Hard to believe its been over 6 months with the X5 already, a very capable and worthy upgrade from the F25 - a SAV I consider to be the perfect allrounder. This 'car' has done it all in the past few months from daily duties to long distance trips and it has performed amazingly well in all situations. Wanting more space, I had hoped this would fit the bill and it has certainly done so, the 30d engine is also such a treat coming from the 20d and the other (larger) reason for wanting to upgrade.
Month 1 into ownership and the car was already booked for a tune thanks to
@Xcede Performance and what was meant to be an initial read turned out to be stage 2 ECU and stage 3 TCU flash. I also had Juvan do a few custom coding items whilst we were busy on the car:
- Auto start/stop disabled
- Warnings set to 3 alerts with Rolls Royce chimes
- Tyre pressure temperature
- M performance iDrive boot screen
The car was then booked in with
@Nishen@tmss for a DP as you just can't have software modifications without some hardware to compliment it. I also added a K&N flat pan filter for some added noise and the car now sounds really good - just the right amount of turbo spool, induction noise and growl. The combination has Xceeded my expectations and I hardly ever find myself needing to use more than partial throttle, approximate gains are 50wkw and 120wnm - It can certainly be felt and helps this behemoth feel a bit lighter on its feet. Something
@Trevino27 can attest to, having had a quick hoon post the work being done.
I have already covered over 6k since collection and have done quite a few road trips, this is the perfect long distance cruiser for eating up the miles in relative comfort. I had done a trip to the North West shortly after collecting it and used it through Pilanesburg on some pretty heavy offroad sections and it handled that remarkably well.
Post the 5 hour drive in the bush.
After a good wash and polish, on the way to a family photo shoot - would be a crime if I didn't take some pictures in this setting..
With the F15 being a fair bit larger than the F25, my garage needed some 'adjustments' to the cupboards I had installed prior to moving in. The current situation required someone to stand in the garage and be a human PDC. Thankfully I have set the wheels in motion for a renovation that will give me a 4 car garage space, so this is just an interim solution.
An ultra rare shot of all the cars outside the garage.
I had the car booked in at JSN for an oil service just before I could do the trip down to Durban, as it was due to hit 100k on the trip. Seemed like an X kind of day at the dealer.
On the way down to Durban a few days later.
Mileage Milestone & stellar consumption - Not bad for a fully loaded 2.5 ton SUV considering speed and distance travelled, I was pleasantly surprised.
A few pics with Trev's X3 once he collected.
I also attempted to wash this mammoth at home one Saturday afternoon before a short road trip and it was quite the change from the cars, a lot more 'real estate'.
Some pics from the Harties trip with another member's new acquisition, I will wait for that to be revealed at some point (hopefully) soon...
I may be biased but I personally think this is such a good looking vehicle and couldn't be happier with my decision to move to the F15. It has met and surpassed the expectations I had for a larger family vehicle and I really wouldn't hesitate to recommend one. Having already successfully helped
@Yulz9081 take the F15 plunge.
That's all for now - a picture of 3 generations of X5 to end this update