Follow-up to "Defects Equal Disappointment"

Author's Rating:

Pros: 4.4 is noticeably faster than 3.0; reclining rear seats are useful for baby seat set-up.

Cons: The V-8 is a gas guzzler!

The Bottom Line: 
The 2003 4.4 X5 is, so far, much more sound and stable than its older sibling, a 2001 3.0. Don't buy the electronically unreliable first-year model (2001) of the X5.

Author's Review
FYI: This review is a follow-up to one I wrote about my 2001 X5, titled "Defects Equal Disappointment." Reading it will make the below-review more helpful.

REVIEW:
After the third time a window in my 2001 X5 wouldn't roll back up (a rear window on a 102 degree day when my one year-old daughter was traveling with me), I marched into the local dealership and demanded they take back my car. It was now the 12th time my car was paying a visit to the BMW service department in just under three years and just over 22,000 miles. It was officially a lemon. The saleswoman who sold me the car and the sales manager both agreed something was wrong with my X5.

They gave me a great deal on trade-in, and they sold me a 2003 X5 4.4 (the trade-in was a 3.0) for a few thousand dollars off the sticker price. Before I dared drive home in another X5, I spoke to a private, long-time mechanic of BMWs who told me that the first model year of ANY car is riddled with defects. He assured me that the X5 was a much more reliable car at this point. I've trusted this mechanic for a couple of years now, so I took his word and got myself another X5.

I love my new 4.4. It's noticeably faster than the 3.0. So far, it seems to be holding itself together. It just feels more solid and trustworthy. I'm glad I got rid of my first model year X5, and I'm equally glad that I decided to stay with BMW and trust another X5. It's not that I disliked the car--I love these cars--I just couldn't trust my 2001 model.

Also, I'm happy that I upgraded to the larger engine, climate control, and weather package (I've used and appreciated the heated seats every cold day since winter began).

I have a toddler, and the privacy glass combined with the built-in sun shades are a HUGE help in keeping the glaring sun out of her eyes and keeping the car cooler in the summer. Anyone buying an X5 who has a baby or a young child will brag to his or her friends about the built-in sun shades--I kid you not! I've been stopped in parking lots by people who are walking past a wide-open rear door of my car while I'm retracting or opening the sun shade, and they have to inquire about it.

Before I adore my car any more... if anyone is having mechanical or electrical problems with their 2003 X5, please send me your comments! I'd like to be warned. Be sure that I will report any problems that parallel those I had with my 2001 X5.

The only thing I would change about this car (actually, all BMWs) is the annoying bell that dings whenever it turns 37 degrees outside, sending me, always, into a needless panic while I search the dash to figure out what's about to explode. Don't worry. Nothing's wrong. It's just 37 degrees outside. (Not only will you brag about your built-in sun shades to your friends, you'll also impress them by always being able to tell them when it's about to freeze!)