BMW X5 xDrive30d Road Test Review

This SUV or Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) as BMW prefers to call it,  is not just about speed and agility, it’s about comfort, handling and dependability. The vehicle has great interior ambience, luxurious and comfortable. Today almost every other vehicle on the Indian road promises loads of bhp and plenty of torque. It’s the accompanying technology that makes all the difference with this car.

If you talk about power from the engine, then there’s plenty of it that comes in the form of 258 horses pulling it along and a massive torque of 560Nm which is available at very low rpm. With an eight-speed automatic gear box, the car comes with additional BMW EfficientDynamics technology that offers Auto Start Stop function and Eco Pro mode including coasting function (Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport and Sport+). The model we drove was the 7-seater one, though it comes in two more variants—the Expedition and the Design Pure Experience. All three variants have the same engine and they perform similarly.

The seven-seater has the third row seat as standard (the other two variants do not offer these), which can be folded down fully into the luggage compartment. In a country like India these seats are a waste because nobody here puts their kids in the back seat, rather you will find them in their papa’s laps holding on to the steering wheel! With the third row seat all folded up and the 40:20:40 split / folding rear seat back rest, the boot capacity can be enhanced from 650 litres to 1870 litres. Interestingly, the tailgate can now be opened and closed by remote control and from the driver’s seat. It helps in loading and unloading your suitcases without slouching over with a back pain!

Let me describe the car from the outside. It is a good looking giant. It has a short front overhang and a long wheelbase. From the front, the two BMW kidney grilles look muscular as it stands next to the twin circular headlights fitted in a neat casing that stretches to the car’s side panels.  The LED fog lamps below the headlights come as standard in the car. The bumper’s X-shaped contour is very evident, as though to point it out to you that this is part of the BMW X model range. The neat design continues to the rear of the vehicle as it slopes aerodynamically with a roof spoiler and a set of aero blades. This is the brand’s first model to feature aero blades. Apart from the smart styling, the front and rear LED lights simply add to the style quotient, scoring big on the luminosity front.

Inside the car, Gulliver is all elegance.  The smartly styled dash is extremely inviting and with the 10.25-inch control display for the iDrive operating system, the high quality materials, comfort seats and not to miss, the Harman Kardon Surround Sound System, the car is a treat to be in.

To sum it up briefly, this car is so wired up that driving it is like being chauffeur driven. Apart from the automatic transmission, the car comes with a comfort adaptive suspension package that comprises dynamic damper control and air suspension with automatic self-leveling rear suspension. The electronic control logic adapts the damping characteristics to the changing road conditions and driving situations. Two different damping modes can be selected using the driving experience control switch.

As for braking, the car’s assisted by Dynamic Stability Control which includes the likes of ABS, Dynamic Traction Control, Cornering Brake Control, Dynamic Brake Control and Automatic Differential Brake. That’s not it, there is plenty more. Apart from features like Hill Descent Control, Brake Drying function etc, this car is also equipped with xDrive full-time intelligent all-wheel drive, which actually manages the drive power split between the front and rear wheels at all times.

No matter how much you want to toss the BMW X5 on a bad Indian road, this car will not let you off its protective cozy gloves. You are safe and comfortable as a baby in this car.