The 3rd row seat is worth getting just for the auto levelling suspension on 3.0 (it is standard on the 4.8).

BMW is pretty good at testing their vehicles and I would be surprised if it does not provide 5 star protection. Having said that those seats are definitely not a couch, and probably are good for smallish folks, less than 6ft and short rides.

I would question why the BMW salesperson would recommend Q7. Looks like you are in the market and he dosn't have any X5s on his lot with 3rd row seating

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2008 E70 X5 3.0si
Sport | Prem | Adaptive Drive | Tech. | Cold Wthr | Rear Climate | 3rd Row | Running Boards | iPod/USB

E36 328is GoKart (Retired)
Manual | HK | Trip Comp. | 17" Rims