# Buying a year or 2 old X5 & engine questions



## DublinerATX (Nov 13, 2021)

Ill be getting rid of a Q7 which has been a great car and with a 3.6l engine its can get up and go. Im wondering at what engine size on an X5 would I be surprised/disappointed. I see options of 3L and 4.4L are out there. Is a 3L underpowered for a 6K lb car and or would a 4.4L turn it into a race car? TIA Dubliner in Tx.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

LOL. A 6,000# racey car? Naw. My X5 is a great interstate cruiser with reasonable fuel mileage near and at three digit speeds.

My first road trip, and on CPO OE Bridgestone Duelers, was to The Tail of The Dragon and I was pleased. I was back a few weeks ago for a wedding in Maryville, TN and was a bit disappointed for slow leaf-peeping drivers. And it’s on year around snow tires too soft to play on.


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## DublinerATX (Nov 13, 2021)

Doug Huffman said:


> LOL. A 6,000# racey car? Naw. My X5 is a great interstate cruiser with reasonable fuel mileage near and at three digit speeds.
> 
> My first road trip, and on CPO OE Bridgestone Duelers, was to The Tail of The Dragon and I was pleased. I was back a few weeks ago for a wedding in Maryville, TN and was a bit disappointed for slow leaf-peeping drivers. And it’s on year around snow tires too soft to play on.


What size engine? Reason I ask is 3.6 in a 6300 lb Audi hauls ass when I need it, downtown : )


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

DublinerATX said:


> What size engine? Reason I ask is 3.6 in a 6300 lb Audi hauls ass when I need it, downtown : )


2,992 cc 265 Hp DIESEL 425 lbf-ft


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## DublinerATX (Nov 13, 2021)

Doug Huffman said:


> 2,992 cc 265 Hp DIESEL 425 lbf-ft


Ahh - diesel's are rare around here so its going to be a gas one most likely.


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## Autoputzer (Mar 16, 2014)

All three German auto makers (BMW, M-B, VW) all stopped selling diesel passenger cars and SUV's in the US years ago. Diesels produce massive torque, but are limited to relatively low engine speed (RPM's) compared to gasoline engines. Uncle Dougie's 3.0 liter turbocharged diesel produces 425 lb-ft of torque, but only 265 h.p. In contrast, the 3.0 liter turbocharged gasoline engine in my 535i produces 300 lb--ft and 300 h.p..

Torque is what makes a vehicle accelerate. Torque at low engine speeds is what makes a vehicle accelerate away from a stop quickly, or accelerate at moderate vehicle and engine speeds. This quality can be call "umph." Power is torque times rotational velocity. Power is what allows a vehicle to continue to accelerate after reaching relatively high speeds.

What you probably enjoy in your Q7 is "umph," low speed acceleration. The only way to know if a BMW 3.0 liter six-cylinder or a 4.4 liter eight-cylinder has enough "umph" for you is to go test drive both.

BMW's have a "Sport Display" that has virtual torque and power gauges. If you're romping around in a 3.0 liter six-cylinder, and the torque gauge is maxed out at the rated torque of that engine, then you "need" a bigger engine.

BMW's also have driving modes: EcoPro, Comfort, Sport, and Sport+. The main difference is when the automatic transmission shifts to the next higher gear. The late it shifts, the more "umph" the vehicle has. So, when you're test driving BMW's, try all the modes except maybe Sport+. Sport+ turns off some of the safety features that keeps the vehicle pointed in the same direction as you intend it to be pointed.

I'm a tree-hugger and money-hugger, to a large degree. So, I ordered Frau Putzer's X3 with a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine instead of the 3.0 liter six-cylinder engine, and I drive it in EcoPro mode. I went on a 33-mile, three-stop trip into town a few nights ago, and I got 35 MPG.


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## DublinerATX (Nov 13, 2021)

Autoputzer said:


> All three German auto makers (BMW, M-B, VW) all stopped selling diesel passenger cars and SUV's in the US years ago. Diesels produce massive torque, but are limited to relatively low engine speed (RPM's) compared to gasoline engines. Uncle Dougie's 3.0 liter turbocharged diesel produces 425 lb-ft of torque, but only 265 h.p. In contrast, the 3.0 liter turbocharged gasoline engine in my 535i produces 300 lb--ft and 300 h.p..
> 
> Torque is what makes a vehicle accelerate. Torque at low engine speeds is what makes a vehicle accelerate away from a stop quickly, or accelerate at moderate vehicle and engine speeds. This quality can be call "umph." Power is torque times rotational velocity. Power is what allows a vehicle to continue to accelerate after reaching relatively high speeds.
> 
> ...


Excellent explanation - Thank you.


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## andrewwynn (Jul 8, 2015)

You need to test drive a couple of decide. 

We looked at 35i, 35d and 50i. 

We chanced into 50i and it's far more than sporty having enough power to break traction at full throttle shifts at all gears though five (that happens at about 110 mph). 

I test drove the 35i and it had decent amount of get up and go, but it really was working to do it. The 50i is effortless. 

0-60 faster than any sports car from the 90s in spite of 5800# or so. 

Our next X5 will likely be the 35d. It's about 40% less ¢/mile and the crazy low end torque is amazing. 

The 50i first generation has some significant concerns unless the "soft recall" was performed but you are looking at a much newer model that I wouldn't be concerned about. 

Do a little math on ¢/mile and test drive a couple to get a good feel. 

We went from a 3.0 2001 to 4.4 2012. 400/225=1.778 x HP and 450/200=2.25x the torque. Three crazy part: almost identical mpg and the 50 can run on 89.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Autoputzer said:


> I went on a 33-mile, three-stop trip into town a few nights ago, and I got 35 MPG.


On a summer warm weather 50 mile drive to Sturgeon Bay from Northport, Wisconsin on rural 55 MPH roads I expect to average 31 miles per gallon with brief peaks of 35 MPG. That’s because I have to keep my foot out of it. At Sturgeon Bay the SL goes up to 65 MPH on an interstate quality state highway and I set the cruise control to 70 MPH and mileage sinks to the high twenties per gallon. At Green Bay the SL goes to 70 MPH and the cruise control is set at 80 MPH. By the time I get to Grafton mileage is down to mid and lower twenties.

I drove an early VW Tourag diesel with paddle shifters and burned rubber for four gears when I chickened out.


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## Autoputzer (Mar 16, 2014)

BMW stopped selling diesels in the US just about the time the G01 X3 came out. The X3 30d was ready to go here before they pulled the plug. The emissions warranty issues were the final straw for diesels here. Also, DPF's probably lowered diesels' fuel economy. With direct injection and turbocharging, BMW gasoline engines are getting closer to diesels' efficiency. Frau Putzer's X3 has only made on road trip in almost four years, about a 50/50 mix of interstate and rural surface highways. It got 31.3 MPG.

SUV's don't like to go fast. They have a relatively high drag coefficient (Cd) and a large cross-sectional area (A). 

Aerodynamic drag is roughly: 1/2 x (air density) x (velocity^2) x (drag coefficient) x (cross sectional area), or

Aerodynamic Drage = 1/2 ρ (V^2) Cd A

Cd x A is referred to as "drag area" or Ad

An E70 X5's Cd is 0.34 and the cross-sectional area is 2.87m^2., for a drag area of *0.98.1m^2*. That's huge.

An F10 535i's Cd is 0.29 and the cross-sectional area is only 2.35m^2, for a drag area of *0.681m^2*.

So, aerodynamic drag on an E70 X5 is about 44% more than on an F10 5 Series sedan.

That "velocity-squared" thing really grows with speed. A vehicle traveling at 75 MPH has 86% more aerodynamic drag than when traveling at 55 MPH: (75/55)^2 = 1.86.

The new Mercedes-Benz electric S-class has a Cd of just 0.20.

Cool linky: carinf.com - car information and technical specifications


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Autoputzer said:


> SUV's don't like to go fast.


Thank goodness I drive a BMW SAV that loves to go fast.

I wonder how one might accumulate objective average speed with variation and standard deviation.. Off to the App Store.


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## CCE9 (Jul 25, 2014)

Autoputzer said:


> BMW stopped selling diesels in the US just about the time the G01 X3 came out. The X3 30d was ready to go here before they pulled the plug. The emissions warranty issues were the final straw for diesels here. Also, DPF's probably lowered diesels' fuel economy. With direct injection and turbocharging, BMW gasoline engines are getting closer to diesels' efficiency. Frau Putzer's X3 has only made on road trip in almost four years, about a 50/50 mix of interstate and rural surface highways. It got 31.3 MPG.
> 
> SUV's don't like to go fast. They have a relatively high drag coefficient (Cd) and a large cross-sectional area (A).
> 
> ...


Not so sure about that I just picked up a 2022 X 5 And it luvs to go fast


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