@NosherN Welcome back! I remember our conversations some years back. I almost went for an X5 two cars back, but Harman/kardon wasn’t available at the time so I held back, and I was glad that I did as Covid then happened and it would have sat in the garage for the best part of a year!
Fast forward 5 years or so and I’m horrified at how much the prices have gone up. As you say, there isn’t a bad model in the X5 line up, but the one that I would have probably preferred (the 40i) is now discontinued, so I managed to get extended test drives in the 50e (2 days), 40d (1 day) and M60i (3 days), so I did my research thoroughly 😂
I was originally looking at buying a used one (probably an M50i) but when I found out that we could get the VAT and VED off, plus the hefty discounts on offer, it tipped me towards a new one.
We are fully retired and now only do around 8-9k miles a year. We are fortunate that we don’t have to worry about running costs and I decided that I wanted a car that put a smile on my face, plus one that sounded like a really nice car rather than a fridge freezer – whilst we still can! Long story short, whilst none of them ticked absolutely every box, the one that ticked the most boxes and delivered my objectives the most was the M60i, so that’s what I’ve ordered. I doubt that the V8 model will appear in Europe with the next generation X5 due late this year / early next year, so this is my last chance for some over indulgence! I also don’t like BMWs new styling direction, so wanted to get the current model, which I think is the best looking X5 to date.
The discount that I negotiated got it to within £3.5k of the 40d (my second choice) even though there’s a £14.5k difference in rrp, and I should get most of that difference back at resale, so the extra £100-150 a month fuel cost I can live with for the ‘smiles per mile’ benefits! The dealer has been absolutely brilliant and has actually ordered a 40d as well in my specification which is due in 2 months time, so if the delivery date of the M60i is going to be too long I can opt to take that instead. If the M60i lead time is OK they are going to put the 40d in the showroom!