[bandersen]

For those of you who have driven both - does air suspension effect the handling of the car, especially aggressive handling? I’ve never driven or ridden in a car with it (wasn’t an option available when I ordered back in mid-21), and am curious.

[vpegany]

Don’t do it. Too soft

[jad03060]

Air springs are truly progressive. A coil spring can only approximate that. The stiffness of the shocks plays a huge part in how the vehicle handles. Comfort mode is not geared towards maximum handling, but BMW lets you tweak them. Your choice of tires can also make a difference. If you equate stiffness to handling, that can color your opinion.

You should drive both, and while at it, try changing the modes between comfort and sport to see for yourself.

[Jlewisinsyr]

My 2023 X5 has air suspension because it’s a 45e, inrecently had a 2023 40i loaner and the ride difference was noticeably different and it wasn’t nearly as nice to drive from a comfort perspective.

[avi8tir]

Originally Posted by vpegany

Don’t do it. Too soft

I disagree. I have it on my M50i (it was on the lot and I would never have selected it if I had ordered a car) and I actually love it. I came from an F90 M5 Comp so maybe I just needed a break? The roads where I live are awful and it is honestly one of the best suspensions I've had.

Now, if I was still driving roads back in Southern California, I would likely think differently. I used to drive a fully prepped GT3 and never minded it around orange county lol.

[bandersen]

Thanks for all the responses - why I love these boards -
I’ve got the 22inch wheel with summer tires , drive in sport 100%, 90% highway….currently it’s not bad. Was just curious what I’m missing comfort wise (if I am at all) and if that comfort affected the handling at all.

BLUFF- guess I just need to drive one myself!

[jad03060]

22" wheels on the X5 have such a short sidewall that there's very little cushion if you hit a bump or joint of any sort of imperfection in the road. The air suspension is soft, but is very progressive. It's the shocks that determine how 'floaty' the ride is...IMHO, the X5 with air suspension is not floaty. Then again, everyone's perception is a personal thing. If you happen to choose the PHEV, you don't have a choice, it will come with air suspension, and because of supply, sometimes, you can't get it on the other models even if you wanted to.

[usta]

Loved the air suspension so much that we changed our order from x5 4.0 to X5 m60i. The ride is great even with 22's.

[blake6551]

Huge difference in handling, but noticeably smoother ride with air suspension. I prefer coil suspension, but my wife prefers the air.

[kalo777]

Too floaty for me, especially in comfort mode.

[JerZBMerLife]

Not floaty to me and in sport plus it still handles well. I went from 20s to 21s on my new X6 so added air suspension. Don’t know how I went without it before. If you live in a major city with bad roads this is a must. Go test drive and see for yourself.

[slicky]

Its good. It will be "floaty" and soft in comfort mode and just stiff enough in sport. Its truly the best of both worlds, allowing you to dial in your desired handling/ride characteristics.

[jad03060]

The nature of an air spring is that it has no internal friction. The other significant benefit is that it is progressive that a spring can only approximate. And, it remains the same spring rate until it fails (and they have a pretty long lifespan), unlike a steel spring. It is the shock valving that determines how well it controls the body motion. Because the air spring's initial response is to a lower input than a steel spring that you might notice a bit more motion. Having the wheel move easily to small inputs is one reason why most people say the ride is better. The various modes available in the X5 change the shock parameters.

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by jad03060

The nature of an air spring is that it has no internal friction. The other significant benefit is that it is progressive that a spring can only approximate. And, it remains the same spring rate until it fails (and they have a pretty long lifespan), unlike a steel spring. It is the shock valving that determines how well it controls the body motion. Because the air spring's initial response is to a lower input than a steel spring that you might notice a bit more motion. Having the wheel move easily to small inputs is one reason why most people say the ride is better. The various modes available in the X5 change the shock parameters.

“Having the wheel move easily to small inputs is one reason why most people say the ride is better.”

Sorry can you explain this more? Do you mean steering feel is more sensitive / direct feeling?

[Stainsey11]

As with 90% of the questions here, it's all about personal preference. Unfortunately for me, I'm rarely satisfied when it comes to the comfort/handling trade-off. It seems like it's almost always either one or the other.

As to the air suspension in this case, I drove both when I was figuring out what model to get. I went with a 45e that comes with the air suspension. Frankly, it drives similarly to the X7 which also has it. The 40e was much harsher but I'm sure will take the corners slightly better.

But - the 45e has a lower center of gravity, courtesy of the 600 lb underfloor battery pack, which also helps with handling.

In the end, the 45e, even with the M-Sport pkg, rides marshmallow smooth and doesn't feel like it likes to be rushed. Sport mode helps tighten things up A LITTLE, but again, expect a cloud-like driving experience, not an Ultimate Driving Machine one. (Edit: to be clear, I went with the 20" 740s because I was afraid the 22's would do nothing more than increase impact harshness and offer no handling improvements).

To make things more complicated, I am surmising that the V8 X5s ride is much stiffer than the lesser variants, air suspension or not. This makes sense, as my last X5 (a 2009 V8 Msport) also had a stiff ride but did handle better than my '23 45e.

Clear as mud, right?

Take a test drive and see what you think.

[eelnoraa]

We have 45e, me and wife both think it is very soft. I remember my wife said, if we cover up BMW logo and tell her this MB, she will believe it. Compared to QX60 and MDX we had before, 45e is in between. Firmer than QX60, softer than MDX.

Do we like it? no we don't. I want to give BMW one benefit of doubt, the mandatory use of air suspension has to do with the additional weight toward the rear axial. it will be the simplest way to handle the weight without a major redesign for subframe and suspension.

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by Mattl0806

Sorry can you explain this more? Do you mean steering feel is more sensitive / direct feeling?

The suspension differences, at least as I see it, has nothing to do with the steering feel. When a wheel hits a bump, several things come into play: how much the wheel/tire assembly weighs (the bigger wheels weigh more, so have more inertia), what the spring rate is (both the steel and air springs are progressive, but the air spring is softer at the beginning, but quickly gets stiffer as the air compresses so it is almost impossible to bottom it out unless overloaded), and the valving on the shocks, which is a bigger part of the equation. The geometry is the bigger part of the steering feel, along with the damping and power assist level...all versions use electric assist, which is programmable versus older, hydraulic systems that many believe has a better 'feel'. That depends a lot on the implementation, and programming can change it, as it does between say comfort mode and sport.

Note, some tire and tread designs tend to make tramlining more of an issue with the steering.

[blake6551]

Stainsey11 put it well, the air doesn't feel like it likes to be rushed. It's soft and luxurious, but doesn't have a BMW feel to me. The M50i/M60i and especially my X5MC I have now like to be rushed, they beg for it.

Both are good, purely a personal preference. The air suspension on the X5 IMO doesn't have the feel of say a Porsche Cayenne, which manages to be soft in comfort but very sporty in sport modes.

[swainbmw]

My biggest problem is I feel the suspension is soft on the none air suspension also but what’s got me about ready to trade it is I don’t like when turning in from a stop if the road is an even I feel like the car rocks back-and-forth across the obstacle I’ve never experienced this and another car as abruptly as these do

[Rob_G77]

I'd probably want the 22 inch wheels if I had air suspension.

Rob

[Mattl0806]

Originally Posted by swainbmw

My biggest problem is I feel the suspension is soft on the none air suspension also but what’s got me about ready to trade it is I don’t like when turning in from a stop if the road is an even I feel like the car rocks back-and-forth across the obstacle I’ve never experienced this and another car as abruptly as these do

You have regular, m sport or m50?

[Matt 335is]

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think anyone has brought up the best suspension you can get on an X5:

Adaptive M Suspension Professional (formerly Dynamic Handling Package)

This will give you the the best of all worlds. It's only available as an add-on option for the M60i (M50i).