[Heavyd]

I don't see the problem. I'm no taxi company, in that case I would have bought a mini van or something like that to transport multiple adults.
I buy cars in function of what I like. Not in function of rear leg room for the odd adult I have in the back once a year for a very limited distance.
The kids never had complaints in previous X5 and X6. Now they are 18+ and have cars of their own. No need anymore to mess up my car

[pho]

Kind of wondering if it's designed like that so the 45e can house its batteries and non-hybrids are the victims of that functional design choice

[moodyhank82]

Can anyone using rear-facing car seats chime in? I am thinking about getting a 45e and was wondering if I can find a comfortable driving position at 6 feet with a rear facing car seat behind me. I know the best test is to take my car seat and go to a dealer to try it out but I want to delay that as long as possible during the pandemic...

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by moodyhank82

Can anyone using rear-facing car seats chime in? I am thinking about getting a 45e and was wondering if I can find a comfortable driving position at 6 feet with a rear facing car seat behind me. I know the best test is to take my car seat and go to a dealer to try it out but I want to delay that as long as possible during the pandemic...

I am 6,4 feet. My 11 year old daughter has enough legroom. I don't have a child seat anymore.

I sit quite low, which also reclines the seat. If you put it higher and the backrest more upright it will make a difference.

Better try it at a dealership before you decide.

It doesn't matter is it is a 45e or other engine for the backseats. The trunk is elevated compared to other engines. Floor size is the same. Space under the floor is lost. Just a little compartment for the charger, cable and luggagenet.

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by moodyhank82

Can anyone using rear-facing car seats chime in? I am thinking about getting a 45e and was wondering if I can find a comfortable driving position at 6 feet with a rear facing car seat behind me. I know the best test is to take my car seat and go to a dealer to try it out but I want to delay that as long as possible during the pandemic...

Put the rear-facing car seat in the middle, there's plenty of room in just about any 5 seat vehicle with it installed that way. Never had any issues in my E70, F31 or G01 with infant carriers installed in the middle seat.

[Alan l.]

Originally Posted by moodyhank82

Can anyone using rear-facing car seats chime in? I am thinking about getting a 45e and was wondering if I can find a comfortable driving position at 6 feet with a rear facing car seat behind me. I know the best test is to take my car seat and go to a dealer to try it out but I want to delay that as long as possible during the pandemic...

I had a rear facing seat setup in the middle on the last generation X5 (F15/F85) and it works perfectly for me being 5'10". This allowed the two seats on the sides still being usable for a decent size adult.

[Hammerfang]

How tight would the rear seat be for a driver who is 6’3”? Specifically for a rear facing car seat. I have an F31 now and the biggest problem is there is no room for a rear facing car seat. I was hoping an x5 would solve this, but apparently not. Sounds like an xc90 may be the better choice.

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by Hammerfang

How tight would the rear seat be for a driver who is 6’3”? Specifically for a rear facing car seat. I have an F31 now and the biggest problem is there is no room for a rear facing car seat. I was hoping an x5 would solve this, but apparently not. Sounds like an xc90 may be the better choice.

The XC90 isn't any better in that regard if you're putting the rear facing car seat directly behind you. I'm 6'2" and could not drive with a UPPAbaby Mesa behind me, had to put it in the middle or behind the passenger seat. With it behind the passenger seat my knees where against the glovebox.

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by ND40oz

The XC90 isn't any better in that regard if you're putting the rear facing car seat directly behind you. I'm 6'2" and could not drive with a UPPAbaby Mesa behind me, had to put it in the middle or behind the passenger seat. With it behind the passenger seat my knees where against the glovebox.

I saw a test today comparing the 45e and the T8. The xc90 has mobile second row seats. Or is it all the way back by default and can I just be shifted forward to have more room in the third row?

They found the xc90 to be a sportier drive with r-design suspension. I guess they didn't put the x5 in sport mode.

The X5 tested better in all other categories.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by Frenetic

One thing that was surprising to me was the amount of rear-seat legroom (or lack thereof). Coming from an S7, I assumed there would be more legroom back there, but it’s smaller than I imagined. In fact, it’s actually slightly less than my S7 based on my driver-seat position for both cars. Granted, I thought the S7 had a lot of legroom—all things considered—but I didn’t expect the X5 and S7 to be in the same company.

The difference is well documented. Before I bought the X5, I actually got in the back to see if the legroom was adequate in my mind. I never sit back there but I wanted to know what it would be like for passengers. My take is that it is just fine. If I wanted super legroom for passengers I'd get a 7 series or an S class.

For me the X5 is an easy choice over the GLE. The GLE styling is very nice indeed, but the X5 won my heart.

I couldn't say it any better than the Car and Driver bottom line:

"It's hard to deny the attractive presentation of the Mercedes GLE. Its exterior and interior designs are well ahead of the X5's in wow factor, and any good car salesperson will tell you that's nothing to sneeze at. And we'd rather sit in the Benz's back seat. But from behind the wheel and from a standpoint of daily functionality, it's the BMW that sets the standard. It's more comfortable, its interior and infotainment system are easier to use, its ride comfort is superior, and it outperforms the Mercedes in every conceivable way. Although we're impressed with the new Mercedes GLE, the latest BMW X5, bucktooth and all, just ate its lunch."

[Hammerfang]

Originally Posted by ND40oz

The XC90 isn't any better in that regard if you're putting the rear facing car seat directly behind you. I'm 6'2" and could not drive with a UPPAbaby Mesa behind me, had to put it in the middle or behind the passenger seat. With it behind the passenger seat my knees where against the glovebox.

Appreciate the response. My daughter is 2 and about to switch to forward facing and will be in the center seat for the time being. I’m just concerned if we have another kid that space will be tight (used the uppa baby mesa as well).

[M40i4me]

I am not sure why people are complaining about the rear seat room in the X5.I am 6ft and after setting my seat position which is pretty far back, I jumped in the rear and there is a boatload of room. I have carried adults friends and even they appreciated the space. I have the 3rd row option so my second row moves and reclines, but I heard the spacing all the way back is the same as the non 3rd row option?

[sandwi54]

Originally Posted by 3284me

I am not sure why people are complaining about the rear seat room in the X5.I am 6ft and after setting my seat position which is pretty far back, I jumped in the rear and there is a boatload of room. I have carried adults friends and even they appreciated the space. I have the 3rd row option so my second row moves and reclines, but I heard the spacing all the way back is the same as the non 3rd row option?

Same here. I'm really confused with why people are complaining about 2nd row leg room. Although the last X5 I had was F15 (with third row option and comfort seating in the 2nd row), there was plenty of room in the 2nd row when I move the seats all the way back. I even fitted a rear-facing convertible car seat with plenty of room for the passenger in the front too. Maybe it's because I had the 2nd row comfort seating option that came with the third row?

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by X5 45e

I saw a test today comparing the 45e and the T8. The xc90 has mobile second row seats. Or is it all the way back by default and can I just be shifted forward to have more room in the third row?

The 2nd row in the XC90 is manually adjustable with each of the three seats being independent of one another. With it all the way back there is a bit more room then the X5 has but if you want to use the third row you'll need to move them up so people have a place to put their feet.

Originally Posted by X5 45e

They found the xc90 to be a sportier drive with r-design suspension. I guess they didn't put the x5 in sport mode.

The R-Design doesn't have a different suspension, your choices are the same across all of the models, the standard front coil spring and rear torsion spring suspension or the Four-C air suspension. I'm not sure what wheels the R-Design tested had, I had an Inscription with the 21" wheels with air and even with the Polestar optimization it was much less sporty then the X5 with air.

Originally Posted by Hammerfang

Appreciate the response. My daughter is 2 and about to switch to forward facing and will be in the center seat for the time being. I’m just concerned if we have another kid that space will be tight (used the uppa baby mesa as well).

If you get the XC90, I'd recommend not getting the built in child seat and using the Mesa in the middle seat instead. Here's a pic of how we did it with the 3 kids in seats in the 2nd row. I ended up driving most of the time because it was slightly uncomfortable sitting in the passenger seat with the Mesa behind me.

[codex57]

Originally Posted by Raikkonen

Great post...

For the size of the car, the rear legroom is abysmal.

Both my wife's 2019 X3, and my recent lease return, a 2018 SQ5, have at least the same amount of legroom in a much smaller package.

To add insult to injury, my brother in law's XC90 is cavernous compared to the X5....

I'd disagree with the X3. I upgraded from a 2018 X3 because the rear legroom was too small. While the Merc GLE has a LOT more rear legroom, the diff btw the X3 and X5 is sizeable IMO.

Now, the cargo space was a disappointment in regards to the X3. I attribute that mainly to the lack of reclining rear seat and the shape of the hatch glass being a bit more slanted than in the X3.

[moodyhank82]

I have had my 45e for almost two months now with two rear facing car seats in the back. I would agree that the rear seat legroom is tight for this class of car and not being able to slide the second row fore and aft also hurts the legroom. However, one benefit of the G05 for me at 6 ft is that the driver seat layout is such that I can pull my seat further forward than any other car I have owned while maintaining my ideal driving position and not rubbing my knees on the dash or the transmission tunnel. Also the upright stance and the tall roofline really makes it easy to put the kids in the car seat.

[hyde]

Coming from Q7, I was shocked how small the legroom on 2nd row is, I don't remember F15 being this tight, maybe they shaved some space from front, so now I have to push my seat further back? I can't tell what but it was a mistake to prioritize cargo space, or not offering sliding/reclining rear seats. 25k Tiguan has a lot more space on 2nd row, my Q7 was cavernous, yes sure it was a little longer but that doesn't stop BMW from at least offering sliding rear seats.

[nosnoop]

Originally Posted by hyde

Coming from Q7, I was shocked how small the legroom on 2nd row is..... I can't tell what but it was a mistake to prioritize cargo space...

First Q7 is a much bigger car, it is 5+ in (12.5cm) longer and 270lbs (123kg) heavier.

But there is fundamental car design priority differences between the brands.

Below is a side profile and car proportion of Q7 vs X5 vs GLS (could not find one for GLE, but the front section of GLE is very similar to GLS).

The major difference is the front overhang and A pillar position.
Front overhang is the part in front of the front wheel. BMW is famous for its minimal front overhang.

Then check out the start of the windscreen, BMW is further back than Audi and Mercedes. And extending the A pillar line of the BMW to the wheel would intersect at the middle between the top and the center of the wheel. For Audi and Mercedes, it intersects at the top of the wheel.

The result?
Weight distribution:
Q7 55.2:44.8
X5 50.1:49.9
GLE 53.5:46.5

BMW prioritizes perfect weight distribution and handling over maximum interior room.

[hyde]

Originally Posted by nosnoop

First Q7 is a much bigger car, it is 5+ in (12.5cm) longer and 270lbs (123kg) heavier.

But there is fundamental car design priority differences between the brands.

Below is a side profile and car proportion of Q7 vs X5 vs GLS (could not find one for GLE, but the front section of GLE is very similar to GLS).

The major difference is the front overhang and A pillar position.
Front overhang is the part in front of the front wheel. BMW is famous for its minimal front overhang.

Then check out the start of the windscreen, BMW is further back than Audi and Mercedes. And extending the A pillar line of the BMW to the wheel would intersect at the middle between the top and the center of the wheel. For Audi and Mercedes, it intersects at the top of the wheel.

The result?
Weight distribution:
Q7 55.2:44.8
X5 50.1:49.9
GLE 53.5:46.5

BMW prioritizes perfect weight distribution and handling over maximum interior room.

That's interesting, thanks for sharing, but at least they could have given the option to slide the seats back/forward. Let's face it, they just want to push X7 on people who want extra room in the back, they didn't even add recline to rear seat which would not make much difference to weight distribution.

[njguy]

Order the third row and you will get second row seats that can be adjusted. They slide a few inches giving more leg room. The rake is also adjustable.