So, I'll admit that I have always been somewhat a fan of the exterior look of the X5, mostly the 4.8i model...

I am currently in possession of an '07 X5 3.0SI. I was pretty enthusiastic at first, and then I got into it.
The exterior styling of the vehicle is okay. I liked the previous MY's styling better, I think. The interior and the rest of the vehicle a wholly different story.

The one I have is equipped with the 3.0 liter inline 6 rated @ 260HP. The car is by no means quick, but it's not a total dog either. The ride is quite compliant even though this one does not have the sport package (eg, no dynamic suspension). The vehicle is extremely quiet as well and feels solid and well planted when driving...

This car is equipped with:

4 zone A/C
BMW Assist
Entertainment System
DVD Player
Liftgate Release, Power Open/Close
Monitor, R/V
Navigation System, DVD-Based w/Voice Activation
Moon Roof, Power Glass Panorama
Mirrors, Inside Automatic Day/Night w/Compass
Parking Sensors, F&R
Premium Hi-Fi System w/5.1 Dolby Surround Sound
"iDrive"

All that being close to $60k. Does it feel like a $60K vehicle? Not even close. The headliner feels and looks like something you'd find in an entry level Chevy truck. The leather is of questionable quality as well (not soft/supple, extremely hard). I have never seen so many buttons/menus on a car with so few actual features. The duplication of the buttons is even better. There's approximately 6-8 buttons ON the front of the steering wheel alone, the turn signal stalk has some other button to scroll one of the dashboard displays, and there is another stalk that does something else (i don't recall what at the moment).

Getting the vehicle from Park and into Reverse/Drive is just short of a headache. The shifter doesnt "feel" right to start out with, and on top of that the way it functions is absolutely assinine. Something like hold the brake, hold the button, and push FORWARD for reverse and BACKWARD for Drive. If you want to put it in PARK there's a completely separate button for that as well. The transmission features a sport mode and an auto-manual shift option. This is also unlike what i've seen in any other cars. Push it forward and it downshifts, pull it towards you and it upshifts.

Want to change the radio? Good luck, when you figure it out, tell me how. Same goes for the climate control. What exactly are all those little buttons, and why are the same buttons also burried in a COMPLETELY chaotic menu system (iDrive). Menu -> spin -> click down, hit enter, spin wheel - wow, I got a radio station! The stereo itself is "Adequate" sounding but a far cry from amazing. The A/C is completely beyond me. I have figured out how to adjust the driver's side (with the knob!) but the passenger's side wants to do its own thing. It also has rear climate control which can be "conveniently" set about 6 levels deep in the iDrive menu system.

The technology in this car is inexplicable. It's got the capability to do all these "interesting" things yet you find yourself so frustrated with it that you quickly develop a hatred for the whole system.

The car has an electronic parking brake and an electronic brake/anti-roll backward/forward system (which I think is intuitively labeled "H Auto"). Basically, with this little switch engaged and the engine in park, you can hit the brake at a full stop and the car will engage the emergency brake. As soon as you tap the gas again it lets off the brake and goes. It's a little bit of an awkward feeling, though.

The seats are also 4,324 way adjustable, but sadly they can't be configured via iDrive, you have to use actual switches on the side of the seat instead. Again, contrary to normal logic these switches do very strange things. Pushing down on the back side of the switch would lower the back side of the seat in almost any car - except this one. In this, it actually raises the front of the seat while it lowers the back of the seat. You have to perform some trickery of the switch to actually get it to move the whole seat to one level. The lumbar is 4 way adjustable which is nice, but again, this button operates in a very peculiar way like the rest of the vehicle.

The car is equipped with a backup camera which is great during the day and integrates the parking sensors and a "trajectory" based on steering input much like Infiniti does. At night, the system becomes completely useless. It gets completely washed out (you literally can't see anything) and it looks like it's trying to go into some kind of infrared mode (which to my knowledge it does not have).

I have not dared to venture into the back seat of the car yet as I do not know what to expect there button wise. Unfortunately I don't think it has anything fancy like reclining or massaging seats. I do know it does have a perfect view of a really awful center console mounted DVD player that looks like a part sourced from Playskool, only because when the DVD player is folded "down" is actually intrudes into the armrest area of the front seats.

So, so to summarize it all:

Pros: Decent engine, okay performance. Nice, balanced handling. Solid road feel, and very quiet. Panoramic sunroof.
Cons: Everything on the interior. The shifter, the starting system, IDRIVE, climate control, radio, door lock, SUNROOF control, etc. I would not wish this car on my worst enemy.

you're paying for the right to say "i drive a bimmer" if you buy a BMW SUV, lol

The FX is by far a better value, in my opinion. The handling is definitely different in the FX, but the X5 isn't "light years ahead" of it in that regard. The technology in the FX is also more logically laid out than in the X5.

Drove the X5 again for the day yesterday -

I will give BMW credit, the 3.0 litre in the X5 does feel very solid. It is by no means QUICK in a vehicle of that size/weight, but it is very respectable. The engine is extremely quiet both outside of the car and inside.

The transmission (6AT) in the car is also (seemingly) good and "solid" feeling and reacting. It has some kind of "sport" mode which I don't fully understand (it seems to make it stay <=5th gear and rev higher/harder) which is odd, but when in "normal" mode it seems to make all the right decisions and you can't feel the vehicle shift. When you put the car in "manual" mode (pointless on a vehicle of that size with that small of an engine, I think - but still interesting to mess with) - the shifts are EXTREMELY crisp and responsive.

So again, in summary - the chassis and major components of the X5 seem pretty solid and respectable, but everything else (cosmetic) is of questionable quality. Things feel cheap and either underengineered or horribly overengineered. No in between.

How is the R350 ride & Handling?  Any issues with reliability? 

I once tried the Chrysler Pacifica (R class' poor cousin, not sure what's in common, but maybe the suspension), and I really like the ride and handling (given it was a Chrysler "minivan/crossover"). 

Humm, I just saw your other thread!