[sahajesh]

Here goes....

40i M Sport
Visibility Pack with Laserlights (pity no actual lasers to get rid of middle-lane hoggers)
Technology Pack
Comfort Plus Pack
M Sport Pack - possibly with the 21" wheels but will change tyres to non-RFT soon as, or get the 22" and leave the non-RFTs on
Integral Active Steering (Marmite but people I trust have said this is worth getting)
Acoustic Glazing
Sky Lounge shiny sunroof
Crafted Clarity (who chose that name??)
Leather instrument panel
Travel and Comfort System
Fineline Stripe brown trim
Extended Coffee/Black seats (but may choose Ivory White)
Driving Assistant Pro
Tanzanite Blue or Carbon Black

Let the forum commence and comment.

Some of these options I could be OK to drop but I'm not saying which

[six]

Originally Posted by sahajesh

Here goes....

40i M Sport
Visibility Pack with Laserlights (pity no actual lasers to get rid of middle-lane hoggers)
Technology Pack
Comfort Plus Pack
M Sport Pack - possibly with the 21" wheels but will change tyres to non-RFT soon as, or get the 22" and leave the non-RFTs on
Integral Active Steering (Marmite but people I trust have said this is worth getting)
Acoustic Glazing
Sky Lounge shiny sunroof
Crafted Clarity (who chose that name??)
Leather instrument panel
Travel and Comfort System
Fineline Stripe brown trim
Extended Coffee/Black seats (but may choose Ivory White)
Driving Assistant Pro
Tanzanite Blue or Carbon Black

Let the forum commence and comment.

Some of these options I could be OK to drop but I'm not saying which

Nice IAS is worth it, my F15 didn’t have it but my G05 does and I’d buy it again. I haven’t experienced any of the handling ‘characteristics’ people claim to suffer with it and in tight car parks it’s worth every penny.

Like the price of the Sky lounge then? It’s a must have for the pano roof but the lighting is pointless IMO, crazy a pano roof isn’t standard really.

[sahajesh]

Originally Posted by six

Nice IAS is worth it, my F15 didn’t have it but my G05 does and I’d buy it again. I haven’t experienced any of the handling ‘characteristics’ people claim to suffer with it and in tight car parks it’s worth every penny.

Like the price of the Sky lounge then? It’s a must have for the pano roof but the lighting is pointless IMO, crazy a pano roof isn’t standard really.

Like the price of the piano roof - no.
Like a pano roof - definitely.

[MashinBenzin]

Lovely car and a great spec there, sir

I agree with six on IAS. I had it on a X7 loaner and it made that very agile around urban roads and I preferred the drive vs the X5 without IAS.

Same on pano, a must have and a shame the lights drive up the cost.

Appreciate it's all personal, so just my thoughts....

I'd think seriously about B&W if into music, I found the HK in both SAVs a little disappointing. But I really like music.

Is there any option that adds leather to the door top? That would be an interior improvement.

Is merino in one of the packs? I guess it is. A big improvement over Vernasca for giving the luxury feel.
(ETA - maybe the extended coffee you mention covers merino)

I'd take carbon black every time. Arctic grey would be my no.2. Tanzanite is a little loud for me on something as large - but I do like to be below the radar.

Go get it, superb

[sahajesh]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Lovely car and a great spec there, sir

I agree with six on IAS. I had it on a X7 loaner and it made that very agile around urban roads and I preferred the drive vs the X5 without IAS.

Same on pano, a must have and a shame the lights drive up the cost.

Appreciate it's all personal, so just my thoughts....

I'd think seriously about B&W if into music, I found the HK in both SAVs a little disappointing. But I really like music.

Is there any option that adds leather to the door top? That would be an interior improvement.

Is merino in one of the packs? I guess it is. A big improvement over Vernasca for giving the luxury feel.
(ETA - maybe the extended coffee you mention covers merino)

I'd take carbon black every time. Arctic grey would be my no.2. Tanzanite is a little loud for me on something as large - but I do like to be below the radar.

Go get it, superb

Cheers!

CB is something I will be dropping down to, for the reason you've mentioned - TB is too loud, my current car is Mineral Grey soon don't want the Arctic variant for the X5.

I think the door tops are in Merino with the extended (the full leather tends to be door bottoms/transmission tunnel I think).

Not had a pano roof for ages (since my trusty Pug 308) and looking forward to not needing vitamin D tablets being kept in the car as a top-up

Re the music - that's something I am considering, but the words of the Park Lane guy are haunting me - you need top notch bit-rate sources to get the best out of it and that's unlikely to happen. Still, it looks good

Thanks for the tips - not much up selling going on here

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Have you had a price from Park Lane for all those options? Sound like an expensive car with a starting point of £699 deposit, £699 payments.

Be interested to see what all the options add?

Just helped a friend lease an XC90. He’s not a petrol head, so didn’t care about the engine. T5, R Design, £539 deposit and £539 payments on a 4 year lease and 8k a year miles. On a 3 year it’s £560, still a cracking deal and a lot of car for that money.

[sahajesh]

Originally Posted by Goneinsixtyseconds

Have you had a price from Park Lane for all those options? Sound like an expensive car with a starting point of £699 deposit, £699 payments.

Be interested to see what all the options add?

Just helped a friend lease an XC90. He's not a petrol head, so didn't care about the engine. T5, R Design, £539 deposit and £539 payments on a 4 year lease and 8k a year miles. On a 3 year it's £560, still a cracking deal and a lot of car for that money.

I have had a price, but they say not to divulge. A fair number of options yes so it's above the headline price for the standard build.

Options are on the low side as £18k or so

This will remain our main car so miles is 16k pa so that doesn't help.

[Tengocity]

Looks a great spec. We've been vaguely mulling over the X5 45e and my spec looked very similar. It's such a lovely car.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by sahajesh

Cheers!

CB is something I will be dropping down to, for the reason you've mentioned - TB is too loud, my current car is Mineral Grey soon don't want the Arctic variant for the X5.

I think the door tops are in Merino with the extended (the full leather tends to be door bottoms/transmission tunnel I think).

Not had a pano roof for ages (since my trusty Pug 308) and looking forward to not needing vitamin D tablets being kept in the car as a top-up

Re the music - that's something I am considering, but the words of the Park Lane guy are haunting me - you need top notch bit-rate sources to get the best out of it and that's unlikely to happen. Still, it looks good

Thanks for the tips - not much up selling going on here

In that case, I am going to continue upselling the B&W

In my LR, I have the Meridian Surround 825w system - the top one available in the Disco and the third best of four systems in the Range Rover/RRS. Spec wise the B&W looks more in line with the top Range Rover system. I've also spent a lot of time in cars with the Meridian 360w system, which is roughly in line with the X5/7 HK system, but better sounding to my ears.

With an average/poor source such as Apple Music ior standard Spotify, the surround system absolutely blows the 360w system out of the water, and there is not a day that I am not pleased that I have it. Was one of the key reasons for me going for the model I chose.

Adding a decent source, I used Deezer Premium, does take it to another level. Even a simple track such as Dr Dre's The Watcher sounds completely different and more alive than the Apple version. You'd swear Dre is in the car with you. For something more complex, such as classical, the better source really elevates things.

If you are doing 16k a year and love music, I'd absolutely recommend the B&W and a decent source (Deezer premium is £16 a month I think). When I had the X7 loaner I really missed the Disco audio.

Appreciate that it's a very large cost if you only keep for the length of the PCP. It's a shame that BMW don't have a system in the gap between HK and B&W.

Upsell complete

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

In that case, I am going to continue upselling the B&W

In my LR, I have the Meridian Surround 825w system - the top one available in the Disco and the third best of four systems in the Range Rover/RRS. Spec wise the B&W looks more in line with the top Range Rover system. I've also spent a lot of time in cars with the Meridian 360w system, which is roughly in line with the X5/7 HK system, but better sounding to my ears.

With an average/poor source such as Apple Music ior standard Spotify, the surround system absolutely blows the 360w system out of the water, and there is not a day that I am not pleased that I have it. Was one of the key reasons for me going for the model I chose.

Adding a decent source, I used Deezer Premium, does take it to another level. Even a simple track such as Dr Dre's The Watcher sounds completely different and more alive than the Apple version. You'd swear Dre is in the car with you. For something more complex, such as classical, the better source really elevates things.

If you are doing 16k a year and love music, I'd absolutely recommend the B&W and a decent source (Deezer premium is £16 a month I think). When I had the X7 loaner I really missed the Disco audio.

Appreciate that it's a very large cost if you only keep for the length of the PCP. It's a shame that BMW don't have a system in the gap between HK and B&W.

Upsell complete

You have to be an audiophile to spend on some of the systems. I always think I want a decent system. And then I get in a car with a standard system and I can barely tell the difference. Half the time I have to have it on quiet, or listen to something the kids want on.

I think next time I’ll just stick to stock.

I acknowledge that this is not helping the forum spend increase for this car.

On a previous topic, I borrowed a tanzanite blue X5 from dealer in Chesterfield and thought it really suited the car and looked great. Or at least I think it’s tanzanite.

[mcoops]

It's an interesting point about HK vs B&W. Since moving from a 430d to a 540i Touring, I've been a bit disappointed with the HK, which I found excellent in the old car. It's possible that I just haven't got the set up right yet, but it may be that it's just not as well-suited to a larger cabin. Worth a comparison on the X5 if you are into your music. Or at least review the HK sound vs. your current car - do you still have the 340i, and do you have HK?

[MashinBenzin]

Totally agree Alex, it's an audiophile thing. For me it's one of the first things I look at in the spec of a car and would always rather spend £ks on audio than, say, wheels (if I was forced to sacrifice one or the other).

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by mcoops

It's an interesting point about HK vs B&W. Since moving from a 430d to a 540i Touring, I've been a bit disappointed with the HK, which I found excellent in the old car. It's possible that I just haven't got the set up right yet, but it may be that it's just not as well-suited to a larger cabin. Worth a comparison on the X5 if you are into your music. Or at least review the HK sound vs. your current car - do you still have the 340i, and do you have HK?

Agree on this Marc. When I drove both X3 and X5, I still had my 440i (HK). I was mildly disappointed with the HK in the SAVs. Maybe the interior volumes are a bit much for that system. What's odd is that I slightly preferred the similar spec Meridian system (think it was 325w rather than the 360 I posted above) in the RRS to the HK in the 440i. So it's not purely interior volume versus amp power.

The HK in the BMW SAVs was a bit dead and dull to my ears.

[mcoops]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Agree on this Marc. When I drove both X3 and X5, I still had my 440i (HK). I was mildly disappointed with the HK in the SAVs. Maybe the interior volumes are a bit much for that system. What's odd is that I slightly preferred the similar spec Meridian system (think it was 325w rather than the 360 I posted above) in the RRS to the HK in the 440i. So it's not purely interior volume versus amp power.

The HK in the BMW SAVs was a bit dead and dull to my ears.

My wife has had the 300w Meridian surround system in her last two cars. The one in the Evoque was better still than the HK in my 4GC. But the equivalent in her new F-Pace feels a step down. No substitute for auditioning the system you are considering, in the car you are buying I guess!

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by sahajesh

Here goes....

40i M Sport
Visibility Pack with Laserlights (pity no actual lasers to get rid of middle-lane hoggers)
Technology Pack
Comfort Plus Pack
M Sport Pack - possibly with the 21" wheels but will change tyres to non-RFT soon as, or get the 22" and leave the non-RFTs on
Integral Active Steering (Marmite but people I trust have said this is worth getting)
Acoustic Glazing
Sky Lounge shiny sunroof
Crafted Clarity (who chose that name??)
Leather instrument panel
Travel and Comfort System
Fineline Stripe brown trim
Extended Coffee/Black seats (but may choose Ivory White)
Driving Assistant Pro
Tanzanite Blue or Carbon Black

Let the forum commence and comment.

Some of these options I could be OK to drop but I'm not saying which

Go on I will go there.... 40i in the X5? Not fancying the M50d?

I am not sure diesel is dead when it comes to big SUVs but if I was playing the green card I would go 45e...

I would also be thinking that £18k on extras is a lot - £300 a month over 4 years even being kind on GFV impact. At that level I would probably be looking at RRS autobiography but most likely an SQ7 vorsprung...

[sahajesh]

Originally Posted by mcoops

It's an interesting point about HK vs B&W. Since moving from a 430d to a 540i Touring, I've been a bit disappointed with the HK, which I found excellent in the old car. It's possible that I just haven't got the set up right yet, but it may be that it's just not as well-suited to a larger cabin. Worth a comparison on the X5 if you are into your music. Or at least review the HK sound vs. your current car - do you still have the 340i, and do you have HK?

I have HK on the current car - I loved it when I first got the car but after a while, I stopped thinking it was great.

I can't pinpoint exactly why, it's a subjective "hmm it's not as good as I thought".

Don't think I've seen B&W on a demo unless Park Lane can get me one - will try asking them.

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Go on I will go there.... 40i in the X5? Not fancying the M50d?

I am not sure diesel is dead when it comes to big SUVs but if I was playing the green card I would go 45e...

I would also be thinking that £18k on extras is a lot - £300 a month over 4 years even being kind on GFV impact. At that level I would probably be looking at RRS autobiography but most likely an SQ7 vorsprung...

Totally agree, 18K is a massive spend on extras that the OP will see little back on come resale.

Some of you guys on here must be absolutely loaded

[sahajesh]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Go on I will go there.... 40i in the X5? Not fancying the M50d?

I am not sure diesel is dead when it comes to big SUVs but if I was playing the green card I would go 45e...

I would also be thinking that £18k on extras is a lot - £300 a month over 4 years even being kind on GFV impact. At that level I would probably be looking at RRS autobiography but most likely an SQ7 vorsprung...

Don't like Audi or RR to be honest. You're also forgetting the level of discount on the X5 although the lower GFV makes up for that in a negative way, I suppose.

I really don't like diesels and will never go back to the devil's piss again. One of my concerns with that is that mine and wife's families are inside the North Circular boundary in London and I can see even Euro6d or whatever being made to pay to go into that area in 1-2 years.

I am speccing this as potential keeper, hence the options.

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Go on I will go there.... 40i in the X5? Not fancying the M50d?

I am not sure diesel is dead when it comes to big SUVs but if I was playing the green card I would go 45e...

I would also be thinking that £18k on extras is a lot - £300 a month over 4 years even being kind on GFV impact. At that level I would probably be looking at RRS autobiography but most likely an SQ7 vorsprung...

Wow, is that how much the extras add up to?

Usually it’s about £20 for every £100 of options, like you say, assuming some add GFV value and some don’t.

Although, that said, the Mini options added only about £13 per £1k through the Park Lane Scheme as they were so heavily discounted.

As Sennen said, at that kind of money I’d be looking at something a little more special. £700 a month starting point for the payments before options, so without increasing deposit, which you could do with any of the other cars, you’ll be well north of £900 a month.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by sahajesh

Don't like Audi or RR to be honest. You're also forgetting the level of discount on the X5 although the lower GFV makes up for that in a negative way, I suppose.

I really don't like diesels and will never go back to the devil's piss again. One of my concerns with that is that mine and wife's families are inside the North Circular boundary in London and I can see even Euro6d or whatever being made to pay to go into that area in 1-2 years.

I am speccing this as potential keeper, hence the options.

Your options are small then. Let’s hope nothing changes to make a keeper become a seller...

Fair point on diesel in London given the need to raise cash - but they will probably ban petrol at the same time as they don’t think these things through...

[mcoops]

Originally Posted by Sennen

Some of you guys on here must be absolutely loaded

Or relentlessly goaded into adding more options by evil forum members. Not that I'm bitter...

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by Goneinsixtyseconds

Wow, is that how much the extras add up to?

Usually it’s about £20 for every £100 of options, like you say, assuming some add GFV value and some don’t.

Although, that said, the Mini options added only about £13 per £1k though the Park Lane Scheme as they were so heavily discounted.

As Sennen said, at that kind of money I’d be looking at something a little more special. £700 a month starting point for the payments before options, so without increasing deposit, which you could do with any of the other cars, you’ll be well north of £900 a month.

I would be asking myself will i get £300 per month benefit from those options. for that sort of money you could keep the X5 bone stock and get a lovely MX5 or 3 weeks in the Caribbean each year.

3k on an upgraded sound system is faintly ridiculous but i suppose if Music is your pleasure and you are beating up and down the motorway 5 days a week it could appeal to some.

My FFRR was bone stock and i never found it wanting for anything whereas my M2 Comp which was a stock car is fully loaded with the exception of a sunroof and none of it brings anything to the party.

I think the Japs have the right idea by including everything in the price, it must be cheaper to manufacture and takes away the temptation from people who dont know when to stop ticking boxes.