M3 driver tries out the X5M

[991GT3]

This kind of stuff kills me. What did you expect? Really.
I owned an X6M for two years and it was a great SUV but unlike like a few in this thread I use other SUVs as a comparison. It was definitely superior to my wifes X5, X3, Q7, and Cayenne S and my Cayenne S and GTS.
Complaining about an X6M not being as much fun as an M3 is like a 911 owner bitching that his Cayenne Turbo isn't nearly as exciting.

[e92_m3]

I know the X5M is faster, but stock vs stock the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 has a better exhaust note.

[michaelpnett]

Just spent a day driving around my X5m in the snow. Hard to argue that a car that can drive in the snow with twin 6 month old boys in car seats, my wife in the passenger seat, and a trunk full of groceries,/double stroller/diaper bags yet runs a 12 sec 1/4 mile and beats a 335 around a race track is not special.

[RedGT3]

it's no Z06 but my wife likes SUV's and BMW's

[Kiemyster]

Sometimes i feel like im the only person who has a strong natural love for the X5M.
My biggest point is the thing handles so damn well! I actually prefer to roll in the X5M than the M3, that shit is so powerful, has instant power... makes my m3 look like a damn sloth.

I LOVE LE BMW X5M!

-signed yours truly,
biased X5M driver.

X5M is RACE CAR.

[991GT3]

X5M is great but I just traded my X6M on this bad boy.
I am going to pick it up tomorrow(the Cayenne S next to it is my wifes)

[CSanto]

Your wife got jipped

[Jet335i]

Very very nice!

[604]

I too love the X5M. But you simply can't compare a SUV to a car. Totally different feel. The M performs great for an SUV. Sure it doesn't perform like a m3, that makes total sense...it does a lot of other great stuff!

[Beemw335]

I agree with op on exhaust note. You need o realise the more boost you run the quieter it gets.

[Randy Forbes]

Originally Posted by 604

I too love the X5M. But you simply can't compare a SUV to a car. Totally different feel. The M performs great for an SUV. Sure it doesn't perform like a m3, that makes total sense...it does a lot of other great stuff!

(raising thread from the dead...)
When we got our first X5, a 2002 4.4 "sport" I declared that it was A sports car with a view!

I was comparing it to my daily drivers at the time, a '99 and an '01 M Roadsters. I didn't adjust my driving style at all when going from the 2-seaters to the X5, only now I could glance at the scenery over the guard rails, instead of my line of sight being right in the middle of them.

Moved on to an '05 X5 4.4, again with the sport package, skipped a (3-yr) lease cycle and substituted an '08 535xi (another fine machine) before moving (literally, to Florida, and...) into a 2011 X5 35i (sport).

The 35i was the first 6-cyl X5 we had, but only 15 hp less than the '05 4.4, and IIRC, Lbs-Ft was the same @ 300 (both were greater than the output of the '02 X5). Because of going over on the mileage with the 535, because of numerous trips between Ohio & Florida, we bought the '11 X5 outright, and wound up keeping it until late 2018 & >120,000 miles.

We were all geared up to buy an '18 X5 upon their introduction (fall of 2017) until we saw them! The new big mouth look (and the fact that BMW were now following other manufacture's design trends instead of leading them) just didn't do it for us.

We really didn't know what we were going to do, but we weren't in a hurry to do anything, as the '11 was still plugging along (plus we have 4 other cars).

So one night, my wife__who's said she's "wanted a white X5" since we moved to Florida (April 2012)__spots an add from an east coast dealer they night they list it; 2016 X5M (white/beige) with 15,000 miles, CPO.
We get to messaging back and forth and agree to "go look at it" (which historically translates to "we're buying it!").

WE ARE NOT DISAPPOINTED! Did the deal, made the trade and drove back across the width of Florida (ALL 2-lane roads with very light, mostly no traffic). The term RocketShip comes to mind

Oh, did I mention that the 1st (and only previous) owner ordered it maxed out with factory options? I think it has most of the dealership-sourced accessories too! Not stopping there, all the key items were ordered and installed from the Dinan Catalog too, to make up their Signature Series package (front lowering springs, CAI, exhaust, & Stg-II piggyback ECU) for what Dinan's website claims is 716hp/701Lbs-Ft torque.

So as exhilarating as the acceleration is, where it really impresses me is with its handling! And yes, it is possible to induce a little rotation going around turns!

Now granted, this is already the last generation of X5Ms, and one generation evolved from the one this thread began with, but either our impressions are far and away different, or maybe took all the criticisms from that prior generation and applied them to the F85 (and beyond)?

Note, I added the (standard F15) BMW trailer hitch.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by Randy Forbes

(raising thread from the dead...)
When we got our first X5, a 2002 4.4 "sport" I declared that it was A sports car with a view!

I was comparing it to my daily drivers at the time, a '99 and an '01 M Roadsters. I didn't adjust my driving style at all when going from the 2-seaters to the X5, only now I could glance at the scenery over the guard rails, instead of my line of sight being right in the middle of them.

Moved on to an '05 X5 4.4, again with the sport package, skipped a (3-yr) lease cycle and substituted an '08 535xi (another fine machine) before moving (literally, to Florida, and...) into a 2011 X5 35i (sport).

The 35i was the first 6-cyl X5 we had, but only 15 hp less than the '05 4.4, and IIRC, Lbs-Ft was the same @ 300 (both were greater than the output of the '02 X5). Because of going over on the mileage with the 535, because of numerous trips between Ohio & Florida, we bought the '11 X5 outright, and wound up keeping it until late 2018 & >120,000 miles.

We were all geared up to buy an '18 X5 upon their introduction (fall of 2017) until we saw them! The new big mouth look (and the fact that BMW were now following other manufacture's design trends instead of leading them) just didn't do it for us.

We really didn't know what we were going to do, but we weren't in a hurry to do anything, as the '11 was still plugging along (plus we have 4 other cars).

So one night, my wife__who's said she's "wanted a white X5" since we moved to Florida (April 2012)__spots an add from an east coast dealer they night they list it; 2016 X5M (white/beige) with 15,000 miles, CPO.
We get to messaging back and forth and agree to "go look at it" (which historically translates to "we're buying it!").

WE ARE NOT DISAPPOINTED! Did the deal, made the trade and drove back across the width of Florida (ALL 2-lane roads with very light, mostly no traffic). The term RocketShip comes to mind

Oh, did I mention that the 1st (and only previous) owner ordered it maxed out with factory options? I think it has most of the dealership-sourced accessories too! Not stopping there, all the key items were ordered and installed from the Dinan Catalog too, to make up their Signature Series package (front lowering springs, CAI, exhaust, & Stg-II piggyback ECU) for what Dinan's website claims is 716hp/701Lbs-Ft torque.

So as exhilarating as the acceleration is, where it really impresses me is with its handling! And yes, it is possible to induce a little rotation going around turns!

Now granted, this is already the last generation of X5Ms, and one generation evolved from the one this thread began with, but either our impressions are far and away different, or maybe took all the criticisms from that prior generation and applied them to the F85 (and beyond)?

Note, I added the (standard F15) BMW trailer hitch.

Nice pickup - congrats on the X5M. Great combo - an X5 and M Roadster.

I have an E90 M3 and F15 50i & I love the combo. They're so different, each offering something the other doesn't. And like you mentioned this is an old thread, originally comparing the now 2 generation old E70 X5M with an E9x M3. If comparing against the newer X5 models - the M3 (and your M roadster, I'm assuming... don't have experience with them) is still a better driver, sounds better, but it sure feels really old compared to my F15. Like.... really old, lacking all the of modern options I've come to appreciate. That's why I like having both

[Bartledoo]

Did somebody say they expected an suv to be more awesome than an M3?

[omegamn]

I guess you expected too much for an SUV