On The Inside

Climb aboard the X5 and from the driver’s pew the outlook is much the same as any other modern BMW. The layout is simple and airy. The textures and finishes are modern and elegant.

And the iDrive, that one thing that so many motoring writers seem to enjoy ridiculing, is really not so loathsome. In fact it makes damn good sense, and is easily mastered.

I’ll admit the system isn’t so intuitive that you can just climb aboard and go, but after a day or two of familiarisation any other dashboard-control layout simply appears chaotic by comparison.

With that out of the way, let’s move onto the rest of the interior.

The absence of dashboard clutter certainly cleans things up and as pictured here in cream, black and aluminium, creates an air of inviting austerity.

Space in every direction is commodious and then some. The sports bolstered front seats offer a firm kind of comfort, but the sheer width of the seats means that the winged cushions are really just for show.

In the rear: head-room, leg-room and shoulder-room abound. Troopers relegated to the back can easily find comfortable sprawling-space, however the lack of rake-adjustable backrests seems an oversight (for the money you’re paying here).

The sheer weight of the 60:40 folding rear seats seems out of place too. However, with the seats folded the X5 can carry almost anything you care to throw at it.

Returning those seats to their rightful position though requires careful positioning and effort if you don’t want to give yourself a hernia. (The manual doesn’t mention anything about warm-up stretches before tackling them.)

In the cargo area things are far more cheery. There are adjustable sliding anchor points, foldaway hooks in the boot walls and a storage compartment under the floor.

That it’s all so beautifully trimmed (you won’t want to be throwing hay-bales in there) gives more than a clue as to type of life BMW had in mind for this premium X5.

The superb interior of the X5 becomes a supremely enjoyable place to be. Especially when basking beneath the massive optional panoramic roof, which extends from the header rail all the way back to just above the heads of the rear occupants.

On The Road

Diesel engines are funny things. Often they’ll command a price premium over their petrol counterparts yet offer less performance, albeit with a sizeable torque advantage.

In the X5 range, BMW offers an entry-level xDrive30d diesel which features a single turbo-charger as its price leader. Next in the range is the xDrive30i petrol, followed by the twin turbo xDrive35d tested here, sitting between the petrol six and V8.

For the circa-$9,000 additional spend over the petrol six, the xDrive35d offers 210kw at 4000 rpm - a 10kW advantage. The really impressive figure though is the monstrous 580Nm of torque available at 1750rpm, bettering even the 475Nm on offer in the V8 xDrive48i.

On the road this translates into strong performance everywhere in the rev range. The X5 oozes grunt and performs in almost undiesel-like way.

Sure there’s the punchy torque delivery, a diesel hallmark, but with the assistance of those twin turbos, the xDrive35d can really get up and dance.

Whether punching away for the line, or in highway overtaking, this X5 absolutely hauls.

The soundtrack too is oddly out of place, but in a good way. Pushing the accelerator into the firewall rewards with a deep-bass soundtrack, free from clatter, and sounding more like a high-performance petrol engine than any oiler has a right to.

Even the considerable heft of the X5 is hidden. Steering, while not pin-sharp, is highly-responsive to inputs, without being ‘darty’. Feedback through the wheel is a little fuzzy but certainly not to the point where it is numb.