After the E38 730i left the garage at the Farm for city life in New Delhi I was on the lookout for a vehicle with higher ground clearance.
The short list was Porsche Cayenne S/Turbo, BMW X5 4.8i or VW Touareg with a max budget of 27L. Mercedes ML was not considered as the Mrs did not like it. The first vehicle I saw and test drove was a Cayenne Turbo 2009 and I liked it. There was doubt about the odometer reading and what I thought was a slight noise from the front diff. The car was booked with Porsche Gurgaon for an inspection at a cost of about 13K.
The report came and all was not well, quite a few items were in need of replacement and the odometer also seemed to be tampered with. Even though it looked good and drove well I walked away. Looked at a few X5 3.0 diesels in between but nothing good.
Then my brother informs me about a 4.8i for sale in Chennai and only with 37000 km on the clock. Seemed too good to be true , spoke with the owner at length and felt better. Got the number for KUN BMW in Chennai the dealer who had sold the car and with owners permission got all the service history. The owner informed us about the few issues with the car which I was OK with. Sale price was agreed and the money was transferred. We flew down to Chennai and collected the vehicle in September 2016. The plan was to stay there for a few days and drive it around locally before the journey back.
The issues :
1. Starting (sometimes it would take quite a few attempts to get the engine started)
2. Brakes (the assistance was not there at low speed)
3. Oil leaks (from engine at oil cooler thermostat and valve cover gaskets)
4. Headlights (a bit scratched and hazzy)
None of the above were serious enough that we could not drive back.
We drove back taking the route: Chennai-Vijaywada-Hyd-Nagpur-Sagar-Agra-Delhi-Gurgaon with night stops at Hyd and Sagar.
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The Vehicle is a :
Type FE82
Model :- X5 4.8i – EUR
Development Code :- E70
Chassis :- GEFZG
Steering :- RL
Doors :- 5
Engine :- N62/TU
Displacement :- 4.80
Drivetrain :-ALLR
Transmission :- AUTO
Color :-Platinbronze Metallic - A53
Upholstery :-Leder Nevada/beige - LUB4
Production Plant :-SPARTANBURG
220 Self-leveling Suspension
4AB Fine-wood Trim Burr Walnut
522 Bi Xenon Light
544 Cruise Control With Braking Function
853 Language Version English
Options :
2LD Light-alloy Wheels Y-spoke 211
3AP Windscreen With Grey Shade Band
302 Alarm System
328 Aluminium Running Board Sill
386 Roof Rail
4NB Auto.air Conditioning 4-zone Control
4UB Seat Extension 5+2
402 Panorama Glass Roof
413 Luggage Compartment Net
417 Roller Sunblind, Rear Side Windows
423 Floor Mats, Velour
428 Warning Triangle
430 Ext Rr Vw Mirror W Aut Anti-dazzle
431 Interior Rr Vw Mirror W Aut Anti-dazzle
441 Smokers Package
459 Seat Adjustm., Electr. W. Memory
488 Lumbar Support Driver/front Passenger
5AB Brake Force Display, Deletion
502 Headlight Washer System
508 Park Distance Control (pdc)
521 Rain Sensor
548 Speedometer With Kilometer Reading
563 Lights Package
602 On-board Monitor With Tv
640 Car Telephone Preparation
677 Hifi System Professional
696 Dvd Changer For 6 Disks
701 Area-code 5
8LA India Version
818 Main Battery Switch
823 Hot Climate Version
825 Radio Control Oceania
858 Engine Settings For Lower-quality Fuel
861 Change Of Coding Data Set
864 Overseas/dealer Directory
880 English / On-board Documentation
925 Shipping Protection Package
988 Coding Service Interval Stage II
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The 2nd row seat slide forward and the back also has two positions
These seats are good for kids only, though BMW say they can fit persons upto 5"7
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The drive from Chennai was 2309 km
Fuel used : 404 liters
Cost : Rs 28,211.38
Km/l : 7.03 kmpl
Experience : Priceless
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Driving :
Drivebility in the City
I have not driven a lot in the city but for the little distance I have its not a problem at all. It somehow feels smaller then it actually is sitting up high feels quite good.The ride is well damped and comfortable whether you are in town or pushing on , the steering is responsive and the roadholding is sure-footed.
Driveability on the highway
For me this is what I needed for driving in India. V8 with enough horses (350hp@6300rmp--350 ft/lbs torque) to keep most of vehicles at bay.
Have driven a few times to Nainital and Mashobra, what a joy its been. overtaking no problem just push down on the go pedal. If you want a bit more flick the shift lever to the left for sports mode.it pulls like a train as soon as you step on the accelerator then continues to do so seamlessly all the way to the speed limiter
Engine performance
The N62B48 V8 never fails to bring a smile to your face with its performance . the engine has a few known problems with oil leaks but nothing that can not be sorted out. it features VVT for both the inlet and exhaust camshafts (called double vanos by BMW) and VVL (called valvetronic by BMW)
Brakes
The brakes ( ventilated discs all around )are excellent which give you a lot of confidence if you happen to be pushing it and it chews up brake pads like kebabs. there was a recall issued over a brake booster issue with the BMW V8's but as usual BMW India had no clue about it
so I had to change the brake booster myself whereas it should have been done by them under recall.
Interior:
Typical of the era. I miss the water temp gauge in the instrument cluster and instead of the useless liters/100 km meter they should have given the oil temp meter which they gave in the X5M later. I am quite sure that someone who buys a 4.8 is not really going to be looking at that.
For a 8 year old vehicle the interiors have aged well and nothing is broken or not working but credit to the previous owners as they have looked after it well. have used the rear two seats on two options making it a seven seater ( for kids only) and I quite like the option.
The four zone climate works well and cools the vehicle down quite well and fast. The pano roof which I thought will be useless is actually quite useful in the hills as the sun comes straight into the car making it warmer and brighter inside.
There's plenty of room in the rear seat and the cargo area, though a little small by class standards, is usefully high and offers a practical split tailgate design.
The driving position is comfortable and commanding, and the seat and steering wheel adjust every which way, so drivers of all shapes and sizes should be easily accommodated.
Ground clearance
211 mm ground clearance is more than enough. the lack GC was always felt while driving the E38 and I am always wary of in the SL. Now I can enjoy my drive without any worries especially in the part of UP where I live.
Gearbox:
The six speed auto Automatic gearbox is good on the whole but when pushing the car a bit in sport mode it is really superb.
Holds the gears in sport mode and comes down the gears fast at the slightest hint of throttle.
Audio:
Its got the hi-fi system professional with 16 speakers and sounds great. A single slot CD and another for DVD in the dash plus 6 dvd changer in the glove box. All the old cd's are being used now.
The owner had not opted for bluetooth so I have retro fitted a TCUM module which has bluetooth.
Tyres:
As its got the seven seat option it does not come with a spare tyre and came equipped with the run flat tyres. I am not a big fan of the run flat tyres as I feel they give the vehicle a harsher ride. I had a 535D in UK and had them replaced with normal tyres when they wore out. So when it comes to replacing the tyres I will do the same here. I carry a air pump and puncture kit in the vehicle. Tyre size - 255/50R19.
Fuel efficiency: City and Highway
best I have got highway driving is 8 kmpl and the worst for the city has been 5 kmpl, but then these figures should not be an issue if you have bought 4.8 V8
Maintenance:
This is the part where I feel one should not think these vehicle are easy and cheap to run. Do not buy one if you think its going to be a piece of cake to keep one. One should have knowledge about them before buying one.
Example: All the issues with this vehicle were resolved and fixed by myself, if I took it to the dealer I would end up paying around 2.5 L where as it costed me around the 60k mark and of course dirty hands.
Why would you buy one:
If you can find one with full service history and check up on everything I mean everything its great value for money. for a big girl she can run very fast and bring a smile to your face every time you push the pedal to the metal.Highways are where it shines and its natural habitat.
Why would you not buy one :
If you are going to run to the dealer for servicing then $$$$$$$ and you would soon be trying your best to get rid of it. The best KMPL you are going to ever get is 8 kmpl . I have it at 5.86 km/l over the past 8749 km I have done in it.
The work I have done:- replaced the vacuum pump
- replaced the brake booster
- replaced the oil cooler thermostat seal
- replaced rear brake pads
- replaced valve cover seal
- replaced front strut bushes
Headlight before restoration
During the process
Almost done
Vacuum reading with the old booster vacuum pump
Old and new pumps. The new pump has a non return valve built in to stop oil contamination
Vacuum reading with the new pump installed
The old booster pump, all oily inside
The new booster installed
The old valve/cam cover gasket was brittle and cracked leaked oil
The new gasket installed in the cover
The oil cooler thermostat seal that leaks on these BMW N62 engines and the dealers charge quite a bit to change it. Part No 2
Torque to the right specs
Reinstalled ,I used a bit of silicon gasket for extra measure as advised by members of a forum.
I will keep updating this post for as long as I keep this vehicle so you can get an idea of ownership.
It takes a l-o-t of guts to buy a pre owned German petrol SUV and bring it upto form, especially in the mechanical dept and you have done it. :thumbs up
I was offered a Disco-3 some time ago for a mouthwatering price but the apprehension of arranging spares kept me away from it.
How hard was it to arrange parts and where did you do it from? Where were the gaskets and the booster replaced?
Lastly, congratulations on getting the engine all enthusiasts lust for, a petrol V8..!!!
Thank you.
arranging the parts was not a problem at all. Some bits were ordered from BMW Lucknow ( only parts ordered, no fitting) and the rest were from UK as someone in the family friends is always on the move.
all the parts were replaced by myself at the Farm in Puranpur.
The initial 7 kmpL was on the drive from Chennai to Delhi. Good roads steady cruising hardly any traffic .
