2011 BMW X5 consumer reviews

Cons... a rattle in the back that is killing me. Brake dust (typical BMW) is rediculous! Headlights are not as bright as my 535i but its not bad. Its a BMW (my 9th, its querky, I accept it) Pros... Many! Styling is very nice if you ask me. I have everything option expection heads up display so with the 20inch wheels and wide fender flares/step boards, it looks better than most X5's on the road. Performance is very good considering it gets 22mpg overall. It is quite roomy and steering and brake feel are excellent. Mine is tuned with over 500ft tq. so power is always there and I'm pretty sure it would surprise the twin turbo six if it wasnt modded as well. I have free maintence until 100k miles which is great but the OEM brake pads are killing me. I have recommended this truck to someone before I bought it (couldnt afford it new) and they love and to someone after I bought, and they too love it. It has a good resale value and I expect it to stay that way. Can't go wrong.

Beautiful styling. Great power with the V8 twin turbo 400 horsepower engine. Very moth automatic transmission.

I bought this car certified-used from local BMW dealer - price was well below anything else within 300 miles, and it had half the mileage (<9K miles). I only drive BMWs, we traded an 02 X5 - I am biased toward BMWs because I am used to the way they drive, handle, and perform, and I know where everything is and how it works, and there is no better service experience in my opinion. Having said that, be sure you get warranties, including maintenance, because they are EXPENSIVE to work on. Fortunately mine have never been any major trouble. But even the routine stuff is very pricey, so get the maintenance warranty. The car is immaculate - buying new cars is nice, but certified used is the way to go in my opinion, unless you hate money. I saved a bundle on immaculate low-mileage used vs. a brand new one. I have never owned a diesel, but wanted to try it for the better fuel economy and so far I am impressed, averaging ~22 mpg in town and some highway driving. The performance is also great, great acceleration/torque, and tight handling. After a month I am very happy and impressed - hope to stay happy.

My mother has had many SUVS (2000 Lexus RX300, 2003 bmw x5, 2004 Lexus gx470, 2007 Lexus RX350, And 2010 Lexus GX460) wE LOOKED AT THE X5, AUDI Q7, ACURA MDX AND BUICK ENCLAVE. Personally, i love each of those SUV's (The Enclave, Q7 and MDX) sO, wHATEVER, i LOVE THAT CAR..I GUESS.. WE Have xDrive35i Premium Black Saffire Metallic, With Cinnamon Brown interior. We have Tech Pkg, Conv. Pkg, (Basically I'm tryuing to say vehicle is fully loaded) We have had some problems with the second row seats (the sensor that the seat was locked in broke in the adjusting trigger broke) We'll get the trigger fixed (We already fixed the sensor)

I love the looks of the vehicle (minus the boring and ugly wheels forced on X5 diesel buyers), but the same can't be said about the way it drives. The ride is rough around town with the stiff run-flat tires. It is OK on the highway, but I would still prefer a smoother ride. The active ventilated seat bottoms are as hard as a rock and become uncomfortable if you sit in them longer than 20 minutes, although the front seatbacks are comfortable and offer alot of different positions(they even bend in the middle). The tranmission is the worst thing about the vehicle. When leaving from a stoplight, it hesitates and when you give it a little more gas it surges. It changes gears as fast as possible(for better mpg I'm sure). When turning it downshifts too low and causes the vehicle to surge really hard when accelerating. The transmission makes the vehicle feel very unrefined. I've driven much cheaper vehicles with better tranmissions. The rear door makes noises when backing out of the driveway and sometimes while driving. The visors don't offer protection from the sun for shorter drivers. It would be nice if there were cupholders in the rear doors for rear passengers. If the vehicle was alot cheaper I might be willing to deal with it's deficiencies, but I'm seriously thinking about trading it in.

The BMW X5 35d is a sport luxury SAV not really your typical family SUV. It is fun to drive and will whip around corners without a problem. If you really want to have fun and leave people in the dust, shift the transmission into sport drive. For a large SUV I get an average of 22.1 - 22.4 mpg. The diesel fuel cost of less than the cost of premium gas that most luxury vehicles take and I get more MPGs, so the diesel does pay off. BMW offers 48 months of service & maintenance included with the cost of the vehicle. I really was impressed that the X5 BMWs are built in Spartanburg, SC in the USA. Prior to my my purchase decision, I did almost purchase another SUV, but it was not as fun to drive and was not really my "dream" vehicle. The pros are pretty much everything, I had my X5 custom built and it only took 30 days. My options were the premium package, sport activity package, upgraded sound (awesome!), cold weather package, and navigation. My favorite additional features are the satellite radio, upgraded sound package, heated seats and steering wheel for the winter time, & the voice commands are cool with the bluetooth. The cons are the navigation, which is not touchscreen and can be a bit confusing, the smell of diesel fuel when filling up that is stronger than gas, and the somewhat noisy engine especially in the winter when the vehicle is cold.

It is my 1st SUV and BMW. Bought my 2011 X5d in Sep of 2010 and have been hating every moment of it. Uncomfortable, seats are as hard as benches in the park. The leather looks and feels like cardboard, but I had to pre-order and pre-pay, so when it came it was too late to cancel the transaction. The wipers are a joke! As loud as if they were wooden, streaks left behind and a light-deflecting line left by the right wiper right in front of the driver's face. At night, in the rain or a blizzard- not safe at all. The dealer claimed they replaced them, a month after I got the car and then 3 months later since nothing changed. The 2nd time it even got worse. You do not want to drive this car in the rain! The water regurgitates on the driver's window right between your eyes and the left mirror. You can not see anything! The climate control is also a joke. You can not get comfortably warm when it is really cold outside and never really cold in the summer (I live in southern Connecticut). I went to the dealer to get a lesson on the climate control, as I thought I was doing something wrong, but no, it was the car. The I-drive controls everything in the car. It is a mouse for a very small computer display, so try changing any settings like rear temperature or the like while you are driving. You have to stop the car or suffer... The central-lock button is in the middle of the dashboard, so you need to get inside the car or kill your back to unlock the back doors... The rear seat heating broke after being used once. The third row is extremely small, almost impossible to fit two 12-year olds (small ones). The body is made from extremely weak material. Was slightly bumped by 2 cars (Toyota and Acura)They did not get a scratch I have 2 big holes! The audio? I complained to the dealer that the speakers vibrate as if you had a mouse inside them when I am listening to my audiobooks on high volume. I was told that that what happens when you want to listen to audiobooks read so loudly. I have perfect hearing but at 80mph in this relatively quiet diesel, you really have to turn the volume up to be able to understand anything. The noise is not bad for a diesel, but I get rattling for some time after starting the car. I do not even want to report it to the dealer. I just want the lease to end. I cannot wait to give it back. It is my 1st and last BMW. Now I know what it means to own one. I am not saying it should not be on the market. I think it should be rated fairly among the worst cars and priced under 25K.

EXCELLENT CAR. New 300hp engine & new 8 speed transmition make its vehicle outstanding. Fuel economy much better now. Dinamics is perfect. I recomended

I just placed an order for a 2012 X5 5.0 to replace my 2011 X5 diesel (April 2010 production) with over 30,000 miles. This will be my eighth X5 since 2001 (and 16th BMW in total). I favor the X5 because it has the most comfortable driving position and seats of any SUV (especially with the multi-contour must-have seats). I read the reviews on this site from people who claim to have a 2011 X5 3.0 (no such thing because that engine ended in 2010) and people who claim to have had mechanical problems, uncomfortable seats, inoperable navigation, etc. Those sound like false reviews. Even Consumer Reports recommends the X5 as of November 2011. My X5s have been completely reliable. No issues. None. I've had every version of the iDrive system since the first one in the 2002 E65 745i and it has never been sufficiently complicated to justify all the whining about it. The current iDrive's granularity of control over vehicle functions is better than any other vehicle including Audi. The diesel is noisier than the gas engines, but the torque is amazing and I've had trips that averaged 31 mpg in all highway driving, which is not bad for a 5,300 lb SUV. I opted for the 5.0 this time to change things up a little, but I'm sure I'll miss the 600+ mile range on a single tank of diesel. It's also important to me that these vehicles are made in the U.S. (Spartanburg, SC).

I'm a car enthusiast and former BMW CCA member, and I appreciate BMW's blend of performance, handling and build quality. What's more, my wife and I loved our previous car, a 2002 X5 4.4i which we owned for 6 years. I waited patiently for years for the right time to order my new 2011 X5 diesel just the way I wanted. But I was disappointed with the car. First the positives: it's the best-looking SUV on the road. Hands down. It handles well for such a big car and feels smaller than it really is. Even the basic seats are supportive and super comfortable over long distances, and they offer tons of adjustability. The diesel engine has gobs of power, is very smooth and gets great mileage compared to the V8. The 2011 is a lot quieter and smoother than the previous generation, with great ride quality and is packed with cool tech (like the top view and side view cameras--but why can't I use them at faster speeds?!). But for God's sake, what did BMW do to the trannny? Our 2002 always felt like it was in the right gear--I never had to think about it. The 2011 felt like the transmission slips from every stop until about 30 mph, after which it would shift normally. The dealer checked it and said it was operating correctly, so I can only include that it is an engineering flaw; set up this way to perhaps maximize mileage. Regardless, it's infuriating since it messes up an otherwise brilliant powertrain. The 2nd largest complaint we had was the navigation system. It sent us the wrong way on several occasions, couldn't find other addresses, and was absolutely clunky to use with the iDrive controller (or voice). A touchscreen would have made a world of difference. Plus, the map doesn't show every street name, making it useless in city driving. A $100 Garmin is much better. Other frustrations: cheap wipers that left streaks (despite being replaced by the dealer, and despite the BEST wipers on the 2002), annoying seat memory functionality, small 3rd row (though I knew that when I bought it), 2 small problems requiring service within the first 3 months, poor interior panel fit, numb steering(on center) and much less road feel and feedback through the steering wheel than my old X5. So after just 6 months of owning my dream car, I sadly turned it in for a Mazda 5 (see my review for more). I would be hesitant to get another BMW after this experience, except that the 2011 5-series loaner that I was given while my X5 was in the shop was amazing--it felt and drove like a BMW should. So maybe there's hope yet for the next generation X5!