Read ‘Buyer Beware’ further down this article and you might wonder why we’re spending time on this second-gen BMW X5, launched in 2007. Weak timing chains, disintegrating swirl flaps, leaky suspension airbags… the list goes on. Specialists were unanimous in their condemnation of the vehicle, while one leading used car warranty company rates the vehicle as poor, with an average repair bill of £612. Axles and suspension attract the lion’s share of claims, followed by the electrics and the engine.
Why buy one? Good question, but people do, tempted by prices starting as low as £4000 for the 232bhp 30d diesel, but rising to £24,000 for the monster 547bhp BMW X5 M. There’s a diesel M50d, too, with a triple-turbo 3.0-litre engine making 375bhp and 546lb ft – 45lb ft more than the petrol M. We found a BMW approved used 2013 example with 55,000 miles for £21,250. Late-plate cars like this one, or facelifted, with low mileage and a genuinely full history, is the way to go with an X5 of this generation.
The E70 capitalised on its predecessor’s success by offering more space (it was sold with an optional third row of seats), greater technical sophistication and a higher level of luxury. Power came from a range of petrol and diesel engines, the most popular being the 232bhp 3.0 diesel, and gearboxes were automatic only. A year after launch, the 3.0sd arrived with two turbos and 282bhp. Later, this model was renamed xDrive 35d, and the 232bhp version was rebadged xDrive 30d.
Click here to buy your next used car from Autocar
Petrols were a choice of 3.0 and 4.8-litre units and, from 2009, the mighty 4.4-litre twin-turbo in the X5 M, but they sold in small numbers. The petrols are potentially less troublesome and, if your mileage is low, could be a good, if thirsty, alternative to a diesel. We found a privately advertised one-owner, 2007-reg 4.8i SE with 55,000 miles, a full BMW history and the balance of a BMW extended warranty for £9995. Like the diesels, this and the 3.0 were later renamed xDrive 48i and 30i.
The facelift came in 2010. BMW called it a Life Cycle Impulse and, in the X5 world, E70s are either pre- or post-LCI. LCIs are distinguished by restyled bumpers and headlights; inside, the infotainment system was updated. Engines were also cleaned up (they all meet Euro 5 standards) and made more powerful, and some were renamed. For example, the 30d rose from 232bhp to 241bhp, while the 282bhp 35d went to 302bhp, in the process being renamed 40d. Among the petrols, the 350bhp 48i became the 402bhp 50i. In 2012, towards the end of the X5’s life, the M50d, one of a number of new M Performance BMWs, appeared.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Very Interesting
I had no idea that the BMW E70 X5 had such a bad reputation for reliability. When it seems that the majority of people like to take pot shots at JLR cars, I have yet to read a review of a JLR product with so many problems. SamVines1972 makes s good point about folk not reading car publications reviews of a particular car before purchasing one. Why would you not take heed?
Turinbrakes wrote:
Well, if car magazines said this too loudly it would upset one of their biggest advertisers!
Police
Maybe because they don't have pay for repairs or they've flogged them on to some some punter after 3 years before the aforementioned horror stories start. High mileage motorway use is about the most gentle form of use a car gets, especially when maintained to the high degree the police treat their vehicles to. Certainly wouldn't generate the faults seen in the panoramic sunroof!
Police forces love them.
Weren't the same engines with all the same potential problems fitted to many larger BMW's of the same period?
So why does the X5 take all the flak, unless they are mainly symptome of the extreme high mileage these cars usually have?