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The international
press launch for the BMW X5 included a test drive
from here to the German automaker's assembly plant
in Spartanburg, S.C., with educational stops at an
off-road driving course and a racetrack.
 But
even after the under-10 m.p.h. romp in the woods
and the over-100 m.p.h. ride on the serpentine Road
Atlanta race course, I still wasn't sure whether
the X5 was a sports sedan disguised as a
sport-utility vehicle, or a sport-ute that had a
sports sedan as a role model. Given the ute-like
traction and the sporty handling, maybe BMW is
justified in claiming it has invented a new niche,
which it calls the "sports activity vehicle." I
know one thing, the X5's cornering capabilities are
truly remarkable. Normally, I'm a little leery of
pushing sport-utility vehicles on winding road
courses. Their high center of gravity makes them
adept at getting through deep snow, not fast
corners.
I typically drive
a ute hard enough to get some sense of the
vehicle's dynamics, but not aggressively enough to
make visions of tippiness dance in my head. The X5,
however, felt so stable and composed that I didn't
have that fear of flying. Indeed, I pushed this
critter hard enough to occasion the kind of braking
that makes the pads smoke. To think that a
heavyweight sport-ute such as the 4,828-pound X5
can muster that sort of athleticism -- and get from
0 to 60 in a scant 7.5 seconds -- really is cause
for pause.
BMW was in no big
hurry to get into the sport-utility game,
especially after it bought Rover, whose products
included the upmarket and highly capable Range
Rover. As X5 project manager Bert Holland put it,
"We already had the best sport-utility vehicle in
the world."
There was also
the challenge, and potential pitfalls, involved in
reconciling a big, plodding rock hopper and BMW's
sporting image. On the other hand, there was the
dealer unhappiness triggered by BMW sales lost to
someone else's sport-utes. Ultimately, the bimmer
boys and girls did what they do so well: They
identified an unserved niche market for a
high-performing ute.
"Conducting
careful market research, we found out that there is
a kind of gap or opening between the conventional
sport-utility vehicle and the typical sports
sedan," said Helmut Panke, the BMW board member who
attended the X5 launch. "Since this means there is
definitely a demand for a vehicle fitting into this
gap, we found it appropriate to offer an answer
typical of BMW, taking the opportunity to create a
new and fascinating vehicle full of
character.
 The
deluxe V-8 model, which is now in production at the
recently expanded Spartanburg plant, will go on
sale in December with a base price of $50,000. A
less fancy, six-cylinder version will be offered
late next spring at a starting price of just under
$40,000. Although the X5's big helpings of
performance, comfort, and bad-weather traction do
lend validity to BMW's claims of something new and
unique, it is structurally a hybrid sport-ute, like
the Lexus RS 300 and Subaru Outback. Hybrids have a
carlike unitized body and independent suspension.
Traditional, truck-based utes, such as the Ford
Explorer and Toyota 4Runner, have a true frame and
usually a nonindependent, live rear axle.
Typically, the
hybrid has more carlike ride and handling
attributes, while the truck-based ute is
better-suited for off-road use by virtue of its
greater ground clearance, more rugged construction,
and extra-low gearing. As a result, the hybrid is
usually at its best providing traction advantages
on a slippery street, not a slippery trail.
Generally, the X5 should be viewed as an on-roader,
although it does have several features that make it
a decent off-road performer. These include good
ground clearance (7.1 inches), and a hill descent
control, activated by a dash button, that
automatically brakes the vehicle so it negotiates
inclines slowly and safely.
The vehicle
seemed to do pretty well off-road, although it was
hard to tell on the course BMW had laid out. The
test trail was off-roading's answer to I-95, with
virtually no obstacles above the stature of a
pebble. They even put crushed stones on the creek
banks where we forded, apparently so that we
wouldn't get stuck in the mud -- and live to write
about it.
The off-roading
also demonstrated that the handsome, muscular X5 is
as strong as it looks. No creaks and squeaks in
this critter. The lack of body sounds was
complemented by little wind and road noise at
highway speeds. When you couple that cabin quietude
with supportive leather seating and comely poplar
veneer trims, you have a recipe for pleasant,
comfortable touring. The X5 is about as roomy as a
midsize sedan, with good shoulder room, but barely
adequate rear legroom. The X5 gets its considerable
acceleration and passing power from a 4.4-liter V-8
that develops 282 horsepower and enough torque to
pull down City Hall.
Not unexpectedly,
that engine has a thirst for premium fuel of Big
Gulp proportions. (Its EPA mileage ratings are 13
m.p.g. city and 17 highway.) The power is shipped
to the front and rear wheels via a silky,
sophisticated ZF five-speed automatic transmission.
In order to maximize the sporty factor, this
gearbox is equipped with a shifting option that
mimics a manual shifter.
Under normal
driving conditions, 62 percent of the engine's
power goes to the rear wheels, and the rest to the
front ones. This rear-wheel bias in the X5's
all-wheel-drive system is intended to give the
vehicle the feel of a rear-drive BMW passenger car.
When slippery
conditions are encountered, however, the basic
62-38 power split is temporarily shelved while the
system distributes power to the wheels with the
most traction.
Although this is
an upmarket sport-ute, BMW's top man stateside, Tom
Purves, doesn't expect it to cannibalize Range
Rover sales. At roughly $40,000 and $50,000, he
notes, the six and eight-cylinder models will be
well below the $60,000 Range Rover, and will
attract a different, less affluent buyer.
The Range Rover
buyer, he points out, is more interested in the
vehicle's utility than its performance. He or she
is much more likely to pull a horse trailer than
let it all hang out in a corner.
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Vehicle
Type:
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front-engine,
four-wheel drive, midsize
sport-utility
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Base
Price:
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$49,970
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Engine
Type:
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4.4-liter
V8
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Power
(SAE net):
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282-hp
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Transmission:
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five-speed
automatic
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Wheelbase:
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111
inches
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Length:
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183.7
inches
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Curb
Weight:
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4850
pounds
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EPA
fuel economy, city driving:
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13
city/17 hwy
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