Hi Richard,

<richard> wrote in message ...

> The quited fuel use for the X5 is 8-9litres/100 whic is way better than
> the 'cruiser petrol (around 15-16 L/ 100)
> Are the BMW station wagons better than 8-9 l/100km? (I'm still thinking
> diesel)

I drive an e39 2002 530dA Touring and get around 7.5 L/100km in average. As
we (my wife and I) drive around 210 km per day the better fuel economy was
one of the reasons that we choose the touring rather than the X5. Of the 210
km's I would say that 120 is highway @ 130 km/h, 60 is major roads @ 100
km/h and the rest is city with a lot of stop/go and somewhat heavy traffic.

Other reason was the price tag, there are a LOT second-hand e39's around and
we got our fully-loaded (leather seats with memory, 16:9 navi, steptronic,
etc) as a very fair price.

It has been said to be the most fault free car in it's category. However, we
have had a few problems with it lately: the front right brake got stuck ->
new discs front, brake pads and entirely new right side brake. Just the week
after the transmission from the gearbox to the rear wheels break down (not
entirely, but needs to be replaced asap). No need to say that I think we
have spent just a LITTLE too much money on that car this month ;-)
Let us hope it does not continue that way, because it is very nice to drive,
especially cruising on the highway - 120 km/h is at 2000 revs/min - very
nice and silent... Still, if you nail the throttle, it certainly has the
ability to move. Only real bad thing is the sound of the engine when it's
idle... But hey, that is to live with.

Having said that, I do think that the X5 is a really very nice ride too! The
towing capacity of the e39 530dA is around 2000 kg.

Good luck in the search for your new car!

** Lars