[Influence]

Got to drive a base 40i this morning. For comparison, I’m currently in a 2016 MSport 35i with the Dynamic Handling Package.

First impressions upon seeing the vehicle: I like it. While not a big change from the F15 the new G05 definitely looks a bit more modern. It doesn’t totally date the F15, but I think I might like the overall shape better. Wish my dealership had an MSport, but all 3 cars they got were base models. The grilles look OK. Personally, I would have preffered that they were a bit smaller but they are not hideous in person. To my eyes the G05 somehow appears smaller in the flesh than the F15. It definitely looks lower in person even though I know it is slightly taller. The one I drove was Mineral White, which served the lines of the car well. I think Alpine White will look even better on the car as will the darker colors. This one had 20” wheels which looked fine. The 21” and 22” will definitely fill the wheel wells better though.

The interior is a nice step up in the design department. It definitely looks more expensive. However, I didn’t feel like materials were necessarily higher quality than my F15. Buttons and switch gear didn’t feel better to me. The new shifter is pretty weird and is not as easy to operate or as intuitive as the F generations was but you’ll quickly get used to it. Same with the start/stop button down on the console. Base sport seats were very comfortable. I didn’t notice if they include the adjustable side bolsters that other sport seats do.

Some quick gripes on the interior. No more sunglasses holder by the sunroof controls. The new climate control rocket switches take longer to adjust the temperature. Instead of a quick spin of a dial now you have to do a bunch of taps up or down. Not a big deal but still slightly annoying. Second row leg room is only slightly more than the F15s. There is better foot room for second row passengers and they made the cutouts/indents in the front row seatbacks deeper which frees up a touch more legroom. Figure a realistic 1 inch more space in the second row. I was hoping it would feel like more. Also the second row seat backs have no recline function, nor do they slide forward/aft like the “Comfort 2nd Row” option on the F15. Considering the the X3 has the reclining seatbacks I just don’t understand this ommission. The G05 rear seats are nowhere near as comfortable as the Comfort rests on my F15. One other thing, the center console storage area is about 30% smaller than the F15s. Another odd design decision in my opinion.

Cargo area seems about the same. Possibly a touch wider. The load floor felt slightly lower, which is a good thing. The under trunk floor storage is definitely smaller than the F15s It didn’t seem as tall, probably due the lower trunk floor. The electric lower trunk door is a really nice touch.

Now for the drive. First, I immediately felt comfortable in the new X5. Excellent seating position and very good overall visibility. As I mentioned before, the seats are excellent, though I’d still spring for the luxury seats because I’m used to the ventilation. First of all this truck moves! I have the M power kit on my F15 and the G05 still felt at least half a second quicker to me to 60. There were a few times on my drive I looked down and saw speeds of 60+ when I was in 40-45MPH zones. Oops! Transmission felt perfect as well, though I expected that. The steering is a huge step up from the F15. No more constantly correcting on the the highway. The steering wheel diameter is smaller now too, which felt much better to me. My F15 felt like a bus steering wheel when I got into it on the way home. Steering in both comfort and sport modes was accurate and nicely weighted, though sport mode didn’t offer any additional feedback to my hands/brain. The base suspension felt leaps and bounds better than the crappy base on the F15. It was smooth and comfortable in comfort mode without being too floaty. I didn’t notice any wallowing or head toss, which is great. However, I greatly preferred the firmer sport mode. It stiffened things up nicely without crossing over into the brittle or overly firm realm. There was still more body lean than I would like, but remember i’m Comparing this to a DHP F15. Fact is, I could live with this suspension if I had too. However, knowing how much of an improvement the active roll stabilizers make on a car like this, now I’m doubly mad that we can’t order the DHP on a 40i here in the US. The G05 would be absolutely amazing with the DHP. Overall, the G05 is a huge step up in overall driving dynamics from the F15. It felt incredibly smooth, refined, and stable through my whole test drive, which was a mix of country highways (Rt 202/31 in Hunterdon County NJ) and a mix of high and low speed back country roads where I pushed the car pretty hard. Unless you are coming from a DHP-equipped car like I am I doubt that you will be disappointed.

I extended my F15 lease 6 months to have the time to drive the new G05 as well as the W167 GLE coming soon. As of right now, I’m still going to wait for the new GLE before deciding what to do. If the DHP was available on the 40i I would probably be putting my order in now. Sadly, I just can’t justify ponying up for the 50i, especially after seeing how fast the new 40i is, plus with the 530HP M50i coming for the 2020 model year.

[ScottMZ3]

Great write up! Thank you for posting!

One thing I remembered from the dealer training (when I read your part about changing the temperature) is that you can now control the temperature with voice commands. The new iDrive interfaces with most of the controls in the car. You can even say turn on the driver's heated seat and it will, or set the driver temperature to 72 degrees, etc.

They explained how the new iDrive was developed in house at BMW instead of all the previous generations being outsourced to a different design company. Being in-house it allowed iDrive 7.0 to work with all the other systems in the car. Being that it's voice recognition is cloud based now, it can recognize most anything you say much like Siri on an iPhone.

Prettty cool! Oh yeah, there is even a thing where you say "Hey BMW, re-vitalize me" and it will lower the temperature of the air, turn on ventilated seats, open the sunroof shade to let more light in, and a couple other things to wake you up a bit. lol! It does that for 3 mins I believe then returns to your previous settings.

[Doc5513]

Your post told me more than many reviews I’ve read thus far. As someone also coming from an F15 w DHP, I’m a bit reassured it won’t be an overwhelming difference. I had never driven or owned a BMW when I ordered my DHP equipped X5 in 2016, so I honestly don’t know any difference from base model F15. Here’s to hoping the G05 40i gives me the ride I’m used to.

[mnx5er]

Nice review, thanks for posting. How was room in the front row? Specs shows less legroom than the F15.

[e90_2_f80]

Nice detailed review with good perspective from an F15 owner.

I have heard the 50 and its very loud with the sport exhaust...

How did the 40 sound? loud under load? Regular cruising?

and any intake or turbo spooling/hissing sound?

[eye.surgeon]

Extremely helpful, thanks.

[Influence]

Originally Posted by Doc5513

Your post told me more than many reviews I’ve read thus far. As someone also coming from an F15 w DHP, I’m a bit reassured it won’t be an overwhelming difference. I had never driven or owned a BMW when I ordered my DHP equipped X5 in 2016, so I honestly don’t know any difference from base model F15. Here’s to hoping the G05 40i gives me the ride I’m used to.

Perhaps not an overwhelming difference but to an enthusiast driver, it is a very noticeable difference. it really depends upon how much you notice things and how hard you drive I drive our existing F15 pretty hard, which is why I sprang the $4500 for the DHP on our F15. My wife drives it hard too. As I've had her driving every other similar vehicle on the road for the past few months, she now realizes just how good her current X5 is. The DHP is the reason for that. The only other cars that have come close to the overall driving dynamics of our F15 w/DHP are the Q7 Prestige with the Air Suspension and the Titanium Optic package (with 21" tires) and a used 2017 Cayenne GTS we drove (which was actually superior in my opinion - as I expected it to be).

The G05 I drove today did have noticeable push and body lean when I took a big country back road sweeper at 60 MPH. I drove the exact same road at the same speed on my way home in my F15 w/DHP = NO lean and almost zero push in comparison. My advice is just go drive the thing back to back with your current car (and push it to the same extent that you push your current vehicle) and see if it lives up.

The new G05 definitely has a superior suspension in base form (though technically we should compare it to an F15 with the 2VF adaptive damper $900 option - which I was never able to find on a lot to drive). It will certainly be completely acceptable to 90% of the folks who drive it. It will only be a small percentage who crave just a bit more. I'm hoping to get behind the wheel of a 50i with the DHP if one ever comes into a local dealer to give it a whirl. I'm also willing to buy out my F15 and wait a year or two to see if BMW NA comes to their senses and offers the DHP on the 40i. Or I might just ship to MB if the new GLE450 or GLE53 offers superior driving dynamics with their Magic Body Control option. The new GLE is certainly going to offer superior interior space to the G05, which is very important to me now with two growing boys sitting behind my 6' 1.5" frame.

[Influence]

Originally Posted by mnx5er

Nice review, thanks for posting. How was room in the front row? Specs shows less legroom than the F15.

Front legroom seemed fine to me. I'm 6' 1.5" with long legs and had no trouble getting into a good seating position. With the driver's seat set for me I had about 1.5" of clearance between my knees and the rear of the driver's seatback when sitting in the second row.

Frankly, that was my biggest disapointment with the G05 today. Considering the overall growth in size, the car just didn't feel any bigger inside, with certain things actually being smaller (like the center console and under trunk cover storage areas. Somehow BMW has wasted all of the additional exterior dimensions without increasing the interior space. I have a feeling that Thomas from Autogeful's video reviews between the G05 and new MB GLE are spot on, with the MB feeling (and actually being) significantly larger in the passenger compartment.

[Influence]

Originally Posted by e90_2_f80

Nice detailed review with good perspective from an F15 owner.

I have heard the 50 and its very loud with the sport exhaust...

How did the 40 sound? loud under load? Regular cruising?

and any intake or turbo spooling/hissing sound?

40i sounded fine. Nothing special. Actually sounded just like my 35i with the MPower kit on it. Nothing like my '17 340i w/MPPSK or the X3 M40i (which has basically the same exhaust).

It certainly didn't sound bad, had a bit of a growl under heavy acceleration but very refined sounding at normal throttle application.

Personally, I would prefer it had the M Performance exhaust with the flaps (like my MPPSK) so you can control how loud it is.

[Influence]

Is there a definitive answer on whether the Adaptive suspension on the MSport models is different from the base/XLine adaptive suspensions? I'm wondering if the MSports will drive any different than the base (besides the wider/lower profile tires that is) models?

[ScottMZ3]

Originally Posted by Influence

Is there a definitive answer on whether the Adaptive suspension on the MSport models is different from the base/XLine adaptive suspensions? I'm wondering if the MSports will drive any different than the base (besides the wider/lower profile tires that is) models?

Yes. The M-Sport Adaptive Suspension will be firmer than the base suspension.

The x-Line does have the Dynamic Damper Control System as well, but it isn't "sport-tuned" like it is in the M-Sport.

In fact the M suspension and larger wheel option are the only real performance effecting features of the 40i M-Sport package. Everything else is cosmetic.

[X54TH]

Originally Posted by Influence

40i sounded fine. Nothing special. Actually sounded just like my 35i with the MPower kit on it. Nothing like my '17 340i w/MPPSK or the X3 M40i (which has basically the same exhaust).

It certainly didn't sound bad, had a bit of a growl under heavy acceleration but very refined sounding at normal throttle application.

Personally, I would prefer it had the M Performance exhaust with the flaps (like my MPPSK) so you can control how loud it is.

Just looking at what comes with the M package and it comes with "M Sport Exhaust". On my son's M235 we have the MPE - M Performance Exhaust. Is the MSE different from the MPE?

[MotoWPK]

Originally Posted by Influence

The base suspension felt leaps and bounds better than the crappy base on the F15. It was smooth and comfortable in comfort mode without being too floaty. I didn’t notice any wallowing or head toss, which is great. However, I greatly preferred the firmer sport mode. It stiffened things up nicely without crossing over into the brittle or overly firm realm.

Thanks for the review.

A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to look at a G05 50i the regional BMW NA rep had in town for a day. My conversation with him included the suspension, during which he stated that while the system automatically varied damping, the driver could not select varying damping modes. Your experience reported above seems to indicate that, indeed, as with dynamic dampers on the F15, the driver can select between damping programs via the drive modes - correct?

[ScottMZ3]

Originally Posted by X54TH

Just looking at what comes with the M package and it comes with "M Sport Exhaust". On my son's M235 we have the MPE - M Performance Exhaust. Is the MSE different from the MPE?

No M-Sport Exhaust on the 40i in the US. It does come on the 50i in the US with the M-Sport though.

I believe the MPE exhaust is the "add-on" exhaust from BMW, where as the MSE is the factory M tuned exhaust. MPE exhausts are probably even a bit louder/aggressive than the MSE ones.

[ScottMZ3]

Originally Posted by MotoWPK

Thanks for the review.

A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to look at a G05 50i the regional BMW NA rep had in town for a day. My conversation with him included the suspension, during which he stated that while the system automatically varied damping, the driver could not select varying damping modes. Your experience reported above seems to indicate that, indeed, as with dynamic dampers on the F15, the driver can select between damping programs via the drive modes - correct?

If you select the "Adaptive" drive mode button, then yes the car will automatically adjust the damping based on your driving and the type of road you are on. But you can manually select Sport or Comfort if you want. I believe Sport+ is the same damping as Sport and Eco is the same as Comfort (other things change like throttle response, transmission shift points, etc).

[X54TH]

Originally Posted by ScottMZ3

No M-Sport Exhaust on the 40i in the US. It does come on the 50i in the US with the M-Sport though.

I believe the MPE exhaust is the "add-on" exhaust from BMW, where as the MSE is the factory M tuned exhaust. MPE exhausts are probably even a bit louder/aggressive than the MSE ones.

Correct on the MPE, that was an option on the M235. It does have an aggressive note to it that I personally love. It will be interesting to hear if the G05's MSE is similar.

[wankelman24]

When I test drove the x5 this weekend, i also noticed it didn't have a sunglass holder!!!! UGH!! I use it everyday!

Great write up. Did you notice how HEAVY the lane correction was? When it first happened to me while driving, I thought my CA grabbed the wheel!! Ha! When we got back to the dealership, we both thought it was a little aggressive and look for ways to adjust it in the menu. I wasn't able to take it back out, but we did find that you could make some adjustments in the menu. I'll check it out on my next ride.

[Influence]

Originally Posted by wankelman24

When I test drove the x5 this weekend, i also noticed it didn't have a sunglass holder!!!! UGH!! I use it everyday!

Great write up. Did you notice how HEAVY the lane correction was? When it first happened to me while driving, I thought my CA grabbed the wheel!! Ha! When we got back to the dealership, we both thought it was a little aggressive and look for ways to adjust it in the menu. I wasn't able to take it back out, but we did find that you could make some adjustments in the menu. I'll check it out on my next ride.

I noticed the lane correction on the first turn I took, as I cut the line (intentionally) as I was pushing the car already. Frankly, it scared the crap out of me as it was a very abrupt correction. I immediately had my passenger disable the auto-correction. I didn't test the correction on the highway portion (as I had already disabled it). Frankly, I don't know if I'll ever trust systems like this and will probably completely disable them on my vehicles. I have the lane departure warning on my 340i disabled too as it is constantly going off on many of the country back roads I frequently drive.

[Wild Blue]

It's just me, but I've always thought, what ever happened to just DRIVING the car? (and enjoying it?)

Maybe it's because I'm a pilot, but I don't like handing over control to the car, or having it override ME. Cruise control is as far as I'll go.

[David Kay]

Most of us ordered Msport 40i with M suspension and there is not a single review of that particular model. How big is the difference between comfort and sport mode? How is the ride quality with 21" wheel setup and m sport suspension? Driving dynamics is essential.

[akhter]

Originally Posted by David Kay

Most of us ordered Msport 40i with M suspension and there is not a single review of that particular model. How big is the difference between comfort and sport mode? How is the ride quality with 21" wheel setup and m sport suspension? Driving dynamics is essential.

The lack of description on suspensions is frustrating. I have the 2 axle air on order and am dying to know how sporty the sporty setting is and how comfortable it is under comfort.

[BigCactus]

Originally Posted by ScottMZ3

No M-Sport Exhaust on the 40i in the US. It does come on the 50i in the US with the M-Sport though.

I believe the MPE exhaust is the "add-on" exhaust from BMW, where as the MSE is the factory M tuned exhaust. MPE exhausts are probably even a bit louder/aggressive than the MSE ones.

Has anybody heard 40i/50i with M Sport Exhaust? I ordered 40i with this option, but i'm a little bit afraid that it will sound too laud and that maybe X5 and M Sport Exhaust is wrong connection...

And second question - is the Dynamic Damper Control a standard for 40i?