I always buy a manual gear box. Other than in my 4x4's the reason well not because I own a mobile phone or drink coffee at the wheel.

The auto box is much better for off roading towing and reversing when you have something on the back of the motor i.e horse box of whatever.

In this country if you sit your driving test in a automatic car then you can only drive a auto this option is rarely taken.

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Ditto here. Eric, I think you would see a lot more manual trans on this board had BMW given the option on the 4.4 and 4.8...
But regardless, I still give your props for getting your 3.0 minus the slush box.
-- How do you like the manual btw? Is 1st gear short? Or does it drive like a 5 series sedan with manual?

B

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss

From what I've read, the 1st gear in the X5 is so short it's practically unusuable. Not the best of BMW manuals, but of course, still decent.

Matt, It isn't "practiaclly unusable" but it is really short...
it is, by the bye, the same first gear ratio used in
my ol' 2001 X5 3.0 with 5 Spd manual, and in
the new X5 6 spd manual, and the 6 spd manual
available in the X3s.

It is short, but doable. So are 2nd gear starts
in many cases.

The other prob is the 5 spd is geared "short"
for cruising speeds, which is somewhat alleviated
in the 6 spd which has a slight overdrive. It coulda/shoulda
been more of an overdriven ratio, imo.

But, if I replaced the X5, (with an X3), it would be sport
and 6 spd manual only.
BR,mD

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Man, I know your pain...80mph= 4k rpm in my car .

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Vig, et al...

here's my VetteVert at low cruising speed; note the rpms in
6th. (5th is also OD, but not quite like 6th.) It's why we get
30+ mpg on road trips.

Now this is Overdrive!

Attached Images

 

DAMN!! How big is the diff between 5 and 6?

Btw, I really like that digital Oil Temp gauge. Any chance you get oil press with that too?

I like it. When I first got it, the short 1st gear took some getting used to, especially since my other car was a 6-speed Acura NSX (which I have since gotten rid of) and that had a very very long first gear.

But I've gotten used to it since then. And yes, if you are stopped on an incline going downhill (even a slight incline), it's very easy to start in 2nd gear without feeling like you're straining the engine. But while the first gear is very short, it sure gets you moving in a hurry -- the torque is awsome and thus the 6-speed gets moving much faster than the auto 3.0.

As for the difference between the 6-speed and the 5-speed, I have no idea since I have never driven the 5-speed. But doing 60 mph in 6th gear rings up between 2000 and 2500 rpms (I don't remember the exact number, I'll have to check).

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my experience on X5world when I spend too much
time posting in political threads in the lounge...

I believe the manual X5 is geared short solely for towing. I have a Dodge Ram pickup with a 5-speed, and it has a very short 1st gear which I never use. It is there solely for towing very large loads (it has a 13,500lb capacity). Without an automatic's torque converter you need a pretty short gear to get a big load moving without frying the clutch.

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2002 X5 3.0i

Vig, the MN6 gear ratios are:
1st 2.66
2nd 1.78
3rd 1.30
4th 1.00
5th .74
6th .50

As for that data readout slot, it is the Berries: I can easily scroll
through a series of menus that detail diff aspects of specific items
within that category;
that oil reading is from the
-"gauges" category which can also show:
oil press., oil temp, coolant temp, front L&R tire press, rear L&R tp,
and batt. volts.
-the "fuel" cat. shows: avg mpg, inst. mpg, range at current speed/usage
-the "trip" cat. shows: Trip odo 1, Trip odo 2, regular odo, trip time, average speed, and "oil life" as a "percentage left".

The are all easily accessible by fingertip and feel and flipped through or,
left at any given data reading.

The HUD, shows rpms, speed, and one other chosen engine data reading.
Pretty well done for a Chebby, imo.
BR,mD