One More Review

[RTZX5]

Enjoy


BMW X5 review: Redefining the phrase “drives like a truck!”



BMW CCA News Phil Marx, BMW CCA
October 20, 2006

Seven years is a long model-cycle in today’s automotive world. After producing some 580,000 X5s for the world since 1999, BMW Manufacturing’s South Carolina plant is approaching one month of production of a new, second-generation X5 SAV—and none too soon. Sales of the old X5 remained fairly steady (37,598 last year, 35,225 in 2004) even with competition from its smaller sibling, the X3. But given that the old X5 was fairly space-challenged compared to, say, a 5 Series sport wagon, it was truly time for something new. BMW’s design goals for its new Sport Activity Vehicle (SAV) were to increase interior room, add more seating options, and add a longer list of available options to increase its appeal to a broader market and improve its utility and practicality. The challenge was to do this without sacrificing the X5's legendary agility, its ability to perform limited off-road functions, or its car-like ride and handling.

What – no paddle shifters?
If you’re interested in the new BMW X5, it’s more than likely you’ve already perused BMW CCA’s on-line coverage of the press release information, photos, and pricing (http://www.bmwcca.org/node/4963 and http://www.bmwcca.org/node/5025).
If you’re not interested in BMW’s latest truck (or SAV, in BMW-speak), then you probably will be when one blows by your 750Li on a twisty mountain road and disappears—leaving you with nothing but the swirling fall leaves in its wake. We recently had the opportunity to test-drive early-production versions of BMW’s newest, bigger, more powerful SAV on the by-ways around the BMW Manufacturing plant in Spartanburg where the X5 is built and shipped to more than 200 countries world-wide, and on the BMW Performance Center road course and skid pad across the highway from the plant.
My first-drive impression of the new truck can be summed up in one short phrase; “Why doesn’t this thing have paddle-shifters?”
Unrivaled driving dynamics
Sure, BMW has drawn a larger platform, upped the ante in interior room, and provided additional flexibility with available third-row seats for the kids. But at the same time it has held the heft to near that of the older, smaller, first-generation X5 while improving the ride, handling, and responsiveness of the new truck to the point that it rivals that of BMW’s own sport sedans and simply makes fools out of those from other manufacturers. Certainly there is no other truck from any manufacturer, German or otherwise, that can equal the driving dynamics of the new X5.
Run-flats plus a space-saver spare
To start, no other manufacturer offers an SAV or SUV with standard run-flat tires. Now purists may call this marketing hocus-pocus intended to artificially create more storage space through elimination of the spare tire but, in this case, a space-saver spare is still standard (for the U.S. only!) unless the third-row-seating option is selected. What the run-flats do offer is an unprecedented degree of safety and security where the inevitable flat-tire might otherwise put the drive and passengers in a trying situation, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Who wants to be changing a flat on the shoulder of any road, at night, in a strange neigborhood? Not even me!
On top of the obvious security benefit, standard run-flats offered BMW the opportunity to tailor the suspension of the new X5 for one type of tire, taking advantage of the longer wheelbase and new double-wishbone front suspension to create a smoother highway ride over expansion joints without sacrificing BMW’s car-like handling. In fact this new X5 is not only more comfortable on the highway, new run-flat technology and an upgraded front suspension also make it more fun on the twisties where it really shines, even compared to the superb first-generation X5.
Back seat fits six-footers now
How much bigger is it? The overall vehicle length is increased 7.4 inches over the first-generation X5, with 4.5-inches of that between the front and rear axles. Legroom is increased nearly an inch in the front seats and over an inch in the back which translates into room for even those over six feet tall to sit comfortably behind those others just as tall.
And what about that third-row seat? BMW Group’s six-foot-four project manager for the X5, Albert Biermann, said it best when he stated even he could fit in it . . . for a quick trip to a restaurant. “It’s better than walking!” was Biermann’s conclusion, and that about sums it up. With or without the third-row option, the bigger truck offers a quite-accommodating flat storage area behind the front seats nearly five-cubic-feet larger than the previous-generation X5, by any standard measure.
Appointments and materials used in the X5 are nearly equal to those found in BMW’s top-of-the-line sedan and many will rank them above that of the 5 Series. The all-new layout even includes a refined version of BMW’s iDrive as standard—a first for BMW’s SAV—and a huge, electrically operated double-opening glove-box door that reveals a compartment big enough to swallow a CD-changer (MP3 CDs, too) and still leave room for gloves, and more.
New engines provide an additional 30-horsepower boost in the 260-hp six-cylinder 3.0si X5 and 35 more horses in the 350-hp 4.8i V8, each of which shaves about a half-second off its predecessor’s 0-60 time. Two new six-speed automatic transmissions make shifting smoother, more responsive, and so much fun in the manual mode, you, too, will be asking for paddle shifters! Trust me on this. Very few journalists on our test wave ever tried the X5 4.8i in manual mode, but they really missed out on experiencing why this truck is a cut above anything else out there. This is the first time the new ZF torque-converter technology has been applied to a BMW V8 and the new six-speed begs to be shifted manually through the new shift-by-wire electronic transmission selector. Even in normal Drive or Drive Sport mode, this new gearbox is a revelation compared to previous slushboxes and worthy of a vehicle with such sporting capability.
Active steering, Sport Package add almost $5,000
All of my on-road driving time was spent in an X5 4.8i V8 without the sport package, Active Roll Stabilization, electronic damping, or BMW’s fine Active Steering options. (There were no 3.0si X5s available to drive, though the sixes will probably account for 70% of sales.) The standard eighteen-inch wheels and 255/55 H-rated all-season run-flat tires took everything I could throw at them without complaint. On the test track, the combination of Active Steering and Roll Stabilization that BMW refers to as Adaptive Drive and, as part of the sport package ($3,600), its nineteen-inch wheels—and adding the stand-alone Active-Steering option—made the slalom event even easier. I’d recommend those options if price is no object, but if you’re watching your budget, they will run you almost $5,000 and may not leave you room for the $2,600 Technology Package of electronic wonders including rear-vision camera, navigation, Park-Distance Control (PDC), voice command, and Real-Time traffic information. If you do tick-off the Sport Package option, you’ll have to decide if you need the twenty-inch wheel-and-tire upgrade for an additional $950, and then you’re a player! The V8 X5 4.8i starts at a base price of $55,195 (including $645 freight) and can grow to almost $80,000 if every option is ordered. The six-cylinder X5 3.0si has a base price of $46,595 with nearly the same availability of options as the V8, and at similar cost.
Unflappable on rainy, leaf-strewn roads
But, like all BMWs, the real attraction is in the driving, and this new X5 impressed everyone who tackled the back roads and highways of the Carolinas. With or without BMW’s Dynamic Stability Control (DST) enabled, the X5 was unflappable in the worst of conditions including rain and wet leaves on narrow roads at high speeds. BMW’s xDrive fulltime all-wheel-drive system never skipped a beat or made a misstep and, as usual, everyone went away thinking they were talented drivers. Cautious drivers gained new confidence, and those who fancied themselves pros were rewarded with an exceptional package that allows full sport-car enjoyment in addition to SAV utility. Cornering control and traction were without fault. The xDrive’s ability to vary traction load from the standard 40% front and 60% rear to all-or-nothing provided nearly unbelievable stability even when faced with abrupt course corrections on highly variable surfaces, while offering the reassurance of mild under-steer. I found, for me, it was easier to control the car on challenging roads if I used the ZF transmission in its manual mode.
Six-speed automatics only for 2007
The new transmission gave crisp, precise shifts with no lag and it matches revs perfectly on downshifts. Even in the standard drive mode I felt my aggressive driving caused too-frequent gear changes, and in Sport mode it was even worse. The ability of the new gearbox to shift from sixth-gear to second immediately, bypassing all others, works great for passing other traffic, but not so well for applying throttle after making a nice exit on a tight, slippery mountain road. Control in manual mode and rev-matching with the new automatic is probably even more precise than what a good driver would have been able to provide with a real manual transmission. Good thing, too, since not even the six-cylinder X5 is available in a clutch-manual for 2007. While BMW still refers to these new ZF transmissions as Steptronic, they really have nothing in common with last year’s design under the same trademark, including how the transmission functions in manual mode. Try it out, and ask your dealer when the paddle shifters will be available! (BMW says there are no plans currently.)
The new X5 is already in production at the Spartanburg plant and in this early ramp-up phase, each X5 is followed on the line by an empty space to allow more time for workers to learn the production process of the new truck. (Z4’s are on the same production line.) First customer deliveries of the new X5 are scheduled for the end of November in the Americas, and not until March 2007 for the rest of the world, including Europe. Production of the first generation X5 ended in September and those stockpiles will have to suffice for German BMW fans looking for the command driving position in a sport-ute.
Count your blessings and get in line.

http://www.bmwcca.org/node/5747