X5 proves BMW’s point
BMW’s product planners thought they’d sell 260,000 copies of the first-generation midsize X5 sport-activity-vehicle.
Someone must have transposed a number because they wound up building 618,000.
Better to miss on the low side, we presume.
No one would be so bold to predict like results for the new X5, which goes on sale in November, but after what the X5 has done for BMW you couldn’t blame them for hoping.
“The X5 has been the catalyst for more than doubling our North American sales volume in the past seven years,” Tom Plucinsky, product & technical communications manager, BMW North America, told the press at the X5 launch. “It brought us many customers who would never have bought a BMW.”
During a daylong test drive on twisty roads outside Spartanburg, S.C., and on a test track at BMW’s Zentrum plant, the new X5 proved it does everything the original did, and then some.
It’s larger, roomier, more elegant and more powerful, thanks to an all-new 260-horsepower inline six-cylinder engine and a newly enlarged (from 4.4-liters to 4.8-liters) V-8 that now makes 350-hp.
The ‘07 X5 also adds a batch of new options, including third-row seating, variable second-row seating, Active Steering, Active Roll Stabilization and Electronic Damping Control.
The upgraded interior is warmer and classier than the outgoing model, with upgraded materials and new color and trim choices. The iDrive interface makes its first appearance in a BMW SUV and is greatly improved (which is to say simplified) over previous versions.
When the original was launched, a 5,000-pound SUV with sport-sedan ride and handling was considered unlikely, if not impossible. Now, it’s not just likely, it’s fact, and the new model is even better than the last.
The X5 debuts BMW’s first double wishbone, multi-link front suspension. It improves ride and handling and allows for greater flexibility in shock-absorber tuning and suspension geometry. The proof of concept lay in those narrow, twisting South Caroline roads; set a line and the X5 tracks without complaint. Overcook it, and Dynamic Stability Control steps in to put things right again.
DSC can be defeated via a dash-mounted switch but is instantly reinstated when the yaw rate reaches a preset level. On a skid pad at the test track, DSC instantaneously and continuously braked and drew power from slipping wheels and applied it to those that were still driving the X5. There is no overriding the laws of physics, of course, and an overly enthusiastic driver can put even the X5 in the ditch.
It is a marvel, though, how 5,000 pounds of metal, rubber and plastic can be persuaded to change directions at speed and without warning. Order the Sport package, with Adaptive Drive, and the results are more impressive yet.
BMW’s newest inline six-cylinder engine makes its debut in the X5. It features an aluminum/magnesium composite inline six that makes 260 hp, up 35 from last year, and 225 pound-feet of torque, up 11. It redlines at 7,000 rpm, versus its predecessor’s 6,500. It weighs less and enhances fuel efficiency by one mpg in town and two mpg on the highway.
The EPA rates it 17 city/23 highway.
Base price for the X5 3.0si is $46,595, including destination.
The X5 4.8i V-8 is a holdover but grows from 4.4 liters to 4.8 liters and adds 35 hp to 350, and torque is up 26 to 350 pound-feet. Fuel efficiency drops by one mpg, in both city and highway driving, to 15/21.
Regrettably, lack of demand forced BMW to delete the manual transmission that was available on the first-generation series
BMW got the numbers all wrong with the first X5 but nailed the product. This time around, they improved the product and seem willing to let the numbers fall where they may. They’ve proved their point with this rig.