Debate (no not Masturbate Mogs!) - why did you buy the X5 ?

[lizzie]

I bought my X5 because I've always wanted one. Did'nt think it would come so soon even though I fit the right age criteria!!!!Bought the 330d m sport last year and was going to keep it and run into the ground so to speak but started having back problems and was in agony getting in and out of the coupe so fine reason to finally get the X5. Wanted an LPG conversion which mine came with already. Remember the first X5 I ever saw and never seen one like it since was when I lived in cyprus back in 2002 it was bright red with bright red and black leather interior, probably sounds a bit garish but ut was lovely. The love of BMW's goes back to my early 20's when I had a left hand drive mk1 M3 awesome car. Anyway made up with the X and look forward to many happy motoring years and hours of polishing, better than housework !!!

[pvr]

Yes, funny how a deep rooted admiration from years and years back can influence your decision to buy cars.

I have always been mad about VWs and BMWs, so have a collection of both as I can't decide what I prefer

[ChrisLux]

When X5 first came out , I was in market for new company car , and it was toss between
E39 Touring or X5 . I wanted E39 , Missus wanted X5 , but I over-ruled her and I went for
the E39 coz the boot was bigger/better shaped etc .

When the E53 facelift was announced , I was again looking and it ended in same scenario .
The E39 won again , much to Missus annoyance

However , I did like the idea of the X5 , and so when a friend of mine was selling his ex-lease
vehicle at a SNIP , i took the plunge , and bought it for Missus birthday .
Got monster Brownie points for that

Had it for about 2mth now and really happy with it , and fuel consumption not as bad as I'd
thought it might be .

[X5Sport]

I bought my E53 in 2005 after a good deal of research into suitable vehicles. I have a serious spine injury and actually needed 9 months off and major surgery in 2009, which has helped a lot, but not completely fixed the problem.

I'm 6' 4" so need a car that has room to sit in and drive comfortably. We also had some cash spare as I had just been forced out of a job in the Civil Service after 24 years so got a good severance package.

We settled on a 4x4 as being the easiest for me to get in and out of so then it was just a case of seeing what was out there and shortlisting until we found what we wanted. I had been driving Skoda Octavia Estates since 1998 so was not going to spend huge sums. BMW did not appear anywhere on the list - too much money. I think I set the budget at around £30k.

My wife suffers from that miserable affliction that is car sickness so ride quality was critical as was the limit to body roll.

We tried (don't laugh too loudly) - Kia Sorento Mk1 (OK, but only just), Freelander (er, No! I could not see out of the windcreen properly) VW Toerag (nice but not good enough for her), Volvo XC90 (er, No!), Discovery (I had a fleet of them and the reliability was questionable), Merc ML, Toyota Land Tank/Cruiser Amazon (16mpg from a diesel - you're kidding!) and having walked out of the VW dealer feeling very depressed becuase everything we tried made tother half fell car sick in 30 mins, we walked into the BMW dealership next door. We tried a diesel sport manual and were sold! It was a used pre-facelift model but it was comfortable, well made, looked the bizz and was just what we wanted, except we wanted a new one.

Three hours later and a grand lighter for the deposit I had a 3.0D Sport Auto in Sterling Grey on order. i think the final cost was about £53k as the toys we added went on and on and...........

We absolutely love it, but I have to say it has been the most unreliable car I have ever owned which is a real shame. Everything is fixed now and I think my biggest beef is actually with the poor technical standards and workmanship from the two dealers I have used. I now use an independant BMW specialist in Bletchley and am perfectly happy with them.

Nothing on order yet, but I really want an X6. No logical reason other than I think they just look the business. Maybe I'll buy a used one as £65k is doable, but I don't think they're worth that. Having got an X5 there is really no other choice now but BMW, and I' m unsure of their support and reliability so the E53 is still here.

[StumpyPete]

I was also looking at an E39 touring when Mrs Stumpy, suggested I might want to buy an X5, of course I took that as permission! Ordered one the next week. Now on my third (2 E53s and an E70). Why I buy them is all a bit strange......

1. I like BMWs, I like the ergonomics, I like the feel, I like the tightness of the chassis (MBs are too soft for me, Don't like the roll or the bling in Landies, LExus too plasticky, Audis too neutral a.k.a boring)
2. I like the extra height in the boot (good for getting tall things in at the garden centre - I spend a LOT of money on the garden!), the clamshell design has also doubled on numerous occasions as a baby changing table
3. I live in rural perthshire where Snow is a regular occurrence (we get serious snow - 6in plus -multiple times every year unlike the SE), Mrs Stumpy is a doctor so needs to be able to get about in the Snow. Plus I don't believe in letting the children have days off school when it snows (it's six miles to school), and the X5 is not as bad in snow as most people would lead you to believe - I have never been stuck once!

Having had one now for 9 years, I actually struggle to think what else I would buy, I would consider a 4x4 5-series if they sold it here, but nothing else fits the bill for me. I have a plan to buy a DB9 in a couple of years and at that point I would see no need for any other car - X5 as daily driver, DB9 for dry days!

[macky]

Our mission started a few months ago when we were expecting our first child, I get a fairly decent diesel company car but its packed with equipment to do my job, so we wanted to change the missus's C2 for something bigger that could carry a pram, baby and dog, started looking at new cars around 10-15k but these weren't really floating our boat, started looking at used X3's but then thought well why not X5, did my research, looked at loads and ended up buying a 2003 3.0d sport with 106K on the clock with a fantastic history and a replacement gearbox at 103k, I am a qualified mechanic so can do all the routine stuff myself, done rear brakes, os/f door actuator, tension struts,swaybar links, balljoints for not much money.
The missus was apprehensive about driving the X but she absolutely loves it and so do I, it just suits our needs so well as we live in the sticks and the roads flood every year (always envied the 4x4's which drove right through), also we can strap the pram to the back of the rear seats in the boot and the dog has the rest of the space.
Starting to really fancy a V8 e53 so who knows, my only regret is looking for a e53 with satnav as I wish I had bought without as its rubbish tbh.