E70 X5 4.8 V8 yay or nay

[TAFKARM]

Tempted to replace our trusty Octavia Estate reliable dog / tow car with an X5.

 

I fancy something with a bit more grunt for towing and other than that it’s short journeys only so fuel economy doesn’t really matter.

 

Any experiences, yay or nay?

[SootySport]

Think it’s best to stick with the trusty Octy.  X5  tax and insurance will jump up

[Steve (sdh2903)]

If you have deep pockets go for it!

 

My mate spent 5k on servicing/repairs in just under 2 years doing less than 5k miles a year. Air suspension is a known issue (we swapped his for normal springs/shocks after it dropped on its ass). Auxiliary water pump/heating gave no end of electrical issues and kept draining the battery, a faulty bit in the sunroof mech was 400 quid from a specialist. Over a grand from bmw. Had to be done as well to prevent the roof leaking. The dash LCD went pixellated and it ate tyres for fun.

 

It made a lovely noise and went like stink for the size of the car, and handled surprisingly well but be prepared for bills.

 

If a bmw is on the want list I'd go for the 5 series estate over an x5. They just seem more robust and reliable and cheaper to fix.

[Greenstreak-Andy D]

Had our 3 Diesel X5 for just over 4 years, was 5 years old when I bought it. £300 rfl, £420 insurance. 

Ok, tyres yes, lucky to get 12k, so personally glad I went for the slightly smaller boots. Air suspension covered on ext warranty, was £800 from a specialist. Now has about 32k on. No other issues. Goes well for the size and weight of vehicle. Never towed with it, but I doubt it would break a sweat. 
 

Fabulous car, very solidly built as you would expect. 
 

don’t expect 50 mpg though! We average 25 on local running around. 
Andy

[TAFKARM]

On 14/11/2019 at 18:14, SootySport said:

Think it’s best to stick with the trusty Octy.  X5  tax and insurance will jump up

I don’t mind that...

 

On 14/11/2019 at 18:39, Steve (sdh2903) said:

My mate spent 5k on servicing/repairs in just under 2 years doing less than 5k miles a year

I do mind that though. 
 

Itll end up being a FFRR at this rate!

 

[Dommo]

Sods law you get the RR that took the X5 electronics and managed to make them more unreliable!

[Steve (sdh2903)]

I should add some balance though I dont think he did his due diligence. The car didnt have a great service history, he flew down to London and bought it on the spot and only did some digging on the known faults when he got it home to glasgow.