lalexusgs

I put $1700 down (includes 1st month payment) and pay $650/month for my X5D

SteVTEC

Wow that's awful, but if they happened to check just about every single option box it might not be too far off. Nice thing about the DC area is that it's highly competitive for cars in general, so availability is good (even though we ordered) and pricing is great too. Even my folks came down our way to buy their 2012 Camry.

Sounds pretty good. How is yours equipped?

SteVTEC

Pic from the loaner we had a few months ago:



A lot of people on the BMW forums don't like it and would rather it be an oil temperature gauge, but I really like the "old style" instant MPG gauge built into the tach. It's setup perfectly for quick visual reference also. Straight down is right about at the 22 mpg combined fuel mileage you should be able to get, so to the left of that you're doing better, and to the right you're doing worse. It definitely helps as far as efficient driving.

Price delta. With the same equipment, the 35d is about $1500 more than the 35i. But with the Eco Credit at $4500 it flips to being $3000 less. And right now, at least in my area, diesel fuel is about 20 cents cheaper than premium unleaded. So from an operational cost standpoint it's a no brainer. None of this is government supported as far as I'm aware, so this is all BMW marketing (or CAFE) spending.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I am seriously consider a diesel for my next family hauler, the torque is just unbeatable while having better MPG. The eco credit is added value too! So will the JBD mod void the warranty?

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

Very nice car, i agree with your comments on the interior though, a few cheap materials that shouldn't be there. Besides that i really like these, never driven a diesel one, but the 4.8 v8 one pulls like a train.

lalexusgs

Not that many options:
Premium Package,
Cold weather package, all ventilated heated seats,
running boards,
bmw apps with navigation,
soft closing doors,
and that huge sunroof that when opened makes you feel like in vert

SteVTEC

The torque is indeed great. It has 40% more than the gas/N55 engine. But the N55 can rev 40% higher (7k vs 5k) so the resultant taller gearing on the diesel zaps a lot but not all of its torque advantage, and this is pretty much true for all diesel vs. gas comparisons. In this case the diesel will indeed put more peak thrust to the ground in each gear than the gas engine will, but only in the low-end to mid-range. If you're keeping it hammered (WOT passing maneuvers), the gas engine is definitely going to be faster. 300hp is 300hp, which is more than 265, and the gas powertrain is lighter. For a lot of the local driving we do though, the diesel really kicks butt! I love it so far, and it is indeed pretty efficient. 50/50 city highway mix over the weekend so far I got 21 mpg, which is a heckuva lot better than the 17-18 mpg we got in my wife's Highlander, and this is a much larger, heavier, and far more powerful vehicle so very impressed! I want to say it has less turbo lag than the gas engine too but not quite sure yet. Being nice during break-in.

Most BMW dealerships seem to expect that they have a lot of enthusiasts buying their cars who are going to modify them in various ways. I've never heard of anybody really having issues with warranty coverage due to mods posting on the forums. Of course if you have a turbo failure and it's chipped, they're perfectly within their right to deny warranty coverage if they see it's chipped, so it's in your best interest to remove that. The JBD (Berger Tuning) is said to not leave any footprints

I bet it does!

Looks like more options than us! Sounds like you got an even better deal then! The LA area is pretty competitive also I guess? Seriously though, cold weather package in LA??

My kids do love the gigantic sunroof but it's no vert.

SteVTEC

Redo of the garage shot with the top in the "proper" position on my E93 after giving both cars a wash.



Highway Review:

Took a trip from Rockville, MD up to the Hagerstown outlets, then to Wegman's north of Frederick and back home. Yup, stump pulling torque up the steep highway grades on I-70 west of Frederick heading towards Hagerstown. Went straight up the grades in 6th gear without even breaking a sweat and even had plenty of reserve to accelerate. It turns about 2000rpm at 70 mph. 425 ft-lbs of torque at 2000rpm calculates out to about 160hp, or about as much power as a wheezing naturally aspirated Subaru at full throttle that I heard geared down going up the same grade.

The highway ride is super. Rock solid, quiet, and smooth. Averaged 26 mpg pretty much all highway driving. Unfortunately we got stuck in a massive backup due to an accident on the way back, so we were sitting around idling for an hour. Unbelievably, despite that it still managed 23 mpg overall including the backup, and some pretty heavy-footed driving after we got clear of it trying to make up time. Still had stuff to do at home and kids were cranky (thank God for their iPod Touches!). 17.0:1 compression = diesels are still a whole lot more efficient than gas engines just idling! Minus the backup I think I would have been able to hit about 27 mpg as the stretch of I-270 from Frederick on south is overall downhill a bit.

After we managed to get clear of the wreckage and back on the highway, I had to pull off onto the shoulder quick so my wife could get some snacks out of the trunk for the kids because they were going crazy. Heavy traffic merging and a lot of people PO'ed from being delayed so long so I had to punch it to get back on. Did not floor it, but about 75% and it shifted in D mode at 4000rpm (redline 5k). There was no shortage of power at all and the torque does get you off the line quick, but it isn't explosively fast driven like this. Quick bursts of power at slower to medium speeds especially in urban or suburban driving conditions is where the diesel performs best. 265hp up top is fine, but I wouldn't want any less than that at this weight.

Still very pleased. Looking forward to some more highway trips with this thing, and hopefully I'll be able to test out the mileage better too.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

Nice write up! Now I like diesel even more.

lalexusgs

Great review. I agree on the power impression. Great garage picture too, I have just a very identical one of both my bimmers in the garage same way as yours . And yes, I agree on iTouches - it's the best invention that keeps my kids busy in trafics as well. Great gase mileage you got also. I couldn't get better than 24MPG on mine (maybe JBD affects). Still better than 18.9MPG on my 335i
BTW, cold weather package in CA does come handy sometimes in winter when the temperature gets 35F in early mornings when I leave to work