X5 E70 X5 press test drives & reviews

[Beemer B773ER]

I agree with Naruto. It's something that a family can use, therefore, for the mainstream market it is good. No one is going to say that having a 3rd row is bad.

I think Warot and Naruto make good points. No one is going to not buy the new X5 because it has the additional row of seats. If you don't want them there, then just fold them down. That 3rd row will however open up the X5 to more potential buyers. If you want 2-rows, then ofcourse there's the X3.

No matter how stereotypical the 'soccer mom' thing is, it's actually very true for the US market, so it was simple common sense to grow the X5 to cater to a larger market (and a very lucrative one at that!)

I'm wondering.. do you guys expect BMW to walk away with the SUV/SAV segment again ? .. or do the ML and Q7 actually have a fighting chance? (Im refering only to the German brands, not all SUV makers in the market)

Even more interesting question to me... can BMW (with their new X5 and facelifted X3) give Lexus a run for their money in terms of SUV/SAV sales?

 

[EMpower]

Does anyone know when the "is" version of X5 will be out? What will be the engine specs? HP?

 

[PanterroR]

“Don’t think of it as a truck, think of it as a performance machine.”

Source: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061113/FREE/61107002/1004

 

[Ultimate Car Guy]

Car magazine also has an excellent review on the X5:

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/first_drive.php?sid=285&page=1

 

[Centurion]

That's one really beautiful engine bay.

 

[warot]

That's one really beautiful engine bay.

Yea can't see much of the engine itself, because of all the covers, but you can tell that they hired someone to design the bay. looks great and sounds even greater.

 

[Imhotep Evil]

Hmmm...could be rather...

 

[warot]

Car magazine also has an excellent review on the X5:

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/first_drive.php?sid=285&page=1

Never heard of this one, are they talking about ACC?
...and cruise control that detects bends in the road (via lateral acceleration sensors), slowing the car accordingly. ...

These are pretty funny:
Will double wishbones come to a 3-series in the future? “Only when such technology is required to keep our distance from the opposition”. Arrogance? No, confidence.

split tailgate remains; according to the German designer, ‘Americans like to sit on it and have trunk parties’.

 

[EnI]

Never heard of this one, are they talking about ACC?
...and cruise control that detects bends in the road (via lateral acceleration sensors), slowing the car accordingly. ...

Yep.

Cruise Control with brake function.


As an option, the new BMW X5 is also available with cruise control incorporating a special brake application function. The big advantage of this system is that it does not only maintain the speed preselected by the driver, but also reduces road speed whenever necessary under specific driving conditions.

Cutting in as of 30 km/h or 20 mph, cruise control with its brake function serves to maintain the speed preselected by the driver at all times, regardless of the route he is taking. To do this, the system either increases engine power automatically or, by cutting off engine power and shifting down the transmission, uses the brake force of the engine to reduce speed.

Should this reduction of speed not be sufficient, say, when driving downhill or towing a trailer, the system intervenes additionally in the brakes. This advanced system of cruise control complete with its brake function comes in addition with a Curve Speed Limiter reducing the speed of the vehicle in bends to a lower level than desired whenever this is necessary on account of dynamic driving conditions. To determine when this necessity arises, the Curve Speed Limiter covers lateral acceleration data provided by the sensors, adjusting the speed of the vehicle whenever driving conditions become critical. Then the Curve Speed Limiter accelerates the BMW X5 again to the desired speed when leaving the bend.

The driver masterminds the cruise control function by means of a stalk on the steering column. As soon as the vehicle reaches the minimum speed required of 30 km/h, therefore, all the driver has to do is pull or press the control stalk to adopt his current speed at the desired level and then change such speed whenever he wishes.

Cruise control with its brake function is deactivated either via the control stalk or by pressing down the brake pedal. Then, pressing the Resume button, the driver is able to activate the system again at the final speed saved in the system.

The Comfort Dynamic function enables the driver to use the control stalk for accelerating in the handgas mode, increasing the speed of the vehicle whenever he wishes in two dynamic stages and in an absolutely constant process, without pressing down the gas pedal.

 

[NevadaJack]

I am impressed...

Been a long time since I owned a BMW (1998 Z3) but this new X5 is really impressive. I think with the driving features and the comfort features they have surpassed the ML. The interior is really impressive in the Tobacco/Black combination and I am not usually a fan of black interiors. They also have seemed to simplify the i-Drive setup. Nice job BMW

 

[EnI]

Re: I am impressed...

Been a long time since I owned a BMW (1998 Z3) but this new X5 is really impressive. I think with the driving features and the comfort features they have surpassed the ML. The interior is really impressive in the Tobacco/Black combination and I am not usually a fan of black interiors. They also have seemed to simplify the i-Drive setup. Nice job BMW

Expect more of such "impressive" interiors in the future BMW models as well (X6, new 7er, V5, new 5er, new 6er, new Z4 etc). Also a reinterpretation of driver-oriented central dash part is coming back into BMW vehicles.

 

[Osnabrueck]

Regarding the earlier conversation: There's been plenty of guff about BMW's "DNA" getting diluted by feature creap and curb bloat. Despite all that, the X5 still resets the bar for dynamic performance in its class.

The performance gain that could be had by a theoretically leaner X5 is negligible compared to the throngs of buyers who demand a larger, more luxurious vehicle with 3rd row kiddie seats. It's may be a porker, but it sure doesn't drive like one - that's what's important.

As for the interior - I'm won over. If this is what the future holds for forthcoming models I'm really excited. Can't wait to see the what F01 7er has in store!

 

[PanterroR]

Re: I am impressed...

Also a reinterpretation of driver-oriented central dash part is coming back into BMW vehicles.

Hell yeah!!!

 

[Deleted member 25]

Re: I am impressed...

Hell yeah!!!

 

[EnI]

Do not celebrate to early! We are not returning to 90's. Rather imagine evolution of current interior design - yet more refined (ala E70). But a bit more driver oriented.

 

[PanterroR]

Do not celebrate to early! We are not returning to 90's. Rather imagine evolution of current interior design - yet more refined (ala E70). But a bit more driver oriented.

Again, hell yeah!!!

 

[PanterroR]

3.0d test @: http://www.autobild.de/test/neuwagen/artikel.php?artikel_id=12722

 

[Bruce]

Top Gear Review by Tom Ford

Full link, including more article


"Apparently, the new 4.8-litre V8 BMW X5 can hoof around the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife in about 10 minutes. Brilliant. Just what we really need; another fast-attack SUV that's as socially aware as a 14-year-old ASBO-convicted burglar.

If you need space and a high driving position and you don't want an MPV box, then obviously testing the reality of your newest large four-wheel drive against the world's premier road-cum-racetrack is exactly where you need to be.




I say this not because I have a problem with sporty SUVs in particular, merely that to be forced to benchmark oneself in such an arbitrary manner spells disaster for nearly everyone. To make it that quick, the X5 employs more acronyms and specialist name tags than any other car currently on the market.

I'll just delve briefly into BMW's bumpf to give you a taste of what you can have on your X5 should you tick the relevant boxes: DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) which incorporates ABS-fettling, ASC (Automatic Stability Control), Trailer Stability Control, HDC (Hill Descent Control) and DBC (Dynamic Brake Control).

Then there's - more relevantly - DTC (Dynamic Traction Control), xDrive four-wheel drive, AdaptiveDrive, active bendy lights, Active Steering, Integrated Chassis Management, FlexRay data transfer... the list goes on. It's even got High Beam Assist for heaven's sake, which switches your high beams on and off for you.

It's all gone a bit techno-loco. To be honest, making a car like this fast around the Nordschleife has about as much relevance to the people actually buying it as drag racing does to knitting.

Those people don't care what all of these clever things do, or how they do it. They're more concerned with image, the propagation and projection of which, along with the correct golf-club membership, will assure them both personal and professional respect.

OK, so that's a bit of a cliché. But people are bothered about what an X5 says about them, and it says quite a lot now that it looks a whole dollop more aggressive, much bigger and not unlike an X3 that's undergone black market clinical trials for growth hormones.

The extra surfaces on the bonnet remind me somewhat suspiciously of stylised armour, and those new gaping-maw air intakes under the front bumper are getting to the point where they might well just gobble up anything in their way. So the SUV arms race collects yet another victim in its wake. Bigger is better, biggest is best. Welcome to Audi Q7 disease, gentlemen.

At least there's a bit of a reason for the supersizing of this latest generation; the extra 18.7cm of length and 6.1cm of width make room for the addition of a fold-out third row of seats and more space inside. Now I know of at least two BMW saloon owners who, when faced with two kids, jumped straight at the Discovery 3. "