[Trappistmonk]

The car: X5 45e, arctic grey, coffee interior, premium, driving assistance, luxury seating, parking assistance, hitch, 20’ wheels. Bought of the lot. PPf on the full hood, front bumper, lower rear hatch and rear bumper.
The owner: my wife. Nissan Murano addict (3 previous cars were Murano’s in the last 7 years). Traded in her 2015 Murano with 83,000 miles.
Me: Main driver for longer distances, use it to transport my mountain bike, car enthusiast. My ride now: 997 GTS (6MT). Past rides: 2015 S5 convertible (AT), 2015 911 (7MT), 2017 Corvette (7MT), 67 Mustang, 2019 Kawasaki Versys 1000SE LT+. Shortest ownership: Mustang + S5. 3 weeks each. Longest 997 GTS, almost 2 years. It is a keeper.

Let’s start off with the things I like about the car.
- the ride: with the air suspension, the car is very comfortable. The weight helps the feeling of comfort. The car is quiet and the transition from electric to gas is masterful. The transmission is smooth and the shifts are good enough to never use the flappy paddles. For me the car excels at comfortable transport, so I never feel inclined to shift myself and go for a fun drive.
- the tech: I consider the massaging seats as a way to keep you spine moving and I love it. They kept me comfortable on a 350 mile drive to the mountains. The driver assistance package is great, the navigation works well, the personal assistant is great and the fact that the car asked me if I would like to be invigorated during the drive was awesome. The remote 3D view from the app is a fun gimmick. The HUD is fantastic and more of a 3rd screen. It is great for navigation when changing directions. The LED lights are great and the automatic beam is fantastic.
- driving electric. Just a comfortable way to enjoy a quiet drive. I love it a lot more than I expected. It changed my view on electric cars (see more in “would I buy it again”)
- The exterior: it is a real good looking SUV. (But so is the Q8 or the Cayenne or the XC90, or the GLE)
- The BMW new owners driving experience. My wife and I will be heading to SC for this (we’re from NC)

What are things I’m less smitten with?
- the weight: It removes any factor of fun when driving. But I would not pick an SUV for a fun drive anyway. Breaking, cornering ... this thing is porky!
- the HK audio system. I have not found a way to make the bass less boomy when playing pop music. It works great for anything without modern bass. And yes, I increased treble and reduced base. (The Bose in the Murano was better, my home setup is Bel Canto DAC/AMP with Joseph Audio speakers)
- The air suspension: If the toggle would have physical positions, it would be a lot simpler to use. The ride itself is comfortable.
- The cooled seats. I don’t really feel any effect.
- Exterior: the silver trim really brings it to Hyundai levels. I truly dislike it
- the electric range: Many reviews I read where mentioning the euro range. I only found out when picking up my car that the US cars have less range. Why can’t BMW give us the full 21Kw? They make us carry around the weight anyway.
- the Customer Experience at the dealership. Deal was done the night before, they had all details and when we arrived on 12/31, no paperwork was prepared and they kept us there for 5 hours. No freebies like a hat, key chain, something for my 9 yo daughter or even a bow on it for my wife. This was a used car dealership experience for a car with a $76k MSRP.
- Mud guards are not available. And I can assure you, this car needs them!

I could use some help with:
- How do I avoid the audio system to mute completely when the navigation gives directions. I would like it the volume to be reduced, but still hear the music when the navigation system speaks up.

Some numbers: Charging at a normal 110v outlet for now. Takes about 20 hours for a full charge. 1,286 miles, 25 days of ownership, 1 trip to the mountains (700 miles return). Avg 29.9 mpg. Avg 40.5mph. 441.8 miles driven on battery, avg 5.7 mi/KWh.

Would I buy it again?
The price difference with a X-drive 4.0i is $4k. Installing a 20 amp charger and buy a charger will cost $1,500. The Federal Tax incentive is $7,500. Given the weight penalty and the inefficiency of the electric drive train, I would most likely opt for a 40i if I would do it over again. I would guess that the $2k difference can be made up for with higher discounts on the 40i. Or maybe keep the Murano as a car for all uses and add a full electric car, I do love driving electric.
From an ecological perspective: I live in NC, the car is build in SC. Makes sense. Cold Nuclear power plant for energy: that’s debatable.

Now 30 mpg on average is not that great. The Murano got 24mpg and was using regular gas. A difference of 70c / gallon.
Charging the 17kw (make it 18kw to account for losses), costs me $1.8. (It’s 10c per kWh here in NC). This give me 30-32 miles of range. I believe BMW counting down hill coasting as electrically driven miles is a bit of a stretch ( i got 51 e-miles on the 350 mile drive, but still only averaged 23mpg). So now that I have the car, I need to drive 25k miles to make up for the cost of the level 2 charger and outlet.

With a time machine, I’ll have the exact config in a 40i in dark graphite with black interior please. It’s a great SUV ... or I would have kept the Murano and maybe add a full electric pick up truck. The Murano is a great SUV as well, and I do enjoy driving electric.

[jad03060]

Unless you have a really long run to put in an EVSE, $1500 seems like a lot to me.

FWIW, the seats aren't actively cooled...the fans pull cabin air IN from the top, and exhaust it below, so whatever temperature the cabin is will be the air getting to you. It's more to help keep you from sweating or to help dry you off than to actively cool. Especially in the summer on a longer trip, you'll arrive dry, but that would not be the case without it when using leather seating.

[Trappistmonk]

Originally Posted by jad03060

Unless you have a really long run to put in an EVSE, $1500 seems like a lot to me.

FWIW, the seats aren't actively cooled...the fans pull cabin air IN from the top, and exhaust it below, so whatever temperature the cabin is will be the air getting to you. It's more to help keep you from sweating or to help dry you off than to actively cool. Especially in the summer on a longer trip, you'll arrive dry, but that would not be the case without it when using leather seating.

It’s a 35 foot run. I’ve had 2 quotes. $800 for 20A, $1000 for 50A. The additional $500 is for the level 2 charger. I should have split it out to make that clear.

Good to know on the cooling seats. So the different settings 1,2,3 don’t make it cooler (like the different settings make it hotter for seat heating), they just move more air, correct?

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by Trappistmonk

So the different settings 1,2,3 don’t make it cooler (like the different settings make it hotter for seat heating), they just move more air, correct?

Yes, the setting is just fan speed. For me, setting it on 2 on a trip is good.

The wire is probably in the order of $1.50/foot for 3-wires. Lowes sells 8g wire in a 50' roll for $23 or so, so less than $70 for just the wire (you can buy it by the foot)...maybe $30 for a breaker, and another $50 for conduit and a few more for miscellaneous bits (more if you want a plug versus hardwiring it). Unless you're trying to run the wire in the wall, this shouldn't take all that long, maybe less than an hour. A bit for a permit and inspection that depends on your local building department. Maybe $100/hour for the electrician, a bit more if he comes with an assistant, but it should go faster if he does.

Technically, this is a pretty simple install unless routing the wire becomes messy. There's only three wires L1, L2 and a ground (no neutral required unless it's a weird EVSE). I would have wired my own, except the city doesn't allow that in a condo...must be a licensed electrician. It really is pretty simple.

[Trappistmonk]

I know it should cost a lot less than what I’m being quoted. But the quotes are consistent. I guess nowadays they can charge pretty much what they want. I also want to follow the official process with a permit and inspection.

[Spencer518]

The charger and installation are also subject to a federal tax credit, 30% of the cost, up to $1,000 credit. So in your case of a $1,500 cost you can get a $450 tax credit. IRS form 8911.

The X5 comes with or without the silver trim. X-line vs. M Sport. Unfortunately most dealers only put X-lines on the lot.

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by Trappistmonk

I also want to follow the official process with a permit and inspection.

Most places, depending on the dwelling, will allow a homeowner to pull a permit if they plan to do the work themselves. It depends on how comfortable you are and your skill level whether this is a task you might consider yourself. It's really a pretty simple installation.

[smomin23]

To be fair it makes sense that the cooling effect isn't there. Technically they ventilated seats as BMW states, and not cooled seats.

BMW made a decision to not pump out conditioned air for fear of condensation under the leather. So your assessment is correct in that it only increases fan speed and nothing else however this is by design.

Also, not sure if you messed with the EQ settings any but the thread below has some fantastic settings that really help the HK system shine. Not as polished as the BW of course but might help bring it more to your liking with some fine tuning. This is a good starting point nonetheless.

Hope this helps!


https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1582200

[codex57]

The HK in the X5 sounds FAR better than the HK in the X3. But yeah, for a "premium" sound system, it's less than impressive.

I also don't like the flat buttons around the gear shifter. For one, I wish it wasn't gloss black plastic as it scratches easily. Second, they are really hard to find by feel. I have to look down which isn't safe.

I have a full electric car. I live in CA where the weather isn't that bad. If I lived where it snows, that makes life much harder as batteries don't like the cold. The 45e, even with it's relatively small 30 mile range, can give you incredible mileage in the right use case. If you do a lot of errands around town, or have a short commute, your gas mileage can become incredible. If you just do long freeway drives, then it doesn't make sense to buy the 45e. State and local incentives can also bump up the price difference between the 45e and 40i. In certain states like CA and NY, it also comes with carpool access (and discounted tolls) which can be worth WAY more to some people than a few thousand bucks.

Once Covid ends and life returns back to normal, it'll be my wife's primary driver. That 30 mile range is all she'll need to drop off/pick up the kids from school and get to and from work. During the week, I don't think she'll use a drop of gas.

[jbflyguy]

Regarding the charging...you can up the amperage via the car to 10A and it charges a lot faster. 6A (default) wasn’t enough to keep it charged enough for our daily routine. 10A is. Just make sure your breaker isn’t a 10A breaker if you do that. I canceled my level 2 install...with 10A we get by ok.

[jad03060]

IN the USA, the circuit supplying the EVSE must not be using more than 80% of the supply...the 10A device will easily plug into any standard 15A circuit, as long as there's not more than 2A of other things on constantly, too. That's about equivalent to two 100W light bulbs. MOre, on an intermittent basis would work as well...it's just that the constant load cannot exceed 80% of the supply to meet code, or your risk heating up the wiring and possibly popping the breaker. A 15A circuit could therefore handle up to a 12A device, and a 20A one, a 16A EVSE that would max the current limits of the X5.

[nZtiZia]

my 45e came right before Christmas, so my work week was sporadic and I couldn't realize the full benefits of the electric drivetrain efficiency. Recently in just a couple weeks of work commutes (20 miles round trip), errands and kids pick up, I've already maxed the fuel efficiency reading of 90 MPGe. my fuel tank is still 85% full, too.

At first, using the included level 1 charger at 10A on my garage outlet was fine, but once my work week picked back up to a solid 5 days/week, overnight wasn't long enough to fully charge the HV battery, so my electrician installed a NEMA 14-50 outlet on a dedicated 50A circuit for my 32A level 2 charger. "full tank" every morning now!

this is my first bimmer, so in terms of riding/driving experience, I can compare it directly to my 2015 Audi Q7 Limited Sport, which my 45e replaced. the Q7 was also fully optioned and had air suspension, but it was rode stiffer than the 45e on both comfort and sport settings. (my kids noticed it right away!) I appreciate the updated tech and "connectiveness" of the 45e, especially if it helps with efficiency, which is the major reason I chose this variant over others. I read it gets 22mpg highway on fuel, but that's on par with the Q7, so it's not a loss for me.

the only assisted feature on the Q7 was ACC, which worked very well. I haven't used all the 45e's driver assistance features, but a few times it made some dangerous maneuvers, mostly related to lane keeping, so I set features to REDUCED wherever I can. I do have camera misalignment on the right side, which is likely a contributor. I'll get that recalibrated or re-seated with the dealer soon.

We dubbed my Q7 the "stormtrooper" with its mineral white paint and black accents, and it was pretty unique being only 1 of 750 Limited Sport editions released in the US. my 45e is a shadowlined arctic grey, so I've done some subtle aesthetic mods to make it visually "mine".

being novel, my 45e experiences some quirks. I lower to load level at the end of every trip (I miss running boards), but it will randomly rise without any input. I have it set to start in Electric Individual, but it'll randomly start in Hybrid. some Comfort Access features behave oddly. I set mine to unlock when approached, but sometimes it won't (no interference, range or battery issues). it'll lock itself even though I disabled "lock after a few minutes".

Quirkiness aside, I thoroughly enjoy driving this beast named "shadow".