Morning @kezo My Tucson definitely ‘bings’ at times other than speed warnings and even when the sat nav is not in use. Many of the ‘alerts’ seem to be when the speed limit changes, but others are for no obvious reason whatsoever. There is no accompanying message to help inform the driver what the car is alerting you to, so it just becomes an irritating distraction 🤬 Maybe I need to revisit all the menus and see if I have something enabled that I can turn off?
As, like me, you are looking to leave the Motability scheme and also considering a BMW X5, I’m very happy to share my detailed findings as a result of my 48 hour test drive in the hope that it might be of use to you. I’ll split the feedback into 3 sections. Positives, negatives (for X5s in general) and 50e PHEV specific negatives.
Positives
– Especially in M Sport Pro trim, the car looks good from all angles
– It doesn’t feel like a big car at all when driving it
– All round visibility is superb. High driving position, big glass area and no blind spots
– Usual BMW levels of quality, refinement and driver engagement
– The 489hp 50e is incredibly fast, in fact one of the fastest cars I’ve ever driven (and I’ve driven hundreds)
– Sprint mode is a hoot (hold the paddle for a few seconds and you get a short boost from the mild hybrid battery)
– One irritant of the X5 (the protruding side sills which soil the back of your trousers when getting in or out) can be avoided by dropping the air suspension (std on the 50e) to the lowest setting when you park.
– Speed limit warnings are barely audible (so I left them on), but a simple one steering wheel button press to mute. There are NO other bings or bongs. It was a sheer joy to drive compared to the infuriating nanny state Hyundai.
– Apps in the iDrive can be rearranged (like an iPhone) so your most used ones can be at top
– Servicing requirements are negligible (Oil @ 16k or 2 yrs, Brake Fluid @ 3 yrs, Vehicle Check @ 37k or 4 yrs, Gas Pressure Spring for bonnet? @ 5 yrs). So much so that I don’t think I’d bother buying the 5 year service pack.
Negatives (X5 in general)
– Standard Sport Seats were firm on the base & gave me sciatic pain in my left buttock. I’m trying the optional Comfort Seats on the M60i and hope that they will be better. If not, it’s a show stopper.
– Air Suspension was nothing special. Certainly not the magic carpet ride I was expecting. This could be due to the extra weight of the PHEV (one review I watched suggested that it wasn’t as good on the PHEV as the ICE models for this reason)
– The air suspension lowering button on the tailgate (for loading) seemed to be hit and miss in operation.
– Lane change warning & blind spot warnings were also hit & miss. I will check this again on the M60i
– Auto Parking was very aggressive (too quick for comfort). I wouldn’t use it as a result.
– The indicator was very quiet (so much so I inadvertently left it on a few times)
– You definitely realise that it’s a big car when parking in a car park. If we didn’t have a blue badge (so can use wider spaces) I think this would be a show stopper, as it would be a hassle.
Negatives (50e Specific)
– It took 12 hours to fully charge and gave me just 48 miles EV range as a result (claimed range 62 miles). The positive was that, unlike the Hyundai, I did get the full 48 EV miles and there was none of the ‘last 10 miles disappearing in 5 miles’ nonsense that I get in the Tucson.
– The fuel computer stated that the car had averaged 38.5mpg over first 5,000 miles. If that works the same as the Tucson (where mpg is wildly overstated, as it includes the miles travelled in EV mode whilst ignoring the charging costs), then it suggests that the car isn’t terribly economical in return for the faff of having to charge it
– The sound when driving was unimpressive (inside & outside) other than the initial mile following a cold start (surprising given that it has the superb B58 3.0 litre straight six), but you don’t get the BMW sports exhaust system on the 50e that you get on the M Sport Pro diesels and M60i
– No obvious indication that the petrol engine is on
– Iconic sounds (artificial EV noises) barely noticeable compared to the two iX1s that I test drove
– Sport mode noisy (holds on to revs) – to be fair, I find this in all cars, hence why I never use it on any car
– Slight lag before rapid acceleration kicks in
– Regeneration very noticeable when traffic ahead or approaching junction / roundabout, plus when the battery depleted (as it insists on recharging). I could not find a way to disable it and, as with the EVs I’ve driven, I dislike the sensation of it. I only want the car to brake when I press the brake pedal!
So, in summary, I’m very glad that I have the M60i for another prolonged test in 2 weeks time, as if the 50e was the only engine option in the X5 I would not be interested in one. I’ve got my wife to concede that we should consider a diesel, but I’d get the 40d. The 30d is more than sufficient, and gets rave reviews, but the 40d would only cost me £3k more and I’d get the majority of that difference back at resale. However, the M60i V8 would only cost me £3.5k more than the 40d (even though the retail price is £11.5k more), which is very tempting. The M60i would cost me £900 a year more to fuel than the 40d, but I’ve done some work on resale values and the M60i is likely to be worth £6k more than the 40d at 2 years old and £4k more at 3 years, which completely wipes out the upfront cost premium and in fact covers most of the additional running costs as well. Now that’s very tempting!
On the subject of residual values, based on trade in prices only (not private sale or retail prices) of used X5s, due to the fact that we can get 100% VAT and VED exemption, plus the size of discount I am negotiating (thanks to Drive the Deal), the M60i may only cost me £8k in depreciation over 3 years (likely change date, as the warranty expires then and we would be eligible to buy another VAT free car). Insurance is only £658 Pa (pretty good for a top end Group 50 car) and, as mentioned, servicing requirements are neglible. In totality, I could be in the ridiculous situation where running a new BMW X5 M60i V8 for 3 years costs me about the same as running the Tucson through Motability! Admittedly I’d lose the interest on the large chunk of savings used to buy the car in the first place, but interest doesn’t put a smile on my face, whereas a 530hp V8 X5 might 😂
