BMW X5
BMW X5 40i M Sport £62,384
WE SAY: ALL-NEW UNDERNEATH AND PACKED WITH TODAY’S TECH, BUT STILL THE SAME... ER, DANCING HIPPO That’s one collagen-lipped facelift...
A swollen mouth is the striking initial impression, but actually this isn’t just a nip ’n’ tuck. Almost everything is different versus the old X5. This one uses BMW’s modular platform that already supports, among others, the 7- and 5-Series and X3, and the brand-new 3-Series too.
Does new equal very different?
The X5 has always sold well as a big SUV that’s car-like to drive, but it now faces competition from Jaguar and Alfa, as well as Porsche. So the X5 has new chassis tech – variable-height air suspension, 4WS, adaptive anti-roll – to help agility, but also bring unprecedented (for BMW) gumption in off-roading and towing.
It’s a BMW. Take me down the road
If you’re fashionably swerving diesel, the 40i six-pot petrol is sweet as. But for palatable economy it’s still the black pump, and the 30d is just fine, though it does feel the X5’s weight. All except the mad M50d are air-suspended
and adaptively damped. My test car had optional 4WS. Avoid: sometimes the wheel seems lazy, other times unexpectedly darty. y. But beyond that, the X5 is a hippo that’s willing ing to dance. The ride is fine too, except when the (optional) 315/35 R21 tyres strike something sharp.
Jazzy-looking dash now?
At first glance, the new dash adds some splendour to BMW’s usual black plastic, but get close and the finishes are unconvincing. Ergonomics are oddly flawed, too; the metallic switches and polygonal dials are stupidly unreadable, or is it my eyesight?
A lot of car though...
There’s going to be a frigate-sized X7 above it, but, even so, this X5 is bigger than the old. This drive was in America and it even seemed bulky there. Lord knows how it’ll fit old-world streets. Still, that makes the seven-seat option competitively habitable. Replacing an early X5? Get a new X3.
SPECIFICATION
2998cc, 6cyl turbo, AWD, 340bhp, 332lb ft 32.4 mpg, 197g/km CO2 0–62mph in 5.5secs, 152mph 2060kg
VERDICT: Bulky outside, roomy inside, but drives like something smaller. Nits to pick: the 4WS and cabin finishes need work.