National - 2012 BMW X5 xDrive35i Ride Report/Review

WZAR 16/23

Easily one of the best cars in National's fleet.

PROS:
- Excellent BMW navigation, large LCD display, advanced climate control, memory seat, handling/cornering
- Fuel economy is much better than EPA estimates, provided you don't floor it. I got over 30 MPG over 50 miles of freeway driving. Stomping it on on-ramps & stop-and-go citi driving, etc. leads to approx. 22 MPG.
- Parking assistance shows nearby objects (better than a backup camera)
- Excellent AWD traction backing up out of a steep gravel driveway
- Power liftgate

CONS:
- Couldn't get my iPhone to work over USB. Bluetooth or an aux cable worked fine.
- Headrest has a very odd shape to it
- Adjustable lumbar support is odd as well.
- Requires premium gasoline
- National didn't option out a third row of seats, Sirius/XM, keyless entry, or keyless ignition.

Joshua, you must have rented the Premium trimmed X5! I had a base trim X5 and was less than thrilled.

http://www.carrentingreviews.com/2012/12/28/2012-bmw-x5-xdrive35i/

Didn't much care for the spartan interior, low speed steering effort, and harsh suspension. The twin turbo 6-cyl is a very good base engine, but better matched to the lighter X3 35i.

Which location did you rent from? I have yet to see a BMW in the National fleet. (Of course with my status at regular Emerald I'm not going to get a free upgrade to one anytime soon!)

Which location did you rent from? I have yet to see a BMW in the National fleet. (Of course with my status at regular Emerald I'm not going to get a free upgrade to one anytime soon!)

DCA. Almost all my rentals are from there. :)

Hit the jackpot with one of these this week -- the PCAR rate (LCAR reservation) was $200 cheaper than ICAR, and it snagged me one of these.

drzoidberg, mine was the base trim, but equipped with the "convenience" package -- so it included the panoramic roof and wood trim, but had leatherette and the smaller LCD screen.

Overall I was fairly pleased with the car -- comfortable, good handling, and I imagine it'd feel good to be seen in it, had anyone actually seen me in it beyond a hotel valet. Steering effort was a touch higher than I'd like, though this is a BMW thing, I suppose. (Or you just need to spend even more for active steering, maybe.) I will say I didn't mind the iDrive system nearly as much as I thought I would, in part because the controller is so well located. I do like the tailgate design quite a bit.

That said, there were things that irked me. I know many are fans of the leatherette (though maybe more on the Mercedes side?) but I found it unpleasant -- very grippy. And the texture brought back weird memories of the seats on my childhood school bus.

The only word I can use to describe the controls is "inscrutable." Everything is labeled with a hieroglyph, which appear to have been selected to be as unhelpful as possible. I spent about fifteen minutes wondering why I was perspiring despite the climate control being set in the 60s, before realizing that it was set to "soft." Activating the more effective "medium" or "intensive" settings requires hitting the "Auto" button multiple times; this multiple functionality is apparently indicated by a label that resembles a stack of index cards. I have also never quite figured out the various controls on the indicator stalk. And is there a reason these cars have the world's smallest volume knobs on the radio? I believe I've ranted elsewhere about joystick shifters and non-latching turn signals, so I'll skip it here.

So, a nice car, but I can't imagine myself ever spending the asking price on one. Too many missing features for a supposedly premium, $50k vehicle.

Good to see it is available with national.

I rented one from Sixt in Germany. That one was loaded with pretty much every option. 4.0 diesel, HUD display, panorama roof. Only thing missing was the adaptive cruise control. Excellent torque and very responsive.