Before I begin, there’s something I need to get off my chest. BMW has a history of building brilliant driver’s cars. The brand is synonymous with agile rear-wheel drive saloons which handle like few others.

They do it in a way that combines German precision with motoring passion. BMW’s straight six engines and dynamic handling characteristics are renowned for generating expletives of a favourable nature.

So, what possessed the Bavarian road-warriors to build an SUV?

Simple. Profit.

Some time back, the product planning team at BMW decided that a very lucrative vehicle was missing from its line-up. There were roadsters, coupes, sports sedans and executive limos, but BMW didn’t have an SUV.

So the X5 was created and the gap was filled (and has been followed by all manner of ‘X’-Series Beemers since).

Now SUVs are not known for their handling strengths. In fact the idea of ‘ultimate driving pleasure’ in an SUV is an almost-alien notion.

Trust BMW to devise a way to do it which combines (boring) SUV practicalities with the on-road dynamics the brand has become famous for.

Realistically the BMW X5 xDrive35d tested here is about as far from the BMW norm as you can get. For starters there is its aforementioned ‘SUV-ness’, that means all-wheel-drive, high centre of gravity and heavy mass.

Then there is the engine. It’s BMW’s legendary 3.0 litre straight six, except its not. That 35d designation means it’s a diesel, and boy what a diesel. If ever an engine blurred the lines between what diesel and petrol engines do, then this is it.

The X5 has the potential to be the most polarising vehicle built by the Bavarian firm. Thanks to some more standout polarisers in the BMW range and some diligent work by BMW’s engineers on chassis dynamics, that just isn’t the case.

From the Outside

Compared to some of BMW’s offerings the X5’s lines are almost conservative; perhaps best-described as “sedate”, but in a handsome and well-sorted way.

It comes without the odd shutlines of the 5 Series and the complex creases and curves of the Z4. It looks - the X5 - the way a BMW should (at least to these eyes).

There’s good reason for that too. As a volume-seller and an important part of BMW’s stable, BMW’s designers have worked hard to create a car with appeal to a more conservative buyer (who appreciates style and balance), but one that also catches upwardly-mobile aspirational family buyers.

The result is a car with wide appeal - few would be deterred by the styling of the X5.

Our test car came fully-optioned with the M Sport package. It sat high and tough on massive 19-inch alloys. It also comes with a body-coloured appearance package that eradicates the blackened bumpers and wheel arch extensions of the standard car.

A glance along the body from the front or rear three-quarter view shows just how much delicate metal origami has been put to use in the X5’s flanks.

There are wide flarings employed around the wheel arches, a heavy crease though the top quarter of the doors and an ever-changing play of light between these surfaces.

A long, sweeping bonnet hints at the power lurking beneath and incorporates a chunky interpretation of BMW’s twin-port grille. At the rear, wide haunches blend into cleverly-formed rear lights which illuminate in an almost neon-billboard style.