[Stunz G.]

I just sat in a fully loaded X5 V8 and the front interior was EXACTLY the same as a loaded X7. Can anyone tell the difference with out looking in the rear view mirror? Lol

[mrichione]

Originally Posted by Stunz G.

I just sat in a fully loaded X5 V8 and the front interior was EXACTLY the same as a loaded X7. Can anyone tell the difference with out looking in the rear view mirror? Lol

Agree they're largely identical, but there are subtle aesthetic differences in the X7, such as the door button hardware being metal vs. plastic, the frameless rear view mirror, stitching on the non-leather dash, etc.

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by Stunz G.

I just sat in a fully loaded X5 V8 and the front interior was EXACTLY the same as a loaded X7. Can anyone tell the difference with out looking in the rear view mirror? Lol

Side of the center console around cup holders/wireless charger (where your right/left knee would rest) are slightly different between the two vehicles - there's additional wood trim on the X7 versus leather or Sensatec on the X5. X6s have additional and pronounced leather knee pads there and X5/6 ///Ms have a slightly different design also.

Otherwise the interior of the vehicles across X5/6/7 are similar with slight differences - door armrest designs, galvanized switches (silver) etc.

First image X7, second image my X5

[Auricom]

Originally Posted by mrichione

Agree they're largely identical, but there are subtle aesthetic differences in the X7, such as the door button hardware being metal vs. plastic, the frameless rear view mirror, stitching on the non-leather dash, etc.

Exactly, the majority of consumers wouldn't notice the minute detail differences between the two interiors.

I'm splitting hairs here on details but additional clarifications:

Button hardware are identical - both are plastic where plastic, just galvanized on the X7 (base switchgear is plastic). Usually in the vehicle lifecycle updates or near end of production - details like galvanized switchgear are added since there's usually an over abundance of them like on the USA G01 X3 - switchgear were black while international markets had galvanized switches as option and for MY20 update - it become standard on the X3.

Regarding "stitching on the non-leather dash", perhaps you meant no stitching in the lower dash. Stitching is dependent on the leather option and dash stitching are consistent across all model lines - if you optioned full leather interior on the X5 or X6, you receive identical leather stitching in the upper and lower dash as the X7 with full leather - otherwise there's no also stitching in the X7 non-leather lower dash.

[MystroX5]

I spent 2 years in a pretty loaded up G05 X5 50i M-Sport and now have a fully loaded X7 M50i. I can tell a difference between the two. Had I not owned both and been a ocd detailing super freak I might not have taken noticed. I spent time cleaning vents and buttons, etc... and I got to see how parts were manufactured and assembled looking for defects most would never even think to look at. Both have a very satisfying button “click” which the Germans have mastered.
The X7 just “feels” more solid and I think that is more of the accumulation of a lot of things. There are lots of subtle things that add up to the difference. Roof and headliner immediately jumped out at first glance. The center arm rest doors feel more solid and smooth. The metal buttons are a big difference as all the flat black plastic buttons do feel like a notch down in the overall luxury scale. The satin silver adds more contrast and metallic feel on the finger sells the luxury package better.
Additional sound proofing and Napa leather trim extending into even the rear window pockets. The additional buttons for the power window shades, etc...are noticeable. I didn’t have the B&W audio on my X5 and can say the satin metal speaker grills of the B&W look way more up scale and tie the buttons in with the luxury theme. They also contrast the wood trim by the grills.

Design wise they look similar for sure and that is how BMW keeps their theme throughout every level of vehicle. In general a 5 series interior looks a lot like a 7 series but BMW separates the, enough for their customers to notice.
I really like the design and feel of the G05/G07 interior.

To keep this in a proper time line, the G05 came out first with its very earliest models starting to hit the dealerships in late October 2018 for the 2019 model year. We are only at Dec 2020. We 2019 G05 owners were beta testers for most of the entire 2019 year with many features not worked out with firmware updates every other month. It really wasn’t until mid 2020 year with the updated iDrive 7 version 2 did we get features working as promised.

[weinerbarn]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

The X7 just “feels” more solid and I think that is more of the accumulation of a lot of things.

Agree. I've had my new X7 M50i in for various things and they always give me an X5 40i as a loaner. My wife has the X7 40i and we both agree the X7 just seems more refined in general. The X5 didn't seem as smooth or quiet.

[mitch57]

Does anyone have the front passenger seat (under the glove box) measurements? When we were shopping for a new SUV/SAV we started with the X5. I was driving and my wife is in the passenger seat of the X5 and X7.

As soon as my wife got in the X5 she started complaining about the front leg room in the X5 and she's a short person. As in 4'11" short. I didn't sit in the passenger seat but she was pretty concerned about it being "restrictive".

Then we got in the X7 and she immediately commented on how much more room there was in the passenger seat area in the X7. I don't know what would be that different between the two but she sure seemed to think there was a huge difference in front leg room on the passenger side between the X5 and X7.

[weinerbarn]

mitch57 - I know this sounds like a silly question but did your wife adjust the seat position? The dash on the X series slopes rearward as it connects to the center console so it does reduce the legroom a bit. My wife who is 5'6" complained about banging her left knee when we test drove it but by the time we got home, she had the seat adjusted back and same with the rear and no complaints since. I'm wondering if the factory seat position is super far forward. The interior dimensions (legroom) per BMW are basically identical between X5 and X7.

[Stunz G.]

Originally Posted by weinerbarn

mitch57 - I know this sounds like a silly question but did your wife adjust the seat position? The dash on the X series slopes rearward as it connects to the center console so it does reduce the legroom a bit. My wife who is 5'6" complained about banging her left knee when we test drove it but by the time we got home, she had the seat adjusted back and same with the rear and no complaints since. I'm wondering if the factory seat position is super far forward. The interior dimensions (legroom) per BMW are basically identical between X5 and X7.

Mitch the legroom on the passenger side of both G05 and G07 does seem restricted to me also. im 6'3 and my legs definitely can not stretch. But at 4'11, I think your wife may not of adjusted correctly or tester vehicle may had something locked out.

[mitch57]

The seats were all the way back. That's the first thing I asked her. She noticed a big difference as soon as she sat in the X7.