The seats were actually OK but so were the M3 Cab seats too...until I drove to Italy in them and had the worst backpain in my life. Even worse: my family felt the same and especially the rear seats were absolutely horrible for the kids.

The X5 M of course has different seats and the rear seats are larger but I can't exclude that the comfort on longer trips isn't too good either.

I need to drive the X5 M for a longer period of time to draw a conclusion about seating comfort, sorry.

What also bugs me is the 5000 km run-in period. I talked to a BMW engineer I know pretty well, the very same who took me in his 5 series mule for a ride (I posted photos in another thread). He claims that the run-in period for the X5 M is ESSENTIAL and that the new twin turbo engine is very very sensitive regarding the run-in period. So is the 4WD system which has been adapted to the new power/torque figures.

He actually advised me to keep it below 150 kph and 5000 rpm for the very first 500 km. Then I can raise it to 180 kph and 6000 rpm for the next 1500 km but no kickdown allowed, not at ANY time. From 2000 km to 3000 km, I should keep the engine rev below the yellow line most of the time and after 3000 km, I can slowly start to drive faster but no top speed (at 2000 km, the 275 kph speed limit raise will be installed) and kick down only from time to time. I also need to be careful with driving in snow because the 4WD system needs the same run-in time for various reasons. This really sucks, I actually never thought that this is going to be THAT serious. He also recommends driving during run-in in manual mode to execute more gear changes and to avoid too much boost pressure if the gear is too high for the actual speed. Launch control usage is also completely prohibited during the first 5000 km (it will be recorded to the engine blackbox, speedo cluster and car key...setting just a little "flag" but enough to identify the culprit, so you're in trouble if the engine breaks down during the first 5000 km, caution) but the good news is that the X5 M doesn't necessarily accelerate better with launch control if you activate MDM and the Sport setting.

An interesting fact, btw: did you guys know that the X5 M accelerates from 0-40 kph faster than a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 ? This proves how well the X5 M starts off from standstill.

Getting over with the first 5000 km will be a pain in the a.. I'm afraid.

 


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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M (03/2010), BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW