luster. I have a 2019 and it sounded better than a 2024. Why? Can anyone explain what they did? I even adjusted EQ and made sure all the settings were optimized

[rvivam]

mscot

Thanks for putting this up. This definitely lends some good perspective to others who would like to procure a new X5. Here are my thoughts on the concerns that you have pointed out.


1. The Harmon Kardon soundsystem is garbage. The amplifier is not powerful enough and the underseat subs are not efficient enough. Once you turn the bass up enough to hear it the entire system gets muddy. This should be the base level soundsystem, not the performance upgrade (as B&W was not available for the 50e)
<rvivam> I loved the HK straight out of the box. I did some EQ tweaking on Treble and Bass but nothing very specific. Also, Im not a bass head .. so did not bump the bass too high & hence cant comment on the quality with high bass. Will check it out sometime and see. Also, when you actually customize the vehicle, the BW upgrade is available (Back in Dec 23) Not sure if they have taken it out.. If so, then it's insane.


2. The comfort access sucks - plain and simple. It works on first approach less than 50% of the time. Often you have to pull at the door multiple times to get it to work. Occasionally the rear passenger door doesn't unlock at all. Also, not having comfort access on all 4 doors is a ridiculous cost saving measure on a luxury car.
<rvivam> Echo your emotions here. The comfort access is a hit and miss. I need to fidget with my door handles sometimes for it to recognize I'm around. And for an 90K machine, this is pretty lame. I'm assuming it might be some beacon that they cut off after a specified number of cycles & activate it after its operated again with a wake-up..

3. The lack of acoustic glass on all windows is very noticeable. Again, this should not be an issue on a luxury car when its a standard feature on many cars priced for considerably less.
<rvivam> Did not experience this in city driving. Yet to take it on a long haul.

4. In iDrive 8.5 there should be more options for how the folding mirrors are automated - or the mirrors should only unfold when you start the car, not when the car unlocks. Its unnecessary and irritating. This is the reason I don't use unlock on approach, which makes the comfort access issues all the more aggravating.
<rvivam> Completely agree on this and it could very well be corrected in a future version upgrade. At least, we should be given an option to chose from if we need the mirrors to unfold on approach or Only after you open the door.

5. The car shouldn't turn off when you leave the door open to run back inside to get something out of the house. I'm sure the engineers think this is a safety issue but what could it possibly be?
<rvivam> Never tried this. No Comment.

6. The wireless phone charger doesn't actually charge the phone it just keeps the battery about where its at and it overheats the phone - this is well discussed with phones of all types on the message boards so its not just the iPhone 15.
<rvivam> This is so true. Doesn't do a good job for a wireless charger and often heats the phone up. Definitely would like to get this corrected.

7. The back up assist is available inconsistently even when I'm backing out of my own garage.
<rvivam> working fine for me till now.

8. Dirt gets in the door sill with the M fascia.
<rvivam> NA

9. The rear seats do not recline and are uncomfortable for an adult on longer trips b/c of this. My 4Runner has rear seats that recline. It makes no sense that this was left out.
<rvivam> Totally agree on this one. Especially when BMW took out the option to get a third row, i was expecting both the front row and back row to have similar features. This is a bummer.

10. Adaptive Cruise Control should be standard.
<rvivam> NA

11. The control arm dampeners should be included no matter the size of the wheel.
<rvivam> NA

12. There's a bit too much dependency on the touch screen where a few more buttons would have been a nice compromise.
<rvivam> I think its a matter of getting used to. However, some of the menu items are 2-3 sub-levels deep that requires quite some fidgeting with the touch screen. Hopefully, the voice control could help here to make it quicker.

13. Widgets on the home screen should be customizable.
<rvivam> Wasn't a concern for me. But an additional customization is always welcome.

14. The general design of the car and where the batteries are placed restricts the ability to have a spare tire. I was aware of this going in but I do hope the next version of the X5 PHEV is designed with battery placement in mind so that it can have a spare tire. America is a big place with a lot of very uninhabited areas that we drive through.
<rvivam> Agree.

15. Finally, so far I have not experienced any issues but there have been a lot of problems with the 50e so far. It makes me worried when planning road trips.
<rvivam> Never heard of any glaring issues on these forums. Would be of great help if you could point out to some issues that others have highlighted so that it would be beneficial for others too while planning a long trip.

Apart from what you have stated.

16. It would be great if the vehicle itself would be shipped with a 240v Plug with the charger(this is given). Or at least give an option to select from the regular 110v or 240V given that the default 110v takes eons to charge the battery fully.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by rvivam

<rvivam> Never heard of any glaring issues on these forums. Would be of great help if you could point out to some issues that others have highlighted so that it would be beneficial for others too while planning a long trip..

Not sure how you missed them. The 50e has a tremendously high error rate with various common issues causing thew errors. Most common seem to be the combined charging unit.

Here are a few threads:

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2025929

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2076522

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2075974

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2080035

[mnx5er]

Agreed on the HK. Something has happened to it, it just isn't as good as it used to be. Can't put a finger on it.

Comfort access - I've never had an issue. One important tip, careful with keys in the same pocket as your phone. Causes all kinds of issues for me. Once I program the phone as a key, then never any issues.

I also am fine with noise, seems fine to me (20" tires).

iDrive 8.5 and the touch screen. Don't get me started - I can rant for a long time.

[vjmvjm]

I love these humourous posts. Self-entitled owner expects BMW to meet unattainable expectations. Dude, why don't you just start your own car company to meet your nebulous expectations? First world problems.